Hooray for Gen!
After reading the various fight predictions, I've become immensely intrigued by Howl. I've never read a single Diana Wynne Jones novel but feel like I'm missing out on something HUGE since he obviously is beloved by so many. So here's my question: What Diana Wynne Jones book should I start with? Howl? Or something else? Let me know in the comments which you'd recommend and I'll see about tracking her books down. Cause if he's right up there with Gen, then this is a character I really want to meet.
12 comments:
Yay Gen! I've read the first 2 books and still need to get to the second 2. I am savoring them!
I was so stoked that Gen won! Harooyah!! (as my boy would say)
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend Howl or any other DWJ to you. But plenty of others can and will. :)
Well, you can read everything Diana Wynne Jones. She hasn't really had a misstep.
My favorites:
Howl's Moving Castle
Charmed Life and the rest of the Chrestomanci books (six in total)
Dark Lord of Derkholm and Year of the Griffin
And the Dalemark quartet books
Oh- and Power of Three! Those are my absolute favorites.
Yay for Gen! So happy for him. Michelle, I'd love to know what you think about DWJ's books! You do know that she was the one who recommended MWT to Greenwillow? :) I haven't read all of her books but I recommend that you start with Howl's Moving Castle since it's one of my favorites.
Oh, you MUST read Howl's Moving Castle! He is most delicious of characters - and you'll love it if you like all things fairy tales!
I also am a big fan of Charmed Life, Castle In The Air (sequel to Howl's), Dark Lord of Derkholm & Year Of The Griffin (series), and Fire and Hemlock...
The Dalemark series took me a while to get into.
I wasn't much of a fan of House Of Many Doors (book 3 of Howl's), but that's me.
Lenore - I hear you on wanting to savor them. The stories are just amazing.
Angie - I know, I was so stoked.
beth-shulman - Good to know and thanks for the list. I'm finding how that DWJ has *many* books I need to read.
Chachic - I didn't know that about DWJ and MWT! How neat and fitting they their characters ended up in the final round together.
Epic Rat - I think it's decided that I will try HOWL first. It seems to be everyone's universal favorite!
Woohoo for Gen! He's just plain awesome all around and a kick-butt fighter. He earned it.
I haven't read any DWJ either. I've always wanted to see the anime film based on Howl's Moving Castle though. Maybe I'll give the book a try someday, too. I'd love to hear what you think if you get around to reading it ever.
Read Howl's. It's about a girl who starts talking to her hats, inadvertently giving them special powers and her life suddenly takes a huge turn. How can you not love a mad hatter? One of my favorite books. Skip the movie, though. It went all amine and crazy.
Oh yes, if you look at the A Conspiracy of Kings, MWT dedicated it to DWJ. :) And the line "What a lie that was!" is a big deal because it appears in Howl's Moving Castle and MWT quoted the line in her book.
I also recommend Howl's Moving Castle as a good place to start. If you want to learn more about her books, Jenny's Book just had a whole week of Diana Wynne Jones, and lots of folks contributed reviews. Here's the link to the first of two roundups: http://jennysbooks.wordpress.com/2010/08/04/rounding-up-links-part-1/
I'm stoked Gen won, too... and, like you, am made curious about Howl. I did read a DWJ book earlier this year -- Enchanted Glass -- and loved it. But I do need to read more.
Holly - It just made me so happy to see that he had won!
Kristin - your description has sold me. Seriously! A female mad-hatter? I love it!
Chachic - I *do* remember that dedication now! How neat. And which book is that quote from? The Thief?
Charlotte - Okay, I was trying to remember who had a DWJ week going recently, so thank you for the reminder! I'll have to go check out all those posts.
Melissa- I loved the showdown for introducing many of us to new characters! So fun.
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