Since I’m waiting for my laptop, I’ve been easy on the writing side and hard on the reading side. Still, reading about the terms of the psychoanalysis through history or the pretty breath-takingly revealing interview with surrealist André Breton tend to get a bit hard after a while.
And Kafka? I wouldn’t use his books for toiletpaper.
(I’m still waiting to get on with The Castle)
.. Which all adds up to me looking for some easy readin’. Something like The hitchiker’s guide to the Galaxy. A couple of weeks ago or so, I read through Rob Grants’ Colony. Wasn’t too impressed. Laughed a couple of times, that’s all. I’m looking for humor’s heroin. The best. Only the Guide can give you that satisfaction as needed. Still, there has got to be other choices.
My brother lured me into a dark alley and hit me over the head with a pocket book signed Terry Pratchett. ‘Hmmm..’ I thought. ‘Hmmm.. That’s the guy with the Discworld series, right?’ My brother nodded and handed me the pocket-book. I was lost.
The thing about the discworld series, containing almost 30 books now, is that they are pretty easy to read, entertaining BUT dangerously addictive. Which is why, after the first one I read, decided to keep myself exclusively to the ones concerning The Watch feat. Captain/Lord Vimes, Captain Carrot, Sgt. Colon and Nobby. All great characters with different "side-characters" making for intruiging development of situations always turning out to be a disastrous, dangerous (or even, dangeresque) adventure.
What’s so good about these books? Well, the plot ain’t too hard for anyone to figure out, and even though I hate murder-solving-reading, I enjoy the open aspect brought to the reader by Pratchett’s obvious hints. It’s as he likes us to sit back, forget about the mystery about the murder and just have a laugh while we "watch" how a group of .. imaginative people solves it. In addition, allthough the webpage referred below denies this, the series has a loot of great potential when it comes to spreadin’ death to myths and anti-social conventions like class-ridden societies and racism for instance.
In addition, you can’t read one of them without laughing REAL HARD at some point. Pratchett’s beautiful slaughter of clichés always do you in. If you’re the serious type, you’ll enjoy the mid-way philosophical observations Pratchett has dusted his books with. Stardust, that is. I mean: "Colon looked up at the stars. The stars looked down on Colon. At least he had a choice." Or, "This is how religions are made. When man has infinite space broadening above his head, he must immediately find someone to put in the way"* Brilliant, yet easy.
The books I’ve read so far: Guards! Guards!, Men at Arms, Jingo!, The Fifth Elephant.
A great series, but mind not to get addicted. I, myself, have got loads of other books to read, so I don’t dare throwing myself at some Discworld-wave. It would ruin the last remains that I have of a functioning social life.
Additional info about the author:
"Terry Pratchett published his first story when he was thirteen and had his first commercial sale four years later. (…) His acclaimed novels have sold more than 21 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 27 languages. Terry Pratchett lives in England with his family, and spends most days at his computer, writing."
Check out the official webpage: TerryPratchettBooks.com
(* Ok. That quotation was from the back of my head. Sorry.)