The titles are:
“Reaper Man”, “Small Gods”, “Wyrd Sisters”, “Moving Pictures”
Went to an adorable book shop and found these guys. I haven’t read Pratchett yet but I feel it’ll be right up my alley
I’m pretty sure I see “Small Gods” and “Wyrd Sisters” recommended a lot and I know you can’t really go wrong, but of these which would you recommend the most? Since this is what I have I’ll read them all eventually
Regardless I’m excited to have gotten physical copies because my library has long wait lists for his books
Edit: Thanks for all of the discussion! This post brought me a lot of positive on an otherwise rough day. I’ve decided to start with “Small Gods”
I just want to say again thank you to everyone who responded to me or to someone else. It’s been a joy hearing what each person has to contribute to the conversation
Even if they fall flat (which I highly doubt) all of your enthusiasm came through and that really in itself means so much. It was truly touching
Small Gods first. It’s one of the better standalone books in the discworld universe
Yes, and I think it serves as a microcosm of a lot of recurring ideas and themes that crop up again and again in the rest of the series.
everything in the dyskworld series is great, you’re in for a good time
Small Gods is my standard “so you’ve never read discworld” recommendation. It’s stand alone, his style is well in the groove, ymmv depending on how well you take some criticism of religion. All if them are great.
I’ve decided to start with this one! Gotten cozy under all my blankets and am listening to the rain patter on the roof. Thanks for the recommendation and helping my indecisiveness
You’re literally describing heaven, if such a place exists.
This is obviously a really unpopular opinion but I just don’t understand how there is always so much love for his books. I tried reading I think it was the first 9 books from the Discworld and I just found them boring and extremely cringeworthy.
Like I hope you enjoy them and it is great so many people do but I don’t get it all.
Don’t agree, but different strokes as you imply, different tastes are to be expected. I found the LOTR trilogy to be the absolute most boring and pompous thing I’d ever read and still can’t understand why a writer would have dedicated much of his life to typing it out , but I know it’s very popular with most people. Art is like that.
Like you say, everyone is different and I know that is an unpopular opinion. I am also 100% with you on LOTR, I struggled with that for hours trying to force it but finally decided that it was just not for me at all. God damn all those songs and poetry were just mind numbing to me!
he took a while to find his footing. going back to the early works after reading the later ones you can appreciate the roots of the tone he eventually settled into. if you’re interested in giving it a second go (and i completely get it if not) i’d recommend trying one of the later ones rather than going in release order. i have a real soft spot for small gods, personally, and it’s basically completely standalone. same goes for monstrous regiment.
I appreciate people in this community not just blasting me for daring to have a different opinion xD
I did try and read in release order, as I generally try to do for books, maybe I will five those two you mentioned a try because on the face of it it is a setting and an idea that I should like. I just couldn’t get into it before.
I friking love Pratchett. But he has very much his own style. As the other commenter, I would gently nudge you towards later books if you want to try, but it’s fine to like different things.
Unrelated: the only reason why I didn’t start in publication order is because as a teen I read them translated and they had only translated the night watch series at the time. So there I went. I still have a soft spot for those books ^^
When I have a space in my reading to fit one in I am going to try out one of the books the previous person replied suggesting to me to see if I like them a bit more.
I’m going to go in with an open mind but I have a rather large back log as well as being very into a long series at the moment so I don’t think I will get to them for a while :)
No book is running away ;)
I do very poorly with backlogs. I end up impulse buying and/or borrowing a “fresh” book and postpone the whole pile for a while
I keep acquiring more because I think I want a break from the series I’m deep into but then I start something new and realise I don’t want a break at all xD
I burn through many many hours in a week though so a time will come when I can slot one in, it isn’t like they are super long books, at least the first few of Discworld weren’t.
I think most hobbies have a backlog in some way, shape or form xD
i just want people to enjoy things, personally. criticizing people’s tastes is unproductive.
Read all 41 books three times over. Neat thing is that reading order doesn’t matter so much. My first was #20.
Oh, man, you have NO idea. Almost envious actually, Pratchett is always excellent.
While each of those books can be enjoyed on their own, they are part of two larger cycles.
The first being the “Discworld” series, 41 books from 1983 to 2015.
Then, within the larger Discworld Cycle, there are sub-stories.
“Reaper Man” is the second of the “Death” books, which started with “Mort”, then continues with Soul Music, The Hogfather, and Thief of Time.
“Wyrd Sisters” is the second of the “Witches” books, starting with “Equal Rites” and continuing with Witches Abroad, Lords and Ladies, Maskerade, Carpe Jugulum, The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith, I Shall Wear Midnight, and the Shepherd’s Crown.
“Moving Pictures” is the first of the “Industrial Revolution” series in Discworld. Followed by The Truth, Monstrous Regiment, Going Postal, Unseen Acedemicals, Snuff, and Raising Steam.
“Small Gods” is a stand alone novel, unconnected to the other stories.
No, I am not crazy enough to remember all this… there are wikis. :)
Isnt Snuff a Vimes book?
I’d also suggest Soul Music after Moving Pictures.
Isn’t it both? Memory is fuzzy.
Maybe, but the Guards series should definitely be read in order.
Edit: You might be thinking of Thud.
I definitely remember Vimes as a lead in Snuff
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I absolutely know that feeling. There’s a ton of things I wish could experience again for the first time
I think I’m going to start with Small Gods! I was looking at them and that one seemed right for the moment
I’d love an author/world where I can truly get lost in. My mom loved a series (I cannot for the life of me remember) and had SO many. I’ve read some shorter series and some longer books that had great world building but it wasn’t enough
There really are no bad choices here! Have fun!
“Moving Pictures” is the first of the “Industrial Revolution” series in Discworld. Followed by The Truth, Monstrous Regiment, Going Postal, Unseen Acedemicals, Snuff, and Raising Steam.
Making Money?
IIRC, Granny is introduced in Equal Rites, but Wyrd Sisters feels more like the start of the witch series. That’s where we meet Magrat and Nanny Ogg. I think OP would be safe to start with that one.
This is true, some of the early books feel like the pilot episodes of TV shows compared to what came later.
Start with Reaper Man.
Find a cozy place, stack up on your favourite drink and snacks, and submerge yourself in the world of Terry Pratchett. I remember him fondly, sitting in front of a poster which claims him to be the funniest man on earth, something I cannot disagree with.
You are in for a ride.
Terry Pratchetts Discworld books are a good read.
Sometimes absurd but I always enjoyed reading them
I’m excited to jump in for sure! And absurd is my thing so I think these will tickle my brain just right
The whole “watch series” (ofk the book one) is my favorite.
Fabricati diem, pvnc.
I’d say start with small gods cause it’s hilarious and standalone but I’d also say wyrd sisters cause Granny Weatherwax is the best character in all of discworld and I love her and her stories are the best.
Point one: you can’t go wrong with Pratchett.
I only read Small Gods, you’ll have to give me feedback on the others after you are done!
Small tangential comment: never skip Pratchett’s footnotes!
and also dont skip the footnote’s footnotes
Nested footnotes, I love it! Those are so fun when authors add extra flavor to an already rich story
The deeper the stack of footnotes the more jewels there are hidden in there
I just gave a thumb through of one and there certainly are footnotes. I didn’t generally skip them but I’ll give these more heed!
A lot of the best humour is in the footnotes.
Every book in the discworld series is great. Here’s a reading order guide. Again, they’re all great on their own, but I did find that world building adds to the experience if you manage to follow the order somewhat.
Pyramids and Mort are two of my favourite books.
That’s a great chart, thanks! Someone else gave me a very helpful link but if I start working through more books that will help tie everything together
I mentioned it before but I appreciate the fact you can drop in to any book; it makes it so much more approachable as a returning reader. I get a little daunted by some aspects of “just choosing” a book
Just FYI you can find the same diagram on the Wikipedia page about the Discworld in much higher quality
Thank you! I’m sure at some point in the future I’ll need to seek it out again. And I’m sure the wiki has troves of information (which I will delve into after getting at least a book under my belt)
Jesus, has it been ten years since his death? Time flies.
I’ve only read the Colour of Magic. I’m playing through the first Discworld point and click, and I’ve got Guards Guards on my list.
IMHO The Colour of Magic, is his worst book. You are missing out, if it’s the only one you have read.
If new people ask me were to start, I always say choose either the watch or witches series. They an wonderful, the watch series has my favorite book (The Fifth Elephant), and the witches has my favorite character (Esmarelda Weatherwax).
I recommend reading them
There isn’t really a bad Discworld novel, you’ve definitely got some great jumping off points. They’re all basically stand alone apart from one specific entry in the Witches cycle (Lords and Ladies) that is recommended to read after the preceeding one (Witches Abroad) so you won’t have any issues picking one and going for it. Moving Pictures is a personal favourite but all 4 are great.
Next step is to probably get a Rincewind novel and a City Watch one.
