Two contrasting reviews--Bad book-vs-good book

    I don't know about you, but I have a book rule for myself... I make myself read at least 50 pages of a book before I am allowed to decide to set it aside. And even then, especially since starting this blog, I often force myself to complete a less-than-stellar read, since, frankly, bad reviews are fun to write. Also, paying attention to why I don't like a book, helps me to avoid those same pitfalls as I write my own stories.
    Occasionally, though, a book comes along that is simply so terrible that I can barely hold out for those first 50 pages. Contrastingly, from time to time, there is a book that I breeze through on a second reading, simply because I find it so enjoyable.
    Falling into the first category is the book, Altar of Bones, by Phillip Carter. This book was so dismal and so painful, that committing to those required 50 pages was a real feat. How this kind of book--for there are many more just like it--ever finds a publisher, I'll never know. This book ended up in our house as a forgotten artifact from someone's airplane trip, and I pity the poor soul who had only this book for entertainment while traveling. I hope the in-flight movie selection provided an option. Cheap, trashy, crude, and shallow, Altar of Bones deserves no further comments except that it ended up in the dumpster--and I do not throw away books lightly.
    The second book, the one that warranted a second reading from me, was The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. This book, which you know, unless you are living under a rock, is about to hit Hollywood in a big way. Though not fine literature, the story is captivating on many levels, packing a punch and managing to carry a heavy moral message, all while being as entertaining as hell. I am a fan of dystopian novels, though the concept is rarely handled so well. Since, again, you'd have to be living under a rock to have not heard about this book, I am not going to say much more, except that you have one week to read it before the movie reviews reveal all the spoilers.
   That's all for now--off to tackle another the first 50 pages of another book... or two, come what may. I'll report back soon!
~Karina