Book Review - Inkheart

Inkheart - Cornelia Funke, 2003

This isn't my usual reading material, but occasionally I like to throw back a few YA and stories as breathers, so to speak, between the heavier books. What I think I loved the most about this was that it is a book about a book, and the glorifying of all books in general. If you've seen the movie you know the basic premise, but I promise you the book is very different and a lot better in many ways. I think Dustfinger might be one of the biggest literary crushes I've ever had...is that weird? Cause I totally lust over fictional characters if they're good enough....even though he's kind of an a-hole through much of the story...geez, what does all that say about me? Anyways, so its about a book binder named Mo who can read stories to life. He ends up getting kidnapped by some characters he read out of the book and most of the plot revolves around Mo, his daughter and a bookworm aunt (who for better or worse, reminds me way too much of myself...her home/book sanctuary especially) overcoming obstacles to come out of everything alive and together, acquiring other story-creatures along the way. Meggie, the daughter who is basically the main character, has to find her own ways to outsmart her captors when Mo is no longer there to protect her. 

I thought it was kind of wonderful that this book included quotes from other books at the beginning of every chapter, which kind of encapsulates the driving idea behind that section of the story. The quotes were often so poignant that I'd find myself thinking, "Oh I've got to read that one next!" each time I'd start a chapter. Also, the way she would describe Mo working with the books on his table was enough to have me searching for book-binding classes, which I've had zero luck with by the way. I'm not giving up though, I'm going to look until I find something. It was interesting to learn through an interview that Cornelia Funke actually wrote Mo's character for Brendan Fraser. She sent him the book and told him that he had been her muse. Isn't that neat? That had to have made him feel good, so obviously he took the role for Mo in the movie. I thought he was great in it before I knew about the muse thing or had read the book, although I think his character could've been better had they kept some of the complexities of the book...but eh, it was a kids movie. 

Anyways, all around this was a great YA novel and somewhat of an epic. What I really admire about Inkheart is that it gives you a reason to read another book at every turn, to learn more about this or that character who you get just a glimpse of in this book. I find this is an excellent way to, in a sense, trick kids into wanting to  read more, which I think is fantastic for those who don't just get the urge naturally. I'm excited to read the second book, Inkspell. The only downsides of the book are that there are some continuity issues about the workings and rules of who goes in and out of the books and how, which is probably not noticeable to most readers, and the massive overuse of the phrase "Good Heavens." Although I'm sure the issue with the latter has more to do with it being a translation rather than a fault of the actual author.

Rating: 4 stars

Book Review - Nice Girls Finish Last

Its been a long time since I've read a book cover to cover in under 2 days. In a handful of hours I pretty much gobbled this book up. At first I was weary, how good could a book by someone named Sparkle Hayter really be? I envisioned a shallow book told from the perspective of a 13 year old boy-crazy, glitter heavy brat. So much for judging a book by its cover. I was delightfully surprised with this comic mystery about a Special Reports newswoman in her late 30s. Her name is Robin Hudson, with an attitude as red hot as her hair. She lives in an apartment on a rather sketchy street in New York, armed with poison ivy plants and a hot glue gun for protection. Her only room mate is her cat, Louise Bryant, whose claim to fame is larger than her own. She has to keep her sharp tongue and quick wit in check when dealing with the yuppies she must impress in the workplace. Will she discover the connection between the murder of her almost gynecologist and a ring of S&M fetishists before Aunt Maureen holds a exorcism in her honor?

Overall Grade: C+ (extremely rooted in the 90s which dates it, and nothing overtly spectacular, but definitely not a disappointment)

 Would I Recommend? Yes. A fast paced, rather easy read with humor. Excellent summer reading. Will be keeping in my personal library for the time being.

Book Review - Lady with a Laptop

           

            A second-rate novelist facilitates a beginners' creative writing workshop over the summer at a New Age center on an island off the coast of Greece. The center offers courses ranging from orgasmic consciousness,  gastric dancing, colonic massages, and shamanism. It is quite farcical with a continuous undercurrent of murder mystery. While the content is often interesting, one is put off by the subplots which are injected frequently throughout the book and then left completely open ended. The characters you want to hear more about are often under developed and the most boring ones have whole chapters dedicated to them. My biggest issue with the book was the main character. He appears to be an alter ego of the writer himself, and unfortunately there is hardly a redeeming quality about his created persona. The man has a pretentious air about him to all of his students, then spends the rest of his time lamenting his lack of recognition in the literary world or reducing every woman in the program to nothing more than sexual objects whose worth is based on the likelihood of his shagging them. He comes off as shallow and spoiled, which is not all that attractive on a middle-aged balding Englishman. If the idea is to make a dirty old man the centerpiece of the novel, he would need to be much more likable to generate any sympathy for his fate. 

Grade: D + (there are some good ideas buried in there beneath all the droning...somewhere)

Would I recommend it? Not Really. Its more of a snoozefest hidden in the guise of a greek holiday novel.