Native podcast exploring ‘The Hunger Games’ beneficial properties nationwide viewers

Kyle Kellams: There is one thing particular about discovering any individual else who has learn that favourite e book of yours and needs to speak about it. Darinda Sharp and Halee Israel wish to discuss to you about The Hunger Games. They’re co-hosts of the Chapter by Chapter podcast, Real or Not Real, a Hunger Games Podcast, that just lately accomplished a primary season.

It’s recorded on the Fayetteville Public Library and produced regionally by Trevor Williamson of Sley House Publishing and is garnering a nationwide following. Hallee and Darinda, who each work at Pearl’s Books in Fayetteville, developed this podcast after speaking about Suzanne Collins’ sequence of books for some time and whereas ready for the prequel novel Sunrise on the Reaping to be launched.

Darinda Sharp: And so I walked into the bookstore in the future and I stated, all proper, Hallee, I’ve bought a query. You can say no. And that’s the place that’s the place it went.

Hallee Israel: And I didn’t say no. I stated sure instantly and with out reservation, which was what was actually wild. As I say, it’s principally simply placing mics in entrance of us, however with stuff that we already discuss at work. So it was form of a no brainer.

Kellams: But for this podcast, you go chapter by chapter chronologically.

Israel: Yes.

Kellams: So how does it work?

Israel: We often file three episodes at a time. So we’ll learn the three chapters that we’re going to speak about simply previous to it at any time when and make notes. And then one among us will take turns main the episode. And so we undergo similar to form of beat by beat what occurs within the chapter and issues that we thought of, connections to different books, character issues that we perhaps by no means — there are issues — that is in all probability my fourth or fifth time no less than rereading the entire sequence — and there are nonetheless issues that I’m noticing for the primary time, and issues that I don’t discover till Darinda factors them out, which is admittedly enjoyable, and identical identical means in reverse.

Sharp: We determined early on, we talked about are we going to be spoiler-free or spoiler-filled. We determined early we’re spoiler-filled as a result of we couldn’t assist ourselves.

Kellams: And you’re speaking in regards to the books analytically, so I’d assume that you’d, for those who had been doing no spoilers, that might be robust.

Sharp: It’d be means shorter episodes, too. I’d be like, after which this, simply preserve it in thoughts for later.

Israel: Yeah. Especially with the newest prequel, as a result of the factor — I’ll converse for myself, I gained’t put this on you — however we’ve talked about how a lot we each adore it.

Sharp: Yes.

Israel: The wonderful thing about the prequels is how they recontextualize all of the books earlier than. So what you assume already continues to be true, however you additionally know all this different stuff that . It adjustments every part a few scene and nothing in regards to the scene.

Kellams: What is it in regards to the books you like a lot?

Sharp: That’s a part of it. The different factor I really like about it’s the theme of hope, the theme of kindness. One of the issues we stated in an episode was kindness is rebel. And it’s a type of issues that we had been simply speaking about it, and neither of us actually thought of it.

And our buddy Justin, who we additionally work with at Pearl’s, who was a visitor on one of many episodes, introduced it up. In the story, he’s like, kindness is rebel. Y’all want stickers. This is nice.

And in order that complete, particularly proper now, that kindness is rebel, that empathy, the significance of hope and empathy, and keep in mind who the enemy is, I really feel like is admittedly essential proper now.

Israel: I talked about it, I believe in our first episode, or no less than I’ve talked about it in an episode. But one of many issues that I beloved about it’s I learn it once I was in highschool and thought I understood it, however I beloved it for very surface-level causes. I beloved the story, I beloved the characters.

And then revisiting it as an grownup, I used to be capable of dive deeper and actually perceive what she’s saying and the context and historic and political — every part that Darinda stated. And I believe that that’s actually good storytelling, the place you possibly can learn it at totally different factors in your life and take various things away from it.

So sure, every part that you just stated, after which additionally the story and the characters are simply so nicely thought out and nicely developed, and also you care a lot about them and what occurs and really feel impressed by them. And I really like that.

Kellams: You know who my favourite character is? I’ve advised you this in conversations once I’ve been at Pearl’s. It’s Rue. This is spoiler-filled. Rue doesn’t make it by the primary e book.

Sharp: No.

Israel: I imply, spoiler-filled, most individuals don’t make it by any of the books.

Kellams: That’s an excellent level. I’m asking extemporaneously, why do you assume I preferred Rue a lot?

Sharp: I believe you preferred Rue for a similar motive why her presence is ever-present in the whole sequence and the whole narrative is for what she represents. As far as I at all times say in our podcast, the rebel begins with Rue.

It form of begins with Prim, form of begins with Katniss, however it actually begins with Rue. That’s when individuals actually begin to open their eyes to what’s taking place and begin to really feel impressed by Katniss’ response to it. And I believe Katniss’ response to it, her loss of life is a large motive why it’s so resonant for the characters within the e book and for readers.

And additionally, she’s similar to this beacon of innocence. You can’t assist however love her. But she’s such a — once more, Suzanne Collins does an important job at creating well-rounded characters. You simply really feel like she’s an actual individual, after which that simply makes her loss of life all of the extra impactful. She sticks with you. Rue sticks with you.

Israel: And I believe you want Rue as a result of she’s surprising. You anticipate the winner of the video games to be robust and like all of the overtly masculine traits of our society. And Rue subverts all of these. Her best energy is evasion. And she’s such a superb observer.

Kellams: You’ve picked up listeners alongside this journey. Quite a lot of listeners.

Sharp: Yeah.

Kellams: What’s that like?

Sharp: Crazy.

Israel: It is wild. We bought a brand new complete this morning, 20,200 downloads. I don’t know what which means precisely. That’s form of an arbitrary quantity.

Sharp: It’s an enormous quantity.

Israel: It’s an enormous quantity. Our producer and editor, Trevor — shout-out Trevor, he’s great — tells us that’s large. That’s an enormous deal in podcast land.

Kellams: What in regards to the films? What roles do they play in your appreciation of the books? Because the flicks took the franchise to a special stage. Many individuals who by no means learn the books then went and noticed the flicks. Are we OK with the movies?

Sharp: I believe they’re good. They’re very, superb. I at all times inform individuals, for those who’ve solely seen the flicks, you completely need to learn the books, as a result of I believe that whereas the flicks are good diversifications, they’ll’t adapt every part.

So I believe a few of it takes the chew out of the books a bit bit, as a result of the books have a lot to say. But so far as diversifications, I believe it’s the most effective book-to-movie diversifications that I’ve seen, so far as like a complete sequence.

But at any time when we’re speaking in regards to the e book, the flicks don’t come up a complete, complete lot till we get to the episode the place we explicitly discuss in regards to the film.

Israel: And that is one thing we truly disagree on in regards to the films, as a result of I additionally love the flicks. I believe they’re unbelievable films. I believe they’re barely enough diversifications. They are mediocre diversifications of the e book. They’re fantastic. They’re nice films.

Kellams: Right. I do know what you’re saying.

Israel: They’re fantastic diversifications. The e book is so a lot better.

By all means, see the film. If you like the e book, see the film. If you haven’t gotten into the e book, see the film first. Let that be your appetizer, so to talk, after which get into the books and get what it’s actually about.

Kellams: When you inform individuals that you just’re doing this, do you ever get the pushback, “Oh, that kid’s book”?

Sharp: No, fortunately. Thankfully, there are such a lot of individuals which are that love this sequence a lot which are adults that discovered it of their maturity, and I believe that it does converse to adults in numerous methods as a result of it like from my private expertise studying it as a teen versus an grownup, you respect it differently.

Israel: I haven’t heard that both.

One of the humorous issues we get on the bookstore is dad and mom asking how previous their youngsters should be to learn the books.

And I suppose the place we’ve principally come down is, one, how previous is the child? If they’re round 12, we ask, are they’re a 12-12, a 9-12 or a 14-12? And in the event that they’re a 14-12 or older, they’re sufficiently old to learn the e book.

And our philosophy is for those who’re sufficiently old to be reaped, you’re sufficiently old to learn the e book.

Kellams: Reaped, in fact, for individuals who are uninitiated, means?

Sharp: The premise is that there was principally a civil struggle. There had been 13 districts that rose up towards the Capitol. One district was nuked off the face of the earth. The different 12, to maintain them in line, yearly there’s a reaping ceremony the place a boy and a woman from every district, somebody between the ages of 12 and 18, there’s a drawing similar to Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery.

There’s a drawing. There’s a boy and a woman from every district. They are taken to the Capitol to combat to the loss of life. There is one victor who goes again to their district and lives, is advised they are going to dwell a lifetime of leisure and many and abundance.

Kellams: But 23 individuals who don’t make it. What’s the worth, whether or not it’s The Hunger Games or another novel or novels, what’s the worth of a gaggle with the ability to discuss the identical e book?

Israel: You get views that you wouldn’t have in any other case had, or concepts that you wouldn’t have in any other case had. As I had stated earlier, there are issues that Darinda factors out that I actually by no means considered that means, and I’ve learn this e book sequence numerous instances.

And it’s additionally simply nice to have these discussions and any individual to bounce concepts off of. It’s like, OK, I believe this idea due to this. And then Darinda is like, oh, that’s fascinating as a result of I believe this due to this.

And it’s enjoyable. Part of it’s it’s enjoyable. And then one other a part of it’s these books particularly spark nice dialogue within the themes and no matter it’s making an attempt to say about society.

Sharp: And I believe any e book membership, which is like simply the dialogue of a e book, one wonderful thing about it’s you get a special perspective since you are studying the e book. You get the creator’s perspective, you get the characters’ views, all of that. Then when you discuss it, you get different real-life individuals’s views, too, plus in relation to the creator and in dialogue with the characters.

So it’s like an exponential, I don’t know, opening of how to have a look at issues and methods to consider issues that you just like.

All of our personal brains are restricted. I solely have my expertise. Hallee has her expertise. And then the experiences we deliver to this e book are totally different than Katniss’ experiences and totally different from Suzanne Collins’ experiences, and it simply turns into this huge soup.

Kellams: Dickens’ Great Expectations was serialized. You learn them alongside and talked to your neighbors about them. I hope somebody’s doing that with The Hunger Games and y’all.

Israel: I hope so too.

We’ve had individuals inform us they hadn’t learn the prequels but, and since they wished to hearken to the podcast, they went forward and browse the prequels earlier than they began it.

A few individuals have began it after which gone, whoa, whoa, whoa, I don’t keep in mind sufficient, after which have advised us they’ve gone again and browse. That’s enjoyable.

Sharp: Love encouraging individuals to reread The Hunger Games. Read it for the primary time. Reread it each time. For me, each time I reread it, I get one thing else.

Hallee Israel and Darinda Sharp are co-hosts of Real or Not Real, a Hunger Games Podcast. You can discover it wherever you discover podcasts. It is produced by Trevor Williamson of Sley House Publishing.

The first season is now full, protecting every chapter of the primary e book. After a brief hiatus, they’ll be again for a second season.

The area on the Fayetteville Public Library the place they file their podcast is a free service of the library. Our dialog was recorded on the Carver Center for Public Radio in late January.

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