Bibliophile Support Group

House of Many Ways is a middle grade/YA fantasy novel by Diana Wynne Jones and the sequel, of sorts, to Howl’s Moving Castle and Castle in the Air . Due to this, I recommend reading the books in order to get the full, fun effect. When Charmain’s great-uncle, the royal wizard of their land, becomes mysteriously ill and is carried off by elves to be tended to, Charmain is volunteered by her wealthy aunt to look after his house in his absence. To Charmain this is an opportunity to read nonstop without pesky, bothersome parents about to disturb her – but she soon discovers that time to read at this unique house may be tougher to come by than she expected. A humble, ordinary dwelling on the outside, Charmain’s great-uncle’s residence is a wonder from the inside – with the ability to bend space and time. There’s also a clingy, stray dog in residence that may or may not be magical and an inconvenient arrival of a clumsy wizard’s apprentice. To top all of this off, Charmain becomes...

Castle in the Air is a middle grade/YA fantasy novel by Diana Wynne Jones. It’s also a companion to Howls Moving Castle . To keep from being spoiled at all on Howl’s Moving Castle – I recommend you read it first. You can read my review here . Young carpet merchant Abdullah makes smart buying decisions and spends his free time with his friend Jamal and Jamal’s people-hating-except-for-Jamal-and-Abdullah dog. He also spends a lot of his time dreaming. When one day a mysterious man sells him a persnickety magic carpet, things begin to get complicated. That very same night, Abdullah awakens to find himself in his imagined palace garden and meets girl just like the one he’d daydreamed about – she is a princess and her name is Flower-in-the-Night. Just as Abdullah begins to think all of his dreams are coming true – Flower-in-the-Night is kidnapped by a wicked djinn. A quest has begun – as he must save her! Along the way his stubborn magic carpet leads him to a shady genie a...

A Wrinkle in Time is a classic sci-fi children’s novel by Madeline L’Engle. I know, I know. This another one of those, “How could you not have read this yet?” books. Well, I’m getting around to them!!! Many of you have probably already read A Wrinkle in Time – but for any of you who haven’t, join me in fixing this literary crime. It’s a stormy, windy night when Meg simply cannot fall asleep in her attic bedroom. Wandering down the stairs she is joined by her beautiful, scientist mother and little brother Charles Wallace. It’s on this night that the mystery of her father’s disappearance begins to unravel. It’s on this night that the marked difference of Charles Wallace becomes all the clearer. It’s on this night that Meg meets Mrs. Whatsit. Thus begins a journey of Meg, Charles Wallace and new friend Calvin O’Keefe – a journey that will reveal that far more is out there in creation than she could have ever imagined – including her father. It’s a journey fraught with pe...

Rebecca is, as the cover states, a classic tale of romantic suspense by Daphne Du Maurier. Shy and timid, our heroine is stunned when the dashing, enigmatic Maxim de Winter asks him to marry him. They barely know each other but have spent many days in Monte Carlo – while her employer was ill in bed, leaving her an unusual amount of free time – taking drives and enjoying a comfortable quiet. She knows that his home, Manderley, is revered and that she will be the second Mrs. de Winter, but when she accepts Maxim’s proposal she isn’t too concerned about all that. Upon arriving at Manderley, however, she finds a magnificent manor that feels as though it’s still inhabited by Rebecca – Maxim’s first wife. The servants still follow her orders as though she were alive, the townsfolk speak of her beauty and grace with awe and the eerie, disconcerting housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, lays out clothes for Rebecca in her old rooms. Certain that she will never meet the standard Rebecca met – and ...

The Phantom Tollbooth is a classic children’s/middle-grade fantasy novel by Norton Juster. How have I never heard of this book until recently??? All I can say is THANK YOU to a bookish bud that told me about the GEM!!! Have YOU heard of The Phantom Tollbooth ? Have YOU read it? Milo finds little interest in any place he’s at when he’s there or anything he’s doing when he’s doing it. When Milo finds a tollbooth in his room one day, he decides to go ahead and drive through it in his little electric car – if only because he’s got nothing better to do and this is certainly something different. For once, though, where he ends up doesn’t have him thinking about leaving. Milo finds himself in a world that’s very different from his own – meeting the residents of the Doldrums, being at a market of words at Dictionopolis, taking a look over Point of View, jumping to the Island of Conclusions – and much, much more. As he embarks on an adventure for the ages – involving a daring r...

Persuasion is a classic novel (that hopefully all bibliophiles have heard of) by Jane Austen. This was the only Austen novel I had yet to read – and I had to fix that! Anne Elliot is seven and twenty and not yet married. Eight years ago she had been in love. She had been engaged. But as he was a poor, lowly Royal Navy man, her family and friends persuaded Anne to break it off with Captain Wentworth. She is still unmarried – because she knows she will never love another man as she loved him. When circumstances throw them together again, Anne finds it difficult to ignore the searing pain of seeing him – the look of low regard in his eyes that she has resigned herself to deserve. And yet – is there hope? Her heartbreak all these years later leads her to realize that her feelings are no less deep – and the persuasion that led her to give him up all those years ago could not touch her now… if he would only have her once more. Oh wow. It’s been a while since I’ve read J...