This obviously isn't the most calming series to read, but at the same time I needed something this week that I could just let drift over me without too much concentration. Plus, it was about time for my annual reread of the series anyway...

I know some people don't class listening to audiobooks as reading, but I'd argue that having someone tell the story to you allows you to pick up on nuances and aspects of the writing that you might not have picked up on when scanning the words on a page. This is no exception - I've read this book a lot, but until now it's never actually registered with me that Katniss believed Peeta was faking his love just as much as she was. I've always just read it that she understood he was crushing on her and that she just had to go along with it. In turn, this had changed my understanding of some of her actions and reactions and generally added to my respect for the depth the author has managed to layer in to this book. 

It took me a while to get used to the narrator of the version I listened to. For an American, she sounds very prim and proper in her pronunciation, which I didn't feel quite fitted with Katniss' voice. There was no contraction of words, which in places made things sounds very staged; definitely not how people would speak in normal conversation. And while she had good tone and inflection, weirdly for a good amount of the book I felt like I was possibly listening to a computer-generated voice - there was just something that didn't sound quite 'real' about it.

I can't explain why I love this series, but it's one of those that fall into my 'comfort reads' category. I just think the world is brought to life so incredibly well through Collins' writing; the characters are all well fleshed out and three dimensional, the settings are easy to visualise (whether or not you've seen the movies) and the wordbuilding is so clear and makes absolute sense. It's a triumph of dystopian fantasy and definitely the one to beat in my eyes.