Reading Guides
By pgn
@pgntwo (22408)
Derry, Northern Ireland
April 14, 2018 10:02am CST
As an avid reader of many of the novels in the Discworld series, by the late Sir Terry Pratchett, I find some of the humour creeps into my posts here and there. I do occasionally get asked where some of my quotes come from. Inevitably, this leads to a request for a suitable starter book title from his many, occasionally tightly, often loosely, intertwined Discworld novels.
I don't follow the fan websites, preferring my own interpretation of the many funny situations in most of his books without being swayed into in-depth arguments about who, what or which character appeared in what book first and why.
But how to recommend the Discworld series to a first-time reader who may not be a fan of the science fantasy genre of writing, for whatever reason?
I did find the guide shown above, with all thanks to whomever designed it, and found it raised a smile as I traced the paths down through it. I thought it merited a share here, if you're in the market for a taste of something different.
You might need to open it in a separate tab to follow from top to bottom.
With thanks to the graphic's designer:
mica | mid-20s | artist | grad student | PNW // blog contains: museums, art history, ecology &...
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5 responses
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
15 Apr 18
It's as good a way as any to get an intro to the Discworld, even if it doesn't mention my favourite, The Last Continent (that landmass known as XXXX, or Four Ecks - loosely based on, well, I'll let you guess 
) 
.
) .The Last Continent is the twenty-second Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. First published in 1998, it parodies Australian people and aspects of Australian culture, such as the Crocodile Dundee and Mad Max movies, Vegemite, Flip-Flops, cork hats, the Peac
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@Poppylicious (11133)
•
15 Apr 18
I couldn't get into Pratchett when younger because I couldn't get my head around anything fantastical. Within a month or two of getting together, Husband {a big fan} chose Equal Rites from his vast collection and encouraged me to read it. He thought I might enjoy it because of its protagonist, Eskarina.
Oh my. I LOVED it!
I think I've read most - if not all - of his books now, except one he wrote with Neil Gaiman which just did my head in.
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@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
15 Apr 18
Soooo..... given what you know, d'you think the picture up top's a good way of getting people to read his stuff?
BTW, the Gaiman/Pratchett book is Good omens, will be on the telly sometime next year, David Tennant as one of the two protagonists, and the other played by Michael Sheen
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@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
16 Apr 18
@Poppylicious Sounds like one of the books he co-wrote with Stephen Baxter... I borrowed one from the library, it was OK, but I fell out with the style half-way through the second one... Long Earth, Long War, Long Mars, etc.
I have a couple of early ones of his, Strata I think was one, The Dark Side of the Sun was the other. Interesting premise, Strata, you can see how he worked it into his Discworld series. He also wrote a couple of books about Johnny, as well as the ones with the Carpet People: Diggers, Truckers and Wings.
@Poppylicious (11133)
•
16 Apr 18
@pgntwo No, I've read that, and liked it. It couldn't have been Gaiman then, and I'm sure it was non-fiction, but I can't remember. I shall have to look at the bookshelves when I get home tonight!
It seems a good way to get people into the Discworld, but I might suggest starting with something easier - and more stand-alone - like the Bromeliad trilogy. I seriously love those nomes!
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@mlgen1037 (29886)
• Manila, Philippines
14 Apr 18
This is the same author as the one you recommended to me. Are those different titles of the books written by Terry Pratchett? I will be checking them tomorrow when I go to the bookstore. 
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@mlgen1037 (29886)
• Manila, Philippines
14 Apr 18
@pgntwo I will, my good friend. That would really be helpful. Thank you, PGN.
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