03 April, 2011

The Night Bookmobile

Title:The Night Bookmobile
Author: Audrey Niffenegger
Genre: Graphic Fiction
Audience: Adult
Format: Book - Library

Synopsis: On a walk after an argument with her boyfriend late one night, Alexandra comes across the bookmobile. Inside is every book she has ever read - a total history of her reading. Through out the years, she finds the bookmobile, but never when she is looking for it. It does however, influence her whole life and she finds she becomes more isolated and alone with only her books for company. What she would really love is to work for the bookmobile, but how can she make her dream come true?

What I thought: I ordered this through the library after I read a review of it by Shelia over at Book Journey. I'm not a great fan of graphic novels, but had been looking for one to fit into my TwentyEleven Challenge, …With a Twist. (read a sub-genre you don't read a lot of.) category. As it is, I'm not sure it's long enough to count.
I quite enjoyed the book. I must admit that like Sheila, I wondered what my own bookmobile would look like and imagine I could spend several happy hours there exploring and revisiting my reading history. But the book has a deeper message. The ending jolted me.  Like Alexandra, I can become absorbed completely by a book to the exclusion of all else in my life. I can see how you could become so obsessed with reading, the rest of the world wouldn't matter. As Sheila said in her review

 As much as we as book lovers enjoy dropping ourselves into a great read, it is also important to do life….. be with people, be active, and live…. not only through books … but also through life itself. We need to make our own stories. (Sheila - Book Journey)
Recommended for: those who are looking for a quick, easy introduction to graphic novels and like something that makes them question their own habits.

100+ Challenge, A-Z Challenge, TwentyEleven Challenge,