# 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:** 4
**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 17, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/61 "2011-02-17T21:28:57Z")
Well, **Carpe Jugulum** has some vaguely similar ideas, but without the rest of the Witches sub-series you would lose most of the impact. **norinew** - **Good Omens** is a must read. You will be howling with laughter within a page. 'Tis a pity they will never make a movie of it. _It wasn’t a dark and stormy night. It should have been, but there’s the weather for you. For every mad scientist who’s had a convenient thunderstorm just on the night his Great Work is complete and lying on the slab, there have been dozens who’ve sat around aimlessly under the peaceful stars while Igor clocks up the overtime._ – (Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman, **Good Omens** ) ---
**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 17, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/62 "2011-02-17T21:29:38Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Quoth **Taomist** :I’ve heard the two of them say in interviews that the parts that were _obviously_ written by Pratchett were actually Gaiman, and vice-versa. They were deliberately imitating each others’ styles. Huh. So the bit with the telemarketers was Pratchett? ---
**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 17, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/63 "2011-02-17T21:34:09Z")
If you want the Big Ideas, then you should probably try the Death books. _Mort_ was the first of those, and contains some important background for the others, but _Reaper Man_ or _Hogfather_ are better. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/64 "2011-02-17T21:35:01Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Well, **Carpe Jugulum** has some vaguely similar ideas, but without the rest of the Witches sub-series you would lose most of the impact. > > **norinew** - **Good Omens** is a must read. You will be howling with laughter within a page. 'Tis a pity they will never make a movie of it. > > _It wasn’t a dark and stormy night. It should have been, but there’s the weather for you. For every mad scientist who’s had a convenient thunderstorm just on the night his Great Work is complete and lying on the slab, there have been dozens who’ve sat around aimlessly under the peaceful stars while Igor clocks up the overtime._ > > – (Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman, **Good Omens** ) OMG, tooooooo funny! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/65 "2011-02-17T23:37:50Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Well, _Equal Rites_ is sort of a witches book, and comes before _Wyrd Sisters_ (at the very least, both feature Granny Weatherwax). But _Rites_ doesn’t really seem to be in continuity with all the rest. Probably because it’s so early. _Equal Rites_ was only the 3rd Discworld novel. _Mort_, the 4th book, is often suggested to be the point where the fully fleshed-out Discworld universe appears. The Granny of _Equal Rites_ doesn’t feel all that “Weatherwax-y” to me, whereas her character as drawn in _Wyrd Sisters_ (6th novel) has remained pretty consistent since. > [@Illuminatiprimus](#): > > I thought Pterry was simply declining in quality but he seems to have hit some kind of sine wave where some books are great and some are drivel. It’s a pity it’s not easily predictable… like being able to simply assume that all odd-numbered _Star Trek_ movies will be rubbish. 🙂 And like **MHaye** I too wondered if the quality of _Unseen Academicals_ had been affected by his illness. ☹ > [@norinew](#): > > OMG, now that I know this, I’m going to have to get more familiar with both of them, and read this! You haven’t read _Good Omens_, **norinew**?! :eek: Stop whatever it is that you are doing and run, do not walk, run to your nearest bookshop! 😃 OK, perhaps an overstatement, but _Good Omens_ is one of my favourite books… and I’ve very pleased to have a copy autographed by Pterry in which he noted: “We made the devil do it”. 🙂 (One of these days it would be nice to get Gaiman’s moniker on there too). ---
**Author:** ![RedWood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f08c70/32.png) [@RedWood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedWood)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/66 "2011-02-17T23:46:24Z")
Lucky You, Norinew! I predict much laughter and great entertainment in your future… ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/67 "2011-02-18T03:04:35Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Quoth **Taomist** :I’ve heard the two of them say in interviews that the parts that were _obviously_ written by Pratchett were actually Gaiman, and vice-versa. They were deliberately imitating each others’ styles. That. is. awesome. !! Thank you for telling me; now I have to go reread it again \ 😛 ETA: and…cue Fat Bottomed Girls to be in my head all evening, now. \>.\< ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/68 "2011-02-18T03:22:38Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Ah, I’m only as far as _Going Postal_, so don’t spoil me with details. I’m a bit surprised, though… I would have thought that, had he wanted to tie it back in, he’d have done so sooner. > > But it does depress me a bit that one or two more Amazon orders, and I’ll be caught up. I mean, then I’ll have to wait for the next release, like everyone else, instead of just being able to order more whenever I want! “Snuff” is due out in October. Try to stretch things until then. Maybe you should get a few of the Diary/Yearbooks or Nanny Ogg’s Cookbook to tide you over. ---
**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 18, 2011, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/69 "2011-02-18T03:34:25Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > If I liked _Small Gods_ very much, but was insufficiently interested in either _Guards! Guards!_ or the other volume I tried to even finish them–that doesn’t bode well for trying any others, does it? The others didn’t seem to have any _ideas_ comparable to _Small Gods_’. Try one of these three: _Hogfather The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents Nation_ Of the three, _Hogfather_ is closest to _Small Gods_, but it’s about the fourth or fifth in the Death line of novels, so there’s some backstory you’ll be missing if you skip straight to it. Without giving away any of the plot, it’s basically an atheist’s defense of the importance of faith in human civilization. _Maurice_ is a stand-alone novel, and is more-or-less _Watership Down_ on Discworld. It concerns the foundations of civilization, the development of a system of ethics, and the interplay between the two. _Nation_ is a non-Discworld novel, also a stand alone, although thematically very close to _Maurice_ - essentially reworking the ideas to a less macro level. The foundation of a state, as opposed to the foundation of a culture, essentially. Not coincidentally, they’re also three of my favorite Pratchett novels. ---
**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 18, 2011, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/70 "2011-02-18T03:40:34Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > If I liked _Small Gods_ very much, but was insufficiently interested in either _Guards! Guards!_ or the other volume I tried to even finish them–that doesn’t bode well for trying any others, does it? The others didn’t seem to have any _ideas_ comparable to _Small Gods_’. > [@silenus](#): > > Well, **Carpe Jugulum** has some vaguely similar ideas, but without the rest of the Witches sub-series you would lose most of the impact. _Carpe Jugulum_ struck me as a sort of counterpoint to _Small Gods_. SG is “Intolerance is bad. People should get along and respect other people’s viewpoint.” CJ is, “Well, yeah, but saying ‘everything is just as good as everything else, so let’s all agree to disagree’ is often just plain apathy/wishy-washiness in disguise.” For the sort of people who like _Small Gods_ and not the silly stuff… there’s the A plot of _Reaper Man_. That’s heavy-duty deep and philosphical. The B plot, however, is a very silly one that involves a support group for the undead. So you should know that going in. _Thief of Time_ is VERY good, but I hesistate to reccommend it to new-comers. I think you really have to be familiar with the backstories of DEATH and Susan to properly appreciate it, and not waste your attention on going “Huh? Death has a granddaughter?” I suppose _Reaper Man_ could work as an introduction to Death’s character, but you’d probably want a quick summery of Susan’s story before tackling ToT. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/71 "2011-02-18T03:40:34Z")
Whatever happened to the Discworld Reading Club? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/72 "2011-02-18T08:06:43Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > In this light, _Good Omens_ sounds like _so much fun_! 🙂 My first contact with Pterry was at a SF/Fantasy literature fair: I got assigned to the seat at his left for meals on account of being the only “general public” member who had understood his opening speech when the microphones didn’t work. I liked him and used what was left of my meager budget for the year to buy Guards! Guards!.. and as has been seen before, I remember tiny details of it very well 20 years later (ok, yes, I have reread it - many times). Good Omens introduced me to Gaiman, for which I’m also extremely grateful to the bearded, behatted gentleman who liked Spanish “jorkata”. Thud! is very much not a good starting point, but God… it has a scene which puts something in my eye every time. Ex.. ex… cus… bwaaaaaaaaaaaaah! _blows nose on hanky, wipes eyes on sleeve and continues reading_ I think it’s the only book which does that, without fail, of all the thousands I’ve read and re-read. Equal Rites and Monstrous Regiment are the ones I recommend to rabid feminists. I always wonder what would [Bruno Bettleheim](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno_Bettelheim) think about Witches Abroad - his books were recommended to me in that same meeting, because my defense of “old” fairy tales vs disneyfied/PC ones matched his own theories. No, BB is not a novelist: he was a psychologist who considered fairy tales a great teaching tool. ---
**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 18, 2011, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/73 "2011-02-18T14:53:01Z")
> [@Apollyon](#): > > _Unseen Academicals_ was on the other hand a huge disappointment… it felt to me like a Pratchett in name only… something ghostwritten for him… and most unsatisfying after the hugely enjoyable _Nightwatch_ and _Going Postal_. Questions - do you play football or belong to a football supporter’s club? How do you feel about Tolkien? ---
**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 18, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/74 "2011-02-18T17:23:30Z")
Quoth **Nava** : > [@](#): > > Thud! is very much not a good starting point, but God… it has a scene which puts something in my eye every time. I think I know which scene you mean… Does it go “Moo”? ---
**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 18, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/75 "2011-02-18T18:25:31Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > Whatever happened to the Discworld Reading Club? It’s **Kythereia** ’s turn to start the next thread, but I can do it if there is enough demand. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/76 "2011-02-19T12:30:24Z")
I totally envy the O.P. knowing that there are all those books, unread in store for you. I have read and reread every D.W. book again and again. My favourites are the Guards novels, Maurice, the Moist books and the Truth. My least favourite (though still excellent) are the Achings,Monstrous Regiment,Rincewind and Witches. To be fair though I’m not the target audience for the Achings. ---
**Author:** ![Kim\_o\_the\_Concrete\_Jungle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ee7513/32.png) [@Kim\_o\_the\_Concrete\_Jungle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kim_o_the_Concrete_Jungle)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/77 "2011-02-19T13:37:48Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > I think I’ve read every one of the Discworld novels (and most of them multiple times), **except** _Colour of Magic_. Started it several times and never managed to finish it. To wrap your head around The Colour of Magic, you first have to realize it’s not a novel. It’s actually a collection of four separate stories. They just happen to be about the same characters, and arranged in chronological order. To get the jokes, you have to be familiar with Fritz Leiber and Anne McCaffrey (and possibly H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard as well). ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/78 "2011-02-20T04:19:47Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > It’s **Kythereia** ’s turn to start the next thread, but I can do it if there is enough demand. I liked them. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/79 "2011-02-22T01:42:31Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Thud! is very much not a good starting point, but God… it has a scene which puts something in my eye every time. When my son was younger he loved [Where’s My Cow?](http://www.amazon.com/Wheres-My-Cow-Terry-Pratchett/dp/0060872675) (Which is kinda- sorta- the story from inside \*Thud \*with certain meta- elements… perhaps best read rather than explained). 🙂 > [@MrDibble](#): > > Questions - do you play football or belong to a football supporter’s club? How do you feel about Tolkien? Odd questions. 🙂 Football… that the game with the round ball, or the one with the sticks? No, wait… it’s the one with wickets right? 😃 (Growing up in sport mad NZ and generally loathing sport is not the best way to fit in socially I’ve found). But, fan of Tolkien & Middle-Earth… first read _The Hobbit_ as a wee lad and have enjoyed LoTR and _The Silmarillion_… not sure I see the connection **MrDibble**. _Unseen Academicals_ just seemed (IMHO) to plod along without much… _zing_… I’ll go back an re-read it in a while… it might be one of the Pratchetts that I enjoy more the second time around (which was true of a couple of others). ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516/80 "2011-02-22T02:15:41Z")
> [@Apollyon](#): > > _Unseen Academicals_ just seemed (IMHO) to plod along without much… _zing_… I’ll go back an re-read it in a while… it might be one of the Pratchetts that I enjoy more the second time around (which was true of a couple of others). I’ve read Unseen Academicals twice. It’s really not very good. If nothing else, it’s completely and shockingly out of character for both the wizards and Vetinari. It’s forced. It’s in my collection, and it will stay there, in honor of Pratchett’s history, but I seriously doubt I will ever read it again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulate-me-im-finally-reading-discworld/571516.md?page=5)