#DWJMARCH - Day 2 - Series Highlight: The Chronicles of Chrestomanci

**For #DWJMarch, today is about the Chrestomanci Series... This is STILL the only one I have read in the series! I must do better... Here is the review I wrote back in 2011.**

The Lives of Chrestomanci: Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones (Book 1)

Completion Date: March 28, 2011

Reason for Reading: Once Upon a Time V challenge

A bewitching comic fantasy by a master of the supernatural Cat doesn't mind living in the shadow of his sister, Gwendolen, the most promising young witch ever seen on Coven Street. But trouble starts brewing the moment the two orphans are summoned to live in Chrestomanci Castle. Frustrated that the witches of the castle refuse to acknowledge her talents, Gwendolen conjures up a scheme that could throw whole worlds out of whack.

On Saturday, March 26, 2011, the fantasy and young adult world lost a fantastic writer. Diana Wynne Jones had been battling lung cancer for a while now and the cancer finally won. I always knew of Diana Wynne Jones, but it wasn't until a Fantasy/Science-fiction course that I took in university that I actually read her. One of our assigned books was Fire & Hemlock and I loved it! It remains to this day one of my favourite books of all time. I always intended to read more from her, but I was not a big young adult reader at that time. It was actually when I read the Gemma Doyle series by Libba Bray that I slowly started to accept that there was maybe a reason I should start. In 2009, I returned to Diana Wynne Jones by finally reading Howl's Moving Castle and then one of the sequels, House of Many Ways. I loved both of them and fully intended to get back around to reading more from her. Since then I have had books aplenty to read, but have only actually managed to read Black Maria.

For the Once Upon a Time Challenge this year, I wanted to make sure to read at least one book by Diana Wynne Jones. Then, she passed away and it become more of a tribute to her that I was finally going to accomplish reading a bunch of her back list and posting about them. On the one hand, I am sad it takes me so long to read books by her, but on the other hand I am glad I still have so many books by her to look forward to in the future. Charmed Life is my first foray back into her magical worlds.

Now, after that rather long intro, I should maybe talk about the book itself. It is the first book in a longer series, so that means that I have of course started another series. The main character is a little boy called Cat. His real name is Eric, but his origins for his nickname are explained later in the book. The book centers around him and by association, his sister Gwendolen. I just noticed that on the back of the book they spell her name 'Gwendolyn', but throughout they spell it 'Gwendolen'. Anyway, Cat and Gwendolen survive a terrible boat crash, but their parents are not so lucky. After living with a woman named Mrs. Sharp for a time, they are adopted the Chrestomanci and taken to be raised with his family. They are an entertaining assortment, which you will learn if you read the book.

Gwendolen is the one that puts things in motion to move, but Cat is hesitant to leave the place that he knows. He always goes along with his sister, though, and so finds himself transported to a very different world than the one that he knows. Sometimes young narrators bother me and take away from my interest in the book, but even though Cat has his moments, he didn't really bother me that much. I think Gwendolen was the more annoying character, but I also thought it would be interesting to hear her side of things. This book was basically a lot of fun. The antics that Gwendolen gets up to are entertaining. And, the progression of the story works rather well. I find I do not really want to say much more because I do not want to destroy the magic of the story for anyone else.

So, I will just say that I enjoyed this book, look forward to reading the next book in the series, and recommend that you give it a read if you have not had the chance.

This counts for the Once Upon a Time Challenge V.

Series:

I have no idea. This is the first published book, but there is talk that you should read others first...

Feel free to chime in with a reading order in the comments! I think I actually meant to read this book second, but forgot when I requested something by her from the library...

#DWJMarch - Day 1 - Show Us Your Collection

Kristen at We Be Reading is hosting #DWJMarch. I am not sure entirely how much I will get to for the month, but I did take a picture of my stash! I have e-books as well, but can't easily take pictures of those!

Tuning in on Thursday, The 11 Questions Meme, Around the Blogosphere, and The Science-Fiction Experience

Tuning in on Thursday

My movie watching has been rather quiet lately. It is not that we don't have a lot to watch, but the guy tends to turn the TV on and watch random things on there. I am a bit picky. I hate watching shows/movies that have all ready started. I prefer not watching shows that are in like season 5 when I haven't seen anything before. He just watches whatever. We might as well have only 2 channels because we both only really watch The History Channel and The Space Channel. For me this means watching American Pickers, Pawn Stars, Canadian Pickers, and Star Trek. For him it means half the time he has no idea what he is even watching. So, the point is it was another quiet movie watching period.

Contagion: I wanted to see this in theatres, but it never happened. We finally watched it last week and it was good. It had a huge cast of famous people. Movies like this are always a bit unnerving, but that seems to be what is popular. I am glad we watched it. Good, but no need to keep.

Midnight in Paris: This movie has been making the blogging rounds, so when Suey and I were trying to decide on our next viewing experience I suggested this one. We even managed to be on Twitter to discuss it as we watched it. I think we are going to talk about it in a bit more depth, but I enjoyed it. The guy came home after it had been on for a bit and even he ended up watching it. I was very surprised! A keeper.

Any suggestions on what we should watch next?

The 11 Questions Meme

Kat @ No Page Left Behind tagged me. Her questions:

1. Do you have other hobbies besides reading? If so, what are they?
I used to think yes, but lately I am not so sure. I was trying to branch out this year and even all those goals are reading related. I think if we move some of my old hobbies would come back. I would love to have a garden, for example. I have all these cook books that I would love to try, but my kitchen is so small it sort of zaps my creativity. And, really, there are days where I don't get a chance to read at all, so when I have a chance to do something fun picking up a book is my go-to choice.

2. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner?
Dinner.

3. What is a trip that you are dying to go on?
Well, I would like to go to New York, New Orleans, North Carolina, Texas, Australia, Portugal, and a few other places.

4. What book do you want EVERYONE to read?
um, I think more people should read Robin Hobb's books.

5. What is (or what would be) your favorite karaoke song?
Well, considering I go to karaoke all the time, this should be an easy question. I don't actually sing, though. The guy does. I actually took videos the other night with my new phone and they turned out REALLY good! I am not so sure how posting them on here would go over, but there is one on my Facebook should you follow me there. If I actually sang I always say it would be 'You're So Vain' by Carly Simon. I have no idea why.

6. Have you ever had any nicknames? If so, what are/were they?
My grandfather was huge into nicknames. He had one for everyone. As I have two siblings he typically came up with famous groups of three. My father and his two siblings all have nicknames, though. Other than my grandfather I was never really all that big into nicknames.

7. What's your most favorite epigraph?
I have no idea.

8. What is your biggest pet peeve?
Inconsiderate people.

9. What is your favorite game (board games, cards, etc.)?
Monopoly or Clue.

10. Christmas or Halloween?
hm. I was never big on Halloween because I don't really eat candy. I like the whole dressing up thing, but I have yet to live anywhere that actually gets all that many trick-or-treaters. So, probably Christmas.

11. What does your dream home library look like?

Geeky Daddy also tagged me. His questions:

1.What is your dream vacation?
See above.

2. Are you spontaneous or do you like to plan ahead?
It really depends. We do spontaneous things all the time, but then there are also times where I like to have a plan. It very rarely happens, though.

3. Tell us one thing you want to do but don't dare do it.
Sky-dive.

4. What's your biggest phobia?
I don't like bees. I found a nest in the basement two summers ago and it was bad. There were dead bees all over the floor. Even though it was not a success for them, they tried again last year. If the guy doesn't do something to prevent it this year he is going to walk around in dirty clothes.

5. If you were stranded on a desert island-what three things would you want with you? (Not including your laptop or family)
Well, if this was things other than necessities like food, shelter, etc. I would say books, electricity, and running water.

6. Name three blessings in your life.
Family/friends, health, having the fluff ball around to keep things entertaining.

7. What was your nickname in High School?.
Didn't have one.

8. If you could meet the President of the United States, what would you say to him?
Canada has its own problems...

9. If you could be any literary character, who would you be?
Man, I don't know. I really like Mercy from Briggs' series. Let's go with that.

10. What is your favo(u)rite quote?
Not sure.

Around the Blogosphere

We Be Reading is hosting a Diana Wynne Jones Reading Month. 

If I were to join in I have the following books by Jones:

Deep Secret

Howl's Moving Castle (would be a reread)

Witch Week

Mixed Magics

The Magicians of Caprona

Castle in the Air

Charmed Life (would be a reread)

House of Many Ways (would be a reread)

The Merlin Conspiracy

Reviews: Howl's Moving Castle. House of Many Ways.

Charmed Life. Enchanted Glass.

Science-Fiction Experience

My List:

1. Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold (Completed January 6, 2012) (review)

2. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells (Completed January 8, 2012)
3. Foundation by Isaac Asimov (Foundation Series, Book 1) (Completed January 12, 2012) (review - Part 1) (review - Part 2)
4. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Completed January 21, 2012) (review)
5. Cinder (Lunar Chronicles, Book 1) by Marissa Mayer (Completed February 9, 2012)
6. Star Trek: The Next Generation - A Time to Be Born (A Time to Series, Book 1) by John Vornholt (Completed February 19, 2012)
7. Star Trek: The Next Generation - A Time to Die (A Time to... Series, Book 2) by John Vornholt (Completed February 20, 2012)
8. Star Trek: The Next Generation - A Time to Sow (A Time to... Series, Book 3) by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore (Completed February 22, 2012)

Thoughts: As usual I did rather bad in the reviewing department. I am hoping to read more in the Star Trek series, so I will probably just review them all together later into the year. I forgot I hadn't reviewed Cinder. I will have to do that and think of something to say about The Time Machine, too. I actually read a decent amount of books this year. Some years I am lucky to read one!

Last night I rearranged my bookshelves to have all my fantasy in one spot in preparation for the Once Upon a Time Challenge. I always look forward to it because fantasy is my favourite.

Six Sentence Saturday - August 6, 2011

Welcome to Six Sentence Saturday.

Where I try to express my thoughts on recent reads using only 6 sentences!!!!.

At the end of each review I will post a

rating scale of 1-5 using the cute and original (lol) Playing Cards.

Rating scale will be as follows:

5 of Hearts- You must read this book NOW!!

4 of Hearts- A great read, put it on your TBR list.

3 of Hearts- Glad I read but no big deal

2 of Hearts- Why did I finish this?

Joker Card - Don't bother (why did I?)

Six Sentence Saturday is an idea that I occasionally borrow from Staci at Life in the Thumb.

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Completion Date: March 14, 2011

Reason for Reading: Fun!

“I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the New York Times bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.

I had seen a lot of good reviews of this book, so I knew I was going to have to read it and eventually the library bought a copy. There were lots of things I liked about this book: The characters connection to bookstores, the idea of a notebook being the only communication with a person until you finally meet, and the characters themselves had great personalities. I didn't love the book as much as other people, though, but I think it was more me than the book. The first half was really good, but then when the characters actually met each other I felt like the quality decreased. I think that is mainly because there was a lot of drama in the second half of the book that was missing from the first because they hadn't actually met yet. It was still a very fun book with a creative idea behind it and I am glad that I read it.

Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne Jones

Completion Date: April 25, 2011

Reason for Reading: Read more from this author.

When the magician Jocelyn Brandon Hope died he bequeathed Melstone House to his grandson Andrew. He also left his ‘field of care’: an area of strangeness surrounding the land around the house, whose boundary Andrew must walk in order to preserve its power.

Andrew had always loved the house, but he finds owning it a lot more complicated, aside from all the magic. There is Mrs Stock, the tyrannical housekeeper who won’t let him move the furniture and punishes him with her terrible cooking. Just as bad is the obsessive gardener who will only grow giant inedible vegetables. To add to his troubles, twelve year old orphan Aidan Cain suddenly arrives on the doorstep begging protection from magical stalkers, and Andrew’s sinister rich neighbour, Mr Brown, begins to encroach on the ‘field of care’. The one compensation is the gardener’s beautiful niece, Stashe. Things become stranger and stranger until all is made clear with the help of the enchanted glass itself.

When the announcement was made that Diana Wynne Jones had passed away, I made it my mission to read even more of the books by her that I had missed out on. Enchanted Glass is my favourite of the lot I have read more recently, but probably not my favourite book by her overall. It contains a wonderful cast of characters and a lot of creative ideas that will hook you from the very first page. I also enjoyed the creative way that she worked the coloured glass on a door into the story and made it seem so believable. This was a wonderful book by a beloved author and by rights deserved a longer review, but it has been so long since I have read it I am not sure if I could really do it justice.

This book counted for the Once Upon a Time Challenge.

Nightschool: The Weirn Books Volume 2 by Svetlana Chmakova

Completion Date: May 2, 2011

Reason for Reading: Carry on with Series.

When Alex's sister, Sarah, vanishes and all memory and evidence of her existence is erased, Alex is determined to get to the bottom of her sister's disappearance. What better place to start her investigations than the Nightschool itself? But when she discovers that sneaking into the Nightschool isn't as simple as it might seem, Alex enrolls as a student. But is she prepared for what she might find?

I loved Chmakova's series Dramacon, but this series isn't getting me nearly as excited. I think it is probably because she is joining in on the paranormal craze and I am getting a bit tired of this craze, so the idea isn't working for me as well as I had hoped. The artwork is still fantastic and the idea is still very creative, but I am not getting caught up in the story and rushing out to get each volume after finishing the previous ones. I loved Dramacon so much that when the library didn't have the third volume, I went out and bought the series. I think this is a series that I will appreciate all the more when I look back on it overall, but if you want to give Chmakova a try I strongly recommend her other series. Still, I look forward to reading the last two volumes in this series.

This book counted for the Once Upon a Time Challenge and the Manga Challenge.

**Note: I had a really hard time getting pictures to load for this post, so I will have to add book covers later. Hopefully Monday when I have my new computer. Yay!

Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones

The Lives of Chrestomanci: Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones (Book 1)

Completion Date: March 28, 2011

Reason for Reading: Once Upon a Time V challenge

A bewitching comic fantasy by a master of the supernatural Cat doesn't mind living in the shadow of his sister, Gwendolen, the most promising young witch ever seen on Coven Street. But trouble starts brewing the moment the two orphans are summoned to live in Chrestomanci Castle. Frustrated that the witches of the castle refuse to acknowledge her talents, Gwendolen conjures up a scheme that could throw whole worlds out of whack.

On Saturday, March 26, 2011, the fantasy and young adult world lost a fantastic writer. Diana Wynne Jones had been battling lung cancer for a while now and the cancer finally won. I always knew of Diana Wynne Jones, but it wasn't until a Fantasy/Science-fiction course that I took in university that I actually read her. One of our assigned books was Fire & Hemlock and I loved it! It remains to this day one of my favourite books of all time. I always intended to read more from her, but I was not a big young adult reader at that time. It was actually when I read the Gemma Doyle series by Libba Bray that I slowly started to accept that there was maybe a reason I should start. In 2009, I returned to Diana Wynne Jones by finally reading Howl's Moving Castle and then one of the sequels, House of Many Ways. I loved both of them and fully intended to get back around to reading more from her. Since then I have had books aplenty to read, but have only actually managed to read Black Maria.

For the Once Upon a Time Challenge this year, I wanted to make sure to read at least one book by Diana Wynne Jones. Then, she passed away and it become more of a tribute to her that I was finally going to accomplish reading a bunch of her back list and posting about them. On the one hand, I am sad it takes me so long to read books by her, but on the other hand I am glad I still have so many books by her to look forward to in the future. Charmed Life is my first foray back into her magical worlds.

Now, after that rather long intro, I should maybe talk about the book itself. It is the first book in a longer series, so that means that I have of course started another series. The main character is a little boy called Cat. His real name is Eric, but his origins for his nickname are explained later in the book. The book centers around him and by association, his sister Gwendolen. I just noticed that on the back of the book they spell her name 'Gwendolyn', but throughout they spell it 'Gwendolen'. Anyway, Cat and Gwendolen survive a terrible boat crash, but their parents are not so lucky. After living with a woman named Mrs. Sharp for a time, they are adopted the Chrestomanci and taken to be raised with his family. They are an entertaining assortment, which you will learn if you read the book.

Gwendolen is the one that puts things in motion to move, but Cat is hesitant to leave the place that he knows. He always goes along with his sister, though, and so finds himself transported to a very different world than the one that he knows. Sometimes young narrators bother me and take away from my interest in the book, but even though Cat has his moments, he didn't really bother me that much. I think Gwendolen was the more annoying character, but I also thought it would be interesting to hear her side of things. This book was basically a lot of fun. The antics that Gwendolen gets up to are entertaining. And, the progression of the story works rather well. I find I do not really want to say much more because I do not want to destroy the magic of the story for anyone else.

So, I will just say that I enjoyed this book, look forward to reading the next book in the series, and recommend that you give it a read if you have not had the chance.

This counts for the Once Upon a Time Challenge V.

Series:

I have no idea. This is the first published book, but there is talk that you should read others first...

Feel free to chime in with a reading order in the comments! I think I actually meant to read this book second, but forgot when I requested something by her from the library...

R.I.P Diana Wynne Jones...

I am only now circulating around the blogosphere and I just discovered that Diana Wynne Jones has passed away this weekend. I have loved her for years, having read Fire & Hemlock back in my university days, and loving it to the point where it remains one of my favourite books of all time. Then, in 2009 I decided that I really needed to dedicate some time to her books and read Howl's Moving Castle, Castle in the Air, and House of Many Ways.

I have also read Black Maria, but then I didn't really read her for a while. Currently, I have Charmed Life out from the library, so I will definitely be reading some Diana Wynne Jones in the next little while in memory of her. It's very sad because I have loved everything I have ever read by her and imagine I will continue to with more reading. The Once Upon a Time challenge is the perfect time to discover her for the first time, read a book by her that you loved, or read something by her you have always been meaning to read.

She will be missed!

Howl's Moving Castle and House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne-Jones

In the land of Ingary, such things as spells, invisible cloaks, and seven-league boots were everyday things. The Witch of the Waste was another matter.

After fifty years of quiet, it was rumored that the Witch was about to terrorize the country again. So when a moving black castle, blowing dark smoke from its four thin turrets, appeared on the horizon, everyone thought it was the Witch. The castle, however, belonged to Wizard Howl, who, it was said, liked to suck the souls of young girls.

The Hatter sisters—Sophie, Lettie, and Martha—and all the other girls were warned not to venture into the streets alone. But that was only the beginning.

In this giant jigsaw puzzle of a fantasy, people and things are never quite what they seem. Destinies are intertwined, identities exchanged, lovers confused. The Witch has placed a spell on Howl. Does the clue to breaking it lie in a famous poem? And what will happen to Sophie Hatter when she enters Howl's castle?

Diana Wynne Jones's entrancing fantasy is filled with surprises at every turn, but when the final stormy duel between the Witch and the Wizard is finished, all the pieces fall magically into place.

Title and author of book: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne-Jones

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre? Young Adult Fiction. Fantasy.

What led you to pick up this book? I really need to read more from Wynne-Jones, so this seemed to be the time to do so!

Summarize the plot, but don’t give away the ending! See above...

What did you like most about the book? The world. Diana Wynne-Jones is a fantastic world-builder. She doesn't write anything that you cannot easily picture. When she tries to be a bit unusual, she can very successful explain how things are accomplished, so then it just makes sense. I love the characters. They all interact together in humourous and entertaining ways. The good and the bad, they all worked together to make a very readable story. There wasn't a character in the book that I didn't think was written really well. There is a lot of good things about this book.

What did you like least? There is nothing that jumps right out at me. I really enjoy Wynne-Jones and her writing. She can really do no wrong in my book.

Have you read any other books by this author? What did you think of those books? Yes. I read Fire & Hemlock. I consider it one of my favourite young adult novels of all time, and yet, it took me a few years to read anything else by her! That makes no sense, right?

What did you think of the main character? I really liked Sophie. She was a bit annoying in the beginning, but as she progressed as a character and developed more into who she was supposed to be she became a character that I will remember for a while to come. The oldest of three sisters, she had resigned herself to a rather dull life. Events conspire to end her up in The Moving Castle, though, and then she really starts to shine. You quickly learn that not everything in this book is how it seems and Sophie might just have some surprises of her own in store for you.

What about the ending? I liked the ending. Obviously there are sequels now, but there don't have to be. The ending ties things up nicely.

The sequel to Howl's Moving Castle

When Charmain Baker agreed to look after her great-uncle's house, she thought she was getting blissful, parent-free time to read. She didn't realize that the house bent space and time, and she did not expect to become responsible for an extremely magical stray dog and a muddled young apprentice wizard. Now, somehow, she's been targeted by a terrifying creature called a lubbock, too, and become central to the king's urgent search for the fabled Elfgift that will save the country. The king is so desperate to find the Elfgift, he's called in an intimidating sorceress named Sophie to help. And where Sophie is, the great Wizard Howl and fire demon Calcifer won't be far behind. How did respectable Charmain end up in such a mess, and how will she get herself out of it?

Title and author of book: House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne-Jones

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre? Young Adult Fiction. Fantasy.

What led you to pick up this book? Sequel to Howl's Moving Castle.

Summarize the plot, but don’t give away the ending! See above...

What did you like most about the book? Twinkle. I'm sorry, but I thought the scenes with him in it were laugh out loud funny. He is just a great secondary character. The interaction between him and the main character and him and Sophie were immensely enjoyable! This book takes place in the same world as the previous book, so I enjoyed more world building. I also love the humour. The fact that the author can make you laugh really adds to the book.

What did you like least? While I didn't enjoy this book as much as Howl's Moving Castle, it was still a really good book. I can't find any major flaws with it to mention.

Have you read any other books by this author? What did you think of those books? Fire & Hemlock and Howl's Moving Castle. I enjoyed both of them.

What did you think of the main character? The first moment that we meet Charmain she is reading. Apparently, she always has her nose in a book. When I heard that, I thought I was going to love her! Sadly, she is not exactly what you expect in the beginning, but she will grow on you. She has lived a 'respectable' life, by her parents standards, and now has to figure out how to do many things on her own. It adds to her character in many ways which will leave readers a fan of her.

What about the ending? I enjoyed the ending. It was one of the more humourous scenes in the book!

Cross-posted at Twisted Kingdom.