Quoththe RavenMiami, FL FOR REALRegistered Userregular
edited March 2011
the only thing of hers that i was less enthusiastic about was Fire and Hemlock
it was such a strange take on the Tam Lin myths and had this weird... not pedophilia exactly but just a strange sort of relationship between the main characters, and the ending was good but somehow not satisfying to me
it is still a great book but it was just not my thing, i think
I haven't actually read Howl's Moving Castle but I've read Archer's Goon and it was amazing
I also tried to read another book of hers about a girl who inexplicably becomes some kind of ghost and tries to piece her life back together but it bored me so much I couldn't even finish it; does anyone remember that one?
The Time of the Ghost. I actually really like that book, but you have to wade through a certain amount of weirdness before it starts making sense. Not for everyone, probably.
edit: actually it's not dissimilar to Fire and Hemlock in some ways, but without the bizarre central relationship which I basically agree with Quoth about.
She's a wonderful author to read aloud, by the way, as I discovered when reading her books to my kids. Not only does she read aloud beautifully, but denouments which seemed baffling read alone are obvious and elegantly set up and constructed when read aloud. "Children are much more careful readers than adults," she'd say. "You don't have to repeat everything for children. You do with adults, because they aren't paying full attention."
The first Diana Wynne Jones book I read was the Power of Three when I was 8 or so. I remember telling my parents she was my favorite author the next week, after I read Dogsbody.
She kind of still is, at least, as much as I can say I have a favorite author.
TurnpikeLad on
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Quoththe RavenMiami, FL FOR REALRegistered Userregular
edited March 2011
i reread Howl's Moving Castle and i just really love how she lets the relationship between Howl and Sophie unfold
it's like Beauty and the Beast but sort of backwards?
she's also amazing at having characters misinterpret things in a perfectly reasonable way and then find out later that they're totally wrong, especially when an adult tells them something
or they'll get something right and then all the adults insist they must be wrong
When I was young I had many of the Chrestomanci books read to me, and I learned to read very early just so I could go through books like those and The Hobbit. I'm sad to hear this, because most of my earliest memories revolve around that series.
Same here. I was read and then read every DWJ book when I was growing up. I continued to read her new and old books for nostalgia and they continue to be excellent. She will be missed by a lot of people.
My elementary school library had 3 of the Dalemark books, I think it was Spellcoats, Cart and Cwidder, and Drowned Ammett, and I read them a couple times each. Though I will admit I didn't understand everything that went on in some of them. They were kind of downers to me then though I did like them. Now I need to go and reread them and all the rest of her stuff that I haven't.
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it was such a strange take on the Tam Lin myths and had this weird... not pedophilia exactly but just a strange sort of relationship between the main characters, and the ending was good but somehow not satisfying to me
it is still a great book but it was just not my thing, i think
The Time of the Ghost. I actually really like that book, but you have to wade through a certain amount of weirdness before it starts making sense. Not for everyone, probably.
edit: actually it's not dissimilar to Fire and Hemlock in some ways, but without the bizarre central relationship which I basically agree with Quoth about.
I should revisit some of her novels.
She kind of still is, at least, as much as I can say I have a favorite author.
it's like Beauty and the Beast but sort of backwards?
she's also amazing at having characters misinterpret things in a perfectly reasonable way and then find out later that they're totally wrong, especially when an adult tells them something
or they'll get something right and then all the adults insist they must be wrong
SO GREAT
I used to read Darklord of Derkholm and Year of The Griffin roughly 3 times a year, until the year before last when I lost the books.
I had always hoped in my heart of hearts that she would return back to that little world she had crafted.
And I could never EVER find a cheap/good copy of her Guide to Fantasy Land.
Same here. I was read and then read every DWJ book when I was growing up. I continued to read her new and old books for nostalgia and they continue to be excellent. She will be missed by a lot of people.
It's a shame.