Reading in Reykjavík

I consider myself lucky that my parents and my brother like giving presents that people actually want and not ones that will surprise but might not be wanted. Which is how I came to get this book for Christmas. I gave them two titles (the other one was Just Kids by Patti Smith) and my brother chose the one he knew I would want the most (he also got a copy for himself). But on with the review: Teaser: Samuel Vimes reluctantly goes out to Ramkin Hall, the family country residence, for a long-overdue holiday with his wife and son. Sam junior is six and very interested in poo, so the visit to the country is a prime opportunity for him to indulge his interests. In the meantime his father notices that something is not well in the area: a goblin girl has been brutally murdered and no-one seems to care, and the goblins are not receiving fair treatment. Before he knows it he is neck deep in an informal investigation and at the same time he is busy training the local police constable and te...

Originally published in October 2004, on my original 52 Books blog. Year published: 2004 Pages: Genre: Fantasy, humorous Where got: Amazon.co.uk The story: When Lord Vetinari, ruler of Ankh-Morpork, gives con artist Moist von Lipwig a second chance at life if he will take over running the city’s disabled Post Office, Moist knows there has to be a catch. Finding tons of undelivered mail is nothing compared with finding out that four of his recent predecessors died in mysterious “accidents”. It looks as if the job will be simple: get enough postmen and deliver the mail, even if it will take decades, get the service up and running and print some stamps. Then there is Miss Dearheart, who renders Moist quite speechless with her icy cold manner and severe mode of dressing, and whom he would like to get to know a lot better. The plot thickens when the operators of the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company decide the Post Office is a threat, and begin a campaign to get rid of the competit...

The Librarian was, of course, very much in favour of reading in general, but readers in particular got on his nerves. There was something, well, sacrilegious about the way they kept taking books off the shelves and wearing out the words by reading them. He liked people who loved and respected books, and the best way to do that, in the Librarian's opinion, was to leave them on the shelves where Nature intended them to be. Terry Pratchett, Men at Arms .

Making Money by Terry Pratchett. I finally found myself in the mood to read this, after having listened to the abridged audio book. I am enjoying all the little jokes and witticisms that were left out in the abridgement. Here is one - I think it was actually in the audio version, but it's worth quoting: Time turned the evil bastards into rogues, and rogue was a word with a twinkle in its eye and nothing to be ashamed of. I wonder if Mr. Pratchett reads historical romances? The rogue is such a common male lead in them that this sentence could be part of the historical romance writer's rules of storytelling.

Today we Icelanders wish each other a Happy Summer. The third Thursday in April is the designated First Day of Summer in Iceland, and a public holiday, one of the few that are non-secular. In the era when people only had experience and superstition to rely on for weather forecasts rather than scientific meteorology, one of the ways in which the weather the coming summer was predicted was by putting a bit of water in a shell on the eve of the First Day of Summer, and going out just before dawn to check if the water had frozen over. If it had, the summer was supposed to be a good one. If not, then God help us. I am pleased that today is a holiday, because while I have a cold and a sore throat and feel rather tired, I am not really sick enough not to go to work. Having today off is going to give me a chance to rest and hopefully I will be feeling better tomorrow. I have already finished two books today, both, I hasten to add, ones that were already half read. Below is the review for one...

Year published: 2009 Genre: Fantasy Setting & time: Ankh-Morpork, can remember what year (it’s mentioned in the book) For some reason I have not yet been able to bring myself to finish Terry Pratchett's last Discworld book, Making Money , possibly because it failed to grip me in the first chapter, and also because I do not find Moist von Lipwig that interesting a character. I had no such problem with Unseen Academicals . It is interesting from the first page, and while it didn’t turn into a must-finish all-nighter for me, I did enjoy it. The humour is less dark than it has been in several preceding books, and the book sparkles with good humour throughout, even when nasty things seem to be about to happen, are happening, or have just happened. As with most of Pratchett’s other Discworld books, this one presents the reader with several interwoven story threads involving a number of characters that gradually come together into bigger strands and finally become one as the story ...

Originally published in 2 parts, in May 2004. Book 16 in my first 52 books challenge. Author: Terry Pratchett Published: 2004 Where got: Amazon.co.uk Genre: Fantasy, children's This book was delivered by the mailman on Friday afternoon, and I had to restrain myself not to start reading until after dinner. Finished reading it around midnight. I am going to read it again - more slowly - before I review it. This is the sequel to The Wee Free Men and is the third Discworld book for children. As usual, Pratchett has done an excellent job. The book is written for children, but is actually quite a good read for adults, who will read it at a deeper level. As this is a children's book, there are not as many allusions to other works as there are in the adult Discworld books, but there are still quite a few, some of which will be easily picked up by children and some which are better understood by adults. Here be SPOILERS ... .. . .. ... The story is slower than The Wee Free Men and...

Hehe. I really like this: Town names streets after Terry Pratchett's Discworld books . There must be other examples of towns and cities taking up street names from fictional works. If you know of one or more, please drop me a comment.

As may be seen from the list I have been on a Ngaio Marsh reading binge, making her the author of half the books I read in November. It looks like I am not going to finish the 52 mystery authors challenge before the end of the year as I had planned. In fact, I will probably not be reading much until February, as I have just received a big translation job equivalent in length to a short novel (but not nearly as much fun to translate) that will take up most of the time I have allotted to daily reading. (As of December, I have only finished three books, two of which were quickie rereads. If I was reading at my normal pace, I would have finished 7 or 8 books by now). I have been trying to work up some momentum before I tackle Terry Pratchett’s latest offering, Making Money , by rereading Night Watch to get me in the mood, and I will probably read the previous Moist von Lipwig book, Going Postal , before I start on the new book. Pratchett is one of my favourite authors, but in the last fou...

Today I learned that Terry Pratchett, one of my favourite authors, has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s. Having two relatives suffering from this disease, I know first had what it can do to a person, and I would just like to say: “I’m sorry to hear this, Terry, not just because you are a great writer, but because no-one should have to suffer through such a horrible experience.” Terry’s message announcing the news

Year published: 1998 Genre: Fantasy Because Euro Crime requested it, her is a review of a Discworld book I reread in December: Disclaimer: I am a Pratchett fan and have read all the Discworld books, so this review is based on a comparison with the other books in the series, as well as my knowledge of literature in general. It may also be a bit biased. The Story: The Librarian of Unseen University, the Discworld’s premier college of magic, is suffering from a virulent form of the flu that causes him to change shape every time he sneezes. In order to cure him, the other wizards need to know his real name, which is a bit difficult as he was changed into an orangutan years before and has worked very diligently at destroying every clue as to his real name to avoid being turned back into a human. The wizards think Rincewind may know the answer, but he is stuck on the continent of Foureks, which is possibly what our world’s Australia might be if transported onto the flat and magical worl...

A friend who was in Britain over the holidays brought back videotapes with Sky’s long-awaited adaptation of Hogfather and we watched them together on Sunday. While I am firmly of the opinion that the Discworld books deserve bigger budgets and better special effects than usually offered by television, I will say that for a television adaptation this is pretty good. The look and ambience are just right, and most of the casting is good. Michelle Dockery was an excellent Susan, and Marc Warren was genuinely creepy as Teatime, although not as creepy as he could have been had he spoken in a slightly more normal voice. The childlike voice and speech patterns and American accent grated on my nerves the whole time and made the character seem too exaggerated. Ian Richardson did a good job of speaking for Death, and the wizards seemed to have jumped straight out of Paul Kidby’s paintings of them. Just about the only bit of casting I was unhappy with was Nobby, who was played by Nicholas Tennant,...

Year published: 2006 Genre: fantasy (aimed at young readers but accessible to all ages) Setting & time: Discworld, whenever The Story: Tiffany Aching (heroine of The Wee Free Men and A Hat Full of Sky ) is almost thirteen and is still in training to learn witchcraft. This time it's Miss Treason she is working for, a formidable old witch who is both loved and feared by the people she looks after. But old doesn't necessarily mean wise, and when Miss Treason refuses to tell Tiffany the significance of a dance they witness one dark autumn night, Tiffany ends up participating in the dance and catching the eye of the wintersmith, the powerful spirit of winter. But that is not her only problem. There is Horace, and Anagramma, and the Nac Mac Feegles, and Roland. What's a girl to do? Tiffany handles the problems in her own unique fashion, but I don't think I will say any more or it will spoil the fun of finding out for yourself. Technique and plot: The book is clearly...