Windrake

I saw this out of context, and assumed it was about a colicky baby after a nap.

There are subseries that a lot of people find to be a good intro. I first read of The Watch books. They're labeled in a way that makes it easy to see what to expect, though you should know that his writing got more serious over time.

Piggybacking on Bluesky's resident Discworld Quoter for this banger of the Trump era (from Making Money):

This got a cheer. Moist wasn't surprised. Tell someone you were going to rob them and all that happened was that you got as a reputation as a truthful man.

Worshippers of the Superb Owl are setting off fireworks in its honor, sacrificing eyebrows and probably some fingers because they're already drunk.

The RFID chip in a pair of boots is where this approach to "Buy It For Life" lost me.

One of Terry Pratchett's best quotes.

The silence purred at them as Wonse talked. They avoided one another’s faces, for fear of what they might see mirrored there. Each man thought: one of the others is bound to say something soon, some protest, and then I’ll murmur agreement, not actually say anything, I’m not as stupid as that, but definitely murmur very firmly, so that the others will be in no doubt that I thoroughly disapprove, because at a time like this it behooves all decent men to nearly stand up and be almost heard … But no-one said anything. The cowards, each man thought.

There's a Discworld quote for everything

Discworld QOTD, from Men At Arms

Ask Trump to present them with the award.

Someone we can look up to in certain ways, but identify with in others. Jessica Fletcher is a great example! I also love Father Brown for the same reason. Their occupation makes it easy to believe they have integrity, but it's their compassion and persistence that made them heroes.

Recently, I've been watching murder mysteries to escape the horror of current events. A solution is guaranteed. I never realized why they were comforting until now.

Sending this out to murder mystery fans...!

This is from cartoonist Ellis Rosen.

Thank you. I love it.

I don't know about that, but I will say that great wealth is like the One Ring: Often the person with it thinks they are wielding it, but ultimately it wields them, and for its own ends, not theirs. It takes a strong person to resist its temptations, and that sort of person is not likely to seek it.

He should have been. But she made heroes who everyone can see themselves in. And her evil was so blatant, it wasn't like most people. Pratchett had too much integrity for that. You might see yourself in most of their good decisions, but we all might fail like the characters who went bad sometimes.

I know from growing up with predators that they get a kick out of fooling people. They see it as proof of their superiority and start to believe what they successfully lie about.

Someone on Mastodon told me Gaiman was following her blog when she was a young goth. He'd send her pictures he thought were too racy for his site to put on hers instead. This was back in the 1990's. It's not proof of worse behavior then, but she was clear that it was unwelcome.

Amanda Palmer was that person. She wrote a long cry on Patreon for SA victims to forgive their attackers, because they wouldn't do it unless they were in pain first. It turned my stomach and I blocked her for good measure. I didn't want to believe she was talking about Gaiman, but here we are.

That's one with the heaviest themes. It isn't a good starting point for most people. There are subseries, like The Watch and The Witches and The Industrial Revolution. I'd recommend choosing one of those.

Terry Pratchett said in an interview he wrote about 70% of GO. Gaiman seemed to agree in another, where he repeated that Pratchett would wake him up to say he'd just written a good bit, so he'd have to do more of the less fun parts.

I wondered why I didn't like his work more. Now it's easy to see. The worst parts of his personality were worked in enough to make it all feel a bit gross. In Stardust (the movie), there's a scene where Tristan leers at Yvaine in the bath. Pratchett believed in moral integrity. Gaiman doesn't.

This is the best response I've seen.

Terry Pratchett had a lot of wisdom.

Terry Pratchett always hits the bullseye

There was a Retrophrenologist in Ankh Morpork. You told him what traits you wanted, and he chiseled them into your skull. Makes just as much sense.

The people who drive us to seek solace in fiction are horribly real, while the characters who soothe our souls are sadly not.

This is the book that lead to my first date with my husband. We were discussing Roundworld when I guessed that he was about to mention Pan Narrans, the Storytelling Ape. It felt like we were continuing that first conversation for years, and we still revisit it now.

Magrat Garlick, Gytha Ogg, and Esmeralda Weatherwax from the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett. My husband told me I reminded him of all three: the Maiden, the Mother, and the Other One. I've grown from mostly Margrat, to far more Nanny Ogg, to feeling like Granny more often over the years.

J K Rowling made patriarchy more palatable in the Harry Potter books by giving her female characters magic as another way to carry water for it.