[APR 2015] - Terry Pratchett Memorial Read - VOTING is closed!

[Arry]

I thought it might be nice to offer up an organized read of one of Terry Pratchett's books. He obviously had a huge impact on the genre and will be greatly missed. This could be a nice way for fans to come together and enjoy revisiting a favorite, and an opportunity to introduce some new readers to his works.

We can either do this alongside a book club read, or I can dedicate a month to it (maybe slide the Kitschie's month to June to give people more time incase they need to order/import the book selected for it).

So, who is interested? And any preference for timing?

[Stars Cascade]

I've started rereading Small Gods, but am definitely down with a read of any other discworld.

Would we vote on which book we read?

[Arry]

I've started rereading Small Gods, but am definitely down with a read of any other discworld.

Would we vote on which book we read?

I was thinking we could do nominations/voting just like book club. Maybe people could include a bit why they think their choice would be a great memorial read or why they selected the book they did. I also wanted to see if people might be interested in doing this alongside a book club, so it could be held much quicker (April?). If not, I can slide The Kitschies month to June and hold this in May.

[Nighteyes]

I read Wee Free Men but it is rather hazy and don't think I read any more of his Tiffany Aching novels (and suspect the book that was finished in Summer 2014 is the 5th Tiffany Aching book) so I nominate the Wee Free Men and will carry on with the rest of the cycle afterwards leading to the release of the possible 5th if anyone wants to join me?

[Nighteyes]

Other good suggestions would be Mort, Wyrd Sisters, Pyramids, Small Gods, Men at Arms, Going Postal or Nation.

And suggest we do Pterry month in May and Kitschies in June. But just my humble opinion.

[Arry]

And suggest we do Pterry month in May and Kitschies in June. But just my humble opinion.

Done.

[Arry]

Just an update that this will be our official book club read for May.

[xiagan]

Reaper Man would be fitting too.

'Death has to happen. That's what bein' alive is all about. You're alive, and then you're dead. It can't just stop happening.'

But it can. And it has. So what happens after death is now less of a philosophical question than a question of actual reality. On the disc, as here, they need Death. If Death doesn't come for you, then what are you supposed to do in the meantime? You can't have the undead wandering about like lost souls. There's no telling what might happen, particularly when they discover that life really is only for the living... (goodreads)

Seconding Nation. It's not a discworld novel but it impressed me enough to write Pterry a snail mail letter to his home address.

[Saraband]

I would love to take part in this 

As for which book, I still have a lot to read from him, so I'm up for anything. From the ones I've read, though, Mort is my favorite, and I feel as if it would be appropriate, given the circumstances.

[Lejays17]

I'm up for pretty much anything by him.  I'm currently reading my way through the Tiffany Aching books, but will re-read one of them if it's picked.

Other than that, Mort is a good pick, so I'll second that nomination.

Or Nation, as a non-Discworld book. 

[ultamentkiller]

So you don't have to read the Discworld novels in chronological order to understand what's going on? That would be my only concern. I'm very interested in joining, but I'm skeptical about diving into the middle.

[JMack]

So you don't have to read the Discworld novels in chronological order to understand what's going on? That would be my only concern. I'm very interested in joining, but I'm skeptical about diving into the middle.

My first TP book was Going Postal which was not chronological. And what a blast. From what I can tell the novels are pretty self-contained. But I do think that those in the know should guide us to one that is strong in that way.

[Victoria Hooper]

This is a lovely idea for the book club.  I'd be happy with any of his books, and people have already recommended some great ones! I'd second any of those. I haven't read Nation yet, so would also be really interested in that one too. In terms of places to start if you're new to the Discworld, I actually wrote an article about that for Fantasy Faction once. I'll link it just in case it's helpful to anyone. There's a link in the comments section to a flow chart as well.

http://fantasy-faction.com/2013/discovering-discworld

[Idlewilder]

Great idea, obviously I'll be in for this (plus The Kitschies month - kudos on that one too!).

Guards! Guards! is a great one to start with but I think we did it before?

Any of the following would work:

The Colour of Magic/The Light Fantastic (would suggest both together as it's one story)
Equal Rites
Mort
Wyrd Sisters
Small Gods
The Truth
The Wee Free Men
Monstrous Regiment
Going Postal

Mort is probably the ultimate entry book to the Discworld. But the others are all brilliant.

My first TP book was Going Postal which was not chronological. And what a blast. From what I can tell the novels are pretty self-contained. But I do think that those in the know should guide us to one that is strong in that way.

Even though it's a really late entry it's one of the best, imo, and actually a really good starting point. New main character, kinda it's own little trilogy, really gives a good overview of Ankh Morpork and has one of his best plots.

Xiagan - Reaper Man is hilarious, one of his funniest but having reread it last year I'd say you need a bit of grounding in the books up until that point to really get a lot of it.

And I'd be equally as happy to read Nation as amazingly I've never read it! I actually have a few of his newer novels still to read and now I'm glad of that as I've still got new pTerry to experience. 

[xiagan]

Xiagan - Reaper Man is hilarious, one of his funniest but having reread it last year I'd say you need a bit of grounding in the books up until that point to really get a lot of it.

And I'd be equally as happy to read Nation as amazingly I've never read it! I actually have a few of his newer novels still to read and now I'm glad of that as I've still got new pTerry to experience. 

Hm, haven't read it in ages so I don't remember if you need some grounding. If that's the case we should read Mort AND Reaper Man. According to the discworld reading guide (big image: http://i.imgur.com/qHa8Zf5.jpg) that should do it.
Or Going Postal, or Nation, or, or, or...