Rainy Day's Books, Video Games and Other Writings

I haven’t always been a reader and writer. As a child, I hated reading literature and my Mom had a hard time getting me to read books for school. I was more of a tomboy and preferred spending all of my time playing video games.

It wasn’t until middle school that my love of reading began to flourish. And it took one book to change that. This book not only brought my passion for reading to light, but also motivated me to become a writer too.

Inkheart was the book that changed everything for me. When I was in sixth grade, my English teacher mentioned Inkheart in class. At this point in the school year, we were near the end of school and summer was almost here. She mentioned this book as a viable option for summer reading for students.

As someone who wasn’t a reader, I was intrigued by her summary of Inkheart that I went to Barnes & Noble and bought a copy to read for the summer.

Inkheart is about a 12 year-old girl named Meggie. When she was three years old, her father Mo read three characters out of a book using his voice. Taking place nine years later, Meggie learns about what happened after her father gets kidnapped by the villain Capricorn, one of the characters who was read out of the book. Meggie not only discovers her father’s gift, but finds out she can do it too and must use the power of her voice to save everyone from Capricorn as he plans on bringing an evil monster from his world to life.

Inkheart changed my life in so many ways. Not only did I enjoy reading Meggie’s story but it brought to life inside of me the passion of reading and writing. It motivated me to become a more avid reader but also made me interested in wanting to write too. Inkheart was the right book for me to read to become the reader I am today. But it also brought me into wanting to become a writer too because I was able to see the power of words through the ability to read them aloud and bring characters from books to life. I saw myself in Meggie’s character and felt such a strong connection with the story that I wanted to become a writer myself.

It sparked within me an interest to write because I wanted to write characters that I could relate to. I wanted to create a story like Funke’s Inkheart that would motivate others to want to read and write.

But that’s not all Inkheart did. This story not only motivated me to write, but also opened doors for me to explore more books to read. Months after reading Inkheart, I found myself reading more fantasy books and writing my own stories.

I started to become extremely passionate about reading, and started giving books an actual chance. I found myself spending more and more time in my room with either a book in my hand or writing words on a page.

And for the first time in my life, I knew what I wanted to do. I just needed to pick up the right book to walk on the path I am on now. If I ever face a moment of doubt or am filled with fear that things won’t work out, all I have to do is read Inkheart again to be reminded of why I love reading and writing.

All it takes is one book to change your life.