Board 8 > B8 Books & Lit Topic 42 - A Squeeze of the Hand

(+) Yeah! (+)

what have you been reading lately?

can yall post pics of your bookshelves? i want to see some

also:
PAPERBACK vs. HARDCOVER

i have grown to hate hardcover personally since i carry around books and move around when i read all the time and PBs are easier to handle.

i generally don't bother with ratings but i finally rated some stuff on goodreads to check out their recommendations.

jusr finished my first terry pratchett - going postal

delightful read.

my bookshelf is a disaster so no pics. in any case i'm near-exclusively a library-book-reader these days.

next up - i was recommended broken glass park, english translation of a work written in german by a woman born in russia.
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libraries are so cool

i was too lazy to pick up my books on hold at the library today <_<
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i constantly renew books even when finished because i'm too lazy to go and return them until i'm forced to.

did somebody say bookshelf



once the kids moved in and i had to convert an office into a bedroom and then a den into an office/laundry room, i gave up organizing my bookshelves.

this week I read two Nnedi Okorafor novellas, Binti and Binti: Home, which comprise two thirds of an excellent little trilogy. Highly recommended. The Kindle versions can be had for under $3 each. The third novella has been written and is undergoing editing; it'll probably be published later this year. I think I'm going to follow that up with Akata Witch, also by Nnedi Okorafor, because its sequel just got a date: November 7th:
https://twitter.com/Nnedi/status/831164951154802689
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Due to a lot of moving and other incidents I don't really have a bookshelf anymore. :( I prefer paperback books. I'm currently reading YA lit because I'm in college to teach high school and we cover a lot of young adult novels.
About to start "Openly Straight" by Bill Konigsberg and I just finished "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie. I liked it a lot! I haven't read for myself enough to be honest. Don't have a lot of time outside of college reading.
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I've been going on a Discworld binge, currently hearing The Last Hero

I'll repost my thoughts so far later on
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iiicon posted...

Nice shelf! I thought Goon Squad is the one about the band, right? Read that a few years ago.

I couldn't make heads nor tails of Master and Margarita, but it was a delightful read. Russian authors know what the fuck is up.

Not a huge fan of If on a winter's night a traveler, though.

Sugisaki_Ken posted...

I've been going on a Discworld binge, currently hearing The Last Hero

I'll repost my thoughts so far later on

Hey, another Discworlder! After you finish, I'd be interested in seeing a Top 5 or so in the series. I've only read Going Postal, but considering it's my most recently read book, the timing fits.
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part of my shelf after i moved the figures out of the way. the other part of the shelf shows it better but there was some attempt at organization before i gave up somewhere down the road.

note that i haven't read some of these but i got to say looking at it now it feels me with determination.

Yeah, I was thinking about doing a Discworld Ranking topic, for characters and books

Which reminds me, not sure whether I'd include The Science of Discworld or not
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iiicon posted...

*thumb up*

are your books that worn from use or did you buy some pre-owned like i did?

80% of my collection is used, yeah. I used to manage a bookstore in Vancouver!
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i finished Sinclair's The Jungle. the description of poisoned rats being shoved in the rest of the meat that was eventually packaged was quite lovely.

i had to roll my eyes a little at the amount of shit the main character goes through i mean jeez. reminded me of Native Son with the ending. how great is socialism/communism eh?

tabiicat42 posted...

I'm currently reading YA lit because I'm in college to teach high school and we cover a lot of young adult novels.

have you read Because You'll Never Meet Me or One for the Murphys? two YA ones i've read recently that i enjoyed. i also read Speak recently but didn't think much of it.

I generally prefer paperback but I've been using my kindle lately and whatever they have at libraries

Currently reading one of the Dresden books

The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic, the first two Discworld Novels, reread. Or... heard for the first time

The Colour of Magic is... a bit of a rocky start. It's more of a collection of novellas, related in that it's about the misadventures of Rincewind and Twoflower as Rincewind the dropout wizard is forced to keep Twoflower, the Discworld's first tourist alive through the crime ridden city of Ankh-Morpork, the temple of Bel-Shamharroth the Soul Eater, Wyrmberg the bastion of dragons, and Krull the slave using kingdom at the edge of the world. All in all it's not actually bad, and has some good parts. Some neat world building too.

Best parts:
- The owner of The Broken Drum realizing how big of a **** up he's about to do when he realized Death is right next to him. Consequently, Rincewind getting to the wrong conclusion about Twoflower's job selling "inn-sewer-ants"
- Bel-Shamharroth running away after the insane overload of flash photography
- Twoflower summoning Nine Reeds the dragon
- Rincewind's insistence of not turning around to see just what was conversing with him
- Hydrophobia magic. Brilliant stuff
- The Luggage VS the Arc Astronomer and his court mages

If I had to pick a weak part... it's when they suddenly appeared in Roundworld and on a plane. I have no idea what that was parodying, but it was just weird.

The Light Fantastic is a more cohesive book, and continues directly after the cliffhanger ending of the first book. It details all the crap Rincewind and his acquaintances has to go through to keep the Great Spell trapped in Rincewind's mind from the wizards, particularly a very orderly Mage named Trymon, while trying to cast it along with the other Great Spells before the world ends as a huge red star gets closer and closer to the Discworld... well alright it's more A'Tuin getting closer to it, but it's just a matter of perspective

Best parts:
- Cohen's first line. The lamentation of their women? Please. Cohen knows what's best in life. Hot water. Good dentistry. Soft lavatory paper
- On that note Cohen > Hrun. Old hero > Dumb hero joke
- All the various Luggage shenanigans, and how it's slowly warming up to Rincewind
- Galder Weatherwax actually shutting down Ymper Trymon's plans to takeover and get the spells for himself. Too bad a mistake summoned the Luggage instead
- The Realm of Death part. The bridge part was hilarious, and then the chilling realization that what Rincewind saw with Death's Daughter and normal horses and a house and a garden was the mortal visitor friendly version. The demon in the picture box drew what is actually there, and Rincewind did not like it. Man I want to see what it's actually like. Also, Rincewind not turning around during the escape, just like he was told. Good man
- The entire Giant Troll sequence.
- "Rincewind grinned like a necropholiac in a morgue" XD best description
- The prototype Wizards group. Different from Ridcully and his staff, but the idea is getting there. Alas, these guys had to go to make way for Ridcully's gang in the future.
- Rincewind fighting against a creature from the Dungeon Dimensions, an Eldritch Abomination, HAND TO HAND! Well, hand and elbows and feet and knees and teeth and head butts to tentacles and beaks and various impossible appendages. Hardcore man.
- Figuring out what went wrong with the eight great spells when nothing happened and it turned out Rincewind mispronounced a word. In his defense, the letters keep changing, and the runes all look like a crocodile doing awful things to an octopus

Rankings:
The Light Fantastic > The Colour of Magic
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https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/5tvqiv/question_regarding_george_orwells_animal_farm/

idk man i thought this was kind of funny

Been reading Count Zero by Gibson.
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I contribute to N.K Jemisin's patreon ( https://www.patreon.com/nkjemisin ), and she's conducting a poll of her contributers' favourite books from 2016. Since I already typed it up, I figured I'd share here as well:

Unsportsmanlike Conduct: College Football and the Politics of Rape, Luther
Swing Time, Smith
What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours, Oyeyemi
Behold the Dreamers, Mbue
Do Not Say We Have Nothing, Thien
America Abroad: The United States' Global Role in the 21st Century, Brooks
The Slave's Cause: A History of Abolition, Sinha
The Lonely City, Laing
The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home, Valente
This Census-Taker, Miéville

Wasn't someone looking to get into Steampunk a couple weeks ago? Storybundle currently has a Steampunk bundle on offer, curated by Cat Rambo (excellent writer!):
https://storybundle.com/steampunk
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Equal Rites finished. The book is no longer about Rincewind, and could be considered the first entry in the Witches category of Discworld novels... though only one of the principal witches character appears. Fortunately it's the best one! Anyway, the story is about the eighth child of an eighth child of a family in the village of Bad Ass (named after a particularly stubborn donkey. Not that thing. Or the other thing) somewhere in the Ram Top mountains, who discovers that she has a talent for wizard magic. Just one problem: women can only be witches, and men can only be wizards. Or so they say

Best parts:
- Drum Billet's and the blacksmith's reaction to Esk turning out to be, well, not the eight son of an eight son.
- Granny Weatherwax. Every single scene with her. Love the old cr- err, the grand ol' witch
- Esk learning Headology and Borrowing
- Drum Billet the reincarnated tree managing to stump (dohohoh) Granny in an argument
- Esk using the Witch stare on poor unsuspecting people
- The broom antics oh man I'm cracking up again
- Cutangle is funnier than Galder Weatherwax as the Archmage of Unseen University, though not quite Ridcully's level yet. Say, I just realized that Galder, Cutangle, and Ridcully all have connections to Granny. Weird.
- THE MAGIC DUEL OH MY GOD YES!
- Esk about to Borrow A'Tuin but thought better of it. PHEW!
- Esk beating the Dungeon Dimensions denizens by fighting physically. XD poetry in motion they're not indeed
- Granny and Cutangle are an amazing comedy duo
- The while having magic but not using it becoming an actual subject lol

I liked the book, though it got slow at times. And you have never heard ear torture quite like hearing Simon stammering. Over, and over, and over again. And the Dungeon Dimensions denizens... I dunno, I don't really find them as entertaining as enemies compared to all the bastards that tried to kill Rincewind. Still, the Witch VS Wizard fight was great, and Granny steals the scene very time. And I do love the denizens comeuppance.

The Light Fantastic > Equal Rites > The Colour of Magic
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Reading the HaruhI Suzumiya series atm. Will post my shelf but I'll clean it up first so it looks good.

My book backlog is worse than my gaming backlog.
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go me
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I was at a book a day for most of January.
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MayaWright posted...

And you have never heard ear torture quite like hearing Simon stammering. Over, and over, and over again.

Audiobooks?

I finished Broken Glass Park, translated from the German. It's a contemporary story (2008) told in the first-person, with no chapters. Only a few line breaks delineate passage of time/scene change. The narrator is a 17-year-old Russian immigrant to Germany, and she has two dreams: to kill Vadim (who murdered her mother), and to write a book about her mother (which might be titled 'A Stupid Red-Haired Woman Who Would Still Be Alive If She'd Listened To Her Much Smarter Daughter').

The protagonist's narration is wonderfully snarky and cutting. Her self-destructiveness is incredibly frustrating, and the reasoning she takes behind her awful decisions is what makes the story. The plot itself is definitely less at the forefront, though at around 200 pages, that doesn't really become an issue.
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Audiobooks

Don't have much time reading them properly nowadays, though I've read most Discworld books before

Though I will say the Amazing Maurice and His Edicayed Rodents audiobook I got was a sucky skipping piece of trash, so I'm currently reading through it. It's short anyway.
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I feel like I'm obligated to try Discworld again given Good Omens is one of my favorite books

Wasn't too big on Color of Magic although I have heard it is one of the weaker books. Your write ups are pretty good and definitely inspire me to give it another shot though haha

Tempted to dump all of my writeups right now

But nah, one a day

Mort the 4th Discworld novel finished. I don't know why, but my gosh hearing the book made me love it all the more than when I read it. It kept making me laugh guys. Clear winner so far, and if I remember the other books, it won't get dethroned until the 8th one. Anyway, the book is the first entry of the Death series (... whoa the 4th book is about Death), though Death as a character has already appeared in a minor role in the first two books. The story goes that Death is looking for an apprentice, and all that follows from having a human do Death's job

Best Parts:
- Mort begging his dad to wait until it's truly midnight before giving up. Anybody who's ever struggled to look for a job will feel for Mort :(
- Albert makes his grand entrance as Death's butler/servant! And possibly his biggest role as well.
- Death taking Mort along for the ride, and we see just how Death works in the Discworld.
- "THERE IS NO JUSTICE. JUST ME/YOU/US" I ****ing love that line.
- Mort's less than spectacular handling of his first solo job. The Witch that tries to be as helpful as possible to a crying Mort is the best.
- Mort and Ysabel slowly bonding throughout the book
- Alberto Malich's grand return to the university. While the subject of Wizards no longer playing by the rules is taken up further in Sourcery, I would like to see how the Unseen University would handle being rallied Albert, and without the Sourcerer's sheer magic power.
- Hi Rincewind! Poor fellow.
- Death trying his darndest to be human. He might be the closest thing to the central antagonist/conflict in the book (yeah yeah there's the Duke of Sto Helit and the whole double timeline merging and leavng only the true reailty existing), but gosh darn it to heck he's so loveable.
- "Don't leave me" "I won't. I'll stay as long as you need me" OH GOD MY HEART
- Mort and Death's duel. IT'S AWESOME!
- Mort deciding to Marry Ysabel. Yay my ship became canon!

A fantastic book that, to me, really captures the Discworld feel, and one that I'd recommend as a first timer's first book.

Mort > The Light Fantastic > Equal Rites > The Colour of Magic
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Sourcery, the fifth Discworld book, done. Another entry in the Rincewind/Wizards series, It details what happened when the eight son of an eight son of an eight son, a Sourcerer, comes to lead the Wizards of the Unseen University on a mad quest for domination, and the Apocralypse that ensues. I think it also has the biggest death toll in a Discworld novel, wizard war and Apocralypse and all

Best parts:
- Ipslore the Red. Dude tricked Death, and started the whole mess to avenge his love... but mostly to force the Wizards to kneel before him. Ipslore the staff was a menacing enemy as well.
- The mass evacuation from the Unseen University by the animals and Gargoyles that live there. Thank god Rincewind saw them.
- Coin the Sourcerer is a naive overpowered boy, but I do like how he changed toward the end, until he finally had enough of daddy staff.
- Spelter is too good for this sinful world. Unlike his fellow Wizards (other than Carding at the end, and of course, Rincewind), he was the only one who saw the danger of a Sourceror and saw the true mastermind of this whole mess. Too bad he failed
- Rincewind's libido being reawakened by Conina
- Vetinari's first confirmed appearance, yay! Less than admirable showing, but he's up against a kid with OP magic, so eh.
- Nijel the destroyer. XD wooly underwear under his barbarian hero garb
- THAT MAN IS A VIZIER! LMAO, that whole description of Abrim man.
- The Archchancellor's Hat kicking the ass of the Sourcery boosted Wizards, and started retaliating immediately against Ankh-Morpork's tower
- the death traps guarding Creosote's grandfather's treasure trove
- the upside down carpet joke
- The Librarian fighting off the Wizards trying to burn he library. I always ****ing love it when the Librarian is trying, rather successfully, to unscrew a person's head.
- The escalation of the wizard war in general, culminating in only the Ankh Morpork tower being the only concentrated magic location left, the gods being imprisoned, and the Apocralypse starting
- Rincewind pathetically making his own Wizard Tower... with his own two hands. So sad it prompted Conina and Nijel to open up with each other.
- Rincewind finding the library destroyed :(. His frantic, desperate search through the remains breaks my heart man.
- Nijel reminding the universe that the lamp being carried inside the lamp is impossible. Too dumb to live man
- Nijel and Conina's desperate last stand against the Frost Giants and their Glaciers
- Rincewind being pushed by the Librarian to help, and his standoff against Coin... with a sock stuffed with a brick. What a man.
- "IPSLORE THE RED, I HAVE YOU NOW!" Hell yeah Death!
- Rincewind sacrificing himself to save Coin, despite his instincts and brain telling him otherwise. Again, what a man. What a wizard.
- Coin disappearing into his own pocket dimension, Creosote finding his one true love, and The Librarian taking good care of Rincewind's hat, believing that he will return for it. After all, all Wizards will return for his hat.

A step down from Mort, but I liked it more than I remembered!

Creosote still sucks though

Mort > Sourcery > The Light Fantastic > Equal Rites > The Colour of Magic
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iiicon posted...

Unsportsmanlike Conduct: College Football and the Politics of Rape, Luther
Swing Time, Smith
What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours, Oyeyemi
Behold the Dreamers, Mbue
Do Not Say We Have Nothing, Thien
America Abroad: The United States' Global Role in the 21st Century, Brooks
The Slave's Cause: A History of Abolition, Sinha
The Lonely City, Laing
The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home, Valente
This Census-Taker, Miéville

i don't think i've ever read a book the same year it's come out or even within a couple years of its release date. i'll check these out and see if there are any i want to prioritize.

kateee posted...

tabiicat42 posted...

I'm currently reading YA lit because I'm in college to teach high school and we cover a lot of young adult novels.

have you read Because You'll Never Meet Me or One for the Murphys? two YA ones i've read recently that i enjoyed. i also read Speak recently but didn't think much of it.

I have not! I'll note those down. I'm currently reading "Openly Straight" by Bill Kongisberg (I don't remember if I wrote that in my last post, but I can't be bothered to look). We're reading it in a workshop class for lit circles so I'm reading it *very slowly.*
I'm also re-reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I've recently gotten more motivated to read for myself again.
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Wyrd Sisters, the 6th Discworld book, finished. The first proper Witch entry if we're not counting Equal Rites, the book stars the Witch coven of the Maiden Margrat, the Mother Nanny Ogg, and the cro-err, other one, Granny Weatherwax, in this hilarious parody of Hamlet and that Scottish Play. You know the one I'm talking about. Oh, and other Shakespeare works in general. Not midsummer though, that's another book

Best parts:
- The coven are fantastic protagonists. From Magrat's modern view of witchcraft to Nanny Ogg's endless family and debauchery and the tried and true Weatherwax. Of course, Granny > Nanny > Margrat.
- "When shall we three meet again?" There was a pause. "I could do next Tuesday"
- The various call outs and hints to other Discworld novels, such as Black Aliss's gingerbread house, the mirror that Esme keeps under wraps at night hinting about her sister, and the broom's origins
- The coven's reaction to the play man XD. I keep having the giggles every time I think about it. HE DID IT! WE ALL SAW HE DID!
- The Duke and Duchess of Felmet were great villains, the Duke's insanity was entertaining and the Duchess was one evil *****
- Ahh Greebo. I love cats, but I'd run the **** away from this thing
- The Fool/ Verence is a great character, purposely making himself look less than he is. I approve of him and Margrat
- The Witches' blessings for Tom John. Granny's blessing in particular hit me the most. To thine own self be true indeed
- Tom John's amazing ability to personify his character. I would have loved to see more of him and his power. Lol not working on any critic though
- The Librarian's cameo. Orangutan is always entertaining
- Everyone's reaction to the Witches antics. From the soldier that killed his superior because he was so scared, to guard pretending not to see Nanny Ogg banging a tin can saying COOEE through palace grounds to Hwel and Tom John's exasperated reaction to their bad acting when trying to direct them towards Lancre
- The Duke suddenly, deep within his madness, groping towards reality and standing up to Granny... and WON! Holy ****! Lol Nanny and Margrat ruining what should have been the coven's darkest hour with their antics
- The 15 year jump spell, preparation and result. From the entire Ogf clan preventing all Cockerels from doing their thing, to Verence's and Margrat's 15 year kiss
- Hwel's unedited plays. Guess we know where most inspirations that missed their targets landed
- The entire part with the Play, from start to finish. Death getting stage fright was the ****ing best.
- The Duchess's ultimate fate. You couldn't leave well enough alone could you woman? You had to enrage all of Lancre, including the rabbits

I had to think long and hard, but I'd put Wyrd Sisters edges it Mort. I might flip flop in the future, but for now...

Wyrd Sisters > Mort > Sourcery > The Light Fantastic > Equal Rites > The Colour of Magic
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Finished book 3 of Dresden, man this series certainly keeps getting better and better.

I picked up a bunch of books at the library near me, some old, some new

Dresden Files book 4
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Gonna try to read them all in a couple weeks! (Or just renew them afterwards)

Ocean at the End of the Lane is very good. I enjoyed it a lot.

I'm still reading American Gods.

I've had a monster toothache for the past few days. Feeling awful and it isn't fun to think about reading.
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VeryInsane posted...

Finished book 3 of Dresden, man this series certainly keeps getting better and better.

I picked up a bunch of books at the library near me, some old, some new

Dresden Files book 4
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Gonna try to read them all in a couple weeks! (Or just renew them afterwards)

I read 14 Dresden Files in 14 days. It's pretty good, though I'm not certain if I actually finished the main storyline or not.

Wedge has a nice taste in signatures.
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Man that's pretty impressive considering they are about 400 pages each. I think the last time I did power reading like that was Harry Potter in a week and I still had an extra day until Deathly Hallows came out (I still haven't read Cursed Child)

Average book nowadays takes me about a week or two but there are some exceptions

I also read three Mistborn books, Starship Troopers, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and Ringworld on consecutive days. Part of this can be blamed on Winter Break, but I didn't get out much early this semester >_>
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Androids isn't that long but that's still pretty good. Full-time job + other hobbies really slows my time down, kinda wish I still had a break of sorts

http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2017/02/17/jeff-vandermeer-borne-tour-schedule/

It's the Jeff VanderTour!

+ His next book comes out the day after my birthday.
- He unfortunately doesn't make a stop in Vancouver
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Pyramids, the 7th Discworld book, finished. One of the most stand alone books in the series, but man it had awesome parts. The story is told in 4 books (sections of the book, not 4 different books), chronicling the life of Teppic, AKA King Pteppicymon XXVIII, from his schooling at Ankh Morpork's Assassin's Guild to his return to his homeland of Djelibeybi, the pyramid obsessed desert kingdom, to reign as king

It's also about Quantum and the greatest mathematician the Discworld has ever known as well as what exactly it is that handmaidens do

Best parts:
- The Assassin's Guild test as well as Teppic's school life. Chidder forcing Cheesewright to take back what he said and Arthur coming into his own man from the crybaby he was on the first day
- The King's suicide. XD embarrassed indeed
- Teppic's first few steps back in Djelibeybi. Loved how he felt he was finally home
- Teppic's less than successful effort to modernize the kingdom, thanks to...
- Dios. I love Order villains, and this man is so steeped in keeping up rituals and traditions so much that he defies Teppic and basically everyone in the kingdom that I just can't help but like him
- The King's afterlife, the best part was when he finally woke up and scared the **** out of the embalmers
- The Ptarclusps was entertaining, especially the father reacting to Teppic and the sons doing their accounting and maths things
- You Bastard. ****ing awesome name, and loved his portrayal. Best camel ever
- And then the world went mad. Well, madder. Love the Kingdom Lost In Time setting
- The priest brethren (and sisteren) acting as pseudo Wizards with their infighting and bickering. The absolute best part was when one of them started describing the multitude of sun gods fighting over control of the sun like a soccer match. IT'S NOON! IT'S NOON! IT'S NOON! LMAO I love that passage so much
- The Ephebeans. All of them. Yet another pseudo Wizard group, but more fleshed out. From Zeno to Ibid the Plato expo and the Aesop expy and the listener and the Pythagoras expy, these guys are hilarious. Poor turtles. Dat rambling Trojan War story
- Teppic dehydrating You Bastard and forcing him to find his way back to Djelibeybi, and the reactions from the Tsortean and Ephebean sergeants
- Teppic's detour with the Sphynx
- The King raising an army of very, very displeased army of undead Pharaohs. And then their angry reaction when they translated the first Pharaoh, Khuft's, writing in his tomb
- "BEGONE FROM THIS WORLD FOUL SHADE" XD Koomi. Dat Judges' envelope thing too
- Teppic realizing his destiny as the King and his journey and climb to reach and Flare the Great Pyramid. The ancestors helping him up, and even meeting his mum and dad again just hits me in the right spot man
- The final confrontation between Dios, the undead, and the Gods leading to the weird ass explosion of the Great Pyramid
- the ending. The modernization of Djelibeybi under Queen Ptarcy was nice. Also, leaving the romance between the half siblings Teppic and Ptracy up in the air. They totally got together. IN MY HEAD!
- Dios the eternal time loop, the Serpent without end, with neither beginning nor end. Dat ending blew my ****ing mind man

Wyrd Sisters > Mort > Sourcery > Pyramids > The Light Fantastic > Equal Rites > The Colour of Magic
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Guards! Guards! the 8th Discworld book finished. Our first entry to the Nightwatch series, one of my personal favorite series. The book is set during a low point for the Nightwatch, after a recent death of a comrade leaving just Captain Samuel Vimes, Sergeant Fred Colon, and Corporal Nobby Nobbs as acting members. Fortunately, they recently gained a new recruit (voluntarily, surprisingly enough) from a dwarf kingdom, and just in time too. A secret brotherhood is convening and enacting their dark ritual (of course), and there have been evidence that the perpetrator for the latest murders in Ankh-Morpork might be... a dragon...

Best Parts:
- The Brotherhood. Oh man they're so inept. Poor Brother Dunnikins though
- Samuel Vimes is my husbando. Second favorite character in the Discworld series, right after Death
- Carrot Ironfounderson, one of my favorite Lawful Good characters of all time. Love that Sword of his. It's not magic, but it is a sword that is truly worthy of the name sword
- Lord Vetinari finally gets to shine here, between his antics and machinations and reactions he's one of my favorite Lawful Evil characters, much like Carrot. The bolts and bars ON THE INSIDE! Holy **** that is far sighted!
- Fred Colon's marriage. How does that even work?
- The Dwarf Bar scene. Oh man the speech
- Detritus's first appearance. Don't worry big guy, you might lose to Carrot now, but you'll have more time to shine later
- The ****ing Dragon! Truly a prime example of Draco Nobilis. I would have loved to see what would happen had she continued to be King of Ankh-Morpork and went on a warpath. Hell, I'd love to see what would happen if she fought Coin! Apparently she's invulnerable to magic or something, none of the Unseen University Wizards' spells can even touch it. Like punching a fog
- The Lady Sybil Ramkin. A woman with a gigantic heart, and a container to match. XD when the guards met her dolled up to meet Vimes. Signs to ward off evil LMAO
- Errol, the true hero of the story. Rather amazing really how this tiny Swamp Dragon managed to beat a Noble Dragon.
- The one in a million odds. I ****ing loved it when the Watch tried to recreate the odds, and then Vimes just went and said it. I just grinned so wide man
- As usual, I'm a sucker for Discworld book endings. This one hits me rather hard man. “Perhaps the magic would last. Perhaps it wouldn’t. But then, what does?”

Fantastic cast of characters, good, bad, and otherwise, along with an engaging story tops my list for the moment

Guards! Guards! > Wyrd Sisters > Mort > Sourcery > Pyramids > The Light Fantastic > Equal Rites > The Colour of Magic
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I'd say that Vetinari counts as Lawful Neutral. He's not really evil or the antagonist; he does what's best for the city without scruples.

MayaWright posted...

I see your point, but Vetinari described himself as evil, so that's what I'm going with.

oh. kay.
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Ahh reposting the classics
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Picked up some nice remainders tonight for a great price. All this for just $27. I already read Kyung-sook Shin's I'll Be Right There but that was a Kindle version. Couldn't pass up a physical version for a dollar. It's a grim, emotionally taut story, somehow more affecting than Please Look After Mom, and it cemented her place among my favourite writers.


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Oh hey a Gentleman Bastards book

I take it you've already read the other 2? (I gotta start Red Seas at some point)

yeah back when they came out a million years ago

Debating rereading them vs. just jumping in
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i'm reading Candide

ha

iiicon posted...

What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours, Oyeyemi

i briefly looked up the titles on your list and this one stood out. i'll check it out after reading some stuff from my backlog.

Faust- err, Eric, the 9th Discworld book, finished. The next entry in the Rincewind series, it details what happened after Rincewind saved the world (in a strange circumstance that involved Rincewind, a magic carpet, and half a brick stuffed into a sock. See: Sourcery). His next adventure is a sendup of that old Faust tale, sending him to the heart of the Klatchian jungle (next to a civilization that, regrettably, isn't filled with amazon women. That's the next jungle over), to the Tsoratean/Ephebean war (involving wooden horses and a woman), to the beginning of creation (and meeting who, exactly, was responsible for the Discworld), culminating in a trip through Hell itself. Not the Dungeon Dimensions Rincewind was in before, but actual Hell. All along guiding a boy called Eric through his wishes

Best Parts
- Rincewind is in top form as always. Scream all you like man, just let it all out
- Eric being revealed to not be so much as an elderly demonoligist so much as a boy dabbling in the arts
- The demons. The first and last time they're the center of attention, in particular King Astfgl and Duke Vassenego. Shame, they had untapped potential, compared to the Things from the Dungeon Dimensions
- Poor old Quetzalovercoatl. I mean, he's a demon, so so getting his corporeal body trodden on by the luggage only set him back a few centuries, but still... XD his statue accurate in every detail except his size
- The Luggage is still a hilarious unstoppable engine of destruction. From terrorizing jungle creatures, Tsortean soldiers, and the demons of hell, I never get tired of that thing
- The Tsort arc is quite good actually. Lavaeolous, Rincewind opening a door only to let the Ephesians army in, the current state of the most beautiful woman in the world... classic
- The end of the universe. Only Death, lonely, poor old Death, remains. And then matter began again. And Death patiently waited until he is needed again. Good on him, hate to think he'd just be hanging around in limbo forever until Azrael fuses him again
- The current state of Hell's policy on terminal boredom horrified even RINCEWIND! And he's the guy that thinks boredom is the best state of mind!
- Duke Vassenego being revealed as the one behind everything, and smoothly trapped King Astfghl in his own trap: bureaucracy

It might have to do to with the length, it might have to do with Eric's personality, it might be not liking anybody in the cast other than my main man Rincewind... but I personally thought this was the weakest Discworld book so far.

Guards! Guards! > Wyrd Sisters > Mort > Sourcery > Pyramids > The Light Fantastic > Equal Rites > The Colour of Magic > Eric
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