Chaos Reading discussion

Our first group poll is up & running! A lot of people have suggested Terry Pratchett's books for the group's Humour shelf, among others. So to help narrow down the books we'll be using, I've set up a poll.

Be warned: The poll feature only allows you ONE VOTE (which frankly sucks). You can revoke your vote and recast it if you accidentally click on the wrong book though.

I have no idea if this will generate a usable list for us or not, but it should be fun regardless. We can always try setting it up as a Listopia list for the next one.

Voting closes midnight 4 June 2012.

Let me know if there are any bugs with the poll, if I've sent multiple invites or left anything off.

The link to the poll is here if you haven't voted, or just want to see which books are winning.

http://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/66...

Jim wrote: "Pyramids? How did I miss this one? Anyone know if it's any good?"

I remember quite liking it after I'd read it. Most definitely one of his better "stand alone" ones, but not one of his best - not by a long shot.

I have never read his books. Any suggestion for the first one I should read?
(Sorry in advance if I shouldn't post this here, still learning the ropes)

Going by the poll results so far, it looks like The Color of Magic is the group's top recommendation. Although being the first in the Discworld series may also have something to do with that.

Ruby wrote: "Going by the poll results so far, it looks like The Color of Magic is the group's top recommendation. Although being the first in the Discworld series may also have something to do with that."

I'm really surprised at that. It's actually near the bottom of my list, and I'm a little surprised I continued the series after starting there -- though I saw Pratchett's promise, obviously. I've since come across a number of people online recommending starting just about anywhere except with the first one, since it seems to be quite unpopular and turns a lot of readers off, I guess.

I wonder if people just can't decide so they vote for the first book? I've been known to do that on listopia books rather than voting for all the books in a series, or having to choose a favorite.

Jim wrote: "That may be the case. Most people I know agree that the first 2 books weren't all that great. If I was going to recommend a first Pratchett read, I'd suggest Guards Guards and go through the Guards..."

Can't help but agree with that statement. If I'd started the series The Colour of Magic, I wouldn't have even looked at The Light Fantastic. Randomly, I started at Feet of Clay and then went back to Equal Rites and started the series from there.

Yeah, the first two really aren't that great at all.

Stella wrote: "I have never read his books. Any suggestion for the first one I should read?
(Sorry in advance if I shouldn't post this here, still learning the ropes)"

I think this one depends on your taste. I like the series generally (and I agree with what's said above (maybe below depending on where this appears) re: going in order. I heart the witches series so I'd start with those. Maybe Witches Abroad is the first one? I can't remember.

I also really like the Tiffany Aching series which starts with Wee Free Men, Hat full of sky, the Wintersmith, and I shall wear midnight. I think of this as a witchy, funnier, and more sophisticated partner to the Judy Bloom books that everyone thought were about girls growing up. This series, for me, is about what it's like to grow up being an intelligent, thoughtful girl who wants to do big things, with some awesome mentors.

Meg wrote: "Stella wrote: "I have never read his books. Any suggestion for the first one I should read?
(Sorry in advance if I shouldn't post this here, still learning the ropes)"

I think this one depends on ..."

Thanks!

Meg wrote: "I heart the witches series so I'd start with those. Maybe Witches Abroad is the first one? I can't remember."

I think the witches first appear in Equal Rites.

My personal favorite is Small Gods, which is pretty much a stand-alone book so it's a decent place to start. You won't really get to meet the major recurring characters from the series in that one, but it's a good intro to Pratchett's sense of humor and how the Discworld works.

I have never read any of them, but I am willing to try.

I have not yet read the Tiffany Aching series, but I understand those are his YA offerings.

I liked the first couple of books because I really loved the Wizard character who basically had all but failed Unseen University. And the librarian pops up here and there in the series, so I like knowing how he ended up that way when I read others (don't want to include spoilers). I also like any of the sections when DEATH pops in. He is so funny.

I think I already mentioned that I just finished "Guards, Guards" and was roflmao the whole book (you will find the librarian there too). Pyramids was pretty good, but as between the two, I would read Guards, Guards, before choosing Pyramids."

Oh, and I should also mention that I have ONLY read the discworld books, so I cannot say how they compare to the Bromeliad or other series....

Death is definitely my favorite character. I love the librarian too!

Riona wrote: "Death is definitely my favorite character. I love the librarian too!"

I'm with you on that one. And Death's horse, Binky.

Jim wrote: "Riona wrote: "Death is definitely my favorite character. I love the librarian too!"

"Squeak!""

Yeah, you're right, The Death of Rats deserves a mention too. And the raven, Nevermore!

So the Poll is closed, and here are our winners:

FIRST
The Color of Magic (Discworld, #1) 16 votes 23.9%

EQUAL SECOND
Good Omens 9 votes 13.4%
Mort (Discworld, #4) 9 votes 13.4%

THIRD
Small Gods (Discworld, #13) 5 votes 7.5%

FOURTH
The Wee Free Men (Discworld, #30) 4 votes 6.0%

FIFTH
Witches Abroad (Discworld, #12) 3 votes 4.5%

The link above has the full results. THANKS to everyone who voted, and for the fun discussion. :)

So how many should we post on the group's Humour Shelf do we think? Top 3? 4? 5? 6?

Ruby wrote: "...So how many should we post on the group's Humour Shelf do we think? Top 3? 4? 5? 6?"

Can you post the Discworld series as one entry?

Whitney wrote: "Ruby wrote: "...So how many should we post on the group's Humour Shelf do we think? Top 3? 4? 5? 6?"

Can you post the Discworld series as one entry?"

LOL. That would have made life easier - 30 odd books in one entry!

Terry and Snuff, celebrating .
Great picture of Terry Pratchett and Snuff the Pig, after receiving the Bollinger Wodehouse award for comic writing for Snuff (the book, not the pig).

If this was still open, I would have changed my vote to "Eric". I just finished it and laughed so hard I almost wet my pants...

Jenna wrote: "If this was still open, I would have changed my vote to "Eric". I just finished it and laughed so hard I almost wet my pants..."

Ah, urine. Always a sign of fine literature! :)

I'm so surprised at the variety of answers! Personally, Eric was one of my least favorites. Though by "least favorite" discworld novel, I still mean "better than most other books out there". Ah well, different strokes and all that.

Ooooh - how fascinating is this? The Long Earth
It has just come out this week. A sci-fi/speculative fiction novel by Pratchett in collaboration with Stephen Baxter.

I'm dying to get my hands on a copy. But I'll wait until the price drops.