Big Books of 2026
Evan Vitale asked this question about The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1):
I recently watched the movie (I know... why would you ever watch the movie without reading the book first!?!). I was just curious - how different is the book from the movie? I want to read this book, but I have a long list of other titles that I am considering reading as well. Just wanted to know if I'll be blown away by it.
Brian Engleman The books are in keeping with the movies. Very little is asked of you, it is all very straight-forward and light on vocabulary and complexity. I watch…moreThe books are in keeping with the movies. Very little is asked of you, it is all very straight-forward and light on vocabulary and complexity. I watched the first movie before reading the three books, and I don't think it necessarily damaged anything of the experience for me, aside from the fact that there was no chance of me imagining anyone but Woody Harrelson as Haymitch.

Anytime you ask a question like this one, you are bound to get a ton of answers about the book is SOOOOO much better, yadda-yadda-yadda. And it's one of those answers that you can pretty much bottle up and pour out any time someone asks the question. With this book, I think it gives a lot of people the chance to toss out that answer who normally don't get to, because reading isn't necessarily their thing. The books are about as emotionally and intellectually challenging as the movies are. I don't think I got much in the way of great insight into the characters or their own internal struggles as a result of reading the book. A great author, Suzanne Collins is not...but she did come up with a great little story. If you have seen the movies, and have lots of other compelling stories in your reading list, you aren't going to be missing out on much by skipping the books. To be honest, reading the third book saved me the trouble of suffering through the last two movies, because it was awful. (less)
flag
More questions about The Hunger Games…
Image for The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more