Not-So-Mith'd Opportunity: Random Banter # 222

[enderlord99]

So, where should I start with Pratchett? What 5 books first?

I'd recommend Pyramids, because that's where I started, but I'm also of the understanding that that's not generally considered an ideal start.

[Peelee]

I've started with Good Omens on Prime Video. I now eagerly await Grey Wolf to tell me that doesn't count and I should go ahead and pick up one of the darn books already dangit!

Also I assume Grey Wolf uses the same Southernisms I do, apparently.

[LaZodiac]

So, where should I start with Pratchett? What 5 books first?

The Colour of Magic is the first one so I say go with that. It's not 100% indicative of the series as a whole but it helps. The first Discworld novel that hits the sort of Feeling that all later Discworld novels have is Small Gods, so I'd also recommend starting with that one.

It's important to know that Discworld is kind of an episodic serial show, where there's overlapping plotlines that sometimes interact or feature in each other's works but ultimate can be read on their own. The Death novels read in order is a complete chain of books, with some extra characterization throughout the series that isn't 100% needed but certainly doesn't help. Reading them all as a singular chain, in release order, would be a fascinating idea, and might feel comparable to say watching the MCU moves in a sort of "okay when are we gonna get back to Death?" sort of way.

[enderlord99]

{scrubbed}

[Tvtyrant]

In France people named Roy are almost kings.

[Fyraltari]

In France people named Roy are almost kings.

It is in fact an old spelling for just that.

[Teddy]

Sounds better than the traditional UK midsummer activities of 'stay inside because of the rain'.

Actually, that's a tradition we didn't uphold: getting rained on. Note that moving inside because of rain is considered wimpy, at most you're allowed to take cover in a pavilion or under some overhang, and you should still take part in the dancing around the pole no matter how much it pours. The barbecue master is allowed to use an umbrella.

N0ot to be confused with the traditional Midsomer activities, which involve killing somebody in a creative way that'll take approximately a ninety minute episode to fully uncover.

Midsomer, where any non-murder death is considered unnatural.

And now I'll just pretend I have no desire to engage in skinny dipping with any of my friends, nooooooooooooooooo

It's fun! It should be just like regular swimming (albeit without stuffy clothes), because the water obscures anything (and out of the water you shouldn't be gawking), but the poorly inhibited awkwardness puts an exciting spice to it. That awkwardness is also why most people won't do it unless at least moderately drunk.

So, where should I start with Pratchett? What 5 books first?

There's a handy flowchart for what constitutes chronological order among the Discworld novels: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._Guide_3.0.jpg (linked for resizability)

As for which to read, the Guards novels are often considered the strongest, and are thus recommended for beginners. If you're afraid you won't get hooked, start with those.

The Colour of Magic is the first one so I say go with that. It's not 100% indicative of the series as a whole but it helps. The first Discworld novel that hits the sort of Feeling that all later Discworld novels have is Small Gods, so I'd also recommend starting with that one.

The Colour of Magic is also by most authorities (including, unless my memory has failed me completely, Koorly and Thufir) considered one of the weekest books and not recommended for beginners, so there's that...

[Comrade]

So, where should I start with Pratchett? What 5 books first?

I don't know if this counts as a 'start', since it remains the only thing of his I've read, but my first and only foray into the world of Pratchett was Guards! Guards! and I loved it. Funny as hell, and I never really felt like missing out on the other books hampered my ability to enjoy it.

[Anonymouswizard]

So, where should I start with Pratchett? What 5 books first?

Good Omens (book, not the series)
Guards Guards
Pyramids
Small God's
Wyrd Sisters

Any order you like.

[Qwertystop]

I started with Guards, Guards, and then Mort.

[Fyraltari]

No love for the Nome Trilogy?

[Bartmanhomer]

Well I don't think it was exactly boiling yet. I have four blisters (two big ones and two little ones), it hurt for a while and I'm going to need a bandage for the next couple of weeks but nothing too bad.

Well that good to hear.

[LaZodiac]

The Colour of Magic is also by most authorities (including, unless my memory has failed me completely, Koorly and Thufir) considered one of the weekest books and not recommended for beginners, so there's that...

I did imply that Teddifer.

Truthfully I'm probably a bad source for information on this. I've read all or most of the Death books, Witches Abroad, and Small Gods. Effectively in that order.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

So, where should I start with Pratchett? What 5 books first?

Best books to start with, in a vague "you'll have so much fun you'll want to read more, and if you don't, Pratchett is not for you, probably", as per my subjective estimation:

• Reaper Man
• Guards! Guards!
• Wyrd Sisters
• Going Postal (although that one is late enough it contains mild spoilers for the Guards series books)
• Thief of Time (although that one is late enough it contains mild spoilers for everything)

I've started with Good Omens on Prime Video. I now eagerly await Grey Wolf to tell me that doesn't count and I should go ahead and pick up one of the darn books already dangit!

That's not a book, or set in Discworld, so it doesn't fit the question. Also, everything I have heard about it suggests it is too much Gaiman and not enough Pratchett. Not saying it is worse than the book, just not indicative of what the Discworld books are like.

Grey Wolf

[Peelee]

That's not a book, or set in Discworld, so it doesn't fit the question. Also, everything I have heard about it suggests it is too much Gaiman and not enough Pratchett. Not saying it is worse than the book, just not indicative of what the Discworld books are like.

Grey Wolf

Aha, but you didn't tell me to read Discworld, you told me to read Pratchett. Also, between that show and Stardust, I dare say I love Gaiman.

Im a lazy American, what can I say?

[halfeye]

Aha, but you didn't tell me to read Discworld, you told me to read Pratchett. Also, between that show and Stardust, I dare say I love Gaiman.

Im a lazy American, what can I say?

I'd say start at the beginning and go through the whole lot, it'll take a while, but all his books are worth reading.

[Peelee]

I'd say start at the beginning and go through the whole lot, it'll take a while, but all his books are worth reading.

Honestly, I'm not averse to that; I love reading, I love British humor, and I love fantasy, so those books are right up my alley. The problem is time and an already-backlog of books that they'll be jumping in front of already.

[FinnLassie]

I like traffic lights.

But not when they are red.

[Durkoala]

I reccomend Guards! Guards!, as it introduces some of the most major storylines and characters of the Disc, but still has a large connection to the sword and sorcery parody of the early series while also fitting right in with the style of the later series. It's also just very good in general.

Wyrd Sisters is in the same boat, so if you like Shakespeare jokes that's also a very good starting point (and a good starting point in general, really).

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Aha, but you didn't tell me to read Discworld, you told me to read Pratchett.

And I stand by those statements, but that's not what Caerulea asked, I'm afraid.

Also, is "read" one of those words that means something else in American from what it does in British?

Grey Wolf

[Peelee]

And I stand by those statements, but that's not what Caerulea asked, I'm afraid.

Also, is "read" one of those words that means something else in American from what it does in British?

Grey Wolf

Nah, it's the same meaning.

I've started with Good Omens on Prime Video. I now eagerly await Grey Wolf to tell me that doesn't count and I should go ahead and pick up one of the darn books already dangit!

ETA: If you learned British English, I believe the appropriate word there would be "cheeky."

[LaZodiac]

And I stand by those statements, but that's not what Caerulea asked, I'm afraid.

Also, is "read" one of those words that means something else in American from what it does in British?

Grey Wolf

I mean in the grand scheme of thing read and read are two different words. One means reading, one means you've already read it.

[Teddy]

I did imply that Teddifer.

You said it was not fully indicative of the rest of the series, which could mean a lot of things. I just elaborated on that.

Truthfully I'm probably a bad source for information on this. I've read all or most of the Death books, Witches Abroad, and Small Gods. Effectively in that order.

Well, if we're gonna be like that, I've only read Sorcery and The Amazing Maurice and his Cultivated Rodents, but I remember enough of Curly geeking out over the Discworld books with whoever was around to join in at the moment to know some tidbits about approachability, which in turn led to me looking up suggested reading orders a year ago when I was preparing for the South Africa trip and wanted some travel literature (I ended up reading Gaiman instead of Pratchett in end, though).

ION:
I'm trying to set some kind of record in longest chains of remote connections to the computer I'm on. I didn't quite make it today, because I had to figure out how to turn the power on on the final computer, but when I've figured that out I'll have this glorious chain running:

Windows PC (for writing/reading documents and web browsing)
   |
   | ThinLink
   V
Linux development environment
   |
   | ssh
   V
Linux lab computer
   |
   | serial port
   V
Linux test target system

Also, I tried opening Firefox on the lab computer, and let me tell you that it made browsing in Internet Explorer 6 feel like a smooth and responsive experience! The rendering was intense in a very liberal sense of that word!
...
I should probably try figure out a better solution for that...

[Grey_Wolf_c]

ION:
I'm trying to set some kind of record in longest chains of remote connections to the computer I'm on. I didn't quite make it today, because I had to figure out how to turn the power on on the final computer, but when I've figured that out I'll have this glorious chain running:

When I work from home (say, when something crashes over the weekend), I use my personal laptop (mac) to vpn into a secure windows machine to bridge into the office network, so I can remote into my actual work desktop (where all my specialised software is installed), from which I ssh into the unix box with the servers. At which point, depending on the issue, I might have to remote to the DB servers.

Surprisingly, the speed at the far end of that chain is quite good. The response time of commands is just a tiny bit sluggish, but not even that bad.

Grey Wolf

[Anonymouswizard]

ETA: If you learned British English, I believe the appropriate word there would be "cheeky."

Also known as English. We're not quite sure what's spoken in that penal continent we used to have, some kind of abomination. Did you all forget the word Trousers when you got off the ship?

Now those people in Australia? They know how to speak English, even if they have a strange fascination with the word 'stroppy'.

[Peelee]

When I work from home (say, when something crashes over the weekend), I use my personal laptop (mac) to vpn into a secure windows machine to bridge into the office network, so I can remote into my actual work desktop (where all my specialised software is installed), from which I ssh into the unix box with the servers. At which point, depending on the issue, I might have to remote to the DB servers.

Grey Wolf

Pfft. Ruby, man! Ruby!

For reals, though, I understood some of those things.

[DavidSh]

Also known as English. We're not quite sure what's spoken in that penal continent we used to have, some kind of abomination. Did you all forget the word Trousers when you got off the ship?

?
But "Trousers" is a neologism. The OED is reported as giving an earliest date of use of 1718, well after colonies such as Virginia, New York, or Massachusetts were established.

[Honest Tiefling]

Now those people in Australia? They know how to speak English, even if they have a strange fascination with the word 'stroppy'.

Oh sure, just because we have inner and outer pants, you disregard our use of the language. But you're perfectly fine with the Australians and the Scots.

I'd bring up that there are more of us then you, but then we'd all have to start speaking Indian English if we start counting people who speak it as a third or second language.

[Peelee]

?
But "Trousers" is a neologism. The OED is reported as giving an earliest date of use of 1718, well after colonies such as Virginia, New York, or Massachusetts were established.

Yes, but AW was talking about the penal continent, and they started sending prisoners to Australia in 1788. I was wondering when he'd get around to talking about the Americas, but it seemed to get glossed over in that post.

[Anonymouswizard]

I'd bring up that there are more of us then you, but then we'd all have to start speaking Indian English if we start counting people who speak it as a third or second language.

Yeah, but it's only named after bloody country. I mean, you have Welsh and both the Irish and Scots form of Gaelic, they have their own languages. You're all just too lazy to get one

In all seriousness I don't care that much, but it still annoys me whenever I see such things as 'color' and 'honor', especially because whenever I play a game or read a book not made inside the Commonwealth I have to sit through such incorrect* spellings. And don't get me stayed on how some Americans can react to British English (some can't seem to wrap their heads around ma'am).

Oh, and on response to that incredibly sarcastic post, my relationship with my country's place in the world is complicated and not board appropriate, but involves the Germans very closely (in all honesty England, France, and Germany should just form am official triad and let everybody get on with their lives).

*over here, correct in the US.