Hi!

I recently read, and then re-read, the book Howl’s Moving Castle.

As was probably indicated by the fact that I re-read the book, I enjoyed it a lot. It’s a delightful story that takes place in the land of fairy tales where, and it held up for the re-read. (It was fun seeing all the foreshadowing that actually happened.)

So, yup! Enjoy.

Hi, Fluffsters!

Today I’m going way, way back in my discussion of “old friend” books, back to my early childhood before I could read.

Even though I couldn’t read, my parents were avid readers and made sure to read a lot to me.

One of my favorite young-person serieses was Tacky the Penguin.

This absolutely adorable children’s story tells the tale of Tacky the penguin and his fellow companions. His companions (Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly, and Perfect) are “normal” penguins. He’s an odd bird.

The story is a typical children’s picture-book- one picture per sentence, basically. The art is delightfully done, and the story is sweet.

I don’t remember the first time my Dad read it out loud to me, but I’m fairly sure it was right around my birthday. From the first reading, I fell in love with it. It’s cute, sweet, humorous, and has a good message. What more can you ask for?

Even now, the book is a beloved one of mine. Yes, it’s an “old friend” primarily because I’ve known it for a long time. But it is also simply endearing, and well worth a read. Even by adults.

If you can, I highly encourage you to find this book. It’s a friendly, five minute read, and worthy of becoming an “old friend.”

Hi Fluffsters!

What kind of Fantasy Nerd would I be if I didn’t post about at least one of the Harry Potter books in a series on “old friends”?

Oh. You’re not actually supposed to. That was supposed to be a rhetorical question to lead into the topic of this post.

I was actually just about to. But you interrupted me.

Yes.

As I was saying, I really needed to include at least one of the Harry Potter books in this list. However, the problem is that there’s actually a little bit of, well, depth in this series. And it’s got some slightly stress-inducing points, even in the earlier ones. So I decided to go with my favorite- Prisoner of Azkaban.

For those of you who don’t know, this is probably one of the two lightest books in the series, with number one being the other. Number three is basically an adventure story, and it’s longer than number one, and it’s the one I would go to more frequently than Sorcerer’s Stone when I wanted to reread something.

Rowling puts forth some fun ideas in this one, including some ideas concerning time travel. And actual real plot development for the rest of the series.

So I guess I chose this book as the “old friend” because it’s my favorite insofar as lack of trauma but wealth of content are concerned. It’s a comfortable book to just pick up and reread. And it’s got some great, humorous scenes. (Anything with the Marauder’s Map, for example…)

So that’s why it’s the one I chose to be an “old friend.”

I hope you enjoy! And have a great day.

Hiya, Fluffsters!

Today’s post deals with a book that is far, FAR superior to the movie “roughly inspired” by it: Ella Enchanted.

If you have not seen the move, GOOD. DO NOT EVER. If you have seen the movie, don’t judge the book on it! The book’s actually good, honest!

The book Ella Enchanted is a delightfully charming story. It deals with a girl who has been given a “gift” by a fairy- the gift of obedience. If she’s ordered to do something, she will do it.

Now, this sounds like it might be a little dark, but it’s not. It’s really not. Gail Carson Levine, the author, is wonderful at writing the books. She keeps the atmosphere of the book light and charming, and very much a children’s story.

This is one that can easily become an “old friend” quality of book. The writing style is easy to follow, the story is familiar, yet fresh, and the characters are endearing. It is definitely a comforting one to read when one needs an “old friend” book.

Personally, I don’t even remember when I first read it. It seems like forever ago. But it’s one of my favorites of its type, and well worth the read.

I hope you enjoy it!

Hi, Fluffsters!

I’m continuing the series on books that are “old friends”. This time I’m going to talk about one of my favorite authors: Patricia C. Wrede. I’ve loved everything of hers that I’ve read, but I’m especially talking today about The Enchanted Forest Chronicles.

These books are just simply delightful. They’re pure joy to read. The series lightly parodies traditional fantasy books and fairy tales, and is just all around charming. Seriously.

The chronicles take place in the world of The Enchanted Forest, where princesses are taught etiquette of exactly how loud one is permitted to scream when being abducted by a giant and it is customary for characters to do traditional fairy-tale like things. The main character of the first book (Dealing with Dragons), though, does not like being stuck in the princess stereotype. So she runs away and volunteers to be a dragon’s princess. It continues on from there.

These books qualify as “old friends” for a few reasons.

First, they are very lighthearted, friendly, and welcoming. Wrede’s style in general is easy to read, but these books especially are just charming– rather like what you’d expect of a long-term human friend of yours.

Second, I’ve been reading these for a long time. I think probably since I was about seven or eight years old. So, once more, they’re old favorites of mine. Whenever I was too sick for school when I was younger, I would read the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. (I may possibly have feigned illness a time or two in order to read these books…)

These were the type of books that I made sure to purchase my own set of when I left for college, because I wanted to make sure I had the comforting world of the Enchanted Forest to retreat to if I ever had time to take a decompress break.

If you ever have the opportunity, you should read these. The charm and humor of these books is delightful.

Have a great day!