Catching that fire

I'm in love. That can't-get-you-out-of-my-head, when-will-I-see-you-again kind of love.

I've had these affairs before, of course. Stay up all night devouring you kind of affairs; so ensorcelled, no attention can be spared for anything else.

What I'm crazy about is a stupendous, riveting tale of a post-apocalyptic future where the stakes are so high you think your heart will shatter but you can't look away. You must throw your lot in with these scrappy characters--Katniss, Gale and Peeta.

Nothing is how it seems in this world where an all-powerful central government demands a tribute of children to fight gladiator-style games. Everyone has a secret or two, a survival game of their own to play. Author Suzanne Collins upends our notions about what's to come and jerks us pell-mell in heart-wrenching, gut-twisting new directions. You gasp, you ache but never can you be indifferent.

This is not a review. There are a ton of them out there already. This is more of a rave. I read book one, THE HUNGER GAMES, in a breathless couple of days earlier this year. Now, I've just inhaled the newly-released book two, CATCHING FIRE. But I don't know when the third book in the series will be written and edited and printed and on the bookshelves. When you are in love, this is agony.

Are you on fire, too? Or are you wondering whether to throw a bucket of water my direction?