Discworld?

[Rob]

I would recommend any of, Small Gods, Equal Rites, Mort, Guards! Guards!, and Going Postal, as good places to start.

But take your pick!

Do we have a linear chart?

[JimC]

I like anything with the witches...

And most of the others, too

[normal]

I think you'll like Sam Vimes, Gawd.

I've gone through some DW phases. First Rincewind was my favourite, then all of a sudden I couldn't get enough of Death. Then it was the witches, and now I think Sam Vimes is my favourite.

I hope Pterry can squeeze out some more books, and hopefully not dwindle away into Alzheimer while he's styll physically healthy

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I hope Pterry can squeeze out some more books, and hopefully not dwindle away into Alzheimer while he's styll physically healthy

http://informahealthcare.com/doi/full/1 ... 1003728190

[tattuchu]

Jesus Christ, dude. What the fuck are you waiting for? These are essential reading. Well, some of them anyway. Not sure if they all are. I was just wondering myself which ones were particularly good. I recently reread Small Gods and loved it. And I have several of the others. So I picked up the first book in the series and was underwhelmed. Then I started reading Eric and was similarly underwhelmed, but then ended up getting into that and liked it just fine.

I was also wondering if anyone can recommend any non-Discworld Pratchett books. I started reading Nation a while back but hated it and never finished it.

[Twoflower]

I was rereading The Light Fantastic last week when SOMEBODY invaded the book and made things... weird for me.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Jesus Christ, dude. What the fuck are you waiting for? These are essential reading. Well, some of them anyway. Not sure if they all are. I was just wondering myself which ones were particularly good. I recently reread Small Gods and loved it. And I have several of the others. So I picked up the first book in the series and was underwhelmed. Then I started reading Eric and was similarly underwhelmed, but then ended up getting into that and liked it just fine.

I was also wondering if anyone can recommend any non-Discworld Pratchett books. I started reading Nation a while back but hated it and never finished it.

For one thing, I rarely do any recreational reading. The work I do on WWII requires I read large amounts of material and picking up another book isn't what I'd call a break. Second, I went sour on the whole SciFi scene in the late '70s when they started getting all whiney. I quietly walked away and seldom revisited. As I now find myself with blocks of time that can be filled with a book I have started getting back into the genre. I'm about to finish the Great Book of Amber, for example.

[PsychoSerenity]

Do we have a linear chart?

Well you can read them in the order they were written in, as AshtonBlack said, which on this chart, is generally left to right. But that does jump about a lot between many different plot lines, dealing with often completely unrelated characters, in different parts of the world. Also I personally think that the first two, The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic, aren't really the best, for entertainment or for getting an idea about what the the rest are like - so I usually don't recommend that.

Where there are major plot links on the chart (solid lines rather than doted), then it's certainly better to read them in that order, and the written order will do that for you as well.

Another thing about these books, sometimes they are quite hard to get into, as even within the book there are often several completely different plot-lines that jump about for most of the book until they are eventually woven together. So don't worry if at first you are completely lost, just keep reading.

[PsychoSerenity]

I was also wondering if anyone can recommend any non-Discworld Pratchett books. I started reading Nation a while back but hated it and never finished it.

Really? I quite enjoyed Nation.
There aren't that many actually!
http://wiki.lspace.org/wiki/Bibliography#Non-Discworld
I've heard good things about Good Omens, but I've never read it, I also remember enjoying Truckers, Diggers and Wings when I was younger but I can't remember if they are more children's stories or not.

[Feck]

Mort is a good place to start

[tattuchu]

I was also wondering if anyone can recommend any non-Discworld Pratchett books. I started reading Nation a while back but hated it and never finished it.

Really? I quite enjoyed Nation.
There aren't that many actually!
http://wiki.lspace.org/wiki/Bibliography#Non-Discworld
I've heard good things about Good Omens, but I've never read it, I also remember enjoying Truckers, Diggers and Wings when I was younger but I can't remember if they are more children's stories or not.

I thought Nation was terribly boring I kept waiting for something interesting to happen but it never did. It didn't seem particularly clever or particularly funny, the two things I love most about Pratchett. It didn't seem...much of anything.

Good Omens is easily my favorite book. It's how I became aware of Pratchett, actually. I was already a fan of Gaiman from his comics work. For a long time, even, I considered Good Omens a Neil Gaiman book, and just figured he had a little help by this fellow Pratchett who I'd never heard of and therefore whose contributions must have been negligible. The two fellows won't say who wrote what in the book, but the more Pratchet I read, the more I see of him in it, the more of his writing style I recognize. And I've also gone on to read read other books by both authors. As much as I love Gaiman, I don't believe he's written anything as good as Good Omens since (though I did enjoy The Graveyard Book, among others). Good Omens seemed to be only the tip of the iceberg for Pratchett, however. I've read a half dozen of he Discworld books that I thought were just as good as the Gaiman collaboration (though Good Omens will always have a special place in my heart and forever be my favorite).

[tattuchu]

For one thing, I rarely do any recreational reading. The work I do on WWII requires I read large amounts of material and picking up another book isn't what I'd call a break. Second, I went sour on the whole SciFi scene in the late '70s when they started getting all whiney. I quietly walked away and seldom revisited. As I now find myself with blocks of time that can be filled with a book I have started getting back into the genre. I'm about to finish the Great Book of Amber, for example.

Discworld is an enjoyable read, and I think will be a pleasant diversion from your usual work-related reading. They're smart and funny. They make you think, too, but aren't overly taxing. I mean they're not heavy reads you have to slog through. But I wouldn't say they're lightweight either. They have enough substance in them to be satisfying.

Also, Good Omens, as has been mentioned, is a must-read.

[Loki]

Discworld is an enjoyable read, and I think will be a pleasant diversion from your usual work-related reading. They're smart and funny. They make you think, too, but aren't overly taxing. I mean they're not heavy reads you have to slog through. But I wouldn't say they're lightweight either. They have enough substance in them to be satisfying.

Also, Good Omens, as has been mentioned, is a must-read.

They are surprisingly light reading, but often hide sharp commentary.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

How does he compare to Robert Asprin, "Myth, Inc" and such?

[Tero]

Zilla, they do go into a lot of fantasy, so ypu have to be prepared for that. The fantasy is woven nicely into realistic scenes. Just pick one and start from there, like I say Thief of Time had a plot I could follow.