Fancy Day's Reading List: Diana Wynne Jones

Books Read in 2011

109. The Spy Who Left Me, Gina Robinson
108. This Heart of Mine, Susan Elizabeth Phillips
107. Lady Be Good, Susan Elizabeth Phillips
106. Maybe This Time, Jennifer Cruisie
105. Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Laini Taylor
104. The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
103. Rumor Has It, Jill Mansell
102. Staying at Daisy's, Jill Mansell
101. A Veiled Deception, Annette Blair
100. Summer of the Dragon, Elizabeth Peters
99. Hand Wash Cold: Care Instructions for an Ordinary Life, Karen Maezen Miller
98. Ammie Come Home, Barbara Michaels
97. Please Look After Mom, Kyung-Sook Shin
96. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling
95. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling
94. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rowling
93. To Say Nothing of the Dog, Connie Willis
92. About the Authors: Writing Workshop with Our Youngest Writers, Katie Wood Ray
91. The FitzOsbornes in Exile, Michelle Cooper
90. Naked Once More, Elizabeth Peters
89. Die For Love, Elizabeth Peters
88. How's It Going? A Practical Guide to Conferring with Student Writers, Carl Anderson
87. Dirty Secret: A Daughter Comes Clean About her Mother's Compulsive Hoarding, Jessie Sholl
86. We'll Always Have Summer, Jenny Han
85. Choice Words, Peter Johnston
84. A Quick Guide to Boosting English Acquisition in Choice Time, K-2, Alison Porcelli & Cheryl Tyler
83. The Murders of Richard III, Elizabeth Peters
82. A Brief History of Montmaray, Michelle Cooper
81. I Can Write Like That! A Guide to Mentor Texts & Craft Studies for Writer's Workshop, K-6, Susan Ehmann & Kellyann Gayer
80. The Seventh Sinner, Elizabeth Peters
79. Reading with Meaning, Debbie Miller
78. Cryer's Cross, Lisa McMann
77. Dance with Me, Victoria Clayton
76. Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl
75. Chime, Franny Billingsley
74. Growing Readers: Units of Study in the Primary Classroom, Kathy Collins
73. Violet in Private, Melissa Walker
72. Violet by Design, Melissa Walker
71. Violet on the Runway, Melissa Walker
70. The Reckoning, Kelley Armstrong
69. The Summoning, Kelley Armstrong
68. Illyria, Elizabeth Hand
67. This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection, Carol Burnett
66. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, Chris Crutcher
65. The Lonely Hearts Club, Elizabeth Eulberg
64. Prom and Prejudice, Elizabeth Eulberg
63. Extraordinary, Ordinary People, Condoleezza Rice
62. The Help, Kathryn Stockett
61. Comprehension Connections: Bridges to Strategic Reading, Tanny McGregor
60. When You Dare, Lori Foster
59. Hope Was Here, Joan Bauer
58. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott
57. Born at Midnight, C. C. Hunter
56. Promises in the Dark, Stephanie Tyler
55.Lie With Me, Stephanie Tyler
54. A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter, William Deresiewicz
53. Blood of the Dragon, George R. R. Martin
52. Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen
51. Where She Went, Gayle Forman
50. Sweater Quest: My Year of Knitting Dangerously, Adrienne Martini
49. Q's Legacy, Helene Hanff
48. Children of Scarabaeus, Sara Creasy
47. Song of Scarabaeus, Sara Creasy
46. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book II: The Hidden Gallery, Maryrose Wood
45. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling, Maryrose Wood
44. The Art of Possibility, Rosamund & Benjamin Zander
43. Friday Night Bites, Chloe Neill
42. Insatiable, Meg Cabot
41. The Fluent Reader, Timothy Rasinski
40. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley
39. Secrets of a Jewish Mother, Jill Zarin
38. The Guild, Felicia Day & Jim Rugg
37. Steel, Carrie Vaughn
36. Bossypants, Tina Fey
35. Some Girls Bite, Chloe Neill
34. Clara Lee and the Apple Pie Dream, Jenny Han
33. No More "I'm Done!" Fostering Independent Writers in the Primary Grades, Jennifer Jacobson
32. A Mother's Rule of Life, Holly Pierlot
31. This Side of the Grave, Jeaniene Frost
30. Eternal Kiss of Darkness, Jeaniene Frost
29. First Drop of Crimson, Jeaniene Frost
28. This Side of the Grave, Jeaniene Frost
27. Destined for an Early Grave, Jeaniene Frost
26. At Grave's End, Jeaniene Frost
25. One Foot in the Grave, Jeaniene Frost
24. Alien Tango, Gini Koch
23. Touched by an Alien, Gini Koch
22. Halfway to the Grave, Jeaniene Frost
21. Inconceivable, Carolyn & Sean Savage
20. Acedia and Me, Kathleen Norris
19. River Marked, Patricia Briggs
18. The Catholic Home, Meredith Gould
17. Blood Feud, Alyxandra Harvey
16. Hearts at Stake, Alyxandra Harvey
15. My Soul to Save, Rachel Vincent
14. My Soul to Take, Rachel Vincent
13. The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, Ree Drummond
12. Poetic Knowledge, James Taylor
11. A Walk with Jane Austen, Lori Smith
10. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Amy Chua
9. The Haunted, Jessica Verday
8. God's Bestseller, Brian Moynahan
7. Cracked Up to Be, Courtney Summers
6. The Hollow, Jessica Verday
5. The Glamorous (Double) Life of Isabel Bookbinder, Holly MacQueen
4. Nightshade, Andrea Cremer
3. Take a Chance on Me, Jill Mansell
2. Italian for Beginners, Kristin Harmel
1. Anna and the French Kiss, Stephanie Perkins

Monday, March 8, 2010

Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones

I'm continuing to read all the books on Sarah Rees Brennan's "Best Couples in Books Ever!" post.
I love her hilarious conversation style summaries. I had some prejudices against Howl's Moving Castle based on an impression that the movie was super weird but after reading this:

Sophie and Howl, Diana Wynne Jones's Howl's Moving Castle - A vain, cowardly Welsh wizard and a grumpy, practical hat-maker enchanted to look like an eighty-year-old lady. What could be more romantic? Again, they learn about each other through interacting: Sophie's impressions of Howl start off from Step 1) Cold-blooded murderer, eats hearts, to 2) Total idiot, in love with his own hair.

and this:

SOPHIE: Hello, I am your eighty year old cleaning lady.
HOWL: I could have wished for a sexier introduction.
SOPHIE: You should quit eating hearts.
HOWL: I don't eat hearts! Think of my trim figure. Now think of it some more. Excuse me, gotta get to a mirror, contemplate my own beauty.
SOPHIE: What do you do in the bathroom for five hours a day?
HOWL: MY HAIR. It's a work of art, baby. Art can't be rushed.
SOPHIE: Gotta clean up the bathroom and sort out the hair dyes.
HOWL: MY HAIR IS PINK OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD.
SOPHIE: The kingdom is in turmoil. You should save it.
HOWL: DID YOU NOT HEAR ME? PINK. PINK! OH GOD, MY ONE TRUE LOVE.
SOPHIE: I will help save the kingdom.
HOWL: Do you want to pretend to be my mom?
SOPHIE: I could have wished for a sexier undercover role.
HOWL: We have saved the day, due to our combined magics, your kind heart and me lying to myself about my own plans. God, I'm good!
SOPHIE: Yay, I am no longer eighty years old!
HOWL: Sophie, I want to ask you a very important question.
SOPHIE: *waits*
HOWL: My hair - is it a total mess?

I knew I had to read it. And I am so very glad that I did! It is definitely a new favorite and fully deserving of 5 stars. I loved it so much that I'm at a loss for what to say about it. I definitely want to see the movie now. Even though I'm not a big fan of anime style stuff. I love Sophie & Howl so much I got all excited watching the trailer: