Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Sometimes doing a little research can help

Howl's Moving Castle Picture Book (Howl's Moving Castle Film Comics, #1) by Diana Wynne Jones

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I have not read the novel this movie is based on, Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, nor seen the movie. Which might have helped with the reading of the picture book, Howl’s Moving Castle Picture Book (Howl’s Moving Castle Film Comics, #1), as there were “holes” in the flow of things that look like plot pieces are missing. But then again it is more of a screenplay (by by Hayao Miyazaki) and that might have something to do with the “holes” in my […]

Cozy Fantasy(?) Reviews

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

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In The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, Mika Moon is a 31-year-old witch who, like other witches around the world, hides who she is. Every 3 months she meets up with other witches in Great Britain for a few hours, but aside from that, they have little to no contact with each other. But Mika loves magic so much and wants to share it with a community so badly that she creates videos in which she performs magic. She doesn’t expect any viewers to […]

The Castle in the Air

The Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones

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The magic of Howl’s Moving Castle continues in full resplendence with Castle in the Air. The magic in question being Diana Wynne Jones’ voice, which straddles a wonderful line between eldest sibling, beleaguered mother, and matter of fact Brit, all wound through the whole way with dry, sardonic humor. If you loved Howl, you will love this, full stop. The story hasn’t aged well in one small degree: the portrayal of the country of Zanzib, which has all the feeling of a depiction of the […]

Magical Reads That I Come Back To Again and Again

The Magicians of Caprona by Diana Wynne Jones

Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones

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I think I’ve already extolled the virtues of this series at length here before, so I’ll just say that this is one of my favorites of all time and I am completely biased in favor of these books. I am a lifelong Chrestomanci fan and re-read a couple of these about once a year. This year I took on The Magicians of Caprona and Witch Week, which I was less obsessed with as a kid so I don’t remember the plots quite as well, which […]

An Old Favorite

Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones

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  I don’t know how many times I’ve read Howl’s Moving Castle. At least three, but probably more. If books were comfort food, this one would be creamy mac-n-cheese in a ceramic bowl on a cold winter’s day. It never gets old, it never gets dated. It is always exactly what it needs to be; which is a romping good time. For those who’ve not yet indulged in this delight, Howl’s Moving Castle follows Sophie, a young woman who inadvertently angers Ingary’s resident bad-witch and gets herself […]

“It was odd. As a girl, Sophie would have shriveled with embarrassment at the way she was behaving. As an old woman, she did not mind what she did or said. She found that a great relief.”

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

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Years and years ago, I watched the Studio Ghibli production of Howl’s Moving Castle, and enjoyed it, as I enjoy most of their films. But I never read the book, and it wasn’t really on my radar, until I was scrolling endlessly through Libby looking for a new audio book. As luck would have it, I was in the mood for something light, and Howl’s Moving Castle definitely fit that bill. Though the book is named for the enigmatic Wizard Howl and his castle that […]



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