# Congratulate me! I'm finally reading Discworld! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 15, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516 "2011-02-15T23:56:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/21 "2011-02-16T04:18:12Z")
It’s eventually revealed that Magrat got her name because her parents weren’t very good spellers: She was supposed to be Margaret. And other Lancrians include names like Jason, Shawn, and Agnes. And _Small Gods_ is probably the best place to start, if you don’t plan on starting at the beginning. First of all, it’s very good (many consider it his best), and second, it’s fairly disconnected from most of the other books (it takes place hundreds of years previously), so there won’t be too much that you’re expected to recognize from the other books. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/22 "2011-02-16T04:20:57Z")
Oh, and Carrot and Nobby aren’t those characters’ actual names, either. Carrot is Dwarfish, and has a Dwarfish name meaning “Head banger” (he’s six feet tall). He presumably goes by “Carrot” among humans because of his red hair. And Nobby’s full name is Cecil Wormsborough St. John Nobbs, and if you had that name, you’d go by a nickname, too. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/23 "2011-02-16T05:18:36Z")
I played in a private tinyMUD for a short time, and I had a Luggage of my very own. I want a Luggage in real life, too. It’s cute. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/24 "2011-02-16T06:12:05Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Why must you tempt me so? > > I’ve tried twice and failed to get into it. The first time I read Colour of Magic. > > The second time I read Mort. > > Both times I failed to get intrigued, but I am sure the Dope must be correct. It must be a good series. I read like five or six Discworld books before I finally gave up. I found them to be mildly amusing, but not nearly as funny as they were touted, and it took me like a week to get through each one, which was absolutely _ridiculous_, considering how short and light they were. I was sure I was wrong and that since everyone else liked them, I would eventually figure out what was so great about them. After awhile though, I just said “forget it. Not everyone is going to like the same things.” I made a good faith effort. Now, if only I can get people to stop insisting that I read the wrong five or six books and that if only I would read X or Y book I would totally understand that Pratchett is a genius OMG!!!, that would be super awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Carmady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Carmady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carmady)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/25 "2011-02-16T06:51:43Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Now, if only I can get people to stop insisting that I read the wrong five or six books and that if only I would read X or Y book I would totally understand that Pratchett is a genius OMG!!!, that would be super awesome. I understand being annoyed by that, but the reason is that everyone has their favorites and ones they don’t much like, so if you tell them you’ve only read the ones they don’t much like, and didn’t much like them, they naturally feel you might have similar taste as them and therefore might like the ones they like. Personally, I couldn’t even finish Small Gods or Mort, which a lot of people like. But I liked Guards! Guards! a lot. The one I would recommend first though is The Amazing Maurice. Probably the best starting point. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/26 "2011-02-16T07:27:50Z")
Yay! Welcome to the Pratchett fold! I’m glad you like _Colour of Magic_, if just because you’re in for a treat when the books start getting stronger. I’m afraid I wasn’t too thrilled with CoM, but then I wasn’t too thrilled with the Wizards storyline as a whole. The Witches are better, but my favorite storyline is the Night Watch (which starts with the aforementioned _Guards! Guards!_). But even the weaker books had their moments–I really liked The Luggage, for instance. Hmm, this is making me want to go dig up my Discworld books again. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/27 "2011-02-16T08:23:27Z")
> [@Carmady](#): > > The one I would recommend first though is The Amazing Maurice. Probably the best starting point. That’s a really good call - _Maurice_ is a really astonishing book. Another good starting point is the Tiffany Aching books - they’re Discworld, but (at least for the first couple) only just barely related to the rest of the series. A lot of bookstores stock them in the YA section, instead of with the rest of his books, though. ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/28 "2011-02-16T09:07:08Z")
Really? I found the Tiffany books to be the most boring, honestly. Tiffany as a lead character is simply not compelling, IMO. I much prefer Vimes. I’m rather sad that we’re not likely to have any more books on Death or Susan, though. And his last few books (to me, at least) appear to be more formulaic than anything. I suspect it might be due to his… condition. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/29 "2011-02-16T09:30:28Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Good Lord, 600 books? Like, the real books, not just previews? That’s one hell of a gift! Given the formatting of some of them, let’s just say that he may have had some, er, back-alley dealings in e-books. 😉 But yeah, he specifically hunted down books he believed I would like to have on my reader; he also loaded a bunch of them for **mudgirl** ; all the _Series of Unfortunate Events_, _Percy Jackson_, _Harry Potter_, etc. I’m assuming he couldn’t find _Diary of a Wimpy Kid_, as those are her faves and aren’t on there. Still, when she has to be still/patient for some length of time (not her specialty!), having my Nook sure is handy for her! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/30 "2011-02-16T10:01:15Z")
> [@Tabby\_Cat](#): > > I much prefer Vimes. I really dislike Vimes. He just pisses me off. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/31 "2011-02-16T14:52:49Z")
I own every book Pterry has ever written, most in signed First Editions, and many in multiple copies. The only ones I’ve bothered to load onto my Kindle are the Vimes books. Sam is who I want to be when I finally grow up. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/32 "2011-02-16T16:54:02Z")
Welcome to the flat side. Avoid the Luggage, it doesn’t know the difference between human beings and cookies. > [@Chronos](#): > > Oh, and Carrot and Nobby aren’t those characters’ actual names, either. Carrot is Dwarfish, and has a Dwarfish name meaning “Head banger” (he’s six feet tall). He presumably goes by “Carrot” among humans because of his red hair. And Nobby’s full name is Cecil Wormsborough St. John Nobbs, and if you had that name, you’d go by a nickname, too. IIRC and quoting from memory, in Guards! Guards! (Carrot’s first appearance), it is explained that he is not called Carrot because of the color of his hair, which his father keeps cut short for reasons of Hygiene, but because of his shape. IOW, he already went by Carrot among his homeland dwarves and the hair is specifically _not_ the reason for it. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/33 "2011-02-16T16:59:13Z")
Now I’m getting excited to read more just so I can discover more about these characters! > [@Nava](#): > > Welcome to the flat side. Avoid the Luggage, it doesn’t know the difference between human beings and cookies. Yes, I’m already discovering that. However, it _would_ be handy when trying to get into a hotel (the cheaper kind without bell hops is the kind I frequent), to have luggage I don’t have to _carry_. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/34 "2011-02-16T17:42:08Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > IIRC and quoting from memory, in Guards! Guards! (Carrot’s first appearance), it is explained that he is not called Carrot because of the color of his hair, which his father keeps cut short for reasons of Hygiene, but because of his shape. IOW, he already went by Carrot among his homeland dwarves and the hair is specifically _not_ the reason for it. Yep. You Recall Correctly. _People who are rather more than six feet tall and nearly as broad across the shoulders often have uneventful journeys. People jump out at them from behind rocks then say things like, “Oh. Sorry. I thought you were someone else.”_ – Carrot travels to Ankh-Morpork **(Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!)** ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/35 "2011-02-16T18:17:07Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Try **Guards! Guards!** or **Wyrd Sisters**. Those are the two I use to hook students on the place. Are you me? Those are the ones I always recommend. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/36 "2011-02-16T18:52:49Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > **Are you me?** Those are the ones I always recommend. \ Nope. Not you. 😃 **GG** and **WS** are natural places to start, since they are each the beginning of a sub-series and are decently along in Pterry’s career, so he has a handle on the Disc and what he wants to do with it. It also helps that both books have extremely strong central characters ( **GG** - Vimes, Carrot, The Patrician. **WS** - Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, Magrat Garlick ) ---
**Author:** ![Scoobysnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Scoobysnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoobysnax)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/37 "2011-02-16T19:03:25Z")
Here is a link to the recommended reading order for the various series. [![](https://www.lspace.org/books/reading-order-guides/the-discworld-reading-order-guide-20.jpg) ](https://www.lspace.org/books/reading-order-guides/the-discworld-reading-order-guide-20.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/38 "2011-02-16T19:19:07Z")
> [@Tabby\_Cat](#): > > And his last few books (to me, at least) appear to be more formulaic than anything. I’d disagree - strongly. _Thud!_, _Unseen Academicals_ and _I Shall Wear Midnight_, especially, are the exact opposite of formulaic. What formula are you seeing? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/39 "2011-02-16T19:27:51Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I own every book Pterry has ever written, most in signed First Editions, and many in multiple copies. The only ones I’ve bothered to load onto my Kindle are the Vimes books. Sam is who I want to be when I finally grow up. Both versions of _The Carpet People_? (Idly wonders how much the first edition of _that_ one is worth.) ---
**Author:** ![Daerlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Daerlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daerlyn)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/40 "2011-02-16T19:29:01Z")
> [@Cyberhwk](#): > > I’m trying to read it but I’m a complete noob to the fantasy genre and am having trouble keep the names straight. Rincewind? Magrat? Is there nobody in this world named “Steve?” _Hogfather_ has a character named “Medium Dave”, so called because there were already Daves going by ‘Big’, ‘Small’, ‘Old’, ‘Young’, etc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516.md?page=3)