Category: Literature

Trilogies are Essential (and Not Just For Profit)

6/1/2026

by Gianna Vanore

Image via Tobias Rademacher on Unsplash

“Peeta, how come I never know when you’re having a nightmare?” I say.

“I don’t know. I don’t think I cry or thrash around or anything. I just come to, paralyzed with terror,” he says.

“You should wake me,” I say, thinking about how I can interrupt his sleep two or three times on a bad night. About how long it can take to calm me down.

“It’s not necessary. My nightmares are usually about losing you,” he says. “I’m okay once I realize you’re here.”

— Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire

This moment—one adored by millions of readers—in The Hunger Games trilogy is crucial, not only for the plot, but also for us to fall for Katniss and Peeta, to truly want them together. This moment is when we realized the extent of Peeta’s love for Katniss. This moment, a staple of this series, occurs in Catching Fire, the second book of The Hunger Games trilogy.

In Jordan Avery’s Op-Ed, “Trilogies Are Traps: Why Trilogies Are Bad For Storytelling,” she explains how trilogies have taken the literary market by storm, though she doesn’t see this as a good thing. Instead, she argues that the middle book (the “bridge” book, as she coins it) is unnecessary and stretches an otherwise good story too thin. She also claims that authors, instead of staying true to their craft, turn to the profit that comes from writing trilogies, even if it’s at the expense of their story.

Upon reading this, I felt a moral obligation to be the Trilogy Defender, as there are numerous trilogies other than just the mainstream ones that successfully tell their story and require a trilogy to do it well.

0 Comments

Booktok: A Community of Readers Rekindling My Love For Literature

1/1/2025

0 Comments

by BriAnna Sankey

When you read a good book, one that leaves you absolutely stunned--all you want to do is share it with someone! Preferably someone who has already read it, and understands your emotion behind the most specific scenes. Most times though, we find ourselves calling up a friend and forcing them to stay on the phone for an hour as we explain the whole plot of the book, and continue to give a thirty minute analysis breaking down the book in its entirety. Now I don’t know about you, but my friends would probably hang up after 10 minutes of word vomit because they aren’t readers. Since I’ve joined BookTok, I’ve seen how it brings readers together in a world where they can share their excitement over popular books and new, emerging titles. This sense of community is influential to the public because everyone wants to be “in” on the conversation. FOMO is no joke.

0 Comments

The Disappearance Of Disability: Why Do We Lose Representation From Book To Film?

10/1/2024

0 Comments

by Allison D'Arienzo

Photo by Eric TERRADE on Unsplash

We’ve all heard the phrase “the book was better than the movie,” and in many cases that rings true. Numerous book-to-film adaptations seem to fall short of the expectations of readers who have diligently followed a series from paper to the screen. Countless times I have found myself watching the credits roll after a movie, still fuming because my favorite scene from the book was cut, or the main character’s hair was longer than I had imagined. But what happens when a film adaptation’s cuts and changes become harmful to the communities the book is representing?

0 Comments

Hey Hollywood, Publishing Is Actually Harder Than You Think

9/1/2024

0 Comments

by Chloe Joy

Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

One of my guilty pleasures is bad romance movies. Bonus points if they are Christmas-themed or feature a person from a big city forced to travel to a small town and fall in love with a local. If both tropes are used? Immediately my favorite movie of the year. I love them so much because they’re not meant to be taken seriously nor reflect our real lives, so I often let my suspension of disbelief hang. The main leads say “I love you” after knowing each other for a few days? Sure! One big speech at the end can wash away the trauma one character brought upon another? I’m eating it up!

However, nothing gets under my skin more than the inaccurate portrayals of the publishing industry in these movies. Many romance movies have a B plot that focuses around the publishing industry (because publishing and struggling writers are just so sexy), and they almost always end with a fairy tale dream success story. I’m tired of this dominant, false narrative prevailing through the media, making publishing look easy, because if you’re a writer or aspiring editor like me, you know it’s anything but easy.

0 Comments

Who Can Write What?

8/1/2024

0 Comments

by Eric Noon

Image by nugroho dwi hartawan from Pixabay

One of the most common sayings for writers is to “write what you know.” Pulling from your own experiences and the things that you’re already familiar with are great ways to get the juices flowing and to fill in the gaps of otherwise tiresome or troubling writing in which we writers can often get bogged down. After all, it’s much easier to put a twist on a story you already know, or embellish something that’s happened to you--the bulk of the work is already done! The real question, and maybe where the advice needs to shift, is “what can we learn from the things we don’t already know?”

If all we’re to write about is our own experiences, then what room does that leave for us to learn, to empathize with, and to appreciate the stories of others? Writing about what we don’t know, the experiences we personally will never have to go through, could potentially help us to connect and build bridges with one another in ways we couldn’t see before. But as with any work of art, the court of public opinion holds a lot of sway in what is acceptable and what is not. I’m often left with the burning question of “Who can write what?

0 Comments

<<Previous

Trilogies are Essential (and Not Just For Profit)

Booktok: A Community of Readers Rekindling My Love For Literature

The Disappearance Of Disability: Why Do We Lose Representation From Book To Film?

Hey Hollywood, Publishing Is Actually Harder Than You Think

Who Can Write What?

Categories

Archives