I just finished the first book and downloaded the next two to read. I'm planning on going to see the film tomorrow.

Like Deb, I became interested in the books when I saw the film trailer. I had actually planned on seeing the movie last week, but I read a review of the film that made me decide I wanted to read the book first.

Seitherin, please post here when you are done with Catching Fire and Mockingjay.
For me it was one of the few series where each book is even better then the one before.

*sits under a tree grabs latest book and waits patiently for Seitherin to watch film and read books*

It's not the action and adventure that got me gripped so much as the poltical issues (end of book two and book three) and the questions of public / medial exposure of truly personal matters. I still have not finished mulling it over.

I went into into the movie without reading the book first, so that I could enjoy the movie for what it was on its own. Whenever I read the book first (Harry Potter, Eragon, Twilight, Percy Jackson), there was always the sense of disappointment afterwards. Especially after the first Harry Potter movie (which is still my least favourite of the bunch) and Eragon. Liked Percy Jackson ok, although it strays away from the book quite a bit. I probably won`t have time to read HUNGER GAMES until sometime in late April, but the books are already lined up on my bookshelf!

well for me it is the other way round. I agree that after reading the book most films are disappointing but I don't want my imagination be spoiled by whatever images a film provides. Sometimes I avoid films altogether for that reason. One time actually: I never watched Neverending Story, which was my fav childhood book.

I tend to judge books and movies on their own merits and not against each other since they have completely different storytelling requirements. And it doesn't matter if I read a book before or after I see a movie. The timing doesn't affect whether I like a movie more or less than a book. The only reason I decided to read the book before I went to the movie is because the review I read talked about things that happened in the book compared to how they happened in the movie and I decided I wanted to know all the bad things before I sat in a theatre and got surprised by them.

Having said all that, I've started the second book. Still in the first chapter, but started.

Finished the 1st and 2nd books, on the 3rd right now. I have another hunch now, we'll see how that one turns out.

I really like the 1st book and how it ended. I didn't feel absolutely compelled to go buy the 2nd one, there wasn't a "cliffhanger" feeling to it. The 2nd book was really good too, although I really wanted to yell at Katniss quite a bit. The 3rd book is pretty good so far. I don't want to say too much, but I just got to the part where they found [important charcter] and [important character] was not so nice anymore, and I realllllllyyyyyy want to know where that goes, I wish I could've stayed home to read! ... Will give a more coherent opinion when I've finished the trilogy and how I feel about them as a whole.

Finished the trilogy last night. Very good trilogy. To me, it really emphasized the point that there are two sides to every story / war / conflict (the Districts vs. the Capitol) and trading one extreme for the other isn't any better. And also that it's really, really, REALLY hard to get the truth. That's the position so many people are stuck in, you hear bits and pieces from all over and there's so much conflicting information, how do you know what's real?

I think my favorite characters were Haymitch, Cinna, and Prim. Haymitch because he is SO much smarter then you expect (he's presented as a drunk, so there's not too much to expect) and him & Katniss just seem to get each other. Cinna because he was just so nice and comforting, and in book 2 the dress he designs really showed what kind of person he was. Prim because she really grows as a person in book 3, being someone Katniss can talk to about her life and troubles.

If there had been no more than book 1, I would've been ok with that. There's a few bits in there to keep you wondering "Well what's that mean, and how is Katniss' life going to be" but it's plenty good on it's own. Some stories do that, and that's ok! I like being able to think after I finish a book. Book 2 really started to show the different dimensions to life in Panem, Districts vs. Capitol, and even life within the various Districts themselves. How different the people all were, but how similar some of them were, too. Book 3 was the biggest struggle of them all.. In each book, Katniss is presented with a situation, and she has to decide what "side" she is on. Some of the biggest and toughest decisions emerge in Book 3, and even towards the end, I wouldn't say she has definitively picked a side, but rather expressed what I feel most people would: If your leader is in the extreme, it's not good for the majority of the people.