I'm a recovering book addict since Katniss glorified killing.

I've been a voracious reader all my life. Mystery, biography, romance, horror, literature, political & medical thrillers, travel, how-to, I didn’t discriminate. I loved reading and all the places it could take you.

No longer. I’ve changed to a hard-core discriminating reader. Even though I loved Game of Thrones, I’ve grown weary of all the venomous stories. Books filled with "necessary killings," unethical lawyers, doctors in “over their heads,” death, destruction, lives ruined, crimes so heinous and described by novelists in garish detail I began to suspect only the perpetrator of that crime could describe it in such vivid detail. Then there were numerous books about children committing vile acts making the best-seller list. It felt like almost every book had characters that deemed it socially and legally acceptable to commit everything from vulgar graffiti to mass murder if another character disagreed with their political or social beliefs. And...to do it over and over and over again, page after page after page.

Not even the reads I’d come to rely on to ease my stress fulfilled me. No more 1800s westerns. Neither time-travel nor other galaxies held my interest. Romances seemed more unbelievable than science fiction.

Therefore, right now I'm choosing to search the seven to twelve year-old classification of books. While not always high-drama, these authors write well and tell stories that keep you interested. They manage to do it without making my ears bleed from the violence or my brain implode from pretending to tell a story when in reality they are preaching some view they think needs to be pounded into our brains since readers are too stupid to form an intelligent thought without their help. (Note to writers: read Harry Potter till YOUR ears bleed and learn the genius of J.K. Rowling.)

I’m no pussy. Trust me I can out cuss most characters. I’m not grossed out by authors’ gruesome descriptions on page after page of their books; I’m bored with the sensationalism and desensitization. And since I’m completely aware of the world around me, I don’t need 300 pages cramming a social or political message down my throat. Great stories…real or fiction are told with grace…whether the story is Pollyanna sweet or Grapes of Wrath harsh.

Sorry world, but I’ll take The Pit and the Pendulum over Hunger Games every day! Call me an old fart; I don’t fucking care, but kids killing kids for sport is getting fucking annoying. The next pre-teen girl I meet who tells me she wants to be Katniss I’m going to hand a bow and tell her if that’s true then why don’t you kill that little kid for fun.

What really bothers me is she just might!