Pre-Posthumous Pratchet aPpreciation Page

[WelshRarePasta]

Since we apparently have quite a number of Pratchett fans, I'd like to hear about favorite Pratchett books, why you like his books, or what your favorite line is. This is, in some small, inappropriate, and anticipatedly morbid way, a pre-ode to one of the soon-to-be-gone great writers in the English language.

[WelshRarePasta]

Ok, from Wee Free Men p. 51, since I just reread it, and it's certainly in my top-20 Pratchett books:

Miss Tick, standing up said "Well, I must go. I hope we shall meet again. I will give you some free advice, though."
"Will it cost me anything?"
"What? I just said it was free!" said Miss Tick.
"Yes, but my father said that free advice often turns out to be expensive," said Tiffany.
Miss Tick sniffed. "You could say this advice is priceless," she said. "Are you listening?"
"Yes," said Tiffany.
"Good. Now ... if you trust in yourself ..."
"Yes?"
"... and believe in your dreams ..."
"Yes?"
"... and follow your star ..." Miss Tick went on.
"Yes?"
"... you'll still get beaten up by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy. Good-bye."

[fueledbycoffee]

It's been a while since I've read any, and I've read very few, really only the first five or six, but I'm absolutely in love with Equal Rites and Mort. Oh, and Good Omens is just win.

I need to reread them before I can remember what my favorite parts were.

[Edd]

The Wee Free Men certainly is quotable. Some of my favorites:

‘They can tak’ oour lives but they cannae tak’ oour trousers!’

‘… An’ things ha’ come to a pretty pass, ye ken, if people are going to leave stuff like that aroound where innocent people could accidentally smash the door doon and lever the bars aside and take the big chain off’f the cupboard and pick the lock and drink it!’

The Nac Mac Feegle embody all the best attributes of pirates, midgets and pastafarians.

[WelshRarePasta]

Aye, that's why I don't even bother with the Pirate Talk... the little blue tattooed men do it much better than I ever could.

Ok, here's one from Reaper Man, including a classic Pratchett footnote:

One of the nice things about being a priest in the Lost Jewelled Temple of Doom of Offler the Crocodile God was that you got to go home early most afternoons. That was because it was lost. Most worshippers never found their way there. They were the lucky ones.
Traditionally, only two people ever went into the innermost sanctuary. They were the High Priest and the other priest who wasn't High. They had been there for years, and took turns at being the high one. It was an undemanding job, given that most prospective worshippers were impaled, squashed, poisoned or sliced by booby-traps even before making it as far as the little box and the jolly drawing of a thermometer* outside the vestry.

______
*"Lost Jewelled Temple Roof Repair Fund! Only 6,000 gold pieces to go!! Please Give Generously!! Thankyou!!!"

[Detective TurtleHolmes]

I own around ten of his books, but one of my previous teachers (who got me started on TP) has around thirty. Mine hold the prime place on my bookshelf.

Okay, here's some of mine:

Always be wary of any helpful item that weighs less than its operating manual.

Give a man a fire and he's warm for the day. But set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life.

\

Revolutions always come around again. That's why they're called revolutions.

"Zoology, eh? That's a big word, isn't it."

"No, actually it isn't," said TIffany. "Patronizing is a big word. Zoology is really quite short."

I use that one all the time.

[black bart]

From 'Mort':

"When a man is tired of Ankh-Morpork, he is tired of ankle-deep slurry."

I like that because it's a bastardisation of Dr Johnson's famous quote:

"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life."

[Cricket]

Sigh. I have all the Discworld books, "The Wee Free Men", and a couple of other illustrated "History of Discworld" or whatever books. I was so thoroughly depressed about Pratchett's diagnosis that I haven't had the heart to read any lately - it's about time that I start over at the beginning, with "The Colour of Magic", and read them through again.

Except every time I do, I get all bummed because *I* can't have The Luggage.

[Detective TurtleHolmes]

I made myself a little model of The Luggage out of blu-tac once. It was really poorly made, but if I squinted, it looked similar.

[WelshRarePasta]

I've got two more to go (Wintersmith and Maurice...) and I will have read all of the Discworlds straight through in publication order (cept Maurice cause I didn't have it) since May. But I'm more than a bit nuts when it comes to reading. Ok, Pratchett quote for the day (wish i could find Good Omens, that one's chock full):

In the Second Scroll of Wen the Eternally Surprised a story is written concerning one day when the apprentice Clodpool, in a rebellious mood, approached Wen and spake thusly: 'Master, what is the difference between a humanistic, monastic system of belief in which wisdom is taught by means of an apparently nonsensical system of questions and answers, and a lot of mystic gibberish made up on the spur of the moment?'

Wen considered this for some time, and at last said: 'A fish!'

And Clodpool went away, satisfied.

----Thief of Time

[black bart]

Another one from Mort:

I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I COULD MURDER A GOOD CURRY.

Death.

[Edd]

I have all the Discworld books, the Bromeliad Trilogy, Good Omens, of course.

I think I’ll miss Rincewind the most.

‘Rincewind: I'm not going to ride on a magic carpet! I'm afraid of grounds.

Conina: You mean heights. And stop being silly.

Rincewind: I know what I mean! It's the grounds that kill you!’

--Sourcery

[Detective TurtleHolmes]

My favourite Rincewind novel by far is Interesting Times.

Many an ancient lord's last words had been, "You can't kill me because I've got magic
aaargh."

"I know about people who talk about suffering for the common good. It's never bloody
them! When you hear a man shouting "Forward, brave comrades!" you'll see he's the one
behind the bloody big rock and the one wearing the only really arrow-proof helmet!"
-- Rincewind gives a speech on politics.

[WelshRarePasta]

Ya know, my favorite 'grouping' of Discworld books keeps changing... I've read through the majority three times (some more, the newer ones less). On the first read-through, I kept thinking "goddamnit Terry, why won't you give us more books about Rincewind!" Second read-through I couldn't get enough of Death and his family, would read the non-Death books very quickly or just let do with his one liners (I'm pretty sure Death makes at least a one-line appearance in all but the Colour of Magic). This last time, I was really diggin on 'ole Sam Vimes and the Watch.

So, given that Pratchett has about 6 books in the works, but has only committed to finishing two of them, what do you most look forward to (the next book to be published won't be a Discworld novel)? We've got one more Discworld book coming, so which character or story-line do you hope it picks up on, and why?

[Detective TurtleHolmes]

Either Rincewind or Sam Vimes. 'Cuz Rincewind is pretty awesome. Hilariously heroic.

Vimesy? I like the way he does things. Screw polly-ticks, just move right in and whack some heads.