#1516

I find it difficult to decide on a favorite Pratchett book. So I’ll just point to a guide I like:

Also The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents was fun despite being a children’s book. And I adore Good Omens.

2 Likes
#1517

This image is a constant on the internet and usually comes up when Pratchett is mentioned.

I started with Guards! Guards! and that’s what hooked me on Discworld. The Night’s Watch novels are some of my favorites.

9 Likes
#1518

Thanks for the recommendation; I ordered a copy. I was gifted an intro to Discworld book (Moving Pictures) that I still need to read, but this sounds like a nice supplement to have on hand.

Looking for opinions on LeGuin books: Opinions on 1-3 essential reads? Can include biographical or interviews, not just her formal work as an author.

#1519

the left hand of darkness
the dispossessed
the tombs of atuan

5 Likes
#1520

Not three, but if you hit these two, I think you get her best and get a grasp on her scope:
A Wizard of Earthsea
The Word for World Is Forest

4 Likes
#1521

Already a divergence. :laughing:

#1522

Haha, I should’ve guessed this was exactly the right place to talk about Pratchett :wink: I’ve seen the Wyrd sisters mentioned a few times, so I reckon they’ll be next on the list. The Watch Novels look good too though - the trouble I have with people recommending Pratchett is that most people who like him seem to appreciate all of his books!

#1523

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

3 Likes
#1524

Read the ones that seem the most exciting to you :slight_smile:

A personal favorite would be Always Coming Home.

2 Likes
#1525

That’s always good advice, but I’m also curious for opinions. She wrote a lot of material!

1 Like
#1527

Ursula Le Guin’s “The Word for World is Forest”. A short one, but pretty engaging so far. She always gives me something to reflect on.

3 Likes
#1528

I’m partway through Left Hand of Darkness—I mostly read “literary fiction” and parts of this are definitely jarring from an age and genre standpoint. But I’m sticking with it! It’s really compelling if occasionally dense.

1 Like
#1529

That’s the only other one I’ve read so far. Loved it. I have those two and several more after finding them in the basement of a house in Baltimore some years ago, thankfully in okay condition.

#1530

I was going to ask the same question specifically because I found the Dispossessed to be a bit of a slog. While I found the underlying social ideas to be intriguing and agreeable, it bored me terribly as a work of fiction.

I was interested by the idea of Lavinia and plan to read it next. I’m hoping that it’s more for me than the Dispossessed.

#1531

I actually still haven’t read some of the “classics” yet, but I loved the Dispossessed. Lathe of Heaven was pretty enjoyable and it isn’t so long. My introduction to her was The Winds Twelve Quarters and The Compass Rose because I find I tend to like short stories a lot. Its a mixed bag but its interesting to see what gets stretched out into full novels and there are also some really great stories in there.

1 Like
#1532

I’ve been taking a lot of long back and forth train trips recently which has made for a lot of reading time. I find I usually finish my book on the way there then borrow something from my friend for the way back that I wouldn’t have picked out otherwise. Last time was Patti Smith’s Just Kids which was great for funny anecdotes about counter culture icons, especially from a perspective of someone who was maybe not so impressed with the same people as many others would be, and I like her writing style. Also just a really great read about people caring so deeply for each other romantically and otherwise.

Recently read The Forever War and The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman, was pretty interesting to read two very different books about being lost out of time back to back from the same author.

I borrowed Vertical Motion by Can Xue last time again since I like short stories. I read about half the book and just couldn’t deal with it anymore. Every story to me seemed to revolve around the same device or idea of someone being invisible or dark or someone who can’t be seen directly, and it grew really tired for me. Maybe theres more that it is alluding to that I’m missing a cultural context for but I tried and just couldn’t go along at a certain point.

Anyone read the entire Vorrh trilogy by Catling? I read the first one a little while back and it took me about half the book to really get into it, but once I did it really worked for me. Wondering if its worth diving back in on with the other two.

#1534

i’m in the first 100 pages of neal stephensons’s “seveneves” which so far is reading like a gripping greg bear book… any time the earth is doomed in the first chapter is usually a good sign :innocent:

9 Likes
#1535

love the trilogy. i think the muybridge stuff in the vorrh may be the high point of the entire series but it’s all very good

1 Like
#1536

I really dug Seveneves, much more than I did the more recent Fall.

2 Likes
#1537

that’s what another friend of mine said, too. i have Fall, but haven’t read it yet.

1 Like