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[yuuago]

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[diplopod.livejournal.com]

'kay, so that expert advice I was talking about this morning.

I was talking to Uni awhile back and she mentioned Pratchett in passing which reminded me I wanted to read some of the Discworld series. I've been avoiding it because there are just so many books, but I figure if they can be read on their own, then I don't have to read them all anyway... I could just stick to a single storyline or something.

Anyway, forgot about it for awhile, and then the topic of fantasy novels came up and reminded me again. And I just finished off the last book I own, so I kind of have to order more anyway. I'm not really sure which ones to start with though. ;3; I guess what I'm saying is I need some recs, either your favorites or somewhere to start? Or you can just punt me and tell me to look up stuff, myself.

I have some other books I'm going to order too, but they're not really for entertainment as much as research, so yeah. Might get World War Z too, though. Thumbs up or thumbs down? 'Cause you know I've got this horrible habit of reading about things that scare me shitless. But I can save it for later if it's just eh.

/rambles all over your spam post

[yuuago]

Okay. You'll want to take a look at the "reading order" guide. There is one here (under "English, 2.0") though it isn't quite up to date - I shall wear midnight is missing from the end of the Witches list - but anyway.

Let's see... One thing I would suggest is picking one book from each storyline. Or pick the "starters" for a few different storylines. That way, you get a (nearly) complete overall view of the series, and who is involved in it, and the stories and the types of stories contained. The main reason I suggest this is because that's how I did that (though it had more to do with what was available to me in the library at the time than anything else), and it worked very well.

From each line, I'd suggest the following, though by and large these suggestions are the first I read, and the ones that got me hooked on each story (and by extension the series itself). (And if more than one is listed, then those are all 'favourites', but the first is the one I read first)

Rincewind/Wizards novels: The Colour of Magic, The Last Continent
Witches: Lords and Ladies, Carpe Jugulum
Death: Hogfather
The Watch: Jingo, Feet of Clay
Industrial: Going Postal, Monstrous Regiment
Ancients: Pyramids
Tiffany/Young Adult: Wee Free Men [considered part of the Witches narrative by many, but I consider Tiffany's novels part of a separate storyline]

Let's see, what else. Oh yes -- it's possible to tailor the storylines you read to existing tastes you might have. In general, the different narratives satirize different things. The Watch novels (not surprisingly) often satirize mystery narratives and the police force. The Ricewind/Wizards novels poke fun at wizardry (of course) but the focus is often also on academia. Others, like Going Postal and Making Money, take on things like economy and government institutions.

I'm kind of reluctant to push you to read the Rincewind novels, because they are disliked by a lot of Discworld fans. Actually many of Pratchett's early novels aren't all that popular in comparison to some of the later ones. On the other hand, I'm extremely fond of the Rincewind narrative, and of Rincewind as a character, and the first Discworld novel I happened to read, also the first in the series, The Colour of Magic, is about him, and it's what made me fall in love with the series so completely. So... I suppose the conclusion is this: I love it, but many people do not, and you might or might not.

Among other readers, the Watch narrative is the most popular (and I enjoy it very much too) though I will say that one of the later ones (Thud) is not as good as the rest, and while generally one can just pick up a Discworld book and read it regardless of order, I would advise not to read Night Watch unless you've read other Watch novels.

The Witches stories are also very popular. As I mentioned above, I consider the YA Witch narrative to be separate from the regular Witches stories; the first is about three grumpy old women (all of whom I absoltel adore), whereas the Tiffany novels are about a witch-in-training and a bunch of grumpy, tiny blue hooligans. I will say, with regard to the Tiffany novels, Wee Free Men made me cry -- but that might be because of certain personal attachments I have, and might not have the same result with another person.

Hmmm. That's all I can think of for now. If you've any other questions, feel free to ask -- there is probably something I've forgotten.

Oh, and re: your end note about World War Z. I did enjoy it, and I do recommend it. However, I did find some parts of it very disturbing, and would suggest reading it during daytime hours.

[diplopod.livejournal.com]

Oh man, that was a bit more than I was expecting. I knew you were the right person to ask! Ahh, this is so helpful and you are awesome, thank you! <3 /bookmarks for future reference

I think I've actually seen you complaining about people's opinion of The Colour of Magic on twitter before, haha. I was planning to start with that one since it was the first and I probably still will, and if it turns out I don't like it at least I'll know the other books are different.

But anyway, I think I know where I'm going with this now. Good thing I asked, or I would've just picked a storyline and stuck with that. But I think I'll get one from a few different ones to begin with, like you said.

Also, World War Z: noted. o7 I'll try not to read it in the dark.

Did I mention you are awesome?

[yuuago]

I'm glad that was helpful <3 Ahhhh.

One thing about Colour of Magic: Not only is it different from the other novels, it's very different. I'm talking in style, in texture, in subject matter, in everything. Pretty much the only thing that rings the same with later novels is Rincewind's characterization (though that changes a bit -- but one can put that down to development). And in general, it seems CoM is more of a general satire on fantasy novels (... and the tourism industry) whereas the later stuff, hmm. Digs deeper? Is more complicated? Come to think of it, it's been ages since I last read it; I might be making it seem as if there is more difference than there actually is. But then again, there's nearly 30 years of difference between Colour of Magic and Unseen Academicals (the most recent non-YA novel), so of course there is some... difference.

Oh, and while I'm talking about Pratchett's work, Nation is not Discworld, nor is it really fantasy, but it is excellent. And The Carpet People is also non-DW but is fantasy and is very, very good. And the Johnny Maxwell series is good too, if you like YA novels with stuff like science fiction and time travel.

Pff I know I'm tl;dring a lot but... well. Pratchett's work in general is just something I'm so fond of. I came into it at a young age and still haven't lost interest in it. And it has influenced myself and my writing a great deal, though with regard to writing it's much less obvious now than it used to be (those works will not see the light of day, ever).

[diplopod.livejournal.com]

I see, I see. Even if you haven't read it in a while, I'll take your word for it. I suppose Now that I think about it, I could save for after I read some of the other ones, if it's so different. To read when I feel like I need something "new." But we'll see.

Aha, and I'm just looking for stuff to read in general, they don't necessarily have to be Discworld (or fantasy for that matter, though I will admit it takes up the majority of my bookshelf), but it's something I've wanted to read for a while. Anyway, I looked those two up and they both sound interesting! *3* ...Annnd I just looked up Johnny Maxwell also and remembered I wanted to read Only You Can Save Mankind too. Honestly, I hear about all these books I want to read and forget about them five minutes later, it's ridiculous. /makes a goddamn list this time

And tl;dr all you want, I certainly don't mind. It's interesting. I knew you liked his writing, but I didn't know you were so passionate about it. Definitely picked the right person to ask.

[iceandheather.livejournal.com]

On the one hand, saving it for later might be a good idea. On the other hand, it provides a relatively good introduction to the Discworld and Ankh-Morpork, so there you go. At the very least, it's a short and quick read. IDK. Flip a coin or something.

I hear ya' on wanting to read things but then forgetting. Make a list! ... 'Only you can save mankind' was excellent, by the way. :V Hmm, come to think of it, I find that in terms of texture (and feel and whatnot) the Johnny Maxwell books, as well as the Carpet People, have a similar "feel" to them as Colour of Magic and the other very early Discworld books, considering they were written earlier in Pratchett's career. There is quite a distance between those ones and, say, Night Watch or Monstrous Regiment or Nation for that matter.

And... with regard to my feelings on his writing, "Passionate" is a good word for it. To be honest, I wanted to do my honours thesis on his work (Though not all of it, of course -- I'd considered picking maybe three novels). The main thing that prevented me from doing so is that there wasn't a professor at my school who was familiar enough with it to be an adequate supervisor for the subject, sigh.

Fuck, I forgot to log out.
... Well, I suppose Norway would like Pratchett too. ;p

[diplopod.livejournal.com]

You're not helping my indecisiveness! Well, no matter. I'll worry about it when I actually have the book to worry about.

List, made. o7 Ahh, there's a lot. I'll go through and see what I want to buy the most tomorrow since s'getting late now. Anyway, I'm not surprised. If someone writes for that long of course their writing is going to change, though whether it's improvement or not is a matter of opinion, I suppose. But I don't think it's a bad thing. I know I'd get bored if I read a bunch of books and they were all written exactly the same way. ...But ngl, I might be too blunt to even notice. I'm err, definitely lacking in the literature/English department.

Anyway, that's a shame. To be honest, I don't really know what goes into an honours thesis, but I bet it would have been easy for you since you care about it so much, maybe even fun. But, well, it's in the past now.

And considering you're practically Norway, I do not doubt it one bit.

askdjfhk I really have to go to sleep now. G'night, Yuu!