EoFF Book Club (April) - Howl's Moving Castle

[Miriel]

Ok, so Howl's Moving Castle looks like the winner. We'll have the whole of April to read and discuss the book so that means... we start tomorrow! Short notice but it's a relatively quick read so don't worry if you can't get your hands on it ASAP, it should be easy enough to catch up.

If you're cheap and don't wanna buy the book (and you're ok with reading stuff online), you can read the whole thing here (http://www.scribd.com/doc/9761906/Howls-Moving-Castle) on Scribd.

Step 1: Get the book
Step 2: Read the book
Step 3: Talk about the book

Here's the general timeline we should try for.

April 1st-7th: Get your hands on the book and start reading
April 12th: At least halfway through the book
April 20th: Finish the book
Rest of April: Discussion

The timeline is assuming that y'all read really really slowly. I think the book can be finished in a couple days but I just want to give everyone enough time and it's mostly here for spoiler purposes. Anything in the second half of the book should be put into spoiler tags until the 12th. The ending of the book should be kept in spoiler tags until the 20th. After those dates, you can assume that everyone is caught up to that point and we don't need to bother with the tags.

Gots?

[Bunny]

I might read it depending on whether or not I remember this weekend to grab it or not. I think my girlfriend has it at her parent's house, so we'll see.

[Bastian]

I'm looking forward to reading this again. I just read the third book in the "series" which just came out (House of Many Ways). It would be nice to revisit Howl and Sofie from the beginning.

[The Man]

This was one of the few ones on the list I didn't actually own. Thanks for the Scribd link; the last thing I need to do right now is buy more books. :monster:

i'll start on this tomorrow, or something.

[Raven Nox]

I've already read part of it, but I think I'll just start over since it's been awhile. I have two classes ending early this semester and I have a lot of projects to do while reading, so having a large schedule actually really helps. Still shouldn't take too long if I don't stop part-way through this time. xD

[qwertysaur]

To the book Store! :D

[Araciel]

I didn't vote ontime but I'm joining anyway so :P

[Depression Moon]

I'll try to get it, but if it's not as my closest library, then I'm forgetting about it.

[Bastian]

Started it again!

God I love this book. It's so unique.

[Del Murder]

Yay books! My book store didn't have it so I'll either get it online or read the free version.

[rubah]

Finished it. (the scribd version was poorly OCRed :()

I couldn't stop thinking of the anime the entire time I read it. I think that this was much more poorly paced, but the story makes me ^_^ anyways.

anyways The most interesting part that was different was Howl being from Wales.

[Bastian]

Rubah: you found it poorly paced? In what way?

And as much as I live Miyazaki and his anime based on this book, the book is soooo much better. Especially the clever little nugget you mentioned in your spoiler (which they revisit in the third Howl book The House of Many Ways).

[rubah]

The entire ending all happens at once within a few pages :p

[Bastian]

Well, that's true. But I liked the unconventional plotting of the book. When you read as much as I do, it's nice to get a book in there every once in a while that doesn't follow the traditional formula.

[Caraliz]

smurf this

[Del Murder]

Thanks for that constructive input, Caraliz.

I'm about 1/5 of the way through. It's interesting, but I can't help but think of the anime while I read it. I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing.

[qwertysaur]

About 1/5 through as well. My current thoughts:
Fanny = Needs to be hit with a pole, or 5
Hatter = compleatly original Surname. :cactuar:
Witch of the Waste = Creepy, and I can't get the picture from the anime out of my head for her. =/
Sophie = Need to get out more. Having a conversation is a little over the top.
Martha & Letty are pretty cool, though kinda random that "Letty" is going to a baker.
Turnip Head = :3
Calcifer is cool :D

Also Miyazaki changed sooo much. :p

[Del Murder]

Calcifer is my favorite character, yeah.

[~*~Celes~*~]

I read it and finished it all in the course of less than 24 hours and I have to say it didn't end nearly the way I expected, but I love it! Definitely a unique book compared to all that I've read before :D

Being a sucker for romance, I was instantly rooting for Sophie and Howl to end up together from the moment it was revealed that he was the one who spoke with her in the marketplace. So, the ending satisfied me quite well <3

[ShunNakamura]

Let me just say Miyazaki is really creative with his use of 'Artistic License'. And after reading this book my respect for the film maker has greatly risen. Not because it is so much better(really I have a hard time deciding between the two), but rather because he changed/cut so much and yet the characters(while different) are still more or less themselves and it feels like all the really important bits were kept solidly enough.

The anime is obviously Miyazaki(I mean it just feels like his work, I didn't even need to see the title or the credits to recognize his touch) and yet it is also still the book(normally my mind won't play the film/book alongside the other in my mind, but it did here). Miyazaki has, at the same time, a delicate yet powerful touch is all I can say.


On to the book itself. It starts off iffy in my opinion but picks up nicely not too long after. In addition I felt it could have used more description at some points and that at others the description could have been better spaced. The pacing kinda felt off at times is basically what I am saying. Finally I think it could have been comfortably stretched to 400 or more pages by building on the ending and by padding areas that I felt were a bit bare.

However, all that is just me being cranky/picky/overly critical. It is an excellent book though I would probably label it as a 'light' read(I finished it in a matter of a few hours, I really should have kept track). My end analysis is that it has an excellent plot and solid characters/development; however, despite this I felt that it could have been written better. Particularly the ending which felt kinda rushed(though not horribly so). That hurts it because it reminds me of how many good manga end due to being cut(Mx0 anyone?). Feels almost as if she knew it needed wrapped up before long and did an excellent job of tying up the ends on short notice. That though is probably colored by my previous experiences.



My overall take on the film(having no read the book) is that Miyazaki has show us the correct way to adopt a book into a film while making it refreshing different and yet still keeping true to the roots. FOX could probably learn a thing or two from him.

And to end with my favorite quote -

"Leave this yard alone. I know just where everything is in it, and I won't be able to find the things I need for my transport spells if you tidy them up."

If only I could count the times I told my mother that about my bedroom :D(sans the transport spell part)

[qwertysaur]

I love they way Calcifer and Michael react to Turnip head :3

[Imperfectionist]

Oh wow a book club! I haven't been on here in a while but this is great, i'm joining :)
I'm glad this book got voted in, i'm really excited about reading it cos I watched the movie like 2 days ago and it completely rekindled my love with the characters

[~*~Celes~*~]

I watched the movie this morning and IT WAS SO CUTE! I LOVED turnip head :D That and the disguise cloak was hilarious xD Just thinking about it is making me laugh all over again.

honestly at first I was unsure of how I would feel about this book but now that I've read it, I can say it's added to my list of favorites <3 And the movie as well!

[Araciel]

I haven't watched the movie... I'm not enjoying the book that much but I'm about half way done.

I'll save further comments till I'm finished.

[Rocket Edge]

I'll be getting the book during the week. I'm hoping for an interesting read.

[Rye]

This is a fabulous idea!

[Del Murder]

About 3/4 the way through now. Things are starting to diverge from the film now. Don't remember anything about Wales.

Is Howl from the 'real world' and if so why is he in this magic kingdom?

[~*~Celes~*~]

About 3/4 the way through now. Things are starting to diverge from the film now. Don't remember anything about Wales.

Is Howl from the 'real world' and if so why is he in this magic kingdom?

I'm not sure the second half of your question gets answered but your first half does. I forget if the second half does or not :( But it was shocking to me too.

[Imperfectionist]

Finished reading this a few days ago, I absolutely loved it! :D

I did have a couple issues though. I felt that the book was far too short. So many things could have done with extra descriptions or explanation, for example Miss Angorian suddenly being Witch of the Waste's demon, the fact that they all of a sudden end up in Wales... I also had this nagging feeling in the back of my mind of whether or not I would've enjoyed the book quite as much if it hadn't been for the film.

But other than that I thought it was fantastically captivating, I fell in love with the characters instantly, the story kept me turning the pages so much I finished it in one sitting. I'd recommend it to anyone who has a love of fantasy.

I'd also like to add that I started reading Castle in the Air, amd i'm loving it as much, possibly more, than Howl's Moving Castle :)

[Bastian]

Del Murder: the answer to part one of your spolier is "yes" and the answer to part two is: that's touched upon lightly in the sequel Castle in the Air and then revisited (literally) MUCH more thoroughly in the third book House of Many Ways.

Imperfectionist: I know Castle doesn't seem like a proper sequel, and I don't want to ruin any of the fun for you . . . but just you wait! ;)

[Del Murder]

Just finished it. It was ok. The anime was better. That usually doesn't happen, the movie being better. I liked the characters and they were portrayed well but a lot of it didn't make much sense and it felt rushed at the end. Specifics:


Sophie falling for Howl in the end was kind of awkward. I knew it was getting to that point but I didn't think it was all the way there when the end came.

The whole Miss Angorian/fire demon stuff was confusing and didn't make sense at times.

I still don't know what the connection between Wales and Ingary is, and how/why Howl is involved in both worlds, but I guess that is solved in a sequel.

It was a good read but nothing amazing.

[qwertysaur]

I was not surprised at all that Ms Angorian was connected to the witch of the waste. From right when she was introduced I wanted to throw a live turkey at her.

[Araciel]

Not my kind of book, not by a long shot. I honestly didn't see the point in a lot of the little things, which I believe others are already mentioning. Like I said it was tough for me to chew through. There was a lot of stuff that just seemed to come out of nowhere for no reason like the witch thing... ugh. Looks like everyone agrees.

I really don't want to discuss that much about it :S

[Bastian]

Araciel: I'm curious what you mean by not seeing what the point was in the "little things" . . . I'm not quite sure what you mean, but my guess is why there's such a focus on cleaning the castle and little non-plot things like that?

This books and others like it (the Earthsea series, and The Forgotten Beasts of Eld) is intentionally atypical fantasy. Rather than a huge epic plot of kingdom against kingdom, they are more "a day in the life" of peasants who happen to live in kingdoms where magic is overly common. Which is exactly why I like to read something like this after reading The Death Gate Cycle or The Wayfarer Redemption or Harry Potter.

[Imperfectionist]

Okay just finished reading House of Many Ways last night, excellent book as well but i'm a bit confused. After reading posts about it on here, I was under the impression that the whole Wales thing was revisited in this book, but... it wasn't. I don't understand, have I made a big whoopsie and missed something?

[Bastian]

Imperfectionist: Yikes, I misspoke. I didn't mean literally. Just that there are references to it.

[Badge]

It'd be interesting to see how many people read the book before having seen the film, because having seen the film first, when I read the book, I was trying to comparing it to the story of the film and trying to somehow fit it in with it, clearly that isn't going to work as the film is simply an adaptation of the book, so technically it can bare no real resemblance to the book, just the characters/ideas etc. I couldn't see children reading the book as I do agree as it got confusing at parts, especially for such a short book.

[Imperfectionist]

Imperfectionist: Yikes, I misspoke. I didn't mean literally. Just that there are references to it.

Oh well see now i'm all dissapointed and it's your fault! :mad: I hope you're happy with yourself...

[Miriel]

I thought the film was sooo much better than the book. The book had some weird pacing issues, and there were parts that were confusing and I had to read over and over again. And it still didn't make much sense.

But it was a super light read. Probably not best for a book club type discussion. The next book should have like... lots of crazy :bou::bou::bou::bou: going on so we can actually talk about it.

Apocalyptic books are usually good for that. Death! Zombies! CANNIBALS!

[Del Murder]

I agree.

[Bastian]

I love Miyazaki's film (and all of his films, actually) but I do NOT think the film is better than the book. It is too different from the book. I liked the sisters switching places and the Miss Angorian (or whatever her name was) stuff, and the Wales stuff. It had a whole lot more going for it. Of course, that made it a bit confusing, but more enjoyable, to me.