I have 32 of the books, if you want we can figure out a day for you to pick them up. That includes Good Omens though, so not everyone is Discworld. Apparently there are 41 Discworld novels published over 32 years.
I don’t see myself rereading them again and I’ve been pairing down my book collection a lot. Most are read 1-3 times only. Mix of hardcovers and soft.
Let me know via PM and I’ll give you my new address. I’m not at the old place where I hosted Dopefests.
If someone’s committed to reading the whole series, then I can fully support starting with The Colour of Magic.
If someone’s just going to read one book, and depending on how well they like it decide whether or not to continue, then I would not recommend starting there.
Not too long ago, Humble Bundle offered the whole set in ebook form for somewhere around $20. (But alas, that deal is no longer available.)
So, getting rid of them two at a time?
Ugh I can’t believe I set that up so perfectly. I will run away in shame on dozens of legs.
Exactly. 
Indeed, some of them are only classified as “comedy” just because they’re Discworld books. Monstrous Regiment, for instance, was no more comedic than any other dramatic novel, and it worked.
But yeah, silly humor has its place, too.
I read Good Omens years ago but put off reading Pratchett. I recently started Discworld and am going to read them, more or less, in order.
The good is often “the enemy of the best”. The first few books, Colour of Magic, Light Fantastic, etc. have Goodreads ratings just above 4/5. Pratchett’s highest community rated books like Mort or Guards have ratings around 4.5/5.
People may criticize early efforts that build the world but lack the depth of later efforts or don’t yet feature their favourite characters. Having just read them, I still think they are very, very good compared to almost anyone. Few writers are as witty as Pratchett, and the humour is occasionally subtle requiring knowledge of other things.
I had never heard of “Humble Bundle” living in Canada. Based on this thread I checked it out.
Apparently, for the next two days only, you can get 39 Discworld novels (on Kobo or app) for a minimum donation of $16. Seems like quite the deal, since local used book stores tend to sell out of Pratchett immediately.
(I also supported a hilarious charity.)
Fascinating link. Thanks for that. Since I just downloaded a crap ton of novels, it will get some use.
I am convinced part of Pratchett’s success is his ability to combine obvious, easy, silly and obscure humour to appeal to most readers regardless of their background. Plus his ideas are just clever - I could use a suitcase with hundreds of legs.
This deal is again available on Humble Bundle for the next two days, and I appreciate you steering me towards it. Thanks!
Yeah, the first couple aren’t the best in the series… but they’re still pretty good. I like reading series in publication order, and to anyone else with the same preference, I have no reservations about recommending they start there (just, with a note that they get better).
I always recommend reading them from the start, because that’s what I did (I started reading Discworld in 1987, just before Equal Rites released in paperback) and it’s why I got into him immediately. I will allow they might feel more comfortable with Mort or Guards Guards first, but that’s as far forward as I’d go for getting people into it.
That set is missing two books: The Last Hero and Raising Steam. I can understand TLH being left out because it is illustrated, but I don’t know why they left out RS.
It was the last, and therefore most recent book. Possibly the publisher has a rule about putting books on such a steep discount unless they’re x years old, and RS is the only one that didn’t make that cut.
The Shepherd’s Crown was the last book.
As an interesting aside, your Pratchett link says this, when describing The Light Fantastic:
p. 30] “[…] the only forest in the whole universe to be called – in the local language – Your Finger You Fool, […]”
The miscommunication between natives and foreign explorers Terry describes here occurs in our world as well. Or rather: it is rumoured, with stubborn regularity, to have occurred all over the globe. Really hard evidence, one way or the other, turns out to be surprisingly hard to come by. As Cecil Adams puts it in More of the Straight Dope: “Having now had the “I don’t know” yarn turn up in three different parts of the globe, I can draw one of two conclusions: either explorers are incredible saps, or somebody’s been pulling our leg.”
Just over twelve hours remain to get most of the Discworld novels on Humble Bundle for under $20, with a portion going to charity.
Thanks for the humble bundle heads-up; though I own them all in paperback, I picked up the bundle as well!
I see that Humble Bundle is again offering most of the Discworld for under $20 for another three days. I don’t know if this is a perpetual offering. And since it is a good deal, don’t much care.