let not the sun go down upon thy wrath, but write thy wrongs in ashes

[tabacoychanel]

There's a Phillip Pullman quote making the rounds on Tumblr, and it's from his introduction to Paradise Lost. It's about the genesis of His Dark Materials:

"Suppose that the prohibition on the knowledge of good and evil were an expression of jealous cruelty, and the gaining of such knowledge an act of virtue? Suppose the Fall should be celebrated

Comments

[mardia]

There is this tendency to do revisionist readings where you come away stanning for the least sympathetic character (Susan was screwed over by C.S. Lewis! Mark Zuckerberg is misunderstood!) and it can be taken to the point that you dislike the characters that the author liked, merely on the grounds that the author liked them.

This pretty much sums up my reaction to like, half of Harry Potter fandom, ngl. Anyway, I haven't read Pullman or C.S Lewis in a LONG time, so I can't really contribute to that discussion (seriously, I was in elementary school when I read those books) but as for Good Omens--you know, it's actually really funny, because I started reading that book because I was a fan of Gaiman, and now it is, years later, and I'm a huge fan of Terry Pratchett and I can't remember the last time I picked up a Gaiman book. That being said, and people are probably going to stab me for saying this, but...I was not all that impressed with it? For some reason (and I know this is cracked) but I feel like the meshing of Gaiman with Pratchett resulted in this emphasis on the parts of their writing that I care a whole hell of a lot less about.

Now, that being said, you have got to start reading Discworld, because Pratchett by himself is DELIGHTFUL, and his stuff has a lot of that incisive commentary, and because he's doing so much world-building, the whole self-references and self-deprecation are actually much more...idk, purposeful? Like, they're actually being used to set a tone and a feel for the world at large, instead of just being shoved in there because they can be. So yes, there's a ton of incisive commentary, but the stories and plotlines themselves are just plain GOOD. Whereas with Good Omens...I'm going to be super honest, up until the last third of the book, I had to force myself to read through most of it.

[tabacoychanel]

This pretty much sums up my reaction to like, half of Harry Potter fandom, ngl.
some of the snapefen are kind of extreme about this ngl
how about if i just end all my sentences with ngl

i've been meaning to read discworld since sophomore year of high school, and every time i see one of those paperbacks with the garish clash of purple and green and other colors that don't belong together i go over and thumb through them. however i donut what order to read them in. and would not unless i was sitting in front of my laptop with a wiki tab open. welp. i am indecisive when i am at the library.

I'm going to be super honest, up until the last third of the book, I had to force myself to read through most of it.
GIRL, same here.

this is very relevant!!! robin's goal was a thing of beauty. i stopped watching afterwards. fuck yeah flying dutchmen!!!!

[mardia]

Ahahahaha do not get me started on Snape. Or Draco. Or, you know, any of the Slytherin characters. Otherwise I will burst out into a rant the likes of which you haven't seen (well, except for when I bitch about Cesc transferring to Barca) and I try to keep my fandom bitterness down to a minimum, thank you.

HEE the covers are definitely...eye-catching. My advice is to start with either the City Watch or the Witches books. The Discworld series is very...sprawling, and yeah, it definitely helps if you read in order. My advice is to go with the Witches series first (they're the books that hooked me, and awesome female characters ftw). My advice is to start with Wyrd Sisters, and then go from there. (I'll also caution you that the books generally get a lot better as they go on, although the early ones are still delightful.)

Or, OH, you know what--okay, what I recommend actually is maybe just jumping into the Tiffany Aching series, which is...kind of an off-shoot of the Witches series, but geared more towards younger children. It's not an EASIER read, exactly, but it's definitely more accessible at first than full-on Discworld Pratchett and Tiffany is a very delightful and capable lead character. (That's what I love about Pratchett's female characters, THEY GET SHIT DONE.) Plus, the books are quick reads, and while I love Pratchett, you can't always say that about him. At least not until you've gotten fully attached to his work.

So, if you go for that, then I recommend reading these books, in order--The Wee Free Men, Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith, and even though I haven't gotten a chance to read it yet, I Shall Wear Midnight.

[tabacoychanel]

no she is my person you keep your hands off her
you would be my person except you are not a person yet, you are a fetus and as rick santorum explained fetuses are people and obama kills people
i mean what

[tabacoychanel]

me and jamie will see you at meretricula's rec post at dawn

[mardia]

And hahah, I did end up watching the game all the way through, and Robin's goal was RIDIC. I feel like that announcer had been saving up the phrase "flying dutchman" for JUST the right occasion too, lol. Or maybe it's a common phrase used with RVP, I don't know. Perhaps he always gets ridiculous headers? Anyway, it was awesome.

[tabacoychanel]

did you see the way he FLOPPED. on his STOMACH. like a FISH. it's not as cute as when bojan ruffles leo's hair after he scores, but almost.

[hamsterwoman]

*butts into your Discworld discussion*

I second the recommendation to start with either the Watch books or the Witches books. (One can start with the Tiffany books, sure, but while the Wee Free Men is very cute, I don't know that it gives a particularly good impression of "grown up" Discworld. A Hat Full of Sky is awesome and one of my favorite Discworld books, though!)

If Witches, then, yes, Wyrd Sisters. If Watch, then Guards! Guards! -- though I will posit that the books don't need to be read in order to be enjoyed.

So I would say, unless the books with garish covers mention Rincewind or are Equal Rites, Mort, or Lords and Ladies (because that's the only one that I think requires the prequel), just grab it and see how you like it :)

(Pratchett's women are awesome, yeah. Granny Weatherwax is my favorite female character, and Tiffany is pretty great, too, as is Nanny Ogg.)

[firebluespinel]

*also butts in*

THE WATCH BOOKS! READ THEM! REEEEEEEEEEAD THEEEEEEEEEEEEEM!!!!!!!!!