Welcome to Litsy!

Turns out it‘s been three whole years since I last read any Diana Wynne Jones and a whopping FOURTEEN YEARS since I devoured FIRE AND HEMLOCK in a single, rainy night in Taupo. Revisiting it now was the right choice. I may not finish it tonight, but it‘s gonna suck up a good chunk of my evening with its twisty, story-mad excellence.

I‘ll just try to ignore the cover, which has gotta rank as one of the worst on record. Who authorized it?

One of my intentions for 2024 was to do more re-reading, and now in mid(late) February, I've finally started one.
I read this back in 2018. I don't remember much except feeling confused. 🙃 It's Wynne Jones's retelling of Tam Lin, a fairy tale I apparently am drawn to.

The collection 😍

Lowkey trying to collect them all 🤣

Finished my long overdue reread of one my all time favourites and - I still love it - parts of it hit different now that I‘m older but that‘s probably because I understand more of the book references.

I definitely think I was more horrified by Polly‘s parents - her Mum especially - this time round.

Can she eat and read at the same time? (Generally only if it‘s an ebook 😜😅)

Would this book take me out of a reading slump?

I adore Diana Wynne Jones - an author who has been blessed with many stunning covers and many that are low key hideous - but I digress - I saw this online - had to have it - but when it arrived it wasn‘t in the kind of condition I wanted - and rather than just putting it in the recycling - I carefully tore the cover off and framed it...

I‘ve been wanting this cover for ages - & I finally spotted one for a reasonable price (usually the book is cheap but postage to 🇦🇺 is 🥺). When it finally turned up - I was disappointed at how musty and foxed the pages were... so after much consideration- I ripped the cover off & put it in this frame... and I‘m actually really happy with how it looks! (Didn‘t expect to be ripping a cover off a book but it‘s been quite the year!)

It wasn't my favorite Diana Wynne Jones, that honor goes to Dogsbody, but still quite good. It kept me reading. As a child of divorce, I certainly appreciated it.

"Only thin, weak thinkers despise fairy stories. Each one has a true, strange fact hidden in it, you know, which you can find if you look."

Discovering this book in my 30s was both to this book‘s benefit and its detriment. I was able to appreciate the allusions to other books and folk tales in a way teen me would have missed. I can really admire the book‘s careful construction. Unfortunately, as an adult the central relationship in this book will never not feel gross. As a result, though I admire the book, I can‘t fall in love with it the way so many readers have.

I bought this hardback on eBay and while it is closest to the cover I first remember reading... it‘s a little battered and previously lived in a smokers house... but it‘s also signed... in maybe German?!

My second copy of Fire and Hemlock! This cover is certainly a MOOD!!
I feel that DWJ has had some fairly awful covers over the years - and this one is right on the cusp of being one of them... what do you think?

I adore this book!! And while I‘m generally not in to collecting multiple copies... there are always exceptions! This is my first copy of Fire and Hemlock - I snapped it up the moment it came back into print! I wasn‘t sure I‘d ever get my own copy as I discovered it at the library (this was also before PayPal and online shopping was no big deal)

Day 8: Forget-me-not
I couldn‘t resist. 😏
#literarylove

📖 it‘s the one I most often claim as my favourite ❤️
👓 Katie Fforde (her author bio always cracks me up) and Jasper Fforde (although he is also on my list of ‘authors taking entirely too long to finish writing books in a series‘)

#manicmonday #letterf

🍿 A Fantastic Fear of Everything (a very underrated Simon Pegg movie)
🍉 fried rice, fettuccine, freddo frogs...

Some favourites in various shades of blue. I totally need a new copy of FIRE AND HEMLOCK, though, because this one's got a hell of an ugly cover. #30daysofreadathon

Conflux, Canberra's speculative fiction convention, kicks off today. The theme this year is Grimm Tales, so I thought I'd share with you five of my favourite fairytale retellings.

You can find the list at http://earlgreyediting.com.au/2017/09/29/five-favourite-fairytale-retellings/

30. Favourite Book : Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones ✨ first discovered by smol me in a public library but got my own copy when it came back into print in 2012. #readathon #30daysofreadathon

#Cantstopwontstop adding books to my tbr list. This is all your fault, littens. Lol. You keep posting about all these books that look amazing. The book tagged is the last book I added. #blameitonlitsy #anditsaugust

My faves ❤️

Started this yesterday. almost done today. Super mad that I have to put it down and go to a family barbecue because I am HOOKED.

Thank you for the two awesome books and Valentines goodies, @rubyslippersreads !!! I've never seen sparkly jelly beans before, and I am in ❤ with this magnet about literature. You also picked a Diana Wynne Jones book I've never read! #cupidgoespostal @BookishMarginalia

Re-read after 4+ years

Reread this one finally! I love it in different ways than I used to, but it's still a favorite.#dianawynnejones #fantasy

Maybe it's because I'm not familiar with the story of Tan Coul, but I really didn't enjoy this book.
It took me WEEKS to read this, I read like 20 pages and fell asleep most of the time 😕
I couldn't get on board with the deliberate misspellings in their letters to each other, and I ESPECIALLY couldn't get on board with a romantic relationship between a child and an adult??? The story was really confusing, but I think I wasn't paying attention😕

"She found she knew exactly what Tom meant. She writhed. Oddly enough, it was all the bits she had been most pleased with that now made her writhe hardest. She would have torn it up--except that it had taken such months to write."
Polly, I know how you feel. #nanowrimo

Comfort read of my favorite book. For the 15th or 16th time? Bonus because my best friend gave me the hardcover since the paper back was wearing out.

That thing where Diana Wynne Jones says in a few sentences what entire movies have tried to grapple with.

No, no, it's fine. I didn't need my heart anyway. #fantasy

If you love Tam Lin retellings (me!!), now's the time to reread them all. I'm starting with Fire & Hemlock.

"Only thin, weak thinkers despise fairy stories. Each one has a true, strange fact hidden in it, which you can find if you look."
#bookquote #greatquotes

Esitin? Help! Quote: "they hav aventeres in caves, Tan Coul must do that it is esitin." What the heck is she misspelling? Oh how I hate it when they do this in books. I only read true spellings. I am pretty sure I was born within a dictionary.