Sir Terry Pratchett

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten… Discworld Quotations

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Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday – a weekly feature from The Broke and the Bookish, now hosted by ThatArtsyReaderGirl. Expect a new top ten list every week!

| Top Ten… Discworld Quotations |

Welcome back to Top Ten Tuesday where this week I’m looking at my favourite Discworld quotations. From the hilarious to the ridiculous to the incredibly profound, Sir Terry Pratchett has always proven to be a master of literary wit – choosing just ten quotations has never been so difficult.

Scroll down for this week’s Top Ten… Discworld Quotations!

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What are your favourite Discworld quotations?

If you would like to join in with Top Ten Tuesday, head on over to ThatArtsyReaderGirl and sign up!

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Teaser Tuesdays: The Last Continent

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Welcome to Teaser Tuesdays – a weekly feature hosted by The Purple Booker. Expect a new teaser every week!

| Teaser Tuesdays: September 29 |

The Last Continent

Book Twenty-Two of Discworld

by Terry Pratchett

Fantasy | 412 Pages | First Published by Corgi in 1998

“Rincewind tried to slow down, but his method of running was very efficiently based on the idea that stopping was the last thing he’d do. Legs still moving, he ran out over the empty air and plunged into the void.“

~ 17% | The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett

| Synopsis |

‘Anything you do in the past changes the future. The tiniest little actions have huge consequences. You might tread on an ant now and it might entirely prevent someone from being born in the future.’

The Discworld‘s most inept wizard has found himself on the Discworld’s last continent, a completely separate creation.

It’s hot. It’s dry . . . very dry. There was this thing once called The Wet, which no one believes in. Practically everything that’s not poisonous is venomous. But it’s the best bloody place in the world, all right?

And in a few days, it will be except . . . Who is this hero striding across the red desert? Champion sheep shearer, horse rider, road warrior, beer drinker, bush ranger, and someone who’ll even eat a Meat Pie Floater when he’s sober? A man in a hat whose luggage follows him on little legs, who’s about to change history by preventing a swagman stealing a jumbuck by a billabong?

Yes . . . all this place has between itself and wind-blown doom is Rincewind, the inept wizard who can’t even spell wizard. Still . . . no worries, eh?

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

| Join In |

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Please leave a comment with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your ‘teasers’ in a comment here!

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Teaser Tuesdays: The Last Continent

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Welcome to Teaser Tuesdays – a weekly feature hosted by The Purple Booker. Expect a new teaser every week!

| Teaser Tuesdays: September 22 |

The Last Continent

Book Twenty-Two of Discworld

by Terry Pratchett

Fantasy | 412 Pages | First Published by Corgi in 1998

“First, the steady flop-flop as you walked made you sound like two people to any dangerous creatures you were about to encounter, which, in Rincewind’s recent experience, was any creature at all. Second, although they were impossible to run in they were easy to run out of, so that you were a smoking dot on the burning horizon while the enraged caterpillar or beetle was still looking at your shoes and wondering where the other person was.“

~ 10% | The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett

| Synopsis |

‘Anything you do in the past changes the future. The tiniest little actions have huge consequences. You might tread on an ant now and it might entirely prevent someone from being born in the future.’

The Discworld‘s most inept wizard has found himself on the Discworld’s last continent, a completely separate creation.

It’s hot. It’s dry . . . very dry. There was this thing once called The Wet, which no one believes in. Practically everything that’s not poisonous is venomous. But it’s the best bloody place in the world, all right?

And in a few days, it will be except . . . Who is this hero striding across the red desert? Champion sheep shearer, horse rider, road warrior, beer drinker, bush ranger, and someone who’ll even eat a Meat Pie Floater when he’s sober? A man in a hat whose luggage follows him on little legs, who’s about to change history by preventing a swagman stealing a jumbuck by a billabong?

Yes . . . all this place has between itself and wind-blown doom is Rincewind, the inept wizard who can’t even spell wizard. Still . . . no worries, eh?

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

| Join In |

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Please leave a comment with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your ‘teasers’ in a comment here!

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This Week by Proxy: 31 August – 06 September

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Welcome to This Week by Proxy. Join me as I link up with the Caffeinated Reviewer to look back on the past week and see what I’ve been reading, posting, watching and playing!

| This Week by Proxy: 31 August – 06 September 2020 |

Having not had a holiday in over six months, the other half and I made our way to the Lake District on Monday and spent the next four days reading books (or playing on the Switch), exploring the local landscape and visiting remote and ruined castles. It was wonderfully relaxing, completely peaceful and I only wish our stay could have been for just a bit longer.

The weekend, however, was spent picnicking in the park with my stepdaughter, visiting my mum and dad on their narrowboat, and relaxing with many a good book. Brilliant fun all round!

I hope you’ve all had a fantastic week and I will try to catch up on all the posts I’ve missed over the next few days! 

| Books Read |

Over the past week I completed both ‘The Trouble with Peace’ by Joe Abercrombie and ‘The Doors of Eden’ by Adrian Tchaikovsky and still managed to squeeze in a little Pratchett before the end. All different, all brilliant, and all a joy to read from beginning to end!

| Currently Reading |

This week I’m continuing to read ‘The Court of Broken Knives’, a brutal but beautifully written grimdark fantasy epic by Anna Smith Spark. Unfortunately, in my haste to pack my Kindle, I forgot to bring the book with me to the Lake District and I’m a little further behind than I wanted to be. I did, however, manage to pick up a wonderful assortment of books in the Kindle sale and have started ‘Tombland’, the seventh book in the Matthew Shardlake series by C.J. Sansom.

I am also taking part in the Read-Along for Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey, organised by Imyril at There’s Always Room for One More. My Week One post, which covers Chapters 1 – 16, can be found here. If anyone would like to join in with this Read-Along, just head on over to the Goodreads group page and sign up.

| Upcoming Reviews |

Having spent an entire week on holiday (and most of that time spent reading!) I am even more behind on the review front, but will hopefully get a few out in the coming week! Every single one of these books was amazing so expect a whole host of glowing reviews!

| Watching |

Season One of Absentia was both an enjoyable and exasperating experience. Stana Katic was incredible as Emily Byrne and the overall plot was tense and unpredictable, but Nick Durand, Emily’s ex-husband and FBI agent, was an incredibly frustrating character who treated Emily like dirt, had serious trust issues, and couldn’t find a clue if it was stapled to his face.  He annoyed me so much I almost stopped watching altogether. However, I am glad I continued as it did have quite a gripping plot and Season Two is proving a far less rage-inducing experience.

Meanwhile, the other half and I are watching Season Five of Lucifer, which is as lighthearted and comedic as ever, and Season Two of The Boys, which is both brutal and bloody brilliant.

| Gaming |

As the past week has been spent in literary bliss up in the Lake District, I’ve only had time for a few short but sweet games of Apex Legends since our return.

| Posts |

Review: The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor

 

Music Mondays: Gurdy’s Green

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten… Foodie Book Covers

Teaser Tuesdays: Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett

Waiting on Wednesday: God of Night by Tom Lloyd

Read-Along: Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey – Week One

The Friday Face-Off: Cold and Crisp

My Top Ten Games of the Past Two Years

I hope you all have a wonderful, book-filled week!

What have you been reading, watching and playing this week? Have you accomplished any goals?

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This Week by Proxy: 17 – 30 August

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Welcome to This Week by Proxy. Join me as I link up with the Caffeinated Reviewer to look back on the past week and see what I’ve been reading, posting, watching and playing!

| This Week by Proxy: 17 – 30 August 2020 |

The past two weeks have been a rather strange mix of highs and lows. I realised the week before last, that I had only taken a handful of my holidays from work this year and, as we are now approaching September, it sent me into a bit of a spiral where all I could think about was how much I needed a break, knowing full well that I had one this coming week.

And now I’m finally on holiday I feel the utmost relief and can now enjoy the fact that the next four months have most of my holidays dispersed between them. Now this spiral is hardly the result of anything serious, but things seem so much more dramatic and terrible when you spend your days alone, working from home with only two rabbits for company until late in the evening!

I have, however, been reading some amazing books and I’m thoroughly enjoying escaping the world at large in between their comforting, if a little bloody, pages. I’ve also been lucky enough to see family, take my stepdaughter on a fairy treasure hunt and complete an enormous deadline at work – which feels like a giant weight off my shoulders!

I hope you’ve all had a lovely week and have been reading some amazing books! I look forward to reading all about them! 

| Books Read |

Over the past two weeks I’ve finished All Systems Red, the first in The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, and A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie. Both books were brilliant, both entirely different, and both made me ridiculously excited to read the next in each series!

| Currently Reading |

I feel so lucky right now to not only be listening to the audiobook for The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky, but to be reading the brand new ARC for The Trouble With Peace by Joe Abercrombie. I’m trying ever so hard to savour every moment, but the pages are rapidly disappearing and I know it won’t be long before I’ve finished it entirely.

In between bouts of Tchaikovsky and Abercrombie, and believe me, The Doors of Eden is one hefty and time consuming audiobook, I’ve squeezed in a little bit of The Court of Broken Knives, which I hope to continue in earnest over my holiday, and my new Pratchett offering, Monstrous Regiment.

Now you might be weeping in horror at me reading so many books at once but, in my defence, with only an hour left in each, I am likely to finish both The Trouble With Peace and The Doors of Eden today.

| Upcoming Reviews |

My review for Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor will be appearing next week, hopefully followed by one other – if I can get it drafted before going away!

| Watching |

After finishing Season 3 of Good Girls last week, which was reasonably enjoyable and got better as the season progressed, I started watching Absentia.

Absentia tells the story of an FBI agent, Emily Byrne, who has been missing presumed dead for the past six years and who suddenly returns in an explosion of murder, lies and suspicion. Fast-paced and exciting, the only downside so far is Emily’s irritating FBI agent ex-husband who couldn’t spot a clue if it was stuck to his face! I am, however, trying to get beyond this annoyance and actually enjoy the series.

The other half and I finished watching The Umbrella Academy last week, which was brilliantly entertaining, and have started watching the latest season of Lucifer on Netflix. I absolutely love this series and it never fails to cheer me up, and no doubt we’ll polish it all off in the coming week!

| Gaming |

Although I’ve not had much time for gaming over the past two weeks, I’ve started playing Greedfall, a beautiful RPG in a fantasy setting, and have started the new season of Apex Legends, which introduces new Legend Rampart (pictured right) and her gun, Sheila (also pictured right). The latest changes to the game also include item crafting, altered locations and a new energy weapon, the volt.

| Posts |

Review: The Man With One Name by Tom Lloyd

Review: Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie

Music Mondays: Blade Runner 2049

Music Mondays: Svitjod

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten… Series That Should Have Screen Adaptations

Teaser Tuesdays: A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie

Teaser Tuesdays: The Court of Broken Knives by Anna Smith Spark

Waiting on Wednesday: The Dead of Winter by S.J. Parris

Waiting on Wednesday: Bear Head by Adrian Tchaikovsky

The Friday Face-Off: Hubble Bubble

The Friday Face-Off: The Road Goes Ever On and On

Friday Firsts: The Court of Broken Knives by Anna Smith Spark

Friday Firsts: Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett

I hope you all have a wonderful, book-filled week!

What have you been reading, watching and playing this week? Have you accomplished any goals?

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The Friday Face-Off: The Road Goes Ever On and On

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Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme here at Books by Proxy. Join me every Friday as I pit cover against cover, and publisher against publisher, to find the best artwork in our literary universe. Check out Lynn’s-Books for upcoming themes!

Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett

Welcome to the Friday Face-Off where this week we’re comparing covers featuring a dark road!

After last week’s edition took me to Discworld, I couldn’t resist going there again with Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett! And with a wonderful collection of covers, it was difficult only choosing two to compare!

This week’s offerings are the Pocket 2011 French cover with incredible artwork by Marc Simonetti and the Collector’s Library edition from Doubleday with artwork by Joe McLaren. Take a look and see which one is your favourite!

Pocket 2011 | Cover #1

Artwork by Marc Simonetti

Doubleday 2016 | Cover #2

Artwork by Joe McLaren

| The Friday Face-Off: Winner |

The Doubleday cover is a nice addition to the Collector’s Library – block colours, a simple illustration working in silhouettes and negative space, and a dramatic vista. I love the lonely figure walking up a long and crooked road towards Lancre Castle, and I love the silhouettes of the witches on broomsticks as they fly across the sky.

The artwork for the French edition is incredible, however, and the more I look at Marc SImonetti’s artwork the more in love I am with it. It is, quite simply, breathtaking. I love the smokey blues and pinks as they rise up to Lancre Castle concealing another dark and crooked road. I love the slender figure of Mightily Oats, the powerful stance of the Witches of Lancre and the sword-swinging action of Verence II. This eye-catching and imaginative cover is most definitely my favourite.

Discworld artwork by Marc Simonetti

Which cover wins your vote this week? Have a cover of your own? – Post the link below!

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

Next week’s theme is:

Cold and Crisp

A cover with a cold and wintry feel

Remember to check Lynn’s Books for upcoming themes

| Links |

Lynn @ Lynn’s Books

Mogsy @ The Bibliosanctum

Steve @ Books and Beyond Reviews

Sarah @ Brainfluff

Tammy @ Books, Bones and Buffy

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Friday Firsts: Monstrous Regiment

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Welcome to Friday Firsts – a weekly meme created by Tenacious Reader. First paragraphs. First impressions. A new favourite?

| Friday Firsts: August 28 |

Monstrous Regiment

Book Thirty One of Discworld

by Terry Pratchett

Fantasy | 476 Pages | Published by Doubleday in 2003

| First Paragraphs |

Polly cut of her hair in front of the mirror, feeling slightly guilty about not feeling very guilt about doing so. It was supposed to be her crowning glory, and everyone said it was beautiful, but she generally wore it in a net when she was working. She’d always told herself it was wasted on her. But she was careful to see that the long golden coils all landed on the small sheet spread out for the purpose.

If she would admit to any strong emotion at all at this time, it was sheer annoyance that a haircut was all she needed to pass for a young man. She didn’t even need to bind up her bosom, which she’d heard was the normal practice. Nature had seen to it that she barely had any problems in this area.

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

| First Impressions |

I am so very exciting to be diving back into another Discworld adventure, this time with Monstrous Regiment, the thirty first novel in the series.

With a premise which sees Polly Perks joining the army in order to save her brother, this is an opening that oozes Pratchett’s wit, charm and flare throughout these two short paragraphs. And knowing just how wonderful Pratchett’s writing is, I’m in no doubt that this will be another wonderful, humorous adventure across Borogravia.

What are you currently reading? What were your first impressions?

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The Friday Face-Off: Hubble Bubble

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Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme here at Books by Proxy. Join me every Friday as I pit cover against cover, and publisher against publisher, to find the best artwork in our literary universe. Check out Lynn’s-Books for upcoming themes!

Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett

Welcome to the Friday Face-Off where this week we’re comparing covers featuring potions!

And if we’re talking potions, there is only ever one set of books I would want to include: The Witches of Lancre sub-series from the Discworld universe. Fortunately, this series features covers with cauldrons, broomsticks, pumpkins and witches aplenty!

This week’s offerings are the Corgi 2012 cover with classic artwork by Josh Kirby and the Gollancz Collector’s Library edition with artwork by Joe McLaren. Take a look and see which one is your favourite!

Corgi 2012 | Cover #1

Josh Kirby

Gollancz 2014 | Cover #2

Joe McLaren

| The Friday Face-Off: Winner |

Josh Kirby’s artwork is stunning and his cover for Wyrd Sisters is no exception. As ever, this cover displays a cacophony of interconnecting people, places, objects, animals and elements in a riot of colours. I love the swirling fog, the typeface and the bats in the aquamarine, and I will never stop enjoying the feeling of getting lost in one of these covers.

But the Gollancz Collector’s Library editions are something else. There is nothing I would love more than every single edition of this collection sitting happily on my bookshelves; fabric hardback covers in bright colours with beautiful illustrations staring down at me.  I love the spindly trees, the bright moon and the gaggle of witches around the cauldron. I love the elongated shadows, the crackling flames and the looping handwriting. As much as I admire Josh Kirby’s artwork, I just adore these covers!

The Witches of Lancre Gollancz Collector’s Library Editions

Which cover wins your vote this week? Have a cover of your own? – Post the link below!

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

Next week’s theme is:

The Road Goes Ever On and On

A cover featuring a dark road

Remember to check Lynn’s Books for upcoming themes

| Links |

Lynn @ Lynn’s Books

Mogsy @ The Bibliosanctum

Steve @ Books and Beyond Reviews

Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy

Mareli and Elza @ Elza Reads

Kristi @ Confessions of a YA Reader

Sarah @ Brainfluff

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This Week by Proxy: 10 – 16 August

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Welcome to This Week by Proxy. Join me as I link up with the Caffeinated Reviewer to look back on the past week and see what I’ve been reading, posting, watching and playing!

| This Week by Proxy: 10 – 16 August 2020 |

As busy as it’s been, this week has seemed to fly by! Unfortunately, so has the weekend, which has been a strange mixture of both horrific and relaxing.

Saturday morning was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. The other half and I were awoken on Saturday morning to a phone call telling us our nephew had gone missing in Blackpool. The police were involved and we scrambled to get out of the house as quickly as possible and make the journey to the coast. I have never gotten ready so quickly in my life!

Fortunately, before we left, we received another phone call to say a wonderful man had found him lost on the beach and had taken him to the police. Reunited with his parents and sister, he soon seemed oblivious to the panic he had inadvertently caused and spent the day playing on the beach and making sandcastles. I have never felt either such dread or such relief in my life, and my faith in humanity has most definitely been restored.

Following that, we decided to put our other plans on hold and spend the weekend relaxing and recovering from the shock.

I hope you have all had far more enjoyable weekends and I wish you all a fantastic week ahead!

| Books Read |

This week I finished The Ashes of London, a wonderful slice of historic crime fiction set during The Great Fire of London of 1666. Both skilfully plotted and bursting with descriptions of seventeenth century London, this was a wonderful start to a series I cannot wait to continue.

I also managed to squeeze in another P.G. Wodehouse novel, Ring for Jeeves, which was a brilliantly funny read.

| Currently Reading |

I’m currently enjoying the audiobook for The Doors of Eden, which is a somewhat long recording but fills in a lot moments where I can’t physically hold a book! And All Systems Red is already a joy to read and is only being usurped by A Little Hatred which I am finding difficult to put down!

| Upcoming Reviews |

I’m still making my way slowly but surely through my backlog of reviews and I’m actually seeing the sky through the clouds now! I should have two reviews for any of the above out this coming week!

| Watching |

I finally finished my Humans binge which ended in horror, tears and joy. This is a thoroughly enjoyable series which actually raises some profound questions about those we consider ‘other’ and what it means to be human.

The Umbrella Academy is, as usual, wonderfully ridiculous and makes for an excellent wind down at the end of a busy day, while the latest series of Good Girls isn’t quite hitting my sweet spot just yet. We’ll see how it fares over the course of the season.

| Gaming |

While I haven’t had much time for gaming this week, I’ve still managed to squeeze in a few games of GTFO, Apex Legends and continue the story mode for Red Dead Redemption 2. I’ve also started getting urges for World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, which comes out later this year (we hope!), so I may see a return to WoW sooner rather than later.

| Posts |

Review: Going Postal by Terry Pratchett

Review: To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers

Music Mondays: My Only Chance

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten… Books I Loved but Never Reviewed

Teaser Tuesdays: The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor

Waiting on Wednesday: Orfeia by Joanne M. Harris

The Friday Face-Off: Spectacular

Friday Firsts: A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie

I hope you all have a wonderful, book-filled week!

What have you been reading, watching and playing this week? Have you accomplished any goals?

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