Melodic_Antelope6490 OP t1_iuwef2j wrote
Reply to comment by dasus in The meaning crisis and language II — We need to ‘believe’ myth and metaphor in order to understand ourselves by Melodic_Antelope6490
You know I've never got into Terry Pratchett but people keep telling me it would be my thing. I've had a copy of Small Gods on my bookshelf here about ten years, maybe I should get around to reading it.
dasus t1_iv2r5hh wrote
Oh, one more;
>“And, er, these stories about you..."
>"Oh, all true. Most of them. A bit of exaggeration, but mostly true."
>"The one about the Citadel in Muntab and the Pash and the fish bone?"
>"Oh, yes."
>"But how did you get in where half a dozen armed and trained men couldn't even - ?"
>"I am a little man and I carry a broom," said Lu-Tze simply. "Everyone has some mess that needs clearing up. What harm is a man with a broom?"
>"What? And that was it?"
>"Well, the rest was a matter of cookery, really. The Pash was not a good man, but he was a glutton for his fish pie."
>"No martial arts?" said Lobsang.
>"Oh, always a last resort. History needs shepherds, not butchers."
>"Do you know okidoki?"
>"Just a lot of bunny-hops."
>"Shittake?"
>"If I wanted to thrust my hand into hot sand I would go to the seaside."
>"Upsidazi?"
>"A waste of good bricks."
>"No kando?"
>"You made that one up.”
― Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time
dasus t1_iv2q4fc wrote
They're pretty short books an very funny and entertaining.
Honestly, I've used them as a substitute for weed; they take my mind off things and get the creative juices flowing a bit with it's weird thinking.
The way Pratchett sees the world and then writes a humouristic take about it, it's just.. beautiful.
The books are even hard to categorize, as sometimes they're proper fantasy, sometimes they're very light-hearted, some of them are pretty much detective novels, there's several books of one character and then several books of another, who don't have much to do with each other, but do visit similar places and meet the same people and so forth.
They're amazing. The TV-specials aren't half bad either, if you can stand the sort of cheap production values they have as TV-movies. I'd guess they might be more enjoyable after the books though.
There's no need to go through them in order, for instance Small Gods iirc is a more or less autonomous story with new characters.
"Thief of Time" is one of, if not THE favorite of mine. The first one's are classics as well.
All of them have had me giggling on public transportation, haha.
>“Look, that's why there's rules, understand? So that you think before you break 'em.”
― Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time
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>“Questions don't have to make sense, Vincent," said Miss Susan. "But answers do.”
― Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time
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>“Genius is always allowed some leeway, once the hammer has been pried from its hands and the blood has been cleaned up.”
― Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time
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>“Just a minute," said Lobsang. "Who are you? Time has stopped, the world is given over to...fairy tales and monsters, and there's a schoolteacher walking around?"
>"Best kind of person to have," said Susan. "We don't like silliness. Anyway, I told you. I've inherited certain talents."
>"Like living outside of time?"
>"That's one of them."
>"It's a weird talent for a schoolteacher!"
>"Good for marking, though," said Susan calmly.”
― Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time
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There's loads of better one's, these aren't probably the most giggly ones, but just from "Thief of Time". Oh, right, and the one I have memorized; "There's no educating a smart boy."
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