It's clearly meant to be.

So.  My reading slump continues.

But then I read a post over at Tor* that contained this bit:

As the firstborn child in my family, I always wished that just once, the outcome could be different. Yes, big sisters have bad days, but might we manage to grow out of our adolescent angst, if given a chance? It’s a rare fairy-tale girl who doesn’t persecute her younger (wiser, gentler, more beautiful, etc. etc.) sister and pay a hefty price. Kate Crackernuts, Snow White/Rose Red, and the twelve dancing princesses are the few counter-examples who come to mind, and even there, the eldest dancing princess is snarky to the youngest one.

Which made me think:  "Right on, sister."  But also:  "Man, I hope she's read Howl's Moving Castle."

And as that was the third time in three days** that Diana Wynne Jones has come up (yesterday it was everyone clamoring to remind me about Deep Secret -- which OH MY GOD, thank you and good call, I can't believe I didn't think of it! -- and she came up in conversation at work the day before), I think it might be time to revisit and get caught up on her new stuff.  Which should blow the remains of my slump to smithereens, because NOTHING can withstand the awesome that is Diana Wynne Jones.

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*Who has written a YA fantasy that rehashes that fairy tale about the sisters who barf stuff when they talk.  (You know the one I'm talking about -- the nice girl yaks jewels and the mean sister yaks snakes.)  Anyway, I'm SO going to read that.

**Which is clearly a magical occurrence.  I mean, really.  Right?

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Comments

[Noa]

That's precisely what I did when I was in a reading slump earlier this month. I decided to revisit the Chrestomanci books, and found something online (Wikipedia, maybe?) which said that DWJ herself suggests reading them in this order: Charmed Life / The Lives of Christopher Chant / Conrad's Fate / Witch Week / Magician's of Caprona. (And I think Pinhoe Egg would come after that.) Reading Conrad's Fate in the middle like that made a big difference! I recommend it. I also just reread Philip Pullman's Sally Lockhart trilogy, similarly guaranteed to wrench me out of a reading slump...

[Sarah]

I just finished rereading House of Many Ways yesterday. If you haven't read that one yet, I'm so excited for you!

[Maureen E]

Because DWJ is awesome!

Actually, I have read versions of The Twelve Dancing Princesses where the oldest sister is the one who gets the guy. But Snow White and Rose Red ticks me off SO MUCH. (I'm the oldest of three. And I have dark hair. It's like a lose-lose situation.)

[Maureen E]

Oh, I totally misread the last sentence of the quote. Whoops!

[ninjac]

I'm number 8 of 11 children and was the darling of my older siblings (I like to think) except my oldest sister. At least when I was young and she was in high school. I still cower in fear at those memories. When I became the bigger sister when I was 13 I understood her actions as being the oldest girl in a very strict family dealing with a new shiny object that kept getting into her things, and we became better friends than my 4 year old self could ever have dreamed. I went with her to her 20th high school reunion, and I talk to her more than I talk to my parents. I like to think that those characters are just written during the time when the oldest is still trying to figure her self out and the youngest still doesn't understand that snarkiness can equal love...

[web]

My mom wrote a little bit on this subject, also mentioning Howl's Moving Castle: http://bunnyplanet.blogspot.com/2006/04/blog-from-windowsill.html

I find it interesting that she internalized the older sister thing, when in fact she is only about ten minutes older than her sister. ;-)

[Colleen]

Fire & Hemlock remains my all time fav DWJ title - the very tattered mm pbk I acquired when it was out of print is an absolute treasure. If you've somehow missed that one, I heartily recommend it! (But you're right...any DWJ will do!)

[Maggi (Mama Librarian)]

You know, I think I'm the only fantasy reader in the universe who hasn't yet read Diana Wynne Jones. Perusing Librarything, I apparently own none. What should I start with? (and only because I am in a complete reading slump myself. What, maybe it's March?)

[Rantingbiscuit.blogspot.com]

I completely relate to that as the eldest child - and reading Howl's Moving Castle just reaffirmed my juvenile impression of Diana Wynne Jones as the best writer ever because of it.

What was also interesting was developing a greater interest in traditional Nigerian tales where the fairytale convention is completely turned on its head and you're more likely to read of the younger sisters as the less appealing characters with the eldest as the hero.