3 Things
1. Come see me in Chicago this Thursday at 11 AM. Tickets are free if you call 312-747-4780.
2. Prediction: The Hunger Games and its sequel, Catching Fire, will be bigger than Twilight. (Also, it's good. I will expand upon this argument at annoying length later this week.)
3. I made a video about Harry Potter and how much better nerd life is than regular life.
posted by John Green @ Monday, July 20, 2009
44 Comments
44 Comments:
Will you be signing books in Chicago? I bought a used hard cover copy of Alaska on Amazon, and it's already signed by you but made out to Regina (whoever that is).
Goodness, I hope so. I finished The Hunger Games a few days ago, and... my God. Amazing.
Amen to Hunger Games! I was lucky enough to get an ARC of Catching Fire, and it's is an amazing sequel. I cannot wait for the third part. I feel that as long as they give the movie the money and cast it deserves then there is no way it can be bad.
I totally agree with you about Hunger Games. I hope more people read it to find what a treasure it is.
You're totally right about "nerd" being a terrible insult! I'm going to Comic-Con 2009 this weekend with some friends, & my friend's stepdad was giving us crap about being into "a bunch of s(lapjacks)" & I was like, "you're just jealous you didn't get tickets."
....the way your puff has formed, it looks like Edward's flair hair.
I really hope you're right about the Hunger Games. It so deserves to be bigger than Twilight. It's just as engaging and page-turning and ALSO provides a more realistic understanding of romance and relationships PLUS making really interesting arguments about violence and "reality" TV. I love love love it, and I've been recommending it with obnoxious enthusiasm to everyone I know.
I love The Hunger Games and Catching Fire*! Cannot wait for the next one. They shouldn't be allowed to sell those singly. It's torture.
Alas, I do not think it will be bigger than Twilight. Mainstream nonreaders love sparkle.
*I won a contest and got an ARC. Thank you, Scholastic!
I really enjoyed Hunger Games when I read it last year, but finished it questioning whether it really had to be part of a trilogy--it stands well on its own. (Why are so many sci fi books parts of trilogies, anyway?) But now I'm getting excited for the release of Catching Fire.
I wonder if the extreme violence in Hunger Games will prevent it from becoming as mainstream as Twilight.
I hope you're right about The Hunger Games. Half Blood Prince has given me new hope in book-to-movie adaptations, i hope they can do it well, and am really looking forward to Catching Fire.
You've read Catching Fire now?! I'm DYING to talk to Melissa about it but we haven't really had a chance out of earshot yet.
I think if it's marketed properly (and it's not like - despite the failing publishers everywhere - Scholastic don't have the money to do so) it will knock Twilight out of the water. And so it should.
Hey John! Can we just show up at Harold Washington? Or do we have to call? Hope I can go.
I haven't read Hunger Games yet but after seeing all the good words about it I'll have to check it out!
And I loved your video about HP Nerds. You were spot on about hat nerds are and how it's so lame for someone to use nerd as an insult.
1. Wish I could go, but being in Kansas, that's a bit difficult.
2. I hope you're right.
3. Agreed: Nerd life is better than real life. Thanks for making my 13 year old bookish nerd feel cool. Validation is an awesome thing.
I clearly need to teach you some better physics jokes.
Hmm....I wasn't a huge fan of the Hunger Games when I got it for Christmas, but maybe it deserves another try.
And ANYTHING deserves to be better than twilight
I got an ARC of Catching Fire three weeks ago, and read the whole thing in approximate 10 hours. Afterwards, I felt that sinking feeling that you feel when you remember that it will now be more than a year before there is another book in the series you love. Damn my professional early access to excellent children's literature!
(By all of this I mean to say, I think you are right. Suzanne's trilogy will be bigger than many things, and I will feel happily vindicated if it's bigger than Twilight.)
I am torn on the possibility (probability?) of The Hunger Games being bigger than Twilight - it is excellent, and reminds me of every reason I love reading (adventure! intrigue! escapism! dystopian social commentary! romance! fun!), and I both hope more people can share that same undiluted joy that comes with that kind of reading and I fully believe The Hunger Games deserves of that level of popularity (certainly more than Twilight). On the other hand, however, when things get that popular the awesome (of the fanbase) is often diluted.
Rush Limbaugh would've been so so so much worse than Perez Hilton. Or Dick Cheney. Or, well, pretty much anyone in the GWBush administration. Unless it were Colin Powell. I'm just saying.
The Hunger Games was possibly the best book I read last year. I'm stoked for Catching Fire (but not one of the fortunate ones with an ARC - I suspect you have one, yes?)
John, I tried to answer the twenty questions about you. I think you'll be glad to hear that your result was a little bit more satisfactory than Hank's, though it wasn't "John Green". You appear to be "Barack Obama". Now let's happy dance!
All right, now, being a nerd, love is something much more difficult to think about than, oh, Harry Potter (<3). How does one nerd know that another nerd has feelings of nerdlike toward them? And also, is it possible for such a nerd as I to be in like with another type of being, and NOT another nerd? Or would this destroy the universe? Because I quite like the universe now.
I apologize for the very long comment. DFTBA
I sure hope you're right about The Hunger Games...it'd be awesome to see it get the attention it deserves, especially because Katniss could kick Bella's butt right back to Arizona (and I'd take Peeta or Gale over Edward any day). Plus, Catching Fire was just as good as The Hunger Games, and how often can you say that about a sequel?
I think you and Suzanne Collins should work on a sequel together involving some sort of creepy move by President Snow and a subsequent road trip. Looking for Peeta? An Abundance of Tributes? Paper Districts?
Oooh! Oh!
I have nerdmance questions!
Where does a cute nerd girl in her mid-to-late 20's go to meet cute nerd boys?
You've got a lot of advice for the younger nerdfighters, but not as much for those of us that are (more or less) grownups.
Where did you meet the Yeti? Prior to meeting the Yeti, where did you hang out?
Where does a stable, attractive, geeky, intelligent 20-something girl find herself someone not-entirely-unlike a Green brother?
Hunger Games should be way bigger than Twilight. What does it say about our society if it is not.
I'm so glad you mentioned The Hunger Games! I can't wait to read the sequel, it's among one of the best books I've ever read - it has everything: action, drama, tension, fantastic plot twists and great descriptions. You really feel involved in the story, even when you're reading it for the second/third(fourth/fifth...!) time.
I heard they were making a film of it, and I think it could go two ways - they could make it brilliantly and be true to the books, in which case I think it'd be a 15 or at least a 12A, and could definutely be a terrific film IF DONE RIGHT. OR they could make a pig's ear of it, tone all the brutality down, and ruin the characters and plot. Hopefully it won't be the latter.
As for it being bigger than Twilight, I'm not sure. It certainly DESERVES to be, and this is from the mouth of a Twilight fan, but unless it's going to be a trilogy or longer I'm, not sure if it'll be able to gather that momentum. Sure, lots of people may like it, but there won't be that speculation and anticipation that surrounded things like Twilight and Harry Potter.
All I can say is, as long as Catherine Hardwicke doesn't direct the movie of it, I'll be happy =P
Loved The Hunger Games and hoping that Catching Fire is great as well... and I've heard that it is. Looking forward to your post on it! :-D Oh, and the new video is great. Nerd life pwns regular life.
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Hunger Games and its sequel, Catching Fire bigger than Twilight? I don't think so. Hunger Games is a good read, no doubt about it, but it didn't touch me to the core just like what Twilight did. True, Peeta's love for Katniss can make a girl swoon, but not as much impact as Edward's love for Bella. Well, that's my take, and I believe other Twilight fans will agree with me. Plus, if not for Stephenie Meyer who recommended it, we would not have heard of it.
Catching Fire was taped down to the desk at the publisher's table at ALA, seriously, if librarians want to steal this book, it must be great. Let's hope Hunger Games catches "fire" and beats out those silly vampires.
John, even though I live in the heart of Chicago, my mother won't let me go to the library which I think is tragic... I mean, I'm not going to get murdered in a library, right? I hope it all goes well. There's quite a lot of Nerdfighters here and I know they'll take up the excitement for me. Hope to finally meet you someday!!
PS: Why do people use the term "dork" and "nerd" hand-in-hand? I'm fine with nerd, but dork doesn't seem as fulfilling...
What is a nerdgirl to do when the boy that she likes kisses her best friend?
Should she give the boy who likes her and that she thinks she might be capable of liking a chance? Or just sulk in rejection? Or become a lesbian or move to a different state?
I hope I can post requests here. Your videos don't pop up on the Ning too much anymore, and I know this would be flooded out on youtube.
Anyways, my friend Molly, who is also Hoosier and an avid Nerdfighter, is moving to Germany in a week. She met you at the Second Story fundraiser (you signed the back of her Mapquest directions and a bookmark, I believe XD) and when you came to Zionsville High. Would it be possible for you to give her a nice little send off in one of your next videos? It would mean a lot to her :) If you can't get to it before she leaves, just do it when you can, but if you can't, that's perfectly fine. Thanks a lot!
Catching Fire is even more amazing than Hunger Games which I did not think possible!
Let the cannon fire for the vampires!!!
(Nerds like exclamation points, too, I think!)
I am phenomenally bad at flirting. What advice can you give someone who tries to flirt, and then just ends up bantering and quoting Monty Python?
The Hunger Games & Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins are some of the absolulte BEST teen books out there right now but bigger then Twilight? I can not see that happening unless they actually make the Hunger Games movie that is currently in prodction. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/)
-Dawn
I recently got a job at a bookstore and the first thing I did was steal the advanced copy of Catching Fire! It was arguably every bit as enjoyable as the original and I'm glad that a credible author like John Green is saying such good things about the series. Hopefully it will become a big sensation - it deserves acknowledgement, as does any work by John Green. :-)
I have a story about how "Harry Potter Nerds Win At Life." A group of us (adults) made costumes for the release of book 4. We were a Quidditch team. We resurrected the costumes for one of the movie releases. While some people in line were looking at us askance (clearly thinking, "Nerds!"), the manager of the theatre thought it was so great, he gave us free pop and popcorn. Saved us a whack of money!!!
I've got a nerdfighter tattoo.
Wanna see it ?
www.hegeharstad.com
How can you fix a relationship with a non-nerdfighter-boy ? :(
John, if you are a true Harry Potter nerd, you absolutely have to go on youtube and watch A Very Potter Musical. You will love it and jump up and down in your seat just like you did in the video =P Go watch it.
I think I said on my blog that I hope Suzanne Collins sees the kind of success Stephenie Meyer has seen. Because man, does she deserve it.
The great thing is that boys as well as girls can get into this series. I know because my 15 YO son and I have read both books and LOVED them.
As for Twilight, he didn't even want to see the movie!! :)
You asked us for questions about nerdmance. How are you to go about finding a fellow nerdfighter to love? How can you tell if they are a true nerdfighter, and therefore worthy of your nerdlove? Can you help us? Tips would be much appreciated.
I read Hunger Games back in October, I think it was. Amazing. It is much better than Twilight will ever be! By the way, I just read Looking for Alaska and I loved it. I liked An Abundance of Katherines too. Great job. Very witty.
How do you explain to your best friend that moving in with her girlfriend at 18 without any real source of income might not be the best idea? Especially if its only for a summer between high school and college?
A former student (and die hard Twilight fan) just finished Hunger Games and said it was better than Twilight (her older sister disagrees but loved too)
and I agree with Lauren Myracle- you should do a vlog of yourself dancing to Yanni.
I have the same bookshelf and baskets are you! (:
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