The Most Amazing Book

Well, I just finished reading this incredible book and, while I'm aware that this is starting to look like a blog about what I'm reading only, I really want to tell you all about this book. One of the good things about working in a book store is that I see all the books come in. On Thursday we got a bunch of a new book in that I hadn't ever seen or heard of. It was called The Invention Of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. I opened it up to see what it was about and found a novel as well as illustrations. It turns out it's about half writing and half pictures. It's meant for readers in the 4th-7th grade, but I have to say that I was intrigued. So, I started reading it on my lunch break (another benefit of working at a book store). Oh, and by the way, the book is over 500 pages long. I read the first 130 pages on my lunch and I was hooked right away.

I decided to borrow a copy from work and see if the whole book was as good. I had taken this weekend off and planned on not doing much of anything. I've been needing a break from work a lot in the last few weeks and so, I decided to take it this weekend. I knew that I would have no problem finishing it over the weekend. When I brought it to my manager he told me we have an advance reader's copy of it and so he gave me that one instead to keep.

So, I finished it yesterday. I think it's the first time in a long time that I've read a book in 3 days. Keep in mind that it's about half pictures, but still, I'm feeling pretty good about that. I'm not the fastest reader and so when I can read a book like this, it makes me want to read more. I'm not sure what to say about the story. I'll let the description from Scholastic (the publisher) tell you about the story.

"Orphan, Clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery."

Well, I hope this sounds as interesting to all of you as it was to me. I plan on buying a copy that we have at work on Tuesday. There are a couple reasons for this. 1) I loved the book. 2) The copies we have are signed. 3) There are several pictures missing from the middle of the ARC one and I would like have the complete book. There's nothing like not knowing the complete story. I know I didn't really miss anything in that section, but it would be nice to have the whole thing anyway.

So, yeah. Things are going great. It's been a nice relaxing weekend. It's snowed a bunch last night. I might try and get some pictures of the snow up here later today. If I don't I'm sure Jennifer will.