A Cultural Phenomenon

I have been counting the days to March 23. My husband and I have planned our semi-annual date night around the events of the day. And now it is just five more days until the release of The Hunger Games movie.

As a book lover, I get excited when a book series seems to explode. Being able to talk books with everyone from my financial analyst nephew to moms from daycare to complete strangers is the sort of thing I live for. It shows what I've always believed: a great story can unite people.

Over the weekend, I volunteered at a library Hunger Games event held for kids ages 12-18. Too often kids this age try to be low-key. They don't show a lot of emotion, and they don't want to draw attention to themselves. But not these kids. Every single one of them were there because they loved a book and they wanted to have some fun alongside other book lovers. The all-out enthusiasm was impressive. One girl even told me that she had gotten a bow and arrow so she could learn how to shoot like Katniss, the book's main character. If I had been excited for the movie before, those kids only sealed the deal.

My Game-Maker costume

(Only a great book would inspire a grown mother of three to

spray her hair blue and wear way too much make-up.)