Thank you, Terry Prachett, and goodbye. I came late in life (as in, the year before last) to Terry Prachett's Discworld...but oh, the joy of that year of reading all of the books in chronological order! And oh, the joy of meeting Sir Terry's characters, and the feeling of not just having read deeply entertaining books, but of having been given lovely food for thought of a life-perspective tweaking sort that could lead to better ways of being in the real world. My only real regret about not having started reading him sooner is not just that I could conciveably have already become a better person, but that I missed out on years of excitedly waiting for the next book to come out...
My favorite of his books is Night Watch....and when the lilac blooms this spring, I'll tuck a sprig in my coat and cry some more.
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CHARLOTTE. Oh no, the lilac thing is making me cry all over again.
ReplyDeleteWonderfully said. It's hard to imagine that he's gone, even though he's been sick for years.
ReplyDeleteOh my. I have never read him, but you have made me want to. I love that you said this, "having been given lovely food for thought of a life-perspective tweaking sort that could lead to better ways of being in the real world." What a lovely tribute. You said that Night Watch is your favorite. What would you recommend I start with if I want to read him?
ReplyDeleteWhere to start with Discworld is a hard one, because there are several "right answers" in as much as there are internal serieses that follow particular characters for multiple books. I'd suggest starting with "Guards, Guards," because then Night Watch comes next. I myself started at the beginning, with The Color of Magic, but I also started with a grim determination to read Every One of the books, so I wasn't put off by the sad fact that Color of Magic is not really all that great. Another place to start is with Wee Free Men, the first of the four YA books about young witch, Tiffany Aching. (The audiobooks are excellent, too). Mort, the first book in which Death is a central character, is another commonly suggested starting point. Then there's a few standalones, like Small Gods or Pyaramids....Here's a more detailed answer-- http://thewertzone.blogspot.com/2010/06/where-to-start-terry-pratchett.html
DeleteSo short answer-- I'd say Guards, Guards if you mostly read grownup books, Wee Free men if more mg and Ya.......
DeleteAnd I hope you do try, and enjoy them!
Delete(there is also a very good non-discorld mg/YA book called Nation....)
To read the whole Discworld series in order would be an amazing experience. I started firmly and not very logically in the middle (with The Truth) and have hopped about happily since, but have not read the earlier Watch books or Mort or so many others that I really need to now. So much to be grateful for, thank you for saying it for all of us.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I would love to have said I am well-read when it comes to Pratchett, but I have read a small sampling of his books. I must read more this year!
ReplyDeleteI thought of you when I heard the sad news, remembering your Year of Pratchett. Sniff.
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