Ep 696 - Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games #0.5), by Suzanne Collins

**SPEAKER_1** (0:02)
This is a Headgum Podcast.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:06)
While Andrew and Craig believe the joy of discovery is crucial to enjoying any well-told tale, they will not shy away from spoiling specific story beats when necessary. Plus, these are books you should have read by now.

**Craig** (0:42)
Hey, everybody, welcome to the 50th annual episode of Overdue, a podcast about the books you've been meaning to read. My name is Craig.

**Andrew** (0:51)
My name is Andrew, and for this quarter quell, we've each read two books. I'm sorry, instead of one.

**Craig** (1:00)
I can't, welcome back to our Hunger Games series.

**Andrew** (1:04)
We didn't actually do that. I know. That's just a joke. Hungry. I mean, I did reread part of the first one, and I re-listened to all of our old Hunger Games episodes. So, like, I'm researched out.

**Craig** (1:14)
Did you listen to Songbirds and Snakes? I did.

**Andrew** (1:17)
We did not like it.

**Craig** (1:19)
No, we did not like it. I only listened to Songbirds and Snakes. If we had done this as a long reads, we would have called it Hungry Games, I think, or Hungry Hungry Hippos.

**Andrew** (1:28)
Probably.

**Craig** (1:30)
Well, we probably couldn't have called it Hungry Hungry Hippos. That's a trademark.

**Andrew** (1:33)
No, that's a trademark.

**Craig** (1:34)
Anyway.

**Andrew** (1:34)
I think maybe we could have invented a fictional character named Hunger James.

**Craig** (1:39)
Hunger James would be really into the Hungry James.

**Andrew** (1:42)
Hungry James, who loves the Hunger Games.

**Craig** (1:44)
I just, when you did the quarter quell voice, everything in these books is that voice. Blue Tark Heavensby.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:52)
Blue Tark Heavensby.

**Craig** (1:54)
Coriolanus Snow. Live and breathe.

**Andrew** (1:59)
We got another, just one really, the fun thing about, we're gonna talk a lot about this book. The fun thing about it being mostly kind of a re-imagining of the first one in a lot of ways.

**Craig** (2:12)
Yeah.

**Andrew** (2:13)
Is that when they do sneak in little, tiny pointed references to Songbirds and Snakes for the Songbirds and Snakeheads out there, it did make me really upset. The one instance of Snowlands on top that we got in this book made me really upset to remember that the authoritarian dictator of this universe has like a fun little catchphrase for his family.

**Craig** (2:39)
So if you don't...

**Andrew** (2:40)
I did end up, especially after I read other people's reactions to it, I did end up liking this. I don't want to be negative about it. We did not like Songbirds and Snakes very much.

**Craig** (2:49)
We haven't said the title of the book. It's Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins, a Hunger Games novel. It is the second prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy, which was originally published from 2008 to 2010
The much-maligned on this podcast, Songbirds and Snakes, the ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

**Andrew** (3:11)
Maligned by us. Mike Kindle edition does say, Sunrise on the Reaping parentheses a Hunger Games novel, close parentheses, parentheses, The Hunger Games, close parentheses.

**Craig** (3:25)
And this book arrived on Bookshelves, Bookshelves, what?

**Andrew** (3:33)
Try again. Do it again.

**Craig** (3:34)
Bookshelves. Give me a green one.

**Andrew** (3:36)
Bookshelves.

**Craig** (3:36)
Bookshelves, heavens be. A mere two weeks ago.

**Andrew** (3:41)
That's his brother. That's his brother.

**Craig** (3:43)
A mere two weeks ago. Last, when we covered Songbirds and Snakes, it was like five months after it had come out, and this time we were like, why not just do it right as it comes out?

**Andrew** (3:51)
We're getting faster. We're getting better.

**Craig** (3:54)
Next time we'll read it before the next Hunger Games book comes out.

**Andrew** (3:57)
Actually, someone in the Overdue Discord was saying they did not send out arcs for this, like at all.

**Craig** (4:02)
Yeah.

**Andrew** (4:02)
Which would not surprise me. I don't, like, they don't need.

**Craig** (4:04)
They don't need to.

**Andrew** (4:05)
Though people did have reviews that went up on the day of, so I don't know. Maybe it was just like.

**Craig** (4:08)
Maybe there weren't fun arcs out there.

**Andrew** (4:10)
Drunk people didn't get arcs, but.

**Craig** (4:13)
What I couldn't find, though, I imagine she just started working on this book as soon as Songbirds and Snakes came out. I couldn't find if the film at all had, like, factored into this book. I think the film was, was the film, 2023?

**Andrew** (4:30)
The film of Songbirds and Snakes?

**Craig** (4:31)
Yes. It was 2023

**Andrew** (4:32)
I think, like, my impression reading through, especially, like, Polygon's coverage of this, is that there is a, kind of a finely tuned machine that kicks into gear when Suzanne Collins has a new idea for a Hunger Games book. And it's all the same people who are editing it and, like, produce it. Like, they edit the novel and then they produce the movie and it's kind of a glide path that has existed, like, existed for the original four movies and then also for the prequel movie.