Tuesday, August 31, 2010

July 26, 2010 - We Want You! and Listen To Me!

Everything clamors for our attention. Bloggers want people to read their posts. (I confess even I glance at the number of reads each of my entries receives.) Bloggers will go to a lot of work to get people to follow them. My friend has a newish blog she started and to entice new readers, she's offering as a prize a copy of Mockingjay.
Yes, Mockingjay.
I have been anxiously anticipating the third installment of the Hunger Games series for months and months. In usual blog contests, you get points based on how you spread the word - one point if you start to follow the blog, one if you mention it on Twitter, etc. I wrote up a comment for her (yeah, because it's worth 4 points in her contest) but I thought it was school library-ish enough to post here.

(See below)

Rum, glad to be a new member of your blog (1 point) and as we are of similar minds, I'll leave my comment (4 points) and Tweet afterward (1 point) ... [who me? want a copy of Mockingjay? what makes you think that?]

I'm really fearful about Mockingjay, for several reasons.
One, it's a challenge to maintain the quality of a particular brand over three installments. Look at movie franchises, for example: Spiderman 1 = good, Spiderman 2 = great, Spiderman 3 = meh. It's finding that right mix of having the same stuff that drew you to the original tales but also having something new to move you forward. We aren't going to have the gladiatorial-like games occur like they did in Hunger Games and Catching Fire but will the continuing story be enough like the previous ones? Does that really matter as much as I'm making it out to be?

Two, Suzanne Collins is not afraid to kill characters we like. I won't title-drop, but I've been reading a lot of books where the main characters and their immediate circle don't die. The premise of the other books is that they had to die - there could only be one survivor of the games. I worry that the characters I care deeply about (okay, who am I kidding - Peeta, yes PEETA!) will get the axe.

Third, there's a movie coming out. Will the fact that a film is to follow impact or affect the plot of the final book?

There's a midnight release party for Mockingjay at my local bookstore. I'll be there, maybe not to partake in the activities (which I can't imagine what they will involve) but to get my book. I'll be afraid to open it but I won't be able to resist. After all, this was the book series that prevented me from watching the Olympics (and to hear that story, you'll have to read MY blog!)

(End of other blog comment post)

The "we want you" part of my title also refers to blogging attention, but moreso to the search for volunteers to the OSLA. I am so delighted that several people from Library Camp OTF (scarily enough, some are semi-regular readers of this blog!) are seriously considering joining the OSLA in some capacities. Pretend I'm wearing a white goatee and a stovetop hat and pointing - we want you to help out. Don't think "I'm not experienced enough" or "I'm too far away" or anything like that. If you are willing to do some work (and not just add it to your resume without the effort), then consider joining us. Help populate the T4L site, join council, be on the nomination committee, write an article - step out of your comfort zone and give it a shot.

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