Inkheart

Joey gave me a copy of Inkheart for my birthday.

That was quite a Mommy Moment, let me tell you! My child read a book on his own that he reasonably thought I would like. Which means that his reading level is -- okay, not quite adult, but getting there. And also means that he realizes we share certain tastes in books.

Inkheart also happens to be the book he reviewed here.

I haven't told him yet, but I'm having trouble getting through it. I will finish it because my darling child gave it to me, but honestly I could easily put it down right now (halfway through) and never pick it up again. It's strange. I have no problem reading kids' books if I've been rereading them regularly since childhood, and I have no problem with books new to me but written for a younger age group, and heaven knows there are picture books I adore. But every time I've tried a young adult book (I guess that's what they are) I find myself getting impatient and annoyed. Maybe they're not "deep" enough?

However, Inkheart does have some interesting elements. In fact it is reminding me a lot of another book, Shadow of the Wind, which was my book club's inaugural choice. Here are some similarities:

1. The title of the book is also the title of a book in the story.

2. Bad guys are trying to rid the world of the book. Intrigue, suspense, and book burnings occur in the attempt.

3. What's written in the book subsequently happens in real life. Sort of.

4. The novel was originally written in another language and takes place very much in Europe.

5. One of the characters is quite appealing, in a ruffian, vagabond, thief -ish way.

I don't particularly recommend Shadow of the Wind, by the way. A lot of things bugged me about it, and my book club's review was very mixed. Though as you might imagine from the list above, it does have some interesting elements and ideas. If only the author had dug into them a bit deeper!

Meanwhile, I'll keep plugging away at Inkheart.