Book Review: The Hunger Games

I've seen a lot of facebook posts lately asking for good book recommendations and have repeatedly recommended The Hunger Games triology. I want to back up my recommendations with a little more detail about these "can't-put-them-down" books that kept me up at night even when I was thoroughly sleep deprived. THAT'S HOW GOOD THEY ARE!...if you like this type of book.

So what type of books are they? The three books, The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay are billed as young adult science fiction. I didn't know this going into the books and after reading them, I'm not sure they are really geared toward young adults. Young adults may like them, the main characters are in their teens, but the themes these books deal with are pretty dark and intense and there are some pretty gory scenes. The Twilight series is for young adults. The Hunger Games is so much more....


The books take place in a dystopian future in which there are multiple poor districts all oppressed by the rich, technologically advanced "Capitol". To help remind the districts of their (low ranking) place in the world, the Capitol holds yearly "Hunger Games" in which 2 children from each of the 12 districts are randomly chosen to enter a man-made arena chock full of obstacles, mutant animals and other miscellaneous horrors. Only 1 child comes out alive. The only way to exit the arena is to be the last one alive, which means a whole lot of child-on-child killing goes on.

Obviously, parts of the story are not particularly uplifting. But the goings-on in the arena, the way the children qualify for the games, and the way the victors are treated afterwards are all commentaries on the social injustices of their society, and of our society. And, believe it or not, there are some incredibly wonderful things that happen in the arena as well- it brings out both the best and the worst in these (mostly) innocent kids.

The inspirational tale that carries through all 3 books is the story of the main character, 16 year old Katniss Everdeen. She is a troubled, though fiercely independent and likeable girl who ends up in the arena when she offers to take the place of her younger sister whose name was called at the "Reaping", i.e. the ceremony at which kids are chosen for the yearly Hunger Games. The other kid chosen from her district is an equally likeable- maybe even more likeable- boy named Peeta Mallarck and the two of them form a complex relationship that involves mutual respect and not-always-mutual infatuation, all in the sub-text of knowing that only one of them can leave the arena alive.

Much of the first book is the story of Katniss, Peeta and the other kids fighting to survive in the arena. The activities in the arena are broadcast throughout the country and folks stayed glued to the television to see who will survive. Essentially the arena becomes a nationally broadcast reality show and the "producers" of the arena try to make things "interesting" for the viewers with the natural disasters, huge poisonous insects and the like that they send after the kids. Katniss learns early on that the best way to stay alive is to be interesting to the audience as they have the power to buy her gifts that may help her in the arena. Thus her strategy is half survival, half entertainment, which is disturbing yet very pragmatic. The whole thing is surreal. You can see the comparisons b/t contemporary reality shows and the arena and the absurdities in both.

I don't want to give you a play by play of the 3 books. There's not need for that. If you like the first one- and you will if you like sci-fi, survival skills, political maneuvering, or love stories-I'm quite sure you'll enjoy the 2nd and 3rd. If you don't like the first, don't go on to the others. While the plot in the subsequent books have lots of unexpected but delightful twists and turns, the underlying themes are the same throughout. Over the three books Katniss grows up quite a bit and becomes an adept political maneuverer, essentially starting a revolution in her country. She outsmarts the game-makers, the president and all the major governmental leaders as well as winning the hearts of the commoners in the districts. An impressive feat for a 16 year old girl. But I guess you grow up quickly after being thrown into the arena.

If you like the Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card) series, I think you'll like this. Even if you don't usually like sci-fi, you probably will still like this. It's more dystopian than true sci-fi. Kind of 'Brave New World'-esque.

If anyone out there has read and enjoyed The Hunger Games and would like to recommend to me a similar book or author, I'm all ears! I'm always looking for the next great read:)

The Summer is My Off-Season: Changing Goals

While many marathon runners are gearing up for their last long runs before tapering for their Fall marathons, I'm resting after my "long" run of eight miles last weekend. 8 miles? Long run? I know, I know, that's not a long run for a marathoner. But (as evidenced by my lack of posts) I have not been doing a whole lot of running lately. My new job has kept me plenty busy and the few times I got out to run, it was too hot for me to even think about going long. Props to the Chicagoans who get their long runs in every week no matter how high the mercury rises. I was one of those runners once. But no more. I have now completely, whole-heartedly become a cold-weather runner, a Spring Marathon kind of gal.

After coming off of 3 great races in early 2011- Maui, Rockford, and Madison- I was eager to work on a sub-4 hour marathon this fall. I optimistically signed up for the Fox Valley Marathon in September and- of course, how could I not- Chicago in October. Since my longest run since July 4th has been a measly 8 miles, the September marathon is out of the question. I'm still going to try to pull it together for Chicago on 10/9 with a super abbreviated training plan (long runs of 8, 10, 15, 17, 20, then taper) but I'm not going to beat myself up if that doesn't happen either. But as soon as the cool weather rolls around, you better believe I'll be out there all bundled up, prepping for my sub-4 come Spring 2012:)

Naha

Yea! Hurrah! Success!! Can you tell I'm excited about this place? I'm going to cut to the chase and say this is the 3rd best restaurant I have EVER eaten at in Chicago, behind Moto (#1) and L20 (#2, w/ old chef, I can't vouch for the new one ). The fact that it was an unexpected find made it a very special night, indeed!

Naha is a New American restaurant that focuses on seasonal ingredients, local whenever possible. It won a Michelin star and it is well deserved! I've mentioned before that what makes a restaurant stand out is, of course, amazing food, but also the service, the ambiance, and the attention to detail. Naha excels at all of the above.

First of all, we showed up at 7pm on a Friday night w/o a reservation and the maitre'd said "no problem, we have a high table in our lounge area where we can provide the same menu as the restaurant." We didn't get a dirty look, we didn't get a "oh, let me see what I can do" that too many Chicago restaurants have as their trademark snottiness before bringing you to your table. Just a great 'can do' attitude;) (And the place was full w/in a matter of minutes.)

Sitting in the lounge was actually great. We had a full view of the restaurant, w/ all it's simple, modern ambiance. The glassware and plates were very pretty- all different shapes, some w/ the trademark Naha design. The table bussing was perfectly timed. The waitstaff was pleasant and gave us plenty of time to relax b/t courses.

The menu at Naha changes so frequently that the one on-line does not include our meals! But here's some of what we had:

scallops with rhubarb, granny smith apples, bacon

copper river salmon w/ gulf pink shrimp green city market asparagus


farm plate of squab wrapped if La Quercia prosciutto, Kurobuta Berkshire pork belly and sweet breads with a "hash" of "deep purple" potatoes, charred scallions, onion jam and savory

creme fraiche cake, strawberry hibiscus sorbet, rhubarb 

This was the kind of restaurant where you eat every single bit of garnish because each is DELICIOUS and they all fit together like the details of a rich, well written novel. Yum! 

This restaurant experience convinced me I need to focus on food photography. I eat out a lot and I blog about it a lot, so I really should take my own excellent pictures. So from now on, no shame, I will bring my GOOD camera (not my point and click) and do it right! I'm sorry I didn't do that at Naha, their food looked as good as it tasted!

After dinner, Adam and I enjoyed a nice leisurely walk home. Some sights along the way:

The Wrigley Building

Smith & Wollensky, a Chicago staple steak house

All in all, a great summer night in Chicago!



 

Ooops! (Or How I Made Life Harder on Myself!)

In the past week I've made 3 attempts to get in speedwork or a tempo run. I failed twice at the speedwork and once at the tempo. Tonight, I set out to get the speedwork done or bust. I was afraid I would lose all running momentum if I didn't get in a good workout and that was my main motivation for pushing myself hard.

I was a little concerned about why the speedwork seemed so hard in the first place. 5 x1000m @ 7:29 pace should be challenging but not impossible for me based on previous workouts. Have I lost that much fitness? I've been working out pretty consistently, why would I lose fitness??

But tonight was the night. I set the 'mill on 8.2 mph, popped on some new music (Blow by Kesha, Edge of Glory by Lady Gaga and Rolling in the Deep by Adele) and pushed myself. It was tough, tough, tough. The first interval was HARD, the second was tolerable, the third was AWFUL, the fourth pushed me right up to the puke threshold and the fifth? The fifth interval just made me laugh. So I set the treadmill to 8.2 for my 5th interval and I see 7:18 min/mile. What????? I was supposed to be doing 7:29 min/miles!!! How did I do 4 intervals 11s per mile TOO FAST???

So what did I do? I wasted some oxygen laughing out loud at myself and finished the 5th interval at 7:18 pace. Whew!

Well, I guess I'm back on track. No fitness lost here, folks. Maybe just some brain cells:)

Bachelorette Par-tay!

A few weeks ago, my dear dear dear friend Bonnie had her final celebration as a single woman here in Chi-town- her Bachelorette party!! The weekend was perfect- a great representation of Bonnie as a person. The activities were diverse from high tea to a sweaty run to spa night to late night drinking. And that's Bonnie, always up to something, always up for anything, never sitting still. I so enjoyed meeting her friends from undergrad. They are a great group of girls. And of course her wonderful sisters: Sabrina who I've loved spending time with over the past few years and her older sister who I met for the first time.

The weekend started w/ Lou Malnati's pizza at the hotel. It was a relaxing and fun way for everyone to get to know each other. The next morning, most of the ladies got spa treatments and massages. Bonnie (aka I-can't-sit-still-even-after-a-relaxing-massage) and Sabrina joined me for a run right after their massage which was so great. Bonnie was my first ever running partner. I love running with her. As an example, when Bonnie sent me an email w/ the subject line "Marathon?" before I even read the rest, I thought to myself "sure, why not?".  Doesn't matter where, doesn't matter when, I'm in!

Our private room for tea at the Four Seasons

Next up after the run... high tea! Many of the nice hotels downtown offer high tea complete w/ finger foods, biscuits and high heels. It's really fun to get all gussied up and spend time getting pampered in the middle of the day. I've been to high tea at many places including The Drake, The Peninsula, and The Four Seasons. My favorite tea w/ a group, like at the B-party, is at The Four Seasons. They put us in a beautiful private room. My favorite for a smaller group (2-4) is The Peninsula; with the 2 story floor to ceiling, wall-to-wall ceiling windows, the natural light can't be beat.

A timer was provided to help steep the tea perfectly.

Delicious finger food, esp after a run!

The dessert tower in all its glory!

After tea, we headed down to Millennium Park to hear the orchestra play w/ wine and even more tasty snacks. What a perfect day and night!

Thanks to the ladies who planned this amazing weekend! And to my wonderful friend, Bonnie! I can't wait for the wedding!!!

The girls! The bride-to-be is right in the middle:)

(Thanks to LVW for the last picture.)

The Black Sheep

 Here in Chicago, we have an enviable problem. There are too many great restaurants and not enough time (to go to them or to work off the calories!). Sometimes, this makes choosing a restaurant tough. So many good options! Adam and I solved this problem last week by going to a new restaurant that he saw on his bus route to work. We hadn't heard anything about the place but a quick glance at the menu looked promising so we decided to go out on a limb and give it a shot.

Oddly, the place didn't open until 6, which was hard for us early birds to adapt to, but we grabbed a drink 2 blocks over at The Twisted Spoke beforehand. We certainly debated going elsewhere- I was HUNGRY and didn't want to be up too late- but we both had become interested in seeing this random restaurant pic so we stuck around.

Bottom line: The Black Sheep is amazing, soon to be one of the most raved about restaurants in Chicago, so you should go there now before the secret gets out!!

The interior is really cute and quirky. Dimly lit w/ fun furnishings and interesting, offbeat colorful paintings. The bathroom is cute too, so make sure you stop in:) The combination of the music, the ambiance and the very attentive, eager-to-please waitstaff clad in full suits w/ sneakers sets a great tone for the evening.

The food is American Cuisine "albeit twisted and disoriented" per the sign, and the twists are really fun and unexpected! For example, the wine list. I had never heard of any of the wines by the glass offered so was "forced" to try something new. I ended up with a nice white Quattro Mani from Slovenia. Yes, Slovenia. And it was good. For my red w/ dinner, I choose an Arizona Cab Sauvignon. Did any of you know that Arizona has a wine maker? Let alone a really good one??

In terms of food, each menu option was carefully planned, creative, made w/ the best ingredients and cooked to perfection. I have nothing bad to say about any of the dishes we had. And, like the wine list, most of the food offerings are unusual, so no matter what you choose you are likely trying something that you've never had before. Our choices:

Seafood appetizer (clockwise from 12- little neck clam, octupus, anchoive, shrimp)

Little Neck Clams / sardines / octopus / shrimp- I LOVED the clams and sardines and I usually don't like clams. The octopus was cooked properly, which isn't always the case.

Illinois beef w/ scallion. All of the garnishes were delicious especially the mushrooms.

Illinois Beef / scallop / onion pudding / bergamot- All excellent and the scallop was perfectly cooked. The beef came in 2 cuts: 4 medallions and an oxtail (tail of cattle, usually stewed). The medallions were great. My only critique would be that the oxtail didn't need to be fried, the meat was fine w/o the fried shell.

Red Fish w/ pork rillette. Look at that egg!

Red Fish / pork rillette / bacon royal / chicken egg- Very tasty. The egg was soft boiled and tasted as perfect as it looked!

For dessert, we had  the
smoked brioche beignet / malt semi freddo /sour beer carmel / marshmallow / pickled apples at our waiter's recommendation and it was amazing. We also had the Dante cheese plate and Adam had 13 yr Pappy Van Winkle bourbon.


We weren't planning on going out to dinner this evening, so I didn't have my camera (just my iphone), so sorry the pictures are dim!

For the local foodies, I'd say The Black Sheep's menu ('unusual' selections like sweetbreads, snails, mutton as well as more typical mussels, skate, etc) and vibe is similar to that of Leopold, but The Black Sheep does things better than Leopold:
 
                       Black Sheep                           Leopold
waitstaff             eager to please                                    too cool for school
ambiance           dark, quiet, spacious but still hip        nice looking but cramped and loud
menu offerings  combo of heavy and light                   you-better-bring-your-Lipitor heavy
food plating       garnishes=creative and delicious       what's a garnish again?
beer                    multiple goose island selections         good except for the absence of goose!

All comparisons aside, I highly recommend a stop at The Black Sheep over on 1132 West Grand. You won't be disappointed!

I Am Thankful For Eyebrows

I've started my own little 4th of July tradition of doing a long run in the morning before heading to our afternoon BBQ. Usually I have the day off (though not always), the path is a bit less crowded than the weekend, and I can build a calorie debt to be deliciously filled later in the day.

It was a hot one- 80 degrees w/ 50% humidity. Not unbearable, actually quite nice in the shade, but the long open stretches were brutal! So I made a mental list of the things I was thankful for, things that helped me deal w/ the heat. And the first thing I thought of was eyebrows. Thank god for eyebrows! Without them, the gallons and gallons of sweat that poured from my head over the past 2.5 hours would all be in my eyes! I've definitely not given my eyebrows the credit they deserve. I usually find them to be pretty annoying because they require me to go through the painful process of getting them threaded every month or so to keep them shapely. I'll try to respect them more in the future;)

The run went pretty well. My goal was 17 miles near 9:40 pace w/ no walking and I came pretty close to achieving just that. I took 2 short (<20s) walk breaks after mile 14, which I'm okay with. I ran 17.16 in 2:41:43 for an overall pace of 9:25. Slowest mile was 9:58, fastest was 8:55 and the vast majority were b/t 9:15-9:30.

Okay, I'm off to eat my weight in hot dogs!