March Magics 2023

I love March. It’s the beginning of spring . . . it’s my birthday month . . . and for the last several years it’s been March Magics, a celebration of the works of Diana Wynne Jones and Terry Pratchett.

DWJ being one of my top-favorite authors (alongside J.R.R. Tolkien), of course this brings me great joy, and I enjoy indulging in a Pratchett from time to time as well.

So March has long been a great excuse to hang out in some whimsical and wacky books filled with humor and imaginative fantasy.

This March is the last March Magics to be hosted by Kristen M. @ We Be Reading, who started this delightful event first as DWJ March and later as March Magics, and I’m sooo grateful for the delight this event has brought me over the years. Looking forward to one last hurrah. (And if someone else carries on the torch, I certainly wouldn’t complain . . .)

So!

My March-ish plans.

TO READ

• Diana Wynne Jones short story/stories — After figuring I’d read all of DWJ’s stuff (aside from her impossible-to-find first novel and misc. plays/poetry/essays that I can’t really track down), I was delighted to find (while combing through the handy list of her works on Wikipedia) a short story or two that I’d yet to read. And I was even more delighted to track ’em down. One’s in an anthology with some other authors so…I’ll just check out DWJ’s entry. The other is in (I believe) just two anthologies of DWJ stories, namely Minor Arcana (which I don’t have, but have the rest of the stories in a different anthology) and Everard’s Ride. I tracked down a copy of Everard’s Ride (thank you, Ebay!) and I’m so excited. It has the titular novella (which I have read before) and some short stories, as well as a long short story or short novella called The True State of Affairs which is said story I haven’t read. SO. All that long backstory to say I intend to read that and another short story and I’m excited to read these new-to-me DWJ stories (even if her short stories can sometimes be hit or miss…but I’m certainly curious to try!). I may just go ahead and read the entire Everard’s Ride collection because it’s so pretty . . .
• The Dalemark Quartet by Diana Wynne Jones (re-read) — I’ve been meaning to reread this series for AGES so I’m super excited to have it planned as my main DWJ read this month. Consisting of Cart and Cwidder, Drowned Ammet, The Spellcoats, and The Crown of Dalemark, I have a lovely edition collecting all of them together and I’m sooo looking forward to diving in.
• Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett (City Watch #3) — I’ve been working on various sub-series of the Discworld books, and since last year I read (er…listened to) the Moist von Lipwig books, and had finished the Death series before that, it’s now time to get back to the City Watch series which is special because, I mean, it has Commander Vimes in it, and also because Guards! Guards! was my very first Pratchett (read for my very first March Magics!).

POSSIBLE TO-READ BUFFET-STYLE LIST

A couple of short stories, the Dalemark series, and one Pratchett book are my official TBR, because I need to have something concrete.

I also know that I’m usually wayyyy too overambitious with my March Magics lists and I just don’t always read very much in general, especially when life is busy. (*sighs at Life* Rude…)

However!

I wanted to make a secondary list because I couldn’t resist the idea of stacking more pretties and having possible continuing options to pick and choose from, depending on my mood at the time, if I manage to finish the above “official” TBR.

• Chrestomanci series (Diana Wynne Jones) — I have been craving a re-read of this series for AGES now, but wasn’t quite ambitious enough to aim for all of them this month. But I would love to pick up one or two if I have the time. Because Chrestomanci! And I put considerable effort into collecting these gorgeous editions so they are patiently awaiting whenever I find time for a re-read. I’m excited.
• City Watch continued (Terry Pratchett) — If I read Feet of Clay, I’d love to make more progress on this series! I don’t want to be too ambitious because I likely won’t have much reading time, but I’d love to read more Vimes books if I can.
• Pratchett audiobooks — This is entirely dependent on circumstances and if I have time/opportunity, but I’m eyeing a few Pratchett audiobooks on Scribd, and I may pick one up if I can manage the time to listen! It would either be the next Tiffany Aching or maybe a standalone. (I keep almost trying some DWJ audiobooks on Scribd but I just . . . haven’t been able to make myself do it. I have specific “voices” for all the characters from having read the books and I just don’t feel like listening to an audio version that wouldn’t match up. The one exception I made was for HMC for the novelty of it.)
• Howl’s Moving Castle or others in the series (Diana Wynne Jones) — I re-read HMC most years so I wouldn’t be mad if I picked it up for another re-read, but I also know that I’ll likely pick it up later in the year if I don’t get to it now. But I’ve definitely been in the mood for this series lately and it would be lovely to try out the pretty hardcovers of HMC and House of Many Ways that I picked up — again, thank you Ebay deals. Maybe one of these days I’ll get my hands on a Castle in the Air hardcover Folio Society edition . . . One day . . . *dreams*

TO-WATCH

• I’d like to check out another Pratchett film since those have been interesting in past years, so I’m planning on The Color of Magic.
• I mean . . . I often re-watch Howl’s Moving Castle so I may do that. We shall see. XD

MISC.

I couldn’t resist including this photo I snapped while prepping this post that looks like my cat cackling. XD She’s named Callette, after a griffin from Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones, so she feels like an appropriate addition to this post. Just imagine me cackling gleefully like that at the thought of all the March Magics things! XD

• I have an idea for a Howl’s-Moving-Castle related blog post and I haven’t managed to post that any of the previous years soooo here’s hoping I can finally do it. XD (It may end up posting on my other blog, due to the topic, though.) It would coincide nicely with my 11-year anniversary of reading HMC for the first time . . . The fact I was going to post it for my 8th anniversary of HMC says something about a trait I sadly share with Howl, a.k.a. being a slitherer-outer. 😛
• I’m planning a giveaway for a neat Howl-themed sticker by Beth Wangler Art, so stay tuned for that!
• I also was going to post a handful of pics on my Instagram, hopefully, but as one of them is to be a DWJ “shelfie” pic of my collection, I figured I’d post that here today!

DWJ Collection Shelfie

Top Shelf: Dark Lord of Derkholm, Year of the Griffin, Fire and Hemlock, The Homeward Bounders, The Merlin Conspiracy, Reflections, Howl’s Moving Castle, House of Many Ways, Stopping for a Spell, Witch’s Business, The Ogre Downstairs, Aunt Maria, Archer’s Goon, Howl’s Moving Castle (2), Castle in the Air, House of Many Ways (2), Charmed Life, The Lives of Christopher Chant, Witch Week, The Magicians of Caprona, Conrad’s Fate, The Pinhoe Egg, Mixed Magics, Howl’s Moving Castle (3), The Crown of Dalemark, Charmed Life (2), Howl’s Moving Castle (4; yes, I have 4 editions of HMC. XD)

Bottom shelf: “Yes, Dear”, Everard’s Ride, The Islands of Chaldea, Deep Secret (2 copies), The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, A Tale of Time City, Eight Days of Luke, Power of Three, Enchanted Glass, Wild Robert, The Skiver’s Guide, Puss in Boots, The Game, Earwig and the Witch, A Sudden Wild Magic, Unexpected Magic, Hexwood, Dogsbody, The Time of the Ghost.

Stack (all extras): The Crown of Dalemark, The Pinhoe Egg, House of Many Ways, The Spellcoats, Castle in the Air, The Merlin Conspiracy, Mixed Magics (x2), Charmed Life (x3).

I’ve been collecting DWJ books for quite awhile now and I’m quite fond of my li’l collection! ^_^ I have pretty much all her books and have been tracking down some specific editions. (The little stack in the lower right corner of the shelfie collection are extra editions that I’ve ended up with that I don’t intend to keep, long-term, and may end up selling. [In fact, if one of the books in that stack interests you, let me know. :)])

There we are!

And we’ve made it to the end of the post. Huzzah!

Are there any DWJ or Pratchett fans among the audience? *peers at readers* Are you doing anything for March Magics? Any thoughts about my hopeful plans? Let me know in the comments!