Reading Wednesday
Finished reading: Pyramids by Terry Pratchett. This is one of the most underrated Discworld novels, I think. I don't see it pop up on favourites lists very much, at least not when there are active conversations. Part of the reason for this might be that it's a complete one-off. As far as I know, Teppic and Ptraci don't show up in any of the other novels in the series. When you only get to meet a character once, it's easy to forget them in a series as long as this one.
Pyramids is really, really good. And after giving it some thought, it occurs to me that it might be a good book to use to introduce someone to Discworld. Reasons: It's placed in the series after things start to get awesome, there aren't any previous novels that one would need/want to read in order to familiarize them with the characters, and it's an excellent example of Pratchett's humour. It's very, very witty. Also, while some of the other novels fall a little flat if you don't know much about what is being satirized (The Colour of Magic relies a lot on familiarization with '70s and '80s fantasy genre, Dungeons and Dragons, and Lovecraftian mythos), most people know at least a few things about ancient Egypt and the cliches that one typically comes across in its portrayal.
That aside, I really like Teppic as a character, and I wish Pratchett had done more novels with him. Since he left Djelibeybi at the end of the novel, it would've been pretty easy for him to pop up almost anywhere on the Disc. Ah, well.
Currently reading: The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien. It's been a while since I last read any Tolkien. By a while, I mean years. But my dear friend Clara really loves The Silmarillion, so I decided to give it a go. I came across the book in a secondhand store in Victoria - I found it a little odd, there were tons of copies of Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit as well, but out of the two stores I went to, there was only one copy of The Silm between them.
Part of what finally pushed me to getting this book is that the copy at the bookstore had originally been someone's gift, and the inside cover had an extremely enthusiastic note to the recipient. It made me smile. I'm going to copy it here, so you guys can see - and tell me if you agree with it. ;)
Christmas, 1997
Dear A,
Tolkien is the shit. This is the best thing he ever shot. Written in a very cool, god-like point of view, just like Homer's Iliad & Odd. Read this & forget about all the third-rate "fantasy" hacks who've made a living off jerking off on T's least interesting aspects.
Love always,
R
Now, I'm not far enough into it to say it's the "best thing T's ever written", heh. But I'm enjoying it so far. It's a little tricky to get everything straight, but I've read enough epics that at this point I can just let that wash over me.
Reading next: I have no idea. Nonfiction, probably. Maybe that book on British naval history that I picked up in Victoria? Then again, maybe not, it's kind of heavy and my wrists have been a bit sore lately. Hmm....
This entry was originally posted at http://yuuago.dreamwidth.org/3409216.html. You can comment here or at the original entry.
Pyramids is really, really good. And after giving it some thought, it occurs to me that it might be a good book to use to introduce someone to Discworld. Reasons: It's placed in the series after things start to get awesome, there aren't any previous novels that one would need/want to read in order to familiarize them with the characters, and it's an excellent example of Pratchett's humour. It's very, very witty. Also, while some of the other novels fall a little flat if you don't know much about what is being satirized (The Colour of Magic relies a lot on familiarization with '70s and '80s fantasy genre, Dungeons and Dragons, and Lovecraftian mythos), most people know at least a few things about ancient Egypt and the cliches that one typically comes across in its portrayal.
That aside, I really like Teppic as a character, and I wish Pratchett had done more novels with him. Since he left Djelibeybi at the end of the novel, it would've been pretty easy for him to pop up almost anywhere on the Disc. Ah, well.
Currently reading: The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien. It's been a while since I last read any Tolkien. By a while, I mean years. But my dear friend Clara really loves The Silmarillion, so I decided to give it a go. I came across the book in a secondhand store in Victoria - I found it a little odd, there were tons of copies of Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit as well, but out of the two stores I went to, there was only one copy of The Silm between them.
Part of what finally pushed me to getting this book is that the copy at the bookstore had originally been someone's gift, and the inside cover had an extremely enthusiastic note to the recipient. It made me smile. I'm going to copy it here, so you guys can see - and tell me if you agree with it. ;)
Christmas, 1997
Dear A,
Tolkien is the shit. This is the best thing he ever shot. Written in a very cool, god-like point of view, just like Homer's Iliad & Odd. Read this & forget about all the third-rate "fantasy" hacks who've made a living off jerking off on T's least interesting aspects.
Love always,
R
Now, I'm not far enough into it to say it's the "best thing T's ever written", heh. But I'm enjoying it so far. It's a little tricky to get everything straight, but I've read enough epics that at this point I can just let that wash over me.
Reading next: I have no idea. Nonfiction, probably. Maybe that book on British naval history that I picked up in Victoria? Then again, maybe not, it's kind of heavy and my wrists have been a bit sore lately. Hmm....
This entry was originally posted at http://yuuago.dreamwidth.org/3409216.html. You can comment here or at the original entry.