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BOOK NOOK: Dear Reader,

by: Xanthe

Tue May 24, 2011 at 03:01:50 AM EDT

1pm~

Alas, I am unable to sit for any long period of time - something is going on with my legs. Thanks to a dose of Vicadin - I'm able to write this short post.

Xanthe :: BOOK NOOK: Dear Reader,

My review was to have been a Terry Pratchett book: Truth. I didn't finish the book but what I read propelled me into a new world: Discworld. He is funny, irreverent and layered. This story seems to me to be about a new and unsettling invention in this place between magic and realism - the printing press. And - the invention is one of the dwarfs, a problematic and hardworking minority. As I continue reading, and become more comfortable in Discworld, the people presently in power there will find the press threatening to their magic. This can be interpreted on many levels - entrenched powerful vs. those with less power comes to mind. In any event, the book is charming to this point and a good read.

So let's open up this week's Book Nook to all fans of fantasy and Mr. Pratchett especially. As well, what are you reading these days.

I will try to check in -

Tags: book nook, the truth, terry pratchett, open forum on reading, (All Tags)

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BOOK NOOK: Dear Reader, | 12 comments

jar for Xanthe (15.00 / 5)

"Indeed, if a poor man will spend a year in prison for stealing out of hunger,
how high would the gallows need to be to hang the rich man?"
~The Patrician in 'Snuff' by Terry Pratchett

by: RiaD @ Tue May 24, 2011 at 12:52:28 PM UTC

I gave myself a tip - (12.60 / 5)

because I deserve it. but seriously, the book is charming so far, Ria. Sorry it came at a time when I have a sciatica attack - (I think). It's a positive reading experience - funny, scathing but with a purpose.

and once again - sorry it ended up on front page.

For who could have foretold
That the heart grows old.
W.B. Yeats

by: Xanthe @ Tue May 24, 2011 at 13:39:05 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

yes you do! (13.67 / 3)

i cannot seem to get any kind of essays written
for a while even the Gha! posts were too much...

to have you produce something while in pain is going above & beyond
there is no need to push yourself so
everyone will understand, me especially!

hugs!

"Indeed, if a poor man will spend a year in prison for stealing out of hunger,
how high would the gallows need to be to hang the rich man?"
~The Patrician in 'Snuff' by Terry Pratchett

by: RiaD @ Tue May 24, 2011 at 13:54:34 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

What a neat diary, Xanthe. (13.00 / 5)

Sorry about your sciatica attack, and the fact that your leg's bothering you. Hope you feel better soon.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

by: mplo @ Tue May 24, 2011 at 20:52:18 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

o xanthe (14.80 / 5)

i am so sorry you are having trouble with your legs!

i hope you can soon find out the problem & get it fixed!!

i'm delighted that you are enjoying the Pratchett...
irreverent and layered is the. perfect. description. of his work.
i'm hoping you enjoy him so much you read the rest
he has a way of pointing out the obvious & poking fun at it...
while never quite directly saying anything...
he's an author that makes you think.
& one that i'd suggest to young adults - who would love the rollicking tale & see no further-at first!
(can you tell i'm a huge fan?)
sadly he has gotten early onset Alzheimer's :(
his last book i shall wear midnight was quite a bit darker than the rest (understandably)
i have no word on any forthcoming books.

"Indeed, if a poor man will spend a year in prison for stealing out of hunger,
how high would the gallows need to be to hang the rich man?"
~The Patrician in 'Snuff' by Terry Pratchett

by: RiaD @ Tue May 24, 2011 at 13:51:19 PM UTC

O God - sorry about the Alzheimers - (10.80 / 5)

what a sad thing - felt the same way with Iris Murdoch -

For who could have foretold
That the heart grows old.
W.B. Yeats

by: Xanthe @ Tue May 24, 2011 at 14:00:09 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I think he officially retired (13.00 / 2)

after the diagnosis. Not 100% sure, but I think I read that somewhere.

Damn shame -- he is SO talented.

English usage is sometimes more than mere taste, judgment and education - sometimes it's sheer luck, like getting across the street.
E. B. White

by: Youffraita @ Tue May 24, 2011 at 22:05:41 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

For the (14.80 / 5)

forseeable future I'll just be reading the free kindle books. Right now I'm reading Lair of the White Worm by Bram Stoker.

From his works that I've read so far I don't know why they catagorize him as horror. What I've read of his stuff seems to be more fantasy than horror.

by: Alma @ Tue May 24, 2011 at 14:28:14 PM UTC

Well - the kids have discovered vampires - (9.00 / 5)

and Bram Stoker writes about vamps, doesn't he?

If I were a teenage boy - I might try to sell myself as a vampire, so I could date cheerleaders.

It's the bad boy syndrome with a twist.

For who could have foretold
That the heart grows old.
W.B. Yeats

by: Xanthe @ Tue May 24, 2011 at 16:08:57 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

His most famous ones (15.00 / 4)

were vampires. But I don't most consider vampire tomes as horror unless they are gory. Most contemporary vampires are nice blood bank drinkers, and funny, hence I classify them as fantasy.

But the first one I read was a mummy-witch one, but the mummy-witch didn't hurt any of the modern day players in the story. They brought her to life at the end and she just left. She did kill some that had first taken her from her tomb and stolen her hand. A lot of the story was just about ancient times, and artifacts. I didn't find it scary or gory.

Same with the one I'm reading now. The main characters seem to be mainly studying fantastical legend and mysticism of the area where they are living and have figured out one of the women is really a worm thats evolved, with a bad temper towards mongeese (I guess that would be the plural of mongoose) that try and eat her. She has killed one guy that tried to shoot her for unrequited love.

So, so far I have found his writing to be much different than I had expected. The movie version of Dracula was the only writing of his I was familiar with before. Now I'm wondering just how much they changed his work when they made the movie.

by: Alma @ Tue May 24, 2011 at 20:31:04 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

please take good care, Xanthe (14.20 / 5)

I hate it that you're in any kind of pain. and thanks from the heart for these reviews ~ you'll have me a Pratchett fan in no time at all :O)

It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see. ~ Thoreau ... and, do no harm

by: newpioneer @ Tue May 24, 2011 at 17:11:33 PM UTC

I've been pain free for about 8 hours - and not sitting much (13.80 / 5)

-- so let's keep fingers crossed and of course, I accept prayers or good wishes from the universe.

thanks newp.

For who could have foretold
That the heart grows old.
W.B. Yeats

by: Xanthe @ Tue May 24, 2011 at 18:37:22 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

BOOK NOOK: Dear Reader, | 12 comments

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