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Best Books of the Month
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“One of the world’s most delightful writers.” —Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing
“Some writers simply possess the Gift. No matter what they bring out . . . it’s sure to be compulsively readable. That’s certainly the case with Terry Pratchett.” —Michael Dirda, The Washington Post Book World
“The great Terry Pratchett, whose wit is metaphysical, who creates an energetic and lively secondary world, who has a multifarious genius for strong parody . . . who deals with death with startling originality. He writes amazing sentences.” —A. S. Byatt, The New York Times “Clever . . . insightful. . . . [Pratchett’s] wry wit is as good as gold.” —Lylah M. Alphonse, The Boston Globe
“One of the most consistently funny writers around; a master of the stealth simile, the time-delay pun, and the deflationary three-part list.” —Ben Aaronovitch, The Guardian (London)
“What Pratchett does is not just great, but unparalleled. In five hundred years, it won’t be the Nobel laureates who are being studied. It’s going to be this guy.” —Brandon Sanderson, Tor.com
About the Author
TERRY PRATCHETT is the acclaimed creator of the global bestselling Discworld series, the first of which, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983. In all, he is the author of over fifty bestselling books. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he is the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal, as well as being awarded a knighthood for services to literature. Worldwide sales of his books now stand at over 75 million, and they have been translated into thirty-seven languages.
Terry Pratchett sold his first story when he was fifteen, which earned him enough money to buy a second-hand typewriter. His first novel, a humorous fantasy entitled The Carpet People, appeared in 1971 from the publisher Colin Smythe. Terry worked for many years as a journalist and press officer, writing in his spare time and publishing a number of novels, including his first Discworld novel, The Color of Magic, in 1983. In 1987 he turned to writing full time, and has not looked back since. To date there are a total of 36 books in the Discworld series, of which four (so far) are written for children. The first of these children's books, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, won the Carnegie Medal. A non-Discworld book, Good Omens, his 1990 collaboration with Neil Gaiman, has been a longtime bestseller, and was reissued in hardcover by William Morrow in early 2006 (it is also available as a mass market paperback (Harper Torch, 2006) and trade paperback (Harper Paperbacks, 2006). Terry's latest book, Nation, a non-Discworld standalone YA novel was published in October of 2008 and was an instant New York Times and London Times bestseller. Regarded as one of the most significant contemporary English-language satirists, Pratchett has won numerous literary awards, was named an Officer of the British Empire "for services to literature" in 1998, and has received four honorary doctorates from the Universities of Warwick, Portsmouth, Bath, and Bristol. His acclaimed novels have sold more than 55 million copies (give or take a few million) and have been translated into 36 languages. Terry Pratchett lives in England with his family, and spends too much time at his word processor. Some of Terry's accolades include: The Carnegie Medal, Locus Awards, the Mythopoetic Award, ALA Notable Books for Children, ALA Best Books for Young Adults, Book Sense 76 Pick, Prometheus Award and the British Fantasy Award.
It is all too easy to disregard the accomplishments of Terry Pratchett because he made it look oh, so easy.
But Terry Pratchett, over the course of some 50 books, did nothing less than create a Universe.
A hundred years from now, we will still (well, not "we", you and maybe even I, will be long gone) be celebrating Discworld.
And if he had never created Discworld, his other writings (personal favourite, "Good Omens" with Neil Gaiman) would still have ensured him a warm and happy niche in the world of fanciful fiction.
Now, with this new collection, the first of his non-fiction pieces, we can see that, even without Discworld... without his other stories, novels, etc. (If you haven't started his "Long..." trilogy, written with Stephen Baxter, do so!) he would STILL have been an essayist of Ellisonian proportions
If you're a fan of even modest leanings, you know that there is a time limit to what we can look forward to from this master, but while we still have time, let's revel in all we have.
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“A Slip of the Keyboard” is a collection of nonfiction by Terry Pratchett, the prolific and best-selling author of the “Discworld” novels. Included are essays, speeches, interviews, articles, and more – almost 60 pieces in total – written as early as 1963 (Pratchett was born in 1948) and as late as 2011 (the vast majority comes from the 90’s and 00’s). The book is divided into three primary parts. The first and longest section focuses on themes relative to being a professional writer. The second part deals with Pratchett’s early experiences and development. The third part consists of Pratchett’s commentary on social issues (e.g., posterior cortical atrophy and Alzheimer’s disease, socialized medicine, death with dignity and assistance, and even orangutans). There’s a fourth part as well, but it has only one article. Following the more serious tone of the third part, it’s a wry ending that’s perfectly Pratchett.
Those familiar with Pratchett’s writing will find exactly what they expect in this volume: wit, intelligence, humor, and warmth. As the items included come from varying times and sources, there’s considerable repetition. Anecdotes and examples are revisited throughout the book. This highlights one thing, Pratchett’s message has been consistent. He’s an ardent defender of “fantasy” as a genre and reading in general. He believes in the general goodness of humanity and is as shocked as anyone by his considerable success. An occasional political or religious comment may alienate a few (there’s a barb or two that might be informed more by humor than charity) but he generally writes so compassionately and with such respect that most will appreciate his viewpoint even if they disagree.Read more ›
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Terry Pratchett is one of the very few fiction authors that I read religiously. I picked up one of his books (The color of magic) whilst looking for something to read over 20 years ago at university and have since looked forward to his almost annual happenings of the DiscWorld. His wit and humour portrayed through his expansive knowledge of the English language make him almost a stand up comedian of the written word.
A slip of the keyboard is not a DiscWorld novel but instead a collection of musings, published articles, letters his book tours and even an article to bookshops on what they should do for a signing. Each article is but a few pages in length making this an excellent book for being able to just pick up and read when you only have a couple of minutes spare in your busy schedule, although I tend to read his books in one sitting (occasionally interrupted by standing to go for coffee or to the bathroom).
The articles in this book range from his musings on why Gandalf never got married to a commissioned article on hats (who would have thought you could get paid to write a short article on hats)? Terry's humour and wit abound throughout and you also gain little insights into the characters portrayed in his DiscWorld novels (for example, read his article on hats and you can gain some glimpses into the wizards of Unseen University, or the article on magic kingdoms for insights as to his thoughts on how magic should be portrayed in a comical notion).
The collection of articles span Terry's career as a writer and right up to fairly present day including one letter to a newspaper on the current state of the British NHS with regards to his Alzheimer's.
Overall a good collection of writings covering a wide array of topics that give you a peek behind the covers of one of the best authors of this generation.
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If you have always thought how wonderful it would be to look over Sir Terry Pratchett's shoulder for a while, buy this book. It's the next best thing. It isn't a series of scholarly essays: it's the text of speeches and early and recent articles and forewards and miscellaneous wordcraft. It allowed me to find out about his first day of school (everyone else's second) and his grandmother (eerily similar to mine, down to the science fiction books).
I started reading Terry Pratchett by accident, as in, I didn't return the book club post card in time, and Reaper Man showed up in my mailbox, and I was in love. I continued reading partly for the sheer enjoyment of it, but I excused my expenditures on so many books in tough times because, as a nurse once told me, I had a depressed immune system, and at that moment, I resolved to do what I could to cheer it up. Nothing does it better than a Terry Pratchett book, and so I am still teaching algebra and writing filk lyrics. At this point, I will take every bit, or byte, or pixel of Sir Terry's output, and I was as delighted by A Slip of the Keyboard as I could have hoped. I laughed, explosively like some jungle bird, then about the second or third Christmas article, without being able to stop myself. Then, when I reached the last section of the book, I sobbed so hard I kept my teeth clenched together, as if my heart would have flown out if I had let my jaws fall open. I've had cognitive issues for some years longer than Sir Terry, after the Chicago Worldcon where he treated me so kindly (the lady with the cane and the backpack with the story about Death). When I first heard his dreadful news, it was like hearing mine all over again. That section brings it all back, including my own time of watching the movie Charly and weeping till I was sick.Read more ›
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