House of Many Ways

Title: House of Many Ways
Author: Diana Wynne Jones
(C)2008
Publisher: Greenwillow Books (an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)
ISBN: 978-0-06-147797-3
404 pp.

It's been a busy day here, but the weather is gorgeous and I've finally put my apartment to rights. I even borrowed a steamvac and did the carpets. Yay me!

Is that not the cutest cover ever? I'll admit, I don't have this one, but I saw it at Half Price books and if I ever find it in the clearance section, I will have to have it. My copy is the John Rocco/Paul Zakris design to match Castle in the Air. It's nice having a matching set of books, but every so often you'll find a duplicate in my library because I liked a certain cover. I'm weird. I know.

I still haven't figured out why House of Many Ways is considered the sequel. Morgan, Jamal and his dog, Princess Hilda; they are all found in the second book. So...yeah, I haven't figured it out yet either. I noticed the reviews were pretty poor for both of these books, but I enjoyed them.

The main character, Charmain, is a kindred spirit. She loves books as much as I do. She's also a bit of a rebel...once she's away from her mother. Her Great-Aunt Sempronia volunteers her to look after Great-Uncle William's house while he is away, getting medical treatment from the elves. (I never knew elves made such good doctors.)

Great-Uncle William turns out to be the Royal Wizard of High Norland, a country ruled by a King and his daughter who have a great love for their library, and no money. A wizard's house is always bound to be special, but this house is quite odd. It has a sort of trans-dimensional labyrinth running through it. Turn to the right at the inner door and you open it to find the kitchen. Left, and you're in the corridor of bedrooms that go on and on and on and...you get the point. The entire thing isn't even completely mapped.

However, the house is only half the story. By looking after the house, Charmain is given some independence, a chance to fiddle with magic she didn't realize she had, find out that being "respectable" really just means you don't know how to do anything practical, and helps to save the kingdom twice - once from a lubbock and again from a lubbockin. (If you're wondering what a lubbock is, read the book)

I'm so sad that there aren't any more stories with Howl and Sophie and the rest. There are still so many places that could be explored. Perhaps we'll be lucky and she'll publish another. If not, I shall just have to make up adventures for them in my own head.

Hmmm...that's not a bad idea. Until next time...

The Last Weekend of Freedom

It is, as Winnie-the-Pooh would say, a blustery sort of day. This blustery morning finds me half way through The House of Many Ways, the third book in the series with that superficial wizard, Howl Pendragon.

Yes, that's right. I started it late last night and finally put it down around the midway point because my eyes wouldn't focus on the words anymore. As you can see, Bookworm & Silverfish isn't such a strange name for this blog after all. It's a sort of testament to my character. I simply devour books. (Silverfish and other insects of the bookworm sort feed on the spines and binding of books. Apparently they like the glue.)

This is my last weekend of freedom. Starting Tuesday, I will be back teaching 40+ preschoolers. It really is great fun, even if they are trying at times. We're reading The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter in the first week and using it to discuss listening skills. However, once school starts I have less time to read whatever I want, whenever I want.

The start of school brings another book into my life. I'm helping lead a teen/young adult Bible study. We're starting with What in the World is Going On? by David C. Thompson. (You'll find it at www.nph.net) It takes a look at worldviews in culture and compares them to a Confessional Lutheran Worldview. It has given me much insight on how easily once can be influenced by a worldview that drastically opposes the Bible. It will be interesting to see how the group responds to this.

Ha ha! I had meant to wonder over the fact that The House of Many Ways claims to be a sequel to Howl's Moving Castle, while Castle in the Air is only a compainion to it. Instead I gab about the other books that are coming up. Oh well, perhaps this evening, or tomorrow I will have the book finished and have time to discuss it. I am exceedingly puzzled by this and if anyone has an answer, I should dearly love to hear it.

Happy Readings!