30 Day Challenge: Day 2 - Book You've Read More Than 3 Times

Howl's Moving Castle (Howl's Moving Castle, #1) - Diana Wynne Jones

Day 2 - Book You've Read More Than 3 Times

 

The list of books I've read more than once is not very long. Not because I don't like re-reading novels, but because most of the time when I start re-reading a book I had adored years earlier, I find it hasn't grown with me. Usually, the characters and story-lines no longer strike the same chord. I end up having to put the book down and mentally bury it as a nice piece of nostalgia to remember a certain period in my life by. (I'm looking at you, Fight Club). So out of the few books I've re-read and found I still loved, I'm going to choose Howl's Moving Castle.

 

I own several copies of Howl's Moving Castle and, when I worked at a bookstore, I used to try selling it to every single person who asked me for a children's book recommendation. The world, the characters, the banter; everything about this novel hit the right spot for me and its managed to consistently do this with every read through.

 

P.S. If you haven't read the book and have only ever seen the Hayao Miyazaki anime (which is gorgeous and lovely in its own right) then you're missing out. The film is much different than the book. Miyazaki made the characters softer and brought in strong political themes about war that changed the tone and overall story. I love the anime adaption as a very separate entity, but I prefer the humor and more character driven plot of the book.