Books that Matter: Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Books that Matter

The first of my “Books that Matter” series of essays.

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones remains one of my favorite books, close to ten years after I first read it.

The main characters, from Sophie to Howl to Calcifer to Michael feel like people I know. I care about them, I laugh at their comments, and delight in their flaws. They grow and progress as characters over the course of the book and do so organically. Their actions make sense, and above all, are believable.

Secondly, Ms Wynne Jones’s writing style. The pacing is good, and the book is genuinely funny. Like classic Disney movies and Pixar films, the book operates on two levels–the “ooh, this is fun! I like this!” level I first enjoyed as a young teen–and a different, can’t-quite-put-my-finger-on-it level I appreciate now that I’m older. I’m close to Sophie’s age (I think I’m actually a little older than she is), but I can relate to her.

The humor. The characters. As a writer, I hope to infuse my own work with a clearly humorous note, and have characters that shine, and are memorable. Her humor is traceable back to the characters, capitalizing on their flaws and little tics, such as when the terribly vain Howl fills the castle with green slime because his hair has turned ever-so-slightly ginger. While not a realistic situation, I’m sure that many of us have known a vain person in our lives or wanted to cover stuff in slime when having a bad day.

Ms Wynne Jones, you were a fantastic writer. I had always dreamed of meeting you, of telling you how much your books mattered to me when I was younger, and how much I still enjoy them today. When I have children of my own, I will be certain to share my love of your books with them. Rest in peace.

Books that Matter

Books that Matter

An idea came to me the other day I thought about the “15 Books that Changed My Life” meme I filled out a couple of years ago, listing books that had piqued my interest and had shaped who I was as a reader and a writer.

As I dried my hair, I realized that this list had changed in the year-and-a-half since I wrote it, and that the list of books was never really stuck on 15. Also, I couldn’t describe what, exactly, made this book so important to me.

Hence this new feature. I’m not sure how frequently I’ll be updating it (I’d love to write it weekly and have it appear on Saturdays).

Sunshine and Happiness

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

A snippet of a conversation between Holmes and I:

Me (holding a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo): “I can’t wait to finish my paper so I can move on to sunshine and happiness!”

Holmes:…

Me: “Sunshine and happiness there being epic, depressing French novels.”

Whenever I finish reading one of Victor Hugo’s books, I feel a big gaping hole in my chest. Since I don’t think my school’s library has anything more of his, I’ve moved onto Dumas. I have yet to start, but I am so looking forward to reading The Count of Monte Cristo.  And get through reading it without slipping up and saying “Monte Crisco.”

Bibliophiles Anonymous

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

Hello, my name is Beth and I am a bibliophile.

I have been a bibliophile for most of my life, from the days when my parents would stack cardboard books by my crib, from the days where I memorized Madeliene and convinced my father I could read (little did he realize that I held the book upside down), to the days when I read my first real chapter book, Ann Rinaldi’s A Break With Charity, when I was 8.

My room is filled with books. Stacks of them. Old books, new books, books that have been thumbed through a thousand times and books that I have yet to read. Not to mention all of the books I have floating about in my head, waiting to be written.

My recent book loves are varied. Histories of spy organizations, children’s books of the Dahl variety and epic French literature (I finished Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame and will be reading Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo soon). My time to enjoy these works is slim. But still I read.

Books…oh how to praise them without resorting to the usual cliches? They are entertaining and enlightening. We can travel to new worlds and learn about ourselves through characters in books.

But, why do I love books so? Why do I love reading? Writing?

Honestly, I don’t know. My mom bribed me when I was little so I wouldn’t watch TV. $1 a week bonus to allowence if I watched less than 2  hours of TV. It worked pretty well–I didn’t watch any TV show until Lost premiered in 2004 (and I’ve been a pretty loyal fan; am finally watching season 6). But I digress.

My love of books began long before those days and has continued even after I belatedly discovered the awesome stories that can air on TV (24, Lost, The Prisoner) and how great movies are. If anything, I’ve become more of a bibliophile, being drawn to new authors, and to more classic works. If it hadn’t been for The Prisoner, I doubt I would have read Kafka’s The Trial or anything by John Le Carre (I love research. Have I said that before? I LOVE RESEARCH).

Books, unlike television, aren’t dependent on a schedule or pricey cable package. I can always go to the library and get something new to read.

Thesis Update: Nearing the End!

Thesis Updates

It’s all coming together! My supervisor gave me the deadline of “as soon as possible” (meaning Tuesday at the absolute absolute latest) to pass in my draft of the paper.
So that’s good news for me. I’m spending this weekend typing away, finishing and finessing the document. There’s a continual theme of “I have too many ideas for a 40 page paper and presentation, I might as well write a book” running through our discussions. So who knows. Maybe a book will come from all of this.
It’s appropriate that I’m spending what would have been Patrick McGoohan’s birthday writing a paper about his show…I may have to watch “Many Happy Returns” this evening, if I need a break.

Though sometimes I feel like this is a Village of its own, an inescapable place where the end is always *just* in sight.

Though, unlike Number Six, this Village is one that I will be leaving. April 28th…