Lazy Sunday Service

It was with great sadness that I heard of the passing of Terry Pratchett.  He was one of my favourite authors and I've read 43 of his books, more than twice as many as any other author.  Unlike many boys and young men who discovered reading through Terry's writing I was already a fairly dedicated reader when someone lent me The Colour of Magic sometime in the late 1980s.  I quickly devoured the other handful of Discworld books that had been published, then over the years I purchased the others pretty much as they appeared in paperback, though I have a fair few in hardback as well.

All of the books do the basics very well - strong hook and plot, good characterisation and contextualisation, great sense of place, engaging prose and style - to which Terry liberally mixed in invention, imagination, satire, and wit, using his stories as lens to reflect on social, cultural and political issues.  The Discworld and its colourful set of inhabitants demanded repeat visits and I've no doubt that I'll return to his books many times in the years to come, as well as continue to thrust them into the hands of others.  If I had to pick a favourite I think it would be Guards! Guards! (the first of the City Watch books).

The image above was shared into my Facebook page and I think originates with Jay Jw Anthony Coates.  It uses one of the last of tweets in Terry's twitter feed and I just love the idea of the luggage scooting after him.  A remarkable writer and humanist whose books will be read for generations to come.

My posts this week
Soft boiled egg
Review of The Few by Nadia Dalbuono
The Impact of the Data Revolution on Official Statistics: Opportunities, Challenges and Risks
Review of Brighton Rock by Graham Greene