Whats everyone reading?

[Smith]

Funny,I finished Mort just recently.

[von Boom]

It's my goal this year to complete the entire Discworld series. I read the first few ages ago so I'm starting from the beginning. Finished The Colour of Magic on Monday and I'm halfway through The Light Fantastic.

[The Adventurer]

Read them in publication order. A lot of people will tell you to read particular linked series inside the larger series (Guards, Witches, Rincewind, Death, etc...). But there are smaller, subtler things that run through the series in publication order that makes it ultimately more satisfying IMO

[von Boom]

This is my plan. It's the same thing I tell people about reading The Culture books.

[The Adventurer]

This is my plan. It's the same thing I tell people about reading The Culture books.

Please tell me where to start with the Culture novels. I started reading Player of Games, only got a few chapters in before my eyes rolled clear out of my head with all these unlikable people with no real problems.

Maybe I started in the wrong place?

[von Boom]

This is my plan. It's the same thing I tell people about reading The Culture books.

Please tell me where to start with the Culture novels. I started reading Player of Games, only got a few chapters in before my eyes rolled clear out of my head with all these unlikable people with no real problems.

Maybe I started in the wrong place?

Consider Phlebas is the first book. Player of Games is the second.

If you couldn't get through Player, then Phlebas is not going to help you. Some people just don't like The Culture and that's fine.

[Rara Avis]

I read 'Player of Games' first as it was recommended as the best novel to introduce you to that world.

I'm so jealous of you that you are just reading them for the first time now.

OMG!! Wait till you read 'Use of Weapons'. That's my personal favourite. You might like 'Consider Phlebas' but you need to get through one before the rest will make sense. Totally worth sticking with though.

[Theblazeuk]

I agree entirely on the Discworld reading order but I do think that some people will get hooked by certain characters who would otherwise get turned off by something like Sourcery or Moving Pictures.

[The Adventurer]

Sourcery's rough, but I've always enjoyed Moving Pictures.

[Theblazeuk]

Oh yeah (I enjoy all of them!) but some folks may bounce straight off fantasy-humour. Was really just naming a couple at random without falling back on the usual 'Light Fantastic and Colour of Magic are very different' Pratchett summary.

[The Adventurer]

Ultmately I think Eric is the one I like the absolute least.

[Tjm86]

I agree entirely on the Discworld reading order but I do think that some people will get hooked by certain characters who would otherwise get turned off by something like Sourcery or Moving Pictures.

I think that is the beauty of the disc world books.  If you take a thematic approach you can get all sorts of interesting threads growing out.  It's really interesting to see how Pratchett evolved his world and his characters over the years.  Granted some work better than others but I've lost count of the number of times I've reread them all.  Every time I get something new out of them.

[I do agree though that Eric is not up to much.  The Last Hero was another week one (by Pratchett's standards)]

[Theblazeuk]

Ah the Last Hero was beautifully illustrated though.

[Hawkmumbler]

Jesus christ! Saga #42 makes for some grim reading, think I need to watch kitten videos for two hours to cheer me up after that!

[sheridan]

I read 'Player of Games' first as it was recommended as the best novel to introduce you to that world.

I'm so jealous of you that you are just reading them for the first time now.

OMG!! Wait till you read 'Use of Weapons'. That's my personal favourite. You might like 'Consider Phlebas' but you need to get through one before the rest will make sense. Totally worth sticking with though.

Strange - because wasn't Use of Weapons the first one Banks conceived of, but decided that the reader would need to be introduced to the Culture via the other books first?