I'm dreadfully late to comment on this, but since this evening happens, coincidentally, to combine catching up on net activities and reading a great deal of Pratchett, this seems a late entry forefated. :)
I'm one of those people who read all of the Discworld books in chronological order. Obviously I liked even the first several books enough to keep going with it, but nowadays when I try to get other people hooked on Pratchett I never start at the beginning. I give them Mort and then go on in straight chronological order, skipping over any Rincewind novels and over Moving Pictures as well. This seems to work best for bringing people into the light. Heh.
I know people who have begun their Pratchett obsession by reading one particular "strain" of novels - all the Watch books, or the Death books, or what have you - and that worked well for them. (I confess to reading them in "strains" myself, on re-readings.) But I personally feel that for the first reading it's nice to really feel the inter-connectedness of things, which allows you to be "in" on all of the in jokes. Hence, pushing the chronological approach.
As I was reading through Discworld the first time I laughed (extensively) and enjoyed myself, quick to devour the next volume - but it wasn't until Guards! Guards! that I felt I had fallen deep enough in to say that I loved them. And it was with the following book, Reaper Man, that I started to feel the first twinge of awe for someone who could not only do flawless humor (I knew that already) but also weave an insightful poignancy into the work, sneaking it in seamlessly so that it came on you unawares, and at times struck you so strong in the chest that the emotional ride from one laughing moment to the next deeply stirring one became an almost veritiginous experience, but a wonderful one. < G >
All that said, the Watch books are without a doubt my favorites. I have a very special place in my heart for Death and most of his stories, but nothing moves me like the Watch books. On the ubiquitous Favorite Character question, I would have to say that Vimes wins by leaps and bounds over most, but only by the slightest sliver over Vetinari. In all fairness, I should say they're tied. But happily, the Watch books don't force me to choose between them. < g >
I'm not big on asking authors to autograph books, for some reason, but the one autographed book I own is Men At Arms. I already knew that I adored this man's work before reaching that book, but Men At Arms absolutely worked me over, and it's got a special place in my heart, followed very closely by
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I'm dreadfully late to comment on this, but since this evening happens, coincidentally, to combine catching up on net activities and reading a great deal of Pratchett, this seems a late entry forefated. :)
I'm one of those people who read all of the Discworld books in chronological order. Obviously I liked even the first several books enough to keep going with it, but nowadays when I try to get other people hooked on Pratchett I never start at the beginning. I give them <i>Mort</i> and then go on in straight chronological order, skipping over any Rincewind novels and over <i>Moving Pictures</i> as well. This seems to work best for bringing people into the light. Heh.
I know people who have begun their Pratchett obsession by reading one particular "strain" of novels - all the Watch books, or the Death books, or what have you - and that worked well for them. (I confess to reading them in "strains" myself, on re-readings.) But I personally feel that for the first reading it's nice to really feel the inter-connectedness of things, which allows you to be "in" on all of the in jokes. Hence, pushing the chronological approach.
As I was reading through Discworld the first time I laughed (extensively) and enjoyed myself, quick to devour the next volume - but it wasn't until <i>Guards! Guards!</i> that I felt I had fallen deep enough in to say that I <i>loved</i> them. And it was with the following book, <i>Reaper Man</i>, that I started to feel the first twinge of awe for someone who could not only do flawless humor (I knew that already) but also weave an insightful poignancy into the work, sneaking it in seamlessly so that it came on you unawares, and at times struck you so strong in the chest that the emotional ride from one laughing moment to the next deeply stirring one became an almost veritiginous experience, but a wonderful one. < G >
All that said, the Watch books are without a doubt my favorites. I have a very special place in my heart for Death and most of his stories, but nothing moves me like the Watch books. On the ubiquitous Favorite Character question, I would have to say that Vimes wins by leaps and bounds over most, but only by the slightest sliver over Vetinari. In all fairness, I should say they're tied. But happily, the Watch books don't force me to choose between them. < g >
I'm not big on asking authors to autograph books, for some reason, but the one autographed book I own is <i>Men At Arms.</i> I already knew that I adored this man's work before reaching that book, but <i>Men At Arms</i> absolutely worked me over, and it's got a special place in my heart, followed very closely by <Feet Of Clay</i>, which doesn't seem to be at the top of many people's lists, but is definitely at the top of mine. "Words in the heart cannot be taken."
As for the <i>Small Gods</i> debate, I really, really loved that book. The 'religious upbringing' question is an interesting and relevant one, though I was not raised in a religious environment and I still found the lambasting very... entertaining, shall we say. :) Of course, my favorite parts of that book involved the dissection of philosophers, so it was definitely a combination of things.
Anyway, I suspect LJ is going to cut this comment soon, if it hasn't done so already. Time to sign off, and get back to <i>Going Postal.</i>
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branchandroot
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Date: 2004-10-09 07:49 pm (UTC)I'm one of those people who read all of the Discworld books in chronological order. Obviously I liked even the first several books enough to keep going with it, but nowadays when I try to get other people hooked on Pratchett I never start at the beginning. I give them Mort and then go on in straight chronological order, skipping over any Rincewind novels and over Moving Pictures as well. This seems to work best for bringing people into the light. Heh.
I know people who have begun their Pratchett obsession by reading one particular "strain" of novels - all the Watch books, or the Death books, or what have you - and that worked well for them. (I confess to reading them in "strains" myself, on re-readings.) But I personally feel that for the first reading it's nice to really feel the inter-connectedness of things, which allows you to be "in" on all of the in jokes. Hence, pushing the chronological approach.
As I was reading through Discworld the first time I laughed (extensively) and enjoyed myself, quick to devour the next volume - but it wasn't until Guards! Guards! that I felt I had fallen deep enough in to say that I loved them. And it was with the following book, Reaper Man, that I started to feel the first twinge of awe for someone who could not only do flawless humor (I knew that already) but also weave an insightful poignancy into the work, sneaking it in seamlessly so that it came on you unawares, and at times struck you so strong in the chest that the emotional ride from one laughing moment to the next deeply stirring one became an almost veritiginous experience, but a wonderful one. < G >
All that said, the Watch books are without a doubt my favorites. I have a very special place in my heart for Death and most of his stories, but nothing moves me like the Watch books. On the ubiquitous Favorite Character question, I would have to say that Vimes wins by leaps and bounds over most, but only by the slightest sliver over Vetinari. In all fairness, I should say they're tied. But happily, the Watch books don't force me to choose between them. < g >
I'm not big on asking authors to autograph books, for some reason, but the one autographed book I own is Men At Arms. I already knew that I adored this man's work before reaching that book, but Men At Arms absolutely worked me over, and it's got a special place in my heart, followed very closely by
I'm one of those people who read all of the Discworld books in chronological order. Obviously I liked even the first several books enough to keep going with it, but nowadays when I try to get other people hooked on Pratchett I never start at the beginning. I give them <i>Mort</i> and then go on in straight chronological order, skipping over any Rincewind novels and over <i>Moving Pictures</i> as well. This seems to work best for bringing people into the light. Heh.
I know people who have begun their Pratchett obsession by reading one particular "strain" of novels - all the Watch books, or the Death books, or what have you - and that worked well for them. (I confess to reading them in "strains" myself, on re-readings.) But I personally feel that for the first reading it's nice to really feel the inter-connectedness of things, which allows you to be "in" on all of the in jokes. Hence, pushing the chronological approach.
As I was reading through Discworld the first time I laughed (extensively) and enjoyed myself, quick to devour the next volume - but it wasn't until <i>Guards! Guards!</i> that I felt I had fallen deep enough in to say that I <i>loved</i> them. And it was with the following book, <i>Reaper Man</i>, that I started to feel the first twinge of awe for someone who could not only do flawless humor (I knew that already) but also weave an insightful poignancy into the work, sneaking it in seamlessly so that it came on you unawares, and at times struck you so strong in the chest that the emotional ride from one laughing moment to the next deeply stirring one became an almost veritiginous experience, but a wonderful one. < G >
All that said, the Watch books are without a doubt my favorites. I have a very special place in my heart for Death and most of his stories, but nothing moves me like the Watch books. On the ubiquitous Favorite Character question, I would have to say that Vimes wins by leaps and bounds over most, but only by the slightest sliver over Vetinari. In all fairness, I should say they're tied. But happily, the Watch books don't force me to choose between them. < g >
I'm not big on asking authors to autograph books, for some reason, but the one autographed book I own is <i>Men At Arms.</i> I already knew that I adored this man's work before reaching that book, but <i>Men At Arms</i> absolutely worked me over, and it's got a special place in my heart, followed very closely by <Feet Of Clay</i>, which doesn't seem to be at the top of many people's lists, but is definitely at the top of mine. "Words in the heart cannot be taken."
As for the <i>Small Gods</i> debate, I really, really loved that book. The 'religious upbringing' question is an interesting and relevant one, though I was not raised in a religious environment and I still found the lambasting very... entertaining, shall we say. :) Of course, my favorite parts of that book involved the dissection of philosophers, so it was definitely a combination of things.
Anyway, I suspect LJ is going to cut this comment soon, if it hasn't done so already. Time to sign off, and get back to <i>Going Postal.</i>