# Your Personal Favourite Discworld Book **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 13, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-personal-favourite-discworld-book/714940 "2015-03-13T22:58:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-personal-favourite-discworld-book/714940/1 "2015-03-13T22:58:59Z")
It’s a close call between this and _The Wee Free Men_, but _Jingo_ will always be my favourite Discworld novel. More relevant than ever - it should be compulsory reading for anyone who wants to fight in the Middle East - and has not only Vetinari, Nobby and Colon undercover in Klatch, but the crowning moment of Vimes’ career, arresting an entire war - both sides - for breach of the peace and carrying concealed weapons. Sheer glory. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-personal-favourite-discworld-book/714940/2 "2015-03-13T23:27:57Z")
Either _Small Gods_ or _Guards! Guards!_, \*Small Gods \*is a good takedown of religous extremism, but _Guards! Guards!_ is just hilarious. (As is \*Small Gods \* of course) ---
**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:** [March 13, 2015, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-personal-favourite-discworld-book/714940/3 "2015-03-13T23:33:16Z")
I was going to ask this very question, but was too lazy to set up all the poll options. My Top 5: 1. _Night Watch_ - Wherein Pterry commits Literature and we discover the origins of oh so many things. 2. _Soul Music_ - What can I say, I’m a sucker for bad _Blues Brothers_ references. 3. \*Jingo \*- “Tuppence more and up goes the donkey!” 4. \*Going Postal \*- Moist von Lipwig takes the stage, and things are never the same again. 5. _Lords and Ladies_ - Witches vs Elves and Greebo as an IED. The list below those changes daily. Right now I am re-reading _Interesting Times_, and the Silver Horde is making me smile for the first time since I read the news. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-personal-favourite-discworld-book/714940/4 "2015-03-13T23:37:41Z")
I started reading _Jingo_ again last night: > [@](#): > > History was full of the bones of good men who’d followed bad orders in the hope that they could soften the blow. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-personal-favourite-discworld-book/714940/5 "2015-03-14T00:11:11Z")
Another vote for Small Gods from me. It just shades out Nightwatch because it can stand alone better. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-personal-favourite-discworld-book/714940/6 "2015-03-14T00:26:15Z")
Either _The Truth, Feet of Clay, Wyrd Sisters_, or\* Hogfather\*. Or _The Fifth Elephant_. Or _Interesting Times_. Or _Going Postal_. Or . . . ---
**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:** [March 14, 2015, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-personal-favourite-discworld-book/714940/7 "2015-03-14T01:20:18Z")
_Maskerade_, _The Truth_, and _Last Continent_ are my favourites. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-personal-favourite-discworld-book/714940/8 "2015-03-14T01:31:35Z")
Usually it’s whatever one I happen to be reading at the time. Oh, speaking of _Jingo_, I loved Vimes’ amusement at 71-Hour Ahmed’s amazement as he saw Carrot unleash his power during the football (soccer) game. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-personal-favourite-discworld-book/714940/9 "2015-03-14T02:02:00Z")
Night watch is head and shoulders the best Discworld book IMHO. Honorable mentions would be Small Gods Jingo The Truth Thief of Time The Fifth Elephant ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-personal-favourite-discworld-book/714940/10 "2015-03-14T02:42:55Z")
Three way tie between _Nightwatch_, _Small Gods_, and _Wee Free Men_. ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-personal-favourite-discworld-book/714940/11 "2015-03-14T04:09:52Z")
_Going Postal_, the first Pratchett book I read, remains my favorite. It’s such a perfect blend of the silly and serious. It’s both incredibly funny and incredibly moving in places. This also applies to my other favorite Pratchett novels, _Night Watch_ and _Small Gods_. It’s a difficult balance, and one that Pratchett often (IMHO, obviously) failed to hit. But when he did find the mark, there was nothing out there better, or even remotely like it. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-personal-favourite-discworld-book/714940/12 "2015-03-14T04:27:47Z")
_Small Gods_ and _The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents_ are neck and neck. The first because I love the snark and the second because it makes me cry. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-personal-favourite-discworld-book/714940/13 "2015-03-14T06:14:45Z")
The gamut of choices here is very interesting. I have to say Night Watch. Much more serious tone than most discworld and a really tight, moving story. I Shall Wear Midnight comes next for me. ---
**Author:** ![Art\_Rock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/art_rock/32/525_2.png) [@Art\_Rock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Art_Rock)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-personal-favourite-discworld-book/714940/14 "2015-03-14T07:26:44Z")
Another vote for Night Watch, but chosen out of so many great works. ---
**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:** [March 14, 2015, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-personal-favourite-discworld-book/714940/15 "2015-03-14T08:13:29Z")
_Small Gods_. _Night Watch_ is a close second, though. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-personal-favourite-discworld-book/714940/16 "2015-03-14T11:47:49Z")
_Guards! Guards!_ wins by a hair over _Lords and Ladies_ probably because it has my favourite plot line setup and scene in any of his books. Do I really need a spoiler? OK. Error, the ‘whittle’ swamp dragon has re-plumbed his insides into a jet engine, and defeats the huge noble dragon with a sonic boom I like the later more ‘serious’ books plenty too, but the earlier ones with laugh out loud stuff every few pages win out. I just opened GG at random (I wanted to check up on Errol) and read this… A book has been stolen… Carrot. 'Why don’t you just tell the head wizards, or whoever they are? ‘Oook.’ The Librarian indicated with some surprisingly economic gestures that most wizards would not find their bottoms with both hands. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-personal-favourite-discworld-book/714940/17 "2015-03-14T11:49:34Z")
Night Watch, for me. But I think you have to read the previous Watch books to enjoy it that much. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-personal-favourite-discworld-book/714940/18 "2015-03-14T12:37:13Z")
_Night Watch_ is head and shoulders above the rest, as many have said. After that… \*Jingo, Feet of Clay, Reaper Man, Going Postal \*and \*The Truth \*in no particular order. Although you could add _Thief of Time_ and _Carpe Jugulum_ and… It’d be easier to list the bad ones, really. \*Snuff \*went from nowhere to nowhere with lots of pointless meanderings in between (yes, yes we do get it, racism _is_ bad, what else ?), _Unseen Academicals_ I guess is OK if you like dick jokes and the footie, _The Colour of Magic / The Light Fantastic_ of course weren’t that funny to begin with but are even worse now in comparison, and I’m not sure I remember much about _The Fifth Elephant_ or whatever Pterry was saying with that one despite having read it multiple times (along with the others). Something about dwarven scones and Nazi werewolves ? I dunno. I think the only bit I found really funny was the riff on Chekhov, and that was one throwaway section. I remember thinking \*Pyramids \*was a bit naff, back in the day, but I’ve reread it recently and it’s actually a lot better than I remembered. ---
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-personal-favourite-discworld-book/714940/19 "2015-03-14T14:46:23Z")
One more vote for _Night Watch_ - it is both an awesome book and it also adds a tremendous amount to the lore of Ankh-Morpork. Not as hilarious as some others but what it loses in humor it more than makes up otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-personal-favourite-discworld-book/714940/20 "2015-03-14T17:12:32Z")
_Soul Music_ is mine. Not so much for the plot, as the endless music puns. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-personal-favourite-discworld-book/714940.md?page=2)