Inkheart: Chapters 1-15

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

Inkheart starts out with this -- and I was immediately enchanted.

If you are a dreamer, come in
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar
A Hope-er, a Pray-er, a Magic Bean buyer
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin
Come in!
Come in!

Shel Silverstein

In this thread, we’ll be discussing chapters 1-15 of Inkheart.

As before, with Hunger Games, we'll be including some sort of prompt that you may use as an idea for posting, but if you have other things to write, go for it! Also, as with the reading of Hunger Games, we'd love to hear absolutely anything that occurs to you while reading (however small) just so long as it's HOL-appropriate.

To begin with, what do you think of the story set-up and the characters that have been introduced so far?

Have you seen the movie Inkheart? Is it like the book or different? What's the same and what is different? Go here and talk about it!

Please remember to include spoiler tags when discussing specifics.


Cornelia Funke Author/Illustrator

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

When this book had been recommended, I got a copy from the library and started reading it. Yes, I think this would be a good book for us!

Then I got into the story. What I'm finding out is that the movie and the book are, in many ways, entirely different! I wanted to read the book because I love the movie. Then I had vague memories of reading this book, starting to read it, ages ago. I'd just watched the movie and oh, yes, I want to read the book! However, since the storyline was so different, I was extremely underwhelmed, to put it mildly. I read some of it -- noting that the book was very much different from the movie, even from the start of it, and then it seemed to go off at even more of a tangent!

Well.

So I skimmed the rest of the book and closed it. Nope. Not for me!

HOWEVER ... this time I'm reading it for the book. And yes, I do love it. The slightly different points of view are just that, different points of view. However, the main characters are still there, and still as they are in the movie. So -- this is good. The events are not the same, either. So I'm curious to see how things will continue on, and how they will be resolved in this, the book, which was the origin of the IDEA for the movie.

[Katelin Ross]

When I saw that this would be the book being read in the month of April, and I became excited! I found this book in my bookshelf, but I didn't remember when I read it last (or if I had ever read it). After I finished reading the book I was reading, I picked up Inkheart. I was worried that I would be behind, as I didn't start it right away, but I immediately got hooked into the story and found it a fast read.

I have not seen the movie, so none of my reviews will be based on the book and movie comparison. I will wait to see the movie until I am done with the series.

The story line is becoming more and more interesting. I look forward to seeing what happens next!

(Let me know if anything I wrote needs a spoiler tag)

[Prof. Scarlet Leslie-Lewis]

I don't really know what to expect after this first chunk of the book. None of the characters seem to be 100% trustworthy and they all have their own secrets. But I do love a good mystery. There are quite a few characters to introduce and I like that it is done mainly through dialogue and actions. I feel that Elinor must be somehow related to Madam Pince.

It's cool that each chapter begins with a quote. I also like the direct and not so direct references to other books and stories. The little illustrations are very intriguing and I'm sure they will all make sense later on. Inkheart must be a book you'd want to own to be able to go back and look through everything over and over again.

[Arianna Stonewater]

The book and the movie are different, but they're both excellent in their own right, just like Stardust.

I don't really know what to expect after this first chunk of the book. None of the characters seem to be 100% trustworthy and they all have their own secrets. But I do love a good mystery. There are quite a few characters to introduce and I like that it is done mainly through dialogue and actions. I feel that Elinor must be somehow related to Madam Pince.

It's cool that each chapter begins with a quote. I also like the direct and not so direct references to other books and stories. The little illustrations are very intriguing and I'm sure they will all make sense later on. Inkheart must be a book you'd want to own to be able to go back and look through everything over and over again.

When trying to get people to read this book, I sometimes ask if they like the format of Family Guy. An episode of Family Guy might have a plot, but the majority of the show is referencing other moments/events and if you aren't keeping up with current events you might not think its funny. (To be fair, even if you are aware of the world around you, you still might not think its funny. Its a very hit and miss show; but I digress....)

I love the quotes and references, they're like hidden secrets and I always catch more each time I read it; this is a great way to not only enhance your own work but to also promote those who've inspired you.


I love the descriptions of the characters; Capricorn seems like the kind of man everyone wants to avoid, and it looks like at first this Dustfinger (and the adorable Gwin) are going to make the perfect side kicks/exposition givers, and then he's been an evil henchman all along!? I am not a fan of Elinor, but I also feel bad for her; while she can comprehend what is happening there is little she can do to help, but she is a strong woman who at least tries.

[Prof. Sky Alton]

I agree with everyone else, I love the literary references-it's like you have an endless stream of in-jokes with the author and characters. A lot of authors who give their protagonist a love of reading either A. don't mention the specific book, B. make up books or C. stick to the classics. I like that Funke puts in all sorts of books, including ones (like The Witches) you could really see someone of Meggie's age and generation enjoying just as much as Dickens or other failsafes that authors use for their bookish characters.

I also want a horned marten.

Sorry, I'm full of cold and haven't slept in a while, deeper thoughts to come...probably. I really want that marten.

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

Speaking of the quotes at the beginnings of chapters, I squeed to see the quote from our next book (The Princess Bride) at the start of Chapter 10. I absolutely love the appropriateness of each quote, too, for the chapters they start!

And yes, I laughed at this in Chapter 12 -" These stories about the ill-made knight and people with hairy feet going on a long journey to dark places. Have you read them both?" So brilliant! The aunt, Elinor, certainly has her own unique way of looking at things.

[Prof. Kendra Givens]

I JUST finished the first chapter, so I'll have to write more later...

....that being said, I'm already hooked. The part that really resonated with me was when she wrote "some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly". I had conversation with someone earlier today about how there are some books that you reread from time to time, some you don't ever reread, and some you want to start over as soon as you finish. That is exactly why literature is so powerful, and I'm so excited to read the rest of this story!

I'm going to keep reading now...

[Prof. Kendra Givens]

Next really cool observation,

I happened to notice that the inside pages of the covers of my copy are a dark maroon, which matches up with Chapter 5 where Mo says "Every book should begin with attractive endpapers"; that the inside covers of the book are like curtains that open up the main production. Very cool subtlety that I hadn't thought to check for until now.