Comments on things mean a lot: Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones

Jenny Girl: I'm glad to have brought DWJ to yo...

2010-08-08T22:28:07.221+01:00

Jenny Girl: I'm glad to have brought DWJ to your attention! She's absolutely wonderful.

Jen: Yes, the cover is lovely! And you have to read her sometime :P

I've never heard of this author before but I&#...

2010-08-05T06:38:13.493+01:00

I've never heard of this author before but I'm in love with this cover!

Sorry to say that I never heard of this book or au...

2010-08-04T20:27:40.395+01:00

Sorry to say that I never heard of this book or author! And from your review I am apparently missing out. Thanks Nymeth! Adding this to the tbr.

Jenny: lol! It really is. Not that she doesn't...

2010-08-04T19:27:26.226+01:00

Jenny: lol! It really is. Not that she doesn't write some great plots like you said, but that's never been what hooks me.

She: Yes you do. ASAP :P

Melody: Howl's the film is lovely, and so is Howl's the book :)

Chris: Please get over that silly block right now kthxbai :P Seriously Chris, you'll LOVE her.

Clare: You couldn't have picked a better one to start with! I can't wait to hear what you think.

Debi: YOU WILL BE FINE WITH FIRE AND HEMLOCK. But if you'd really rather not start there, Black Maria (Aunt Maria in the US) and Howl's Moving Castle are also excellent books :P

Amy: Yes you do. EVERYBODY does! :P

Kathleen, you're most welcome!

Stephanie: I'm always going to answer that question with Fire & Hemlock ;)

I am a DWJ virgin :-D ... is there a particular no...

2010-08-04T14:08:27.531+01:00

I am a DWJ virgin :-D ... is there a particular novel you'd recommend that I start with?

Thanks for the recommendations Ana!

2010-08-04T05:06:35.365+01:00

Thanks for the recommendations Ana!

I haven't read anything by this author but I t...

2010-08-04T01:57:52.080+01:00

I haven't read anything by this author but I think I really need to at some point. Sounds like a great book.

I've always assumed that when I finally get ...

2010-08-03T15:40:41.699+01:00

I've always assumed that when I *finally* get around to reading one of her books, I would start with Fire and Hemlock (yes, of course, because of you :) ). But now I'm a bit afraid to, after what you said about the ending. You know how I view my intellectual skills, after all. ;) So, where should I start--any suggestions?

Thank you for giving me Fire and Hemlock as...

2010-08-03T13:52:36.434+01:00

Thank you for giving me Fire and Hemlock as my introduction to Diana Wynne Jones- I've been looking for a place to start! I've unfortunately never read her work.

sigh Why have I still not read any Jones?? I hav...

2010-08-03T05:10:55.921+01:00

*sigh* Why have I still not read any Jones?? I have this block against her books for some reason and I know that's stupid stupid stupid. I'm sure I'd love her!!

Hexwood. This book has been sitting on my TBR pile...

2010-08-03T02:37:58.952+01:00

Hexwood. This book has been sitting on my TBR pile for ages! I remember I bought it after I watched and loved the animation - Howl's Moving Castle, though I haven't read the print version yet.

After reading so much about DWJ today, I think I N...

2010-08-03T01:41:11.799+01:00

After reading so much about DWJ today, I think I NEED to read her! I haven't yet so I definitely feel like I'm missing out now. ;p

You don't read Diana Wynne Jones books for the...

2010-08-03T01:35:23.068+01:00

You don't read Diana Wynne Jones books for the plots. I am intrigued because that is totally true but I never thought of it before. You're right! I don't read her books for the plots either! Not that I dislike her plots (many are very good), but it's more about the characters, isn't it? #minorepiphany

I didn't like Hume. I think that lessened my enjoyment of this one. I wanted to smack Hume, all the time, even when he was only little.

Kirsten: Clicking over in a bit to read your revie...

2010-08-02T21:48:53.615+01:00

Kirsten: Clicking over in a bit to read your review - so glad you loved it!

Vivienne: Sadly many of her books seem to be going out of print, so make sure you grab any used copies you come across!

Fiona: At least you own many of them! I really need to build up my collection.

Katherine Langrish: I remember an essay by DWJ herself on Fire and Hemlock that really helped me make sense of things. I also remembered reading a lot on Tam Lin and Thomas the Rhymer right after I finished it the first time, which I'm immensely grateful for!

Amanda: I know the feeling - there are so many seemingly popular authors I'd never heard of before blogging.

Staci: He has good taste :P

Zibilee: Do read more of her books! It's hard to go wrong with her.

Christina: Howls the movie is indeed wonderful, though quite a bit different from the book! I love them both to pieces, though :)

Rhinoa: I have, and it was wonderful! They did change the story quite a bit, but for once I didn't mind :P

Jeanne: I hope you'll enjoy it - and I can't wait to hear your thoughts on Fire and Hemlock!

Lighheaded: Yes! I was going to mention that, but then I forgot :P

Emidy: Yeah, it's probably to start elsewhere - Howl's Moving Castle would be a great intro!

Trapunto: You're most welcome! I hope you'll enjoy it the second time around.

Elisabeth: I want the whole world to read Fire & Hemlock, so it made me happy to hear you're considering picking it up :D

Terri B: So glad to hear you're enjoying it!

Kathleen: You're too kind! I'd recommend either Fire and Hemlock (my favourite) or Howl's Moving Castle (a complete delight and very accessible).

Darren: She does have a soft spot for complex plots, but not all her books are like that :P I think you'll find that Charmed Life is something else altogether.

Pardon My French: Yes you do! And the two versions of Howl's are indeed lovely :)

This reminds me that I need to read more of her wo...

2010-08-02T21:45:03.507+01:00

This reminds me that I need to read more of her work! I've only read Howl's Moving Castle and loved it (and also the Miyazaki).

I've only read two books by DWJ so far (Deep S...

2010-08-02T21:36:20.486+01:00

I've only read two books by DWJ so far (Deep Secret and The Merlin Conspiracy) and I do remember the feeling of being dropped into the story about 20 pages in! But in the end that was one of the things I ended up enjoying the most about the books.

The need to concentrate for the entire novel right from the start, even though I didn't love them I did appreciate the complexity.

This one won't likely be my next, that one looks like being Charmed Life. :)

This author is completely new to me...another reas...

2010-08-02T21:00:32.584+01:00

This author is completely new to me...another reason why I love your blog! Can you recommend which of her books you would read first?

I've just put both of these books you mention ...

2010-08-02T20:43:16.193+01:00

I've just put both of these books you mention my TBR list. I just started reading "Howl's Moving Castle" and am totally delighted. It is quite an antidote to the very depressing book full of nihilism I just finished (Real World by Natsuo Kirino).

One of these days, I'm going to try one of the...

2010-08-02T20:05:56.978+01:00

One of these days, I'm going to try one of these...but it looks like Fire and Hemlock might be my best bet. You're an inspiration, always.

Just a quick note to let you all know that several...

2010-08-02T19:29:05.384+01:00

Just a quick note to let you all know that several people have told me today that OpenID comments are not working (*shakes fist at Blogger*), but if you use the Name/URL option instead it does work. I'm really sorry, everyone!

I read this too quickly and WAY too long ago. I&#...

2010-08-02T17:07:02.414+01:00

I read this too quickly and WAY too long ago. I'm putting it on my library queue. Many thanks for your review!

I'm not familiar with this author at all! I me...

2010-08-02T16:45:34.814+01:00

I'm not familiar with this author at all! I mean, I'm sure I've seen her name before, but I haven't read any of her books. For that reason I probably won't read this book yet, but I want to eventually.

This is the book dedicated to Neil Gaiman, right? ...

2010-08-02T16:14:54.143+01:00

This is the book dedicated to Neil Gaiman, right? And I read this one before I even had a Blogger account. Hahaha! I somehow envy the covers now (as well as the re-issued Chrestomanci and other titles bearing the same font for DWJ). I think they're more colorful than the mass paperback copies I own.

Since I just read Fire and Hemlock and love books ...

2010-08-02T15:07:37.406+01:00

Since I just read Fire and Hemlock and love books that rely on mythology and fantasy conventions (this one sounds like it has some very old fairy-story conventions, as F&H did), I'll have to read this one next.

I really enjoyed Fire and Hemlock, thank you so mu...

2010-08-02T14:37:43.380+01:00

I really enjoyed Fire and Hemlock, thank you so much for introducing me to her for our reading challenge :) this sounds a lot of fun despite being a little difficult (I never could resist a challenge). If I get time I will read Howls Moving Castle this week. Have you seen the Ghibli anime film?

Comments on things mean a lot: Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones

Jenny Girl: I'm glad to have brought DWJ to yo...

I've never heard of this author before but I&#...

Sorry to say that I never heard of this book or au...

Jenny: lol! It really is. Not that she doesn't...

I am a DWJ virgin :-D ... is there a particular no...

Thanks for the recommendations Ana!

I haven't read anything by this author but I t...

I've always assumed that when I *finally* get ...

Thank you for giving me Fire and Hemlock as...

*sigh* Why have I still not read any Jones?? I hav...

Hexwood. This book has been sitting on my TBR pile...

After reading so much about DWJ today, I think I N...

You don't read Diana Wynne Jones books for the...

Kirsten: Clicking over in a bit to read your revie...

This reminds me that I need to read more of her wo...

I've only read two books by DWJ so far (Deep S...

This author is completely new to me...another reas...

I've just put both of these books you mention ...

One of these days, I'm going to try one of the...

Just a quick note to let you all know that several...

I read this too quickly and WAY too long ago. I&#...

I'm not familiar with this author at all! I me...

This is the book dedicated to Neil Gaiman, right? ...

Since I just read Fire and Hemlock and love books ...

I really enjoyed Fire and Hemlock, thank you so mu...

I've always assumed that when I finally get ...

sigh Why have I still not read any Jones?? I hav...