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Started I Am Not a Serial Killer last night. Read almost 200 pages last night.
I think that means that I like it. The protagonist's internal monologue is amusingly similar to my own, which works well with a running joke that a friend and I have that I'm actually a sociopath because I don't get socializing and think about how he'd look nice without his skin.
I have always heard it said that beauty is only skin deep.
-Draws a razor sharp skinning knife and eyeballs others in the thread-
Care to help me test that assertion?
Got my hands on the Witcher novels, finished The Last Wish and am starting Blood of Elves, though there is apparently a book of short stories that help provide context for Blood of Elves that was never translated into English. It is yet another incident in my life where speaking polish would be really helpful.
I have always heard it said that beauty is only skin deep.
-Draws a razor sharp skinning knife and eyeballs others in the thread-
Care to help me test that assertion?
[Stays on the other side of the room from Comrade Yuugasa]
The Dark Light Years started off at a cracking pace. Hope to get another great big chunk down on the train (yay being in a city again!!!) when I go and meet La Principessa downtown after her union meeting. [Hearts in eyes]
While cleaning up her nest, I went through her books that she was getting rid off and amid a bunch of embarrassing-looking romance novels* I scored a copy of Madame Bovary (why is she getting rid of that?!?), that Junot Diaz book about the Dominican (?) kid who plays a lot of D&D, and Selections from The Canzoniere and Other Works which I imagine will come in handy in the near future.
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*Please, comrades, ignore the shelves full of embarrassing-looking fantasy and sci-fi novels back in the Goblin Caves.
I'm enjoying the The Balkan Trilogy (The Great Fortune, The Spoilt City and Friends and Heroes) by Olivia Manning. British civilian young marrieds living in Rumania on the eve of war? I'm there! I'm only 2/3 of the way through the first book, but the writing's entertaining enough that I plan on checking out the follow up wherein they flee to Egypt, The Levant Trilogy.
I'm not saying I don't like books where people skin each other, those just aren't the only kind of book I read.
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Also, in the spirit of the thread: I am now reading a dual-language edition of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra's Don Quijote/Don Quixote. It's been great because I don't need to use a bilingual dictionary for the words I don't know. Also, I discovered that there really is no equivalent to "hallar" in English. There are other words that are more equivalent to English, but not that one. It's a very useful word. Cervantes uses it a lot.
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Finished reading Firefight - as usual with Sanderson, the last portion of the book was a blaze of several hours where stopping is not really an option.
Coming up next... not sure. Haven't decided yet. Probably CIBOLA BURN (THE EXPENSE 4). Having found out that the TV show will most probably be coming out after the fifth book, I feel like reading the fourth now.
Pretty good book. My mind wasn't blown even once, marking this as a slight disappointment in Sanderson terms - but the plot was fast paced and made sense, the mysteries intriguing and resolved well, and the setting was cool.
I think Sanderson made a lot of really smart choices with this story. First, the main epic antagonist is not a High Epic like Steelheart was, but she is considerably more cunning. That moved the investigation part of the story from trying to figure out a secret weakness to trying to figure out what the hell is going on - the villain is doing things that don't seem to make sense until her plot is fully revealed, with all of it's multiple layers - and the good guys have some scheming going on in the background too.
The second smart choice was to have David grow as a character. Having killed Steelheart and got his revenge, and having been exposed to some "good Epics", his focus in this book moved away from trying to kill as many epics as possible to trying to solve the Epic problem in general - by turning them good. His gradual change of heart is handled decently well.
Third smart descision was to move away from Newcago (gah... I can't believe the city in this book has an even worse name - "Babilar", standing for "Babilon Restored"). While Newcago has an air of oppression which fit the tone of the first book well, the second city had an air of mystery. The change in scenery was refreshing, plus I don't think urban fantasy ever had a setting that was anything like it before.
Despite it's originality, carefully plotted story, character growth and action scenes, this is clearly a transitional novel between Steelheart and Calamity (the third book). It feels like set up to a bigger story, and it had a lighthearted qaulity to it that made it feel to relaxed.
Be that as it may, I enjoyed it and am certainly anticipating the conclusion of the story in the next book.
I've just finished 'Whom the Gods Would Slay' by Ivar Jorgensen, an utterly bizarre book which features Vikings, Theosophist witches with hordes of wolves who double up as handy GPS devices when their paws are chopped off, berserker Bishops who save the world by summoning millions of locusts and a nymphomaniac Martian vampire queen who gives birth to ants.
At one point, gratifyingly, 'ants' is given an extra u:
Lall smiled. "Set down the ship. This seems like an excellent spot" A look of tenderness was in her eyes. "Forests. Food for my aunts - until they find red meat"
I swear that I am not making any of this up. If I can find a way of proving it via pics, I will.
Started the sequel to I Am Not a Serial Killer, Mr. Monster. It's decent so far.
Most recently, The Saxon Mirror: A "Sachsenspiegel" of the Fourteenth Century.
Finished The Dark Light Years today on the bus back to New England. Pretty f@+#ing depressing for its meager 120-something pages.
Knew I was gonna finish it, so I grabbed something off La Principessa's shelves. Was tickled pink to discover that she has three of those League of Extraordinary Gentlemen companion guides. Thought about trying out Pynchon or Marquez, but in the end opted instead for E. Nesbit.
Most recently, Slavery in the Late Roman World, AD 275-425.Further readings along this line: Slavery in Early Christianity. I haven't yet gotten past the introduction. It's a bit less recent than the other one, but still new enough that it postdates the materials I read in college on this subject.Still expanding my readings in this area. Google books is helping me keep up with (parts of) recently published material:
Roman Slavery and Roman Material Culture (a 2013 collection)
I'd like to review Servus Onerosus: Roman Law and the Troublesome Slave, which I glanced over too quickly when I still had college library access, but at $40 for an article pdf...
Further readings along this line: Slave Prices in Late Antiquity (And in the Very Long Term)
A quickie.
Written by the same author as Slavery in the Late Roman World, and written before the book. Obviously, contains a similar approach that seeks to replace the old, discredited Orthodox Marxist theories of classical slavery.
The Disappearing Spoon, a book about the periodic table of the elements
Hero of the Ages, if you are in to fantasy, I highly recommend the works of Brandon Sanderson.
Written by the same author as Slavery in the Late Roman World, and written before the book. Obviously, contains a similar approach that seeks to replace discredited Orthodox Marxist theories of classical slavery.
I remember reading in an anti-Marxist appendix to some Michael Grant volume that the only ancient Roman figure that was widely known in the Soviet world was that gladiator turned crusader played so memorably on the screen by Kirk Douglas.
To which, of course, I say:
Patricians suck!
Vive le Spartacus!
Agents of Light and Darkness by Simon Green. The second volume of the Nightside series.
Written by the same author as Slavery in the Late Roman World, and written before the book. Obviously, contains a similar approach that seeks to replace discredited Orthodox Marxist theories of classical slavery.I remember reading in an anti-Marxist appendix to some Michael Grant volume that the only ancient Roman figure that was widely known in the Soviet world was that gladiator turned crusader played so memorably on the screen by Kirk Douglas.
To which, of course, I say:
Patricians suck!
Vive le Spartacus!
My understanding is that the teaching of pre-1917 history in the USSR was a) marginalized and ignored 1917-1934, and b) revived after that, but under the auspices of Stalin and with a lot more interest in pushing Stalinism than in anything else. Google also tells me that post-1934 the USSR did decide that a standard textbook of ancient history was worthwhile, although it had to run the Stalin+Kirov personal editorial gauntlet.
No idea what the USSR did with the field of classical antiquity after Stalin died, though. Apparently not much? As classical figures go, I don't know if Spartacus is the best. Close may count for horseshoes and hand grenades, but for slave rebellions it's just a quick route to crucifixion. And the influence of the revolt on the overall Roman slave system was probably less significant than historians used to think - particularly, the idea that the centuries that followed saw an organized softening of Rome's slave system is probably not that defensible now.
At least Augustine successfully rescued some slaves.
The Disappearing Spoon, a book about the periodic table of the elements
I'm curious, what did you think of this one, Minion? My daughter read it for a STEM class she was taking and it looked interesting. After a lifetime of pushing books into my kids' hands, it would be interesting to flip that on its head for once!
For fun:
Moses Finley and Michael Grant
Flipped through the appendix entitled "Karl Marx" in A Social History of Greece and Rome. Seemed (and still seems) kinda weird to have such an appendix in such a book, but I guess he had some axes to grind. Anyway, found this interesting footnote:
"The slave revolts against Rome were sometimes presented by Soviet text-books as 'tactical failures' but great moral victories all the same. Preobrazhensky was put to death for his critical review of Misulin's book glorifying Spartacus's uprising, but V.V. Vinogradoff understood that the rebellion did not impede the slave-owners' growth."
Poor Yevgeni.
Agents of Light and Darkness by Simon Green. The second volume of the Nightside series.
I'm loving that series. I'm up to book... 6 now I think. Been listening to the audio books since I've been having trouble tracking down the collected editions. Found most of them on book depository, but it'll now have to wait until I've paid some medical expenses and bike rego, and started up my Pathfinder subs again. Being an adult blows sometimes. While I had less money as a kid, at least I didn't have to pay bills and rent with it :P
Have you read Green's Secret Histories series? The supernatural spy thrillers? I've got the first couple, but again had trouble tracking down the others here.
Agents of Light and Darkness by Simon Green. The second volume of the Nightside series.
I'm loving that series. I'm up to book... 6 now I think. Been listening to the audio books since I've been having trouble tracking down the collected editions. Found most of them on book depository, but it'll now have to wait until I've paid some medical expenses and bike rego, and started up my Pathfinder subs again. Being an adult blows sometimes. While I had less money as a kid, at least I didn't have to pay bills and rent with it :P
Have you read Green's Secret Histories series? The supernatural spy thrillers? I've got the first couple, but again had trouble tracking down the others here.
The Nightside series is kind of unintentionally funny to me. It's about a dark and exciting city where it's always 3 AM. I live in Buffalo, and the bars close at 4 AM, so it's kind of like it's always 3 AM. It's often 3 AM.... And in the first book, they go to a timey-wimey, wibbly-wobbly restaurant where they had the Coke from the 1960s that is made with real sugar, and we have a food truck that serves real Mexican Coke that is made with real sugar, so it seems like this supposedly dark and mysterious city is just my neighborhood. :-P
The Sandman Slim series is similar, but takes place in LA (Hell-A?).
Agents of Light and Darkness by Simon Green. The second volume of the Nightside series.
I'm loving that series. I'm up to book... 6 now I think. Been listening to the audio books since I've been having trouble tracking down the collected editions. Found most of them on book depository, but it'll now have to wait until I've paid some medical expenses and bike rego, and started up my Pathfinder subs again. Being an adult blows sometimes. While I had less money as a kid, at least I didn't have to pay bills and rent with it :P
Have you read Green's Secret Histories series? The supernatural spy thrillers? I've got the first couple, but again had trouble tracking down the others here.
The Nightside series is kind of unintentionally funny to me. It's about a dark and exciting city where it's always 3 AM. I live in Buffalo, and the bars close at 4 AM, so it's kind of like it's always 3 AM. It's often 3 AM.... And in the first book, they go to a timey-wimey, wibbly-wobbly restaurant where they had the Coke from the 1960s that is made with real sugar, and we have a food truck that serves real Mexican Coke that is made with real sugar, so it seems like this supposedly dark and mysterious city is just my neighborhood. :-P
The Sandman Slim series is similar, but takes place in LA (Hell-A?).
To be fair, if your neighbourhood really is like the Nightside, then it is pretty dark and horrible :P I mean it's got
And that's just in the first book. And of course that's without even taking the real players, the Powers and the Dominations of the Nightside into account.
The Disappearing Spoon, a book about the periodic table of the elementsI'm curious, what did you think of this one, Minion? My daughter read it for a STEM class she was taking and it looked interesting. After a lifetime of pushing books into my kids' hands, it would be interesting to flip that on its head for once!
Sorry for the delay. It is actually quite the good read. I'll admit, I've been getting sidetracked by the other book I mentioned, but it's definitely a book want to keep reading. Admittedly, mine is for class just like your daughter's though, and I've fallen a bit behind.
If you want to know more about what it's actually about, it essentially goes into the stories behind the elements. It talks about the creation of the transistor and poor unloved germanium, bromine's failure in German chemical warfare, element hunting and Bunsen and the spectroscope. It might follow a certain theme for several chapters but it goes from one person's story to another, a highlights reel, if you will, of the periodic table. I'm less than half-way through and there's sure to be more page turners. I do recommend this to those who enjoy learning and factoids.
Agents of Light and Darkness by Simon Green. The second volume of the Nightside series.
Huh, never heard of it before, but it sounds interesting. I'll check it out after I resolve my responsibilities with my other books. Thanks.
Finished reading Firefight - as usual with Sanderson, the last portion of the book was a blaze of several hours where stopping is not really an option.
Coming up next... not sure. Haven't decided yet. Probably CIBOLA BURN (THE EXPENSE 4). Having found out that the TV show will most probably be coming out after the fifth book, I feel like reading the fourth now.
** spoiler omitted **...
Hey! Fellow Sanderson fan! I've been thoroughly engrossed with his Cosmere setting, would you recommend th Firefight series to me? What's it like? Have you read his Cosmere books?
EDIT: Saw the other thread. Clearly you have.
Most recently, Slavery in the Late Roman World, AD 275-425.Further readings along this line: Slavery in Early Christianity. I haven't yet gotten past the introduction. It's a bit less recent than the other one, but still new enough that it postdates the materials I read in college on this subject.Still expanding my readings in this area. Google books is helping me keep up with (parts of) recently published material:
Roman Slavery and Roman Material Culture (a 2013 collection)
I'd like to review Servus Onerosus: Roman Law and the Troublesome Slave, which I glanced over too quickly when I still had college library access, but at $40 for an article pdf...
Further readings along this line: Slave Prices in Late Antiquity (And in the Very Long Term)
A quickie.
Written by the same author as Slavery in the Late Roman World, and written before the book. Obviously, contains a similar approach that seeks to replace the old, discredited Orthodox Marxist theories of classical slavery.
A slight change in topic this morning:
The Freedman in the Roman World. Pretty new scholarship, and really outstanding so far.
Also, in other developments, I should soon hopefully have access to JSTOR again! It should enable me to read the rest of Slavery and Roman Material Culture, among a bunch of other things :)
Synergistic weirdiosity:
The Maoist-inclined independent red historian rival for the affections of La Principessa (since vanquished) will be lecturing on Spartacus in the People's Republic of Cambridge come early March.
Agents of Light and Darkness by Simon Green. The second volume of the Nightside series.
I'm loving that series. I'm up to book... 6 now I think. Been listening to the audio books since I've been having trouble tracking down the collected editions. Found most of them on book depository, but it'll now have to wait until I've paid some medical expenses and bike rego, and started up my Pathfinder subs again. Being an adult blows sometimes. While I had less money as a kid, at least I didn't have to pay bills and rent with it :P
Have you read Green's Secret Histories series? The supernatural spy thrillers? I've got the first couple, but again had trouble tracking down the others here.
The Nightside series is kind of unintentionally funny to me. It's about a dark and exciting city where it's always 3 AM. I live in Buffalo, and the bars close at 4 AM, so it's kind of like it's always 3 AM. It's often 3 AM.... And in the first book, they go to a timey-wimey, wibbly-wobbly restaurant where they had the Coke from the 1960s that is made with real sugar, and we have a food truck that serves real Mexican Coke that is made with real sugar, so it seems like this supposedly dark and mysterious city is just my neighborhood. :-P
The Sandman Slim series is similar, but takes place in LA (Hell-A?).
To be fair, if your neighbourhood really is like the Nightside, then it is pretty dark and horrible :P I mean it's got ** spoiler omitted **
And that's just in the first book. And of course that's without even taking the real players, the Powers and the Dominations of the Nightside into account.
Hahahaha!!!! It's not that bad. Same number of weirdos, just less lethal ones....
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'The Power of Silent Command' turned out to be a compendium of cheesy mid '70s sales agents' tips and is not a path to Ultimate Cosmic Power at all. Bah.
I'm reading 'Daggers in the Forum - a history of the Gracchi' at the moment, in between nibbles of Gor and Illuminati. Not bad. Also got a book about the Chartist revolt in Bradford out of the library.
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Finished reading Firefight - as usual with Sanderson, the last portion of the book was a blaze of several hours where stopping is not really an option.
Coming up next... not sure. Haven't decided yet. Probably CIBOLA BURN (THE EXPENSE 4). Having found out that the TV show will most probably be coming out after the fifth book, I feel like reading the fourth now.
** spoiler omitted **...
Hey! Fellow Sanderson fan! I've been thoroughly engrossed with his Cosmere setting, would you recommend th Firefight series to me? What's it like?
Have you read his Cosmere books?EDIT: Saw the other thread. Clearly you have.
Well, The Reckoners (the series to which Firefight belongs) is not part of the Cosmere universe. Also, it is aimed to YA so I'd say certain aspects of it are not quite as good as what you expect from Sanderson.
However, it is hands down the best YA I've ever read. A lot of solid action, humor, an interesting setting and some awesome plot twists. It's a lighter read than his other stuff but I really enjoyed it. So yes, I recommend the books if the YA label doesn't scare you off.
Finished reading Firefight - as usual with Sanderson, the last portion of the book was a blaze of several hours where stopping is not really an option.
Coming up next... not sure. Haven't decided yet. Probably CIBOLA BURN (THE EXPENSE 4). Having found out that the TV show will most probably be coming out after the fifth book, I feel like reading the fourth now.
** spoiler omitted **...
Hey! Fellow Sanderson fan! I've been thoroughly engrossed with his Cosmere setting, would you recommend th Firefight series to me? What's it like?
Have you read his Cosmere books?EDIT: Saw the other thread. Clearly you have.
Well, The Reckoners (the series to which Firefight belongs) is not part of the Cosmere universe. Also, it is aimed to YA so I'd say certain aspects of it are not quite as good as what you expect from Sanderson.
However, it is hands down the best YA I've ever read. A lot of solid action, humor, an interesting setting and some awesome plot twists. It's a lighter read than his other stuff but I really enjoyed it. So yes, I recommend the books if the YA label doesn't scare you off.
Thanks. I don't think that it will scare me off, I'm only just on my way out of that age group, and that's if you really push it. I hadn't really been sure about reading his other books outside of the Cosmere setting, but I think I will now... as soon as I finish my increasing backlog of books to read. I'll get there eventually.
Finished Republic of Thieves
Again enjoyed it, but felt the plot line in the flashback was stronger than the plot line in the present. Although could have dealt with a tad fewer play rehearsal scenes.
Starting Fevre Dream this week
Was going through some boxes and found my childhood copy of In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World.
Left The Magic World at Mr. and Mrs. Comrades', so I started reading the final Fafhrd and Gray Mouser story. Kinda sad cuz I don't want it to ever end...
Just tore through Pirate's Promise, the sequel to Pirate's Honor.
Yet another excellent entry in the Pathfinder Tales series. I'll try and write up a review tomorrow if I get time after work.
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Just finished "reading" my first audiobook, REDEMPTION ARK (REVELATION SPACE #2, by Alistair Reynolds). Audible have that thing where you can get your first audiobook for free, so I decided I might as well see if audio is a medium that I find acceptable for books.
The results are a mixed bag. I do think I would have enjoyed the book better had I read it myself. However, the audiobook had two distinct advantages - one, the way the narrator did some of the voices created more realized images of some of the characters in my mind. Second, and perhaps more importantly, I could listen to the book while doing other things. While it took more time than I would have required to read it on my own, that time was always one that I would not have been able to utilize otherwise.
I don't think I will buy another audiobook though, mostly because of their prices - 2 or 3 times that of a normal kindle book. I don't want to overspend on books so getting the audio ones might actually reduce the number of books I read, which I don't care for.
The book is, unfortunately, not without it's flaws. A huge part of the set up for the conclusion of the book relies on a heap of coincidences that really stretches belief, and many important plot elements seem to spring out of nowhere and take over the story without proper set up.
However, all in all I enjoyed the book and will definitely read the third and final book in the trilogy, Absolution Gap. It will be some time before I do, though, as these books are not only long but also complicated and require a large amount of effort on my side to keep up, and I need my rest.
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I don't think I will buy another audiobook though, mostly because of their prices - 2 or 3 times that of a normal kindle book. I don't want to overspend on books so getting the audio ones might actually reduce the number of books I read, which I don't care for.
You should check out LibriVox. They have a bunch of volunteer-read audiobooks of public domain works. Of course it's all older stuff, but free audiobook collections of Sherlock Holmes stories, etc. is nothing to sneeze at.
Just finished "reading" my first audiobook, REDEMPTION ARK (REVELATION SPACE #2, by Alistair Reynolds). Audible have that thing where you can get your first audiobook for free, so I decided I might as well see if audio is a medium that I find acceptable for books.
The results are a mixed bag. I do think I would have enjoyed the book better had I read it myself. However, the audiobook had two distinct advantages - one, the way the narrator did some of the voices created more realized images of some of the characters in my mind. Second, and perhaps more importantly, I could listen to the book while doing other things. While it took more time than I would have required to read it on my own, that time was always one that I would not have been able to utilize otherwise.
I don't think I will buy another audiobook though, mostly because of their prices - 2 or 3 times that of a normal kindle book. I don't want to overspend on books so getting the audio ones might actually reduce the number of books I read, which I don't care for.
** spoiler omitted **...
My biggest annoyance with Audible is that their membership plans for the Australian store only allow 1 credit a month. The US store (and maybe the UK) allow you to get more credits at once at a cheaper rate. I still go with the Australian one as it avoids currency conversion fees, and given that our dollar is tanking at the moment it'd be more expensive for me to go with the other stores, but there's no good reason for us to not have the same variety of membership deals available to us.
I haven't picked up a kindle or anything like that yet. Been considering it, as I'm running really low on space for books, but at the moment audio books are winning because I can listen to them while I'm at work as long as whatever i'm working on is monotonous enough.
This month's Audible credit went to When Gravity Fails, since I'm on a cyberpunk kick at the moment. I normally look for longer books (most books I've got from Audible are 20 hours at least) because I listen to them while on long rides or at work, so I tend to tear through them pretty quickly (when I was pulling slightly longer hours a little while ago I was getting through one of the Nightside books every day, with a minimum of listening at home). But based on the recommendations I've been seeing for it, I thought I'd give it a go.
Go Dog, Go followed by Rapunzel. After that there was a quick trip to do a wee before bed, some fidgeting, pleas to be told a story, more fidgeting, some counting of favorite types of LEGO, more fidgeting, "I'm not tired", "I'm a bit tired, but I'm not sleepy", "Who is Boba Fett's dad?", "Can we wrap you in a mattresss and karate kick you like Uncle Daryl did to Aunty Bel when they were kids?" and finally, blessed sleep.
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I've almost finished reading my first Discworld novel (Moving Pictures), and I am ashamed of myself. Ashamed that it took me twenty-four and a half years of life before I picked one up. I've since begun budgeting for the hardcovers, because they deserve more of my attention. It's like reading a Monty Python film and A Series of Unfortunate Events all at once.
After I finish this, it's on to Hold Me Closer, Necromancer.
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I've almost finished reading my first Discworld novel (Moving Pictures), and I am ashamed of myself. Ashamed that it took me twenty-four and a half years of life before I picked one up. I've since begun budgeting for the hardcovers, because they deserve more of my attention. It's like reading a Monty Python film and A Series of Unfortunate Events all at once.
After I finish this, it's on to Hold Me Closer, Necromancer.
Ha. Best description of Pratchett I've read, I think. I'm gonna steal this when I want to recommend his books to people.
For no actual reason, a particular Terry pratchett quote comes to my mind, where he describes the Big Bang theory in more clarity than most scientists manage:
At first there was nothing. Then, it exploded
Maybe it's because this quote would feel so at home in any Monty Python movie.
By the way, for the next Discworld book you pick, I would really recommend "Guards! Guards!" - his Discworld novels are ordered into several sub-series, as this excellent page shows. Each has different themes and characters, though they often intersect. To the best of my understanding, this is how it works -
1) The Rincewind books are a parody of epic fantasy (the entire sub genere that is heavily inspired by Tolkien) and of D&D.
2) The Witches books are a parody of classic fantastical tales and literature - often about Shakespeare, the theater, opera, etc.
3) The Death books are often about big scale philosophical ideas - life and death (obviously), but also the passage of time, duty, the meaning of existence, good and evil, and other such lighthearted pastimes.
4) The Watch novels are about social issues - racism, patriotism, traditionalism, and so on.
To me, it feels like Pratchett has the most to say about society, which is part of the reason why the Watchmen series is my absolute favorite. The other half is that the characters are simply his most charming and likable - even though others, such as Rincewind and Granny Weatherwax - are certainly as good as any character in the watch. One of the things I find most striking about Pratchett is that his books are not only funny and smart, they are often very interesting, with stories that have me turning the pages late at night.
Absolutely one of my favorite authors. I should find a time to slide one of his books into my schedule, it's been a while since I read anything by him.
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Re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-reading Azure Bonds by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb.
Started The Cardinal's Blades by Pierre Pauvel today. Only forty pages in, but there's been some lovely pieces of swashbucklery comments already.
Somewhat shortened due to not having the book here and having to go from memory:
"I surmise that I am about to fight the gentleman in his shirtsleeves, but could you please remind me as to why, exactly?"
"It's a gambling debt."
"Really, how much do I owe him?"
"No, he owes you."
"Oh, so how much?"
"1500 livres."
"Good God. And I was going to kill him!"
It's much better (and more detailed) in the actual text.
Damnit! It's Pevel, not Pauvel.
I tried reading Rebecca Gable's novelization of The Settlers of Catan but it wasn't grabbing me.
Settlers of Catan doesn't... strike me as the obvious novelization choice... =)
Yeah. I mostly grabbed it out of the library as a joke (my gaming group plays SoC about 25% of the time), and then it got so cold for so long I haven't been able to either dig out my car or walk to the library. :-0
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Eh, I figure if Tetris gets a movie, why can't Settlers of Catan have a novelisation. It's got more story than Tetris does :P
Mostly involving sheep, I'd assume. :-)