Comments: 4
It's a Hardback Life 10 years ago
I too love Diana Wynne Jones! I haven't read as much of her as I would like, but I do have her Dalemark Quartet (HIGHLY recommended), Howl's Moving Castle, Castle in the Air, and the Chrestomanci series-since in the States they were released in two-in-one paperbacks, which made collecting them very easy. I envy your trip to London, though; that is the one place I want to go probably more than any other. And I also like rows of identical houses (when they're old and stately).
Of Mischief & Books 10 years ago
Ohh, it's so nice to meet a kindred spirit ! I haven't read the Dalemark Quartet yet, but I love Howl's Moving Castle and so far the two books I own from her Chrestomanci series are both favorites of mine, especially The Lives of Christopher Chant. With House Of Many Ways, and more recently Enchanted Glass, it was the only story that gave me the same feeling as Howl's Moving Castle (my very first read from her). So I'll definitely keep your opinion in mind ! Another one I recommend is Dogsbody, that one is just...something else, definitely.

I was so lucky to go on that trip, although some parts were crap and nobody else there understood my obsession with books xD I'm glad that someone somewhere gets it.

There were LOTS of identical houses. Stately, sometimes. Some were tiny brick houses washed black by time and/or pollution, with lots of chimneys that made me think of Mary Poppins (cliché much ?). It was all very different from our houses and urban landscapes here in France, I guess that's probably why I loved it so much...that, and the fact I read anglo-saxons books more often than not, and the experience is just not the same until something clicks in your mind and the imaginery setting meets reality. It's stupid, really, but before that I didn't give a second thought to the brick houses in the narratives, for example. In my mind I put them in a French setting, because that's the only one I knew.
The Farceur Trilogy 10 years ago
Thumbs up to the Neverwhere shout-out! As for DWJ, I've never read her works but have been meaning to read Howl's Moving Castle for forever now.
Of Mischief & Books 10 years ago
Camden Market is a crazy place, I expected the Neverwhere characters to show up on every turn I took, it suited them so much !

Go for it ! I may be a little biased but I 100% recommend this book, it's perfect and hysterical and it leaves a smile on your face. It even is my comfort book. I love her Howl and Sophie (if you've seen the movie, book!Sophie is especially different from movie!Sophie, much more of a handful).