Howl's Moving Castle, a Triumph

Being a diehard Miyazaki fan, I'd been putting off reading Diana Wynn Jones' original book for far too long. Picked it up a couple days ago, haven't put it down since. Upon finishing it, I am simply delighted. It is touching, moving (haha), surprising, and just about as real as fantasy could get. Very different experience from the movie, they diverge paths quickly, but the essence is similar. It is such a breath of fresh air in the fiction genre because it takes every single trope and makes it seem brand new! Please please PLEASE read this book. It reads so beautifully, and the prose fades into the background as you are swept into the story. I'd love to hear from anyone else who's read it. Anyone read the book first and seen the movie second?