So I decided to get on the Inkheart / Inkspell / Inkdeath bandwagon. The first book of the series entitled 'Inkheart' was written by Cornelia Funke as 'Tintenherz' in her native German. Wikipedia has this to say about it - "The book is about a 12 year old girl name Meggie Folchart whose life changes dramatically when she realizes that her father, a bookbinder named Mortimer (Mo), has an unusual ability: when he reads aloud, he can bring characters from books into the real world. Meggie and Mo's adventure takes them throughout Europe, particularly Italy, and brings them into contact with many unusual characters."
What I found out just yesterday was that the book has been translated into English by Anthea Bell. If that name does not ring a bell - think Asterix. Anthea Bell is best known for translating the iconic albums from French into English along with co-translator Derek Hockridge.
Cornelia Funke has stated on her website that the book is targeted at ages 9 - 12. That is so within my age group!!!!
I ordered a copy of 'Inkheart' from Amazon. Rather than buy the book new, I managed to get the hardcover version used from Amazon Marketplace for less than 50% compared to new. The book was being sold by CalgaryGoodwill, so I'm glad that I'm also helping a good cause.
I thought that I'd read the book prior to watching the film (By the same name) which was released earlier this year starring Canada's very own Brendan Fraser.
Our father was a bookbinder too!! There were two methods that he used in the book binding process. In one method he used a hacksaw to cut holes in the booklets that were to be bound and in the other method, used for binding loose sheets of paper, he used a long sharp pointed an instrument called a bodkin - which later came in very hand to break the ice - literally - because we didn't use ice trays then. We used a steel vessel to form a solid block of ice (incase you're wondering).
ReplyDeleteOh. So true. I remember having to stay up late into the night collating and numbering. I also learned how to bind books from Dad and then charged the guys at school 20 times what dad used to charge his customers......
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