Book #28 - Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
This was an amazing, wonderful book. My son and I read this together because it was a selection for his homeschooling bookclub. (Well, we listened to the audiobook, actually, since it's so long I didn't want to read the whole thing aloud to him; it's huge - more than 15 hours long - and every minute was worth it).
The story centers on a young girl named Meggie and her father, Mo, both of whom love books. It's been just the two of them for many years, after Meggie's mother "left home" when Meggie was only three. When a strange man appears at their home one night, they find themselves on the run. Meggie soon realizes that her father has some secrets that he's not eager to share with her, but when she finds out the truth, it is stranger than she could have ever suspected. They find themselves drawn into an adventure that comes directly from the pages of a book. Literally.
This is a book about books and the people who love them (and a few who hate them), and this is part of the reason I loved it. (Being in the former category, obviously). The story is engaging, the characters are fantastic, and the prose is rich with delicious imagery and magic. This is a book worth of the word "classic," even though it's only a few years old. This is one of the best books I've read in a long time, the sort of book that reminds me of the way I would get consumed by good books when I was a child, and it's a wonderful feeling. It's also worth mentioning that Lynne Redgrave's reading was wonderful. She does such a lovely job with the voices.
Oh, and my son loved the book, too. After we finished listening to it this evening, I asked him what he thought, and in a hushed tone he said, "That was AWESOME." I agree with him completely.
The story centers on a young girl named Meggie and her father, Mo, both of whom love books. It's been just the two of them for many years, after Meggie's mother "left home" when Meggie was only three. When a strange man appears at their home one night, they find themselves on the run. Meggie soon realizes that her father has some secrets that he's not eager to share with her, but when she finds out the truth, it is stranger than she could have ever suspected. They find themselves drawn into an adventure that comes directly from the pages of a book. Literally.
This is a book about books and the people who love them (and a few who hate them), and this is part of the reason I loved it. (Being in the former category, obviously). The story is engaging, the characters are fantastic, and the prose is rich with delicious imagery and magic. This is a book worth of the word "classic," even though it's only a few years old. This is one of the best books I've read in a long time, the sort of book that reminds me of the way I would get consumed by good books when I was a child, and it's a wonderful feeling. It's also worth mentioning that Lynne Redgrave's reading was wonderful. She does such a lovely job with the voices.
Oh, and my son loved the book, too. After we finished listening to it this evening, I asked him what he thought, and in a hushed tone he said, "That was AWESOME." I agree with him completely.