Saw an uncle ji reading a book while travelling on the local train today and it made me so happy🫠✌🏼 Maybe someone might call it performative, but I really don't think that uncle ji was trying to perform anything. The way he carefully flipped through each page, the way he protected the book from all the pushing and pulling in the crowd, and held it so gently without getting in anyone's way shows how much he genuinely cared about his book. And as someone who loves reading while travelling myself, seeing sweet moments like this genuinely makes my day🦭✨️

Remember my post? Here it is.

I tend to keep my reviews a bit longer, so enjoy it.

“Doors are very powerful things. Things are different on either side of them.”

If you’ve only seen Hayao Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle, picking up Diana Wynne Jones’s original novel feels a little like finding another door on the castle and realizing it leads somewhere completely different.

And to be honest? I loved it.

The movie is beautiful, dreamy and much more concerned with war, pacifism and the grander side of magic. The book, on the other hand, is much smaller in scale and somehow even more chaotic. It’s less of an epic fantasy adventure and more of a warm, ridiculous domestic comedy where everyone is hiding something.

In the book there are curses, wizards, fire demons, missing princes and magical doors, but there are also dirty dishes, broken hearts, terrible hair days and a wizard throwing an absolute tantrum because his hair has gone the wrong colour. Howl is such a drama queen😆

At its heart, Howl’s Moving Castle is really about people who have convinced themselves that they are something they’re not.

Sophie Hatter is the eldest of three sisters, and in Ingary, everyone knows that being the eldest means you’re doomed to fail if you ever set out to seek your fortune. So Sophie basically accepts that her life is going to be boring. Then the Witch of the Waste turns her into a seventy-year-old woman, and, rather hilariously, Sophie discovers that she actually likes being old.(and the author herself being the eldest daughter amongst three, very much relates to this and this also shadows the character development of Sophie as well).

Being an old woman gives her a freedom she never had as a young girl. She stops worrying about what people think of her, becomes incredibly blunt, stubborn and nosy, and marches straight into the supposedly terrifying moving castle of Wizard Howl. She then proceeds to appoint herself as his cleaning lady.

And this is where the book really shines.

Howl is an absolute disaster, how? Then readalong😂

Movie Howl is dramatic, vain and occasionally ridiculous, but book Howl is on another level.

He is a coward. A womanizer. Incredibly vain. Melodramatic. Selfish. Brilliant. Surprisingly kind. And somehow still completely lovable.

He spends an absurd amount of time trying to avoid responsibility and getting himself out of situations that he could probably solve if he just stopped being dramatic for five minutes. When his hair goes wrong, he has what can only be described as a spectacular emotional collapse, covering the castle in green slime and declaring that his life is basically over.

And yet, underneath all that nonsense, there’s a genuinely kind person.

That contradiction is what makes Howl so much fun. Sophie can never quite decide whether he’s a selfish idiot or secretly one of the nicest people she knows. And the answer, of course, is both🤭

Their relationship is also much messier in the book than in the film. There’s less of the sweeping romanticism and more of two incredibly stubborn people constantly getting on each other’s nerves. Somehow, that makes their eventual relationship feel surprisingly believable.

Sophie is much more interesting than she first appears->

One of my favourite things about the book is Sophie’s character arc.

At first, she genuinely believes that she is destined for an unremarkable life. Even after being cursed, she doesn’t immediately try to break free of the identity forced upon her. In fact, her own lack of confidence becomes tangled up with the curse itself.

And Sophie has magic of her own- she can quite literally talk life into things. The hats she makes, objects around the castle and even things she casually interacts with can be affected by her magic, often without her realizing what she’s doing.

It’s a clever way of showing how much Sophie has been underestimating herself all along.

The old woman she becomes is almost more “Sophie” than the girl she was before. She’s more louder, bolder and far less concerned with following the rules. There’s something oddly comforting about watching her gradually realize that she was never as powerless as she thought.

The book is MUCH stranger than the movie

This is probably the biggest thing I’d tell someone who is going into the book after watching the Ghibli film:

Don’t expect the same story.

The basic skeleton is there which includes Sophie, Howl, Calcifer, the castle, the Witch of the Waste, the curse, but Jones takes those pieces in a very different direction.

The movie’s war is almost completely absent from the novel. Instead, the story revolves around Howl’s connection to the Witch of the Waste, Sophie’s curse and magic, missing people, family secrets and a whole collection of increasingly bizarre side plots.

And then there’s Wales.(spoiler ahead)

>!The black setting on the castle door doesn’t lead to some mysterious magical location. It leads to modern-day Wales. !<

>!Howl’s real name is Howell Jenkins, and he’s basically a Welsh guy who discovered magic and used it to escape his responsibilities. He has a sister, nieces and nephews back home, and Sophie gets to see this completely ordinary world through the eyes of someone who thinks cars and other modern conveniences are basically magical objects. !<

>!It’s one of the funniest parts of the book because suddenly this seemingly mysterious wizard is just… some Welsh guy avoiding his family and his responsibilities.!<

And there’s a particularly delightful little Easter egg here-> apparently, Diana Wynne Jones was once a student of J.R.R. Tolkien, who had a reputation for giving lectures so long and boring that fewer students would attend, giving him more time to work on The Lord of the Rings. Jones, however, was one of those students who kept showing up because she actually wanted to learn from him.

And then, years later, in Howl’s Moving Castle, Howl’s Welsh family home is called Rivendell.

I mean… come on😂

And then there’s Calcifer

I went into this expecting the same adorable little fireball from the movie.

>!Book Calcifer is… different.!<

He’s still sarcastic, funny and constantly complaining, but he’s considerably stranger and creepier. The movie definitely cranked up his cuteness factor.

The same goes for the castle itself. Ghibli turned it into this wonderfully bizarre, almost living creature stomping across the landscape. The book’s castle is darker, smaller and more mysterious. It feels less like a giant walking house and more like a strange magical machine that Howl has somehow convinced everyone is perfectly normal.

The wider cast is also much bigger.

Sophie’s sisters have their own stories. Michael is older and considerably more capable than Markl in the movie. There are missing princes, wizards, enchanted dogs, scarecrows and another fire demon hiding in plain sight. Even the scarecrow, who is relatively harmless-looking in the film, is considerably more unsettling in the book.

By the end, practically every plot thread crashes into the castle at once.

It’s gloriously chaotic.

The one thing that didn't completely work for me->

If I had one complaint, it would be the pacing.

The beginning is fantastic. The ending is fantastic. But the middle slows down quite noticeably.

There’s a stretch where Sophie is mostly cleaning, sewing Howl’s clothes and watching Howl and Michael get on with their own business. It isn’t bad, and I still enjoyed being in the castle, but the story loses a little of the momentum it builds early on.

Thankfully, once everything starts coming together towards the end, it becomes difficult to put down again😋

Book vs. movie?

I honestly don't think you need to choose.

Miyazaki took the basic ingredients of Jones’s story and made something completely different from them. The movie gives us the sweeping landscapes, the anti-war message, the breathtaking animation and that dreamy Ghibli atmosphere.

The book gives me something much more intimate. It’s funnier, messier, stranger and more character-driven. Howl is more of a disaster. Sophie is more stubborn. Calcifer is less cute. The Witch of the Waste is much more frightening. There’s no grand war hanging over everything, and instead we get a story about identity, expectations, self-worth, family and the ridiculous ways people try to avoid dealing with their problems.

And somehow, despite all the magic, it feels very human🤍

I also really liked Diana Wynne Jones’s writing. It’s elegant without being overly complicated, and there’s a playful quality to the narration that makes even the strangest situations feel completely natural. The book never seems interested in explaining every little thing about its world, either. It trusts you to just go along with it.

Howl’s Moving Castle is cozy, funny, wonderfully weird and full of characters who are far more complicated than they first appear.

If you loved the Ghibli movie, I’d absolutely recommend reading it, just don't go in expecting a novelization!!

Think of the movie as one door of Howl’s castle.

The book is another.

And honestly, I'm gonna read the rest two books of this trilogy as well🌸

My next read-> The Color Purple by Alice Walker, if someone wants to buddy read it then feel free to reach out🫶🏼

Happy Reading🌻

I owe my bookshelf an apology.

For the longest time, reading was one of my favorite things to do but somewhere along the time, it slowly changed.

I discovered a few amazing pre-loved bookstores and book communities where incredible books were available for unbelievably good prices. You know? At first, it was exciting but then, without even realizing it, my habit of reading books slowly turned into a habit of buying books.

Today, my shelf is completely full, mostly with books I genuinely wanted, but also with quite a few that weren't even on my wishlist. Being a student myself I spent more than I should have, my TBR grew faster than I could finish reading them, and somewhere in the middle of all those "great deals," I lost the consistency that made me fall in love with books in the first place..🫠

I'm a literature student, and reading has always meant more to me than just finishing stories. It helps me to understand people, ideas, history, different literary movements, and even improves my English. That's the whole reason I started reading in the first place and I don't want to lose that.

So, instead of setting another "read 100 books this year" challenge, I have decided to try something different.

From today, I'm going on a complete book-buying ban. No new books until and unless I read each and every book I have in my bookshelf.

More importantly, I'll be posting my journey here like my current read, honest reviews, favorite quotes, themes I noticed, things I loved, things I didn't, and whatever thoughts the book leaves me with. I'll try not to rush through my shelf, but to slowly build consistency again. It may take few years, but I'm gonna commit to it.

If anyone is in a similar situation, where collecting books has started replacing reading them, I hope you join me. And if we're reading the same book at the same time, let's buddy read! Having someone to discuss a book with always makes the experience richer.

At the end of this journey, I have one reward waiting for me.

The one book I've wanted for quite a long time but somehow never bought because I kept getting distracted by "better deals" is Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

When I've truly earned it, I'll buy the Everyman’s Library edition, Penguin Black edition with David Mcduff's translation and one with Oliver Redy's translation which I've always dreamed of owning with my own hard-earned money. I think that moment will mean far more than buying it today, haina?

Lastly, a thank you to my parents, who have supported this hobby and fulfilled so many of my wishes. I know I got carried away, and this is my way of giving something back to myself—and to them—by actually reading the library they've helped me build.

Here's to turning a shelf full of unread books into a shelf full of memories.

Happy reading🌻

TL;DR: I realized my love for reading slowly turned into a habit of buying books after discovering amazing pre-loved book communities. My shelves are now full, but my reading has taken a backseat. So I'm starting a complete book-buying ban and documenting my journey of reading through my entire library by sharing reviews, thoughts, and hopefully inspiring others stuck in the same cycle. My reward at the end? The Everyman’s Library Edition of Crime and Punishment I've always dreamed of owning, bought with my own earnings.

Dunno why Yang Yang seems very pissed lately.. maybe she's missing her sister🤭

Does anyone of have bought this manga or have any knowledge about it? I have seen the yt videos but I want an in-person review of the manga. As it is an only book available in India(for cheap) both in Amazon and Bookswagon and it is a complete edition.

Any amount of insights would be helpful!

Arigato🌻

Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco

The Good Person of Szechwan by Bertolt Brecht

I'm looking for these editons only!

If anyone has these and do DM! Thank you✨️

Before starting the review let me tell you all one thing first, which is that, this book gave me alot of nostalgia😭 alot of chapters were there in my school syllabus.. I was so happy after reading those chapters once again. For an instance, the Chapter 3 narrates the story of Uncle Podger who tries to hand a picture on the wall, and how everything was doing was turning into a mishap🫣🤣 nonetheless, now's the actual review->

The hilarious account of a boating holiday by three friends – George, Harris and Jerome with their dog named Montmorency had me in splits from the word go!

'Three Men on A Boat' is both refreshing and relevant, remarkable for a book published in 1889! I never thought anyone could match up to P.G. Wodehouse in terms of humor, but Jerome K. Jerome proved me wrong.

The story begins with three friends pondering over their illnesses and matching their symptoms with the information in a medical book. After all the research, they resort to a plan suggesting a change of scene for better health. Assessing the options between a countryside stay and a sea trip, it is concluded that a boat journey up the river Thames is a safe and sound plan. Though what follows is a cascading line of chaos and mishaps – right from the confusion at the station to unreliable weather forecasts to tinned pineapples and difficulties while steering boat, etc..

The narrative heavily weighs on observations and commentary on peculiar notions held by some people about camping, staying outdoors, or sea sickness. In literature or even otherwise, adventurers are almost always the hero but here you get three men who embrace inertia as the knights of the story.

Jerome K Jerome’s authorial voice strings together this comic tale of absurd happenings and bizarre anecdotes. Inconsequential things that are brushed aside during intellectual discourses find an outpour in this book. Somewhere I had read, this writing is 'benign escapism', and I felt this phrase aptly summed up the book. For there isn’t a single dull chapter or for that matter even a page or a paragraph!

I’d give this a solid 4/5 stars. Don’t expect any romance, or serious character development or anything of that sort. It’s just about 3 lads, and a dog, going up a river and their experiences. It’s a nice little palette cleanser book if you’re looking for a fun little story!

Happy Reading!🌻✨️