Discworld Reading Order

[ametzler]

Originally Posted by PKFFW

[...]
I just don't get the point of continuing with a book if you are not really enjoying it just to see if it gets better. That to me is sort of like continuing to hit yourself on the head with a hammer even though it is painful just to see if it gets less painful or at all enjoyable. Sure, maybe it will become enjoyable but why not stop hitting yourself on the head with the hammer and try some other activity that might prove more enjoyable from the start?
[...]

I simply cannot reliably judge whether I will love the book at page 10.

There are some excellent reads that take some time and effort to get into. I would exchange these for books reasonably entertaining from start if I stopped early.

cu Andreas

[PKFFW]

Originally Posted by ametzler

I simply cannot reliably judge whether I will love the book at page 10.

There are some excellent reads that take some time and effort to get into. I would exchange these for books reasonably entertaining from start if I stopped early.

cu Andreas

Well yes page 10 might be a bit early. I commented that I generally give a book about 100 pages. I think everyone would have a point at which they would put a book down and not finish it. At what point one does that would be an entirely individual decision.

For me, I don't care how long the book is or how many books are in the series or what I might be giving up if I don't stick with it. I don't care if the book "might" get better down the track. I just see no sense in persisting with something I'm not enjoying after 100 pages. If an author is unable to grab my attention after that many pages then they just aren't for me. I'll go beat myself over the head with another hammer for a while and see if I enjoy that more.

[bfisher]

Thanks for the recommendations. Great discussion, too.

I started reading Guards! Guards!; I'm half-way through and enjoying it immensely, so I do expect to get back to the earlier publication date books at some point (after doing Hogfather as a Christmas read, of course).

[eschwartz]

Excellent!

I guess now that you have already broken the publication order, we can all stop arguing about whether to suggest you do so or not.

But I wouldn't want to stop anyone from arguing if they will enjoy doing so...

[jgaiser]

And I'm doing a reread of Small Gods and discovered (again) that it is an excellent place to start. Beyond a minor role of the History Monks and of course DEATH, there is nothing you need to know from previous books. Heck, the story doesn't even take place in Ankh-Morpork. And I'm once again pleased and surprised how an avowed atheist could write such a thoughtful book about religion. Both the abuses and the joy. If you haven't read it yet, you really should.

[bfisher]

Thanks for the suggestion. I just finished Guards!Guards! I'll read Small Gods next, and then Hogfather for Christmas (I was wondering about the reference to the Street of the Small Gods in Guards!Guards!).

[Apache]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

And I'm doing a reread of Small Gods and discovered (again) that it is an excellent place to start. Beyond a minor role of the History Monks and of course DEATH, there is nothing you need to know from previous books. Heck, the story doesn't even take place in Ankh-Morpork. And I'm once again pleased and surprised how an avowed atheist could write such a thoughtful book about religion. Both the abuses and the joy. If you haven't read it yet, you really should.

It has been a long time since I read that one. I still have it in paper and should get a digital version.
Apache

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by Apache

It has been a long time since I read that one. I still have it in paper and should get a digital version.
Apache

This is the third or fourth time I've read this book. I get something new each time. I'm an atheist. Terry Pratchett was an atheist. And this is still the best book I've read on the power of faith. I don't believe in Small Gods or Large Gods, but Brutha is really the embodiment of Jesus in the New Testament (I grew up in a very conservative christian based household. I'm very acquainted with both the old and new testament).

[JSWolf]

Here is THE READING ORDER for Discworld direct from Terry's website so you know it's correct.

http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/d...reading-order/

[jgaiser]

Holy %%%% Jon. A nearly year old thread and you still need to be anal. Folks... Read these books however you want to read them. All have a beginning, a middle and and a ending. There are arcs that make sense, but don't make a big deal of this series.

Edit: And it's NOT Terry Pratchett's website. It's a Harper Collins' website.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

Holy %%%% Jon. A nearly year old thread and you still need to be anal. Folks... Read these books however you want to read them. All have a beginning, a middle and and a ending. There are arcs that make sense, but don't make a big deal of this series.

Edit: And it's NOT Terry Pratchett's website. It's a Harper Collins' website.

Would you rather I started a new thread? It is the correct reading order. If you go and read as you suggest, it would be like reading the ending first.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Would you rather I started a new thread? It is the correct reading order. If you go and read as you suggest, it would be like reading the ending first.

So, the order is to go down each column and then back to the top of the next?

[pdurrant]

Here's The Official Reading Guide to Terry Pratchett's Discworld.

From Epic Reads, which is run by HarperCollins. You know - the same people who also run the site that Jon linked to a few posts back.

You can get a PDF by following the link, but I've attached a JPG version.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by davidfor

So, the order is to go down each column and then back to the top of the next?

Start at the top row and go from left to right. Then down to the next row and left to right and so on until done.

Then after you've read the low, you can go by these unofficial charts. even the one that says it's official is NOT official. They would only be official if Terry had a hand in creating them. As he had no hand in any of them, none of them are official.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

The Official Reading Guide to Terry Pratchett's Discworld

It's not official at all.