Tag: Terry Pratchett

Teaser Tuesday: King John

Yesterday, high school basketball officially began.

Today, the turning Wheel of Time turns to

Teaser TuesdayJust in case you don’t know, Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! All you have to do is grab the book you’re currently reading, open to a random page and share a few sentences from that page. But make sure you don’t share any spoilers!*

*I wish I could take credit for this introduction, but I shamelessly stole it from Heather over at bitsnbooks. To help me make amends, you should go check out her blog.

I’m full steam ahead on my Goodreads challenge: 5 books ahead!

I left present-day Discworld for Roundworld in the 12th and 13th centuries with Marc Morris’ King John: Treachery and Tyranny in Medieval England: The Road to Magna Carta.

Yes, this book has two subtitles!

The Truly Random Number Generator sends us to page 191:

Yet the impression, from both the chroniclers and
the official records, is that John indulged his whim
in this way a great deal more than any of his
predecessors.  With increasing frequency, men and
women, great and small, were deprived of their lands
simply because they had somehow incurred his
displeasure.

King John coverSounds like John will live up to his nickname:

John the First and John the Worst

In Retrospect

The Shepherd’s Crown by Sir Terry Pratchett earned 5 stars.

When Books Went To War by Molly Manning also earned 5 stars, and in my opinion should be required reading for anyone who doubts the value of the printed word. It is by far the best book about books I’ve read.

 

 

What have you been reading?

 

 

Have a suggestion for a poem, photograph, or future post?

Drop a note in the prompt box!

 

Don’t forget to follow me on:

Facebook – where I share news stories, articles from other blogs, and various and sundry miscellany that happens to catch my eye. It’s stuff you won’t see here! Well, mostly.

Instagram – where I show you my Life in Motion and share quotes and such. The widget only shows my last three photographs – don’t you want to see them all?

Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.

Teaser Tuesday: The Shepherd’s Crown

Like a centuries-old Spanish church emerging from the depths of drought-ridden Mexico, the turning Wheel of Time has brought up

Teaser TuesdayJust in case you don’t know, Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! All you have to do is grab the book you’re currently reading, open to a random page and share a few sentences from that page. But make sure you don’t share any spoilers!*

*I wish I could take credit for this introduction, but I shamelessly stole it from Heather over at bitsnbooks. To help me make amends, you should go check out her blog.

Given my hectic schedule, I’ve fallen slightly behind pace on my Goodreads challenge; I am now only four books ahead of schedule.

In an attempt to salvage victory, I’ve decided to finally read The Shepherd’s Crown by Terry Pratchett. I received it on release day, but haven’t had the heart to read it . . . yet.

This week, the Truly Random Number Generator sends us to page 192:

They brought actual terror, and horror, and pain. 
. . . And they laughed, which was bad enough
because their laughter was actually musical, and
you could wonder why such wonderful music
could come from such unpleasant creatures.
They cared for nobody except themselves and 
possibly not even that.

Shepherd's Crown Cover

In Retrospect

I’m slowly working my way through Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America by Eric Jay Dolan. The story is interesting, but the prose is lacking. I may abandon it . . . or not.

 

 

What have you been reading?

 

 

Have a suggestion for a poem, photograph, or future post?

Drop a note in the prompt box!

 

Don’t forget to follow me on:

Facebook – where I share news stories, articles from other blogs, and various and sundry miscellany that happens to catch my eye. It’s stuff you won’t see here! Well, mostly.

Instagram – where I show you my Life in Motion and share quotes and such. The widget only shows my last three photographs – don’t you want to see them all?

Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.

Sunday Snapshots

Thanks for stopping by to see what’s gone on in the last week! Indeed, it was quite busy:

The Shepherd’s Crown arrived; I already wrote about its unboxing and shared some photographs.

One of my 9th grade students drew what I’m calling “Sumerian Olaf”.

Yes, she simply misspelled “summer” but also realized her unwitting pun and asked me to take a picture before erasing it.

Sumerian Olaf

A very large praying mantis came to visit; this dude measured at least 8 inches long!

We moved him safely outside before the cat did something mean to him.

Huge Praying Mantis

I picked up an uncut straw from Subway.

Seriously, straw machine – you had one job . . . one job!

Uncut Straw

World History students presented their explorer reports; one group made a spice game: students had to guess what a spice was based on color, texture, and smell. The spices included cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, pepper, and turmeric. The group was about to throw away the piles when I noticed how they’d run together on the plate.

Explorer Spices

Just for fun I participated in one of those silly Facebook “quizzes” that assigns you random results based on your name.  This time, I liked the results.

Weird Test

The mailman brought a surprise on Saturday: a postcard from fellow blogger Vanessa of Petal and Mortar!

Thanks, Vanessa!

petal and mortar postcard front petal and mortar postcard back
 

What Did You Do This Week?

 

Have a suggestion for a poem, photograph, or future post?

Drop a note in the prompt box!

 

Don’t forget to follow me on:

Facebook – where I share news stories, articles from other blogs, and various and sundry miscellany that happens to catch my eye. It’s stuff you won’t see here! Well, mostly.

Instagram – where I show you my Life in Motion and share quotes and such. The widget only shows my last three photographs – don’t you want to see them all?

Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.

Unboxing The Shepherd’s Crown

Tuesday was bittersweet. I received a package: the American release of The Shepherd’s Crown by Sir Terry Pratchett! This is also the first book I’ve ever pre-ordered – the first book I’ve ever received on the very day of its release.

However, many of you know The Shepherd’s Crown is the last Discworld novel; Sir Terry passed away 12 March, 2015.

I’m not ashamed to say it:

I took my time opening the box.

I savored the new book smell.

I read the dust jacket.

Then, I placed The Shepherd’s Crown back in the box,

closed the lid,

and cried.

No man is ever truly gone until the ripples they make in the world die away

May Sir Terry’s ripples last forever.

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His fantasies sit alongside – and are the equals of – those of Rabelais, Voltaire, Swift, Kurt Vonnegut, and Douglas Adams. . . . But whereas all these are neatly arranged on the bookshelves, my Pratchetts are strewn under the beds, in the bathrooms, the glove compartments. They have shopping lists, takeaway orders, and Scrabble scores scribbled on the fly leaves. They were part of life. – Frank Cottrell Boyce

Teaser Tuesday: The Greatest Knight

Being sick means that there’s little to do but curl up and feel sorry for oneself while alternating between Netflix and the TBR.

In addition to an awful summer cold, the Wheel of Time has brought around

Teaser TuesdayJust in case you don’t know, Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! All you have to do is grab the book you’re currently reading, open to a random page and share a few sentences from that page. But make sure you don’t share any spoilers!*

*I wish I could take credit for this introduction, but I shamelessly stole it from Heather over at bitsnbooks. To help me make amends, you should go check out her blog.

This week I’m reading The Greatest Knight: The Remarkable Life of William Marshal, The Power Behind Five English Thrones by Thomas Asbridge.

The Truly Random Number Generator sends us to page 357:

Earl William now had to find  a way to force entry
into Lincoln.  The royalists had not come equipped
with heavy siege machinery; nor could the afford to
settle in for a prolonged investment of the town 
walls, as the resultant delay might allow Prince 
Louis time to march north and bolster the 
English-French position.

The Greatest Knight Cover

In Retrospect

Since it’s been a while since I posted any reviews [due to time or scheduling], I guess it’s about time to rectify my negligence.

 

The Casual Vacancy coverI looked forward to reading J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy with a kind of curiosity. How would the writing compare to that of Harry Potter? Could she write a novel aimed directly at adults? I almost said “a novel for adults,” but quite a few adults enjoy and identify with Harry Potter.

Yes. Yes she can. Delving into small-town politics and prejudices, The Casual Vacancy is anything but casual. However riveting it may be, I found a few things a bit far-fetched, especially at the conclusion. It left me wondering if Rowling understands how small towns work or if small-town America is that vastly different from small-town England.

Favorite Line:

Choice was dangerous: you had to forgo all other possibilities when you chose.

Rating: 4 stars

Bingo Square: Longer Than 500 Pages

 

Last Will CoverFull Disclosure: I won an autographed copy of this novel from the author’s blog.

That said, Last Will isn’t my typical reading fare in that it’s a romance. However, it’s more a study in human psychology than anything else. It is not a bodice-ripper in any way, shape or form.

The plot was well thought out, but I found the structure a bit lacking. I’m not adverse to shifting perspective, but shifting perspective in the middle of a conversation can be of-putting at times.

Thankfully, most of these shifts were indicated by page breaks denoting who, exactly, was speaking.

Favorite Line:

nothing stood out; but I’m sure I’d find a few in a second reading

Rating: 4 stars

Bingo Square: Author’s Debut Novel

 

 

The Last Hero coverThe Last Hero by Terry Pratchett was a delight to read. The “Discworld Fable” brought back many favorite characters and gave Cohen and the Silver Horde a fitting send-off.

Illustrated by the incomparable Paul Kidby, Last Hero is truly a work of art and the imagination. I was delighted to find many of the characters remarkable similar to the way I’d envisioned them in my head.

Favorite Lines:

Some people are confident because they are fools. Leonard had the look of someone who was confident because, so far, he’d never found reason not to be.

Rating: 5 stars

Bingo Square: A Protagonist over the age of 50

 

A Blink of the Screen CoverA Blink of the Screen – also by Terry Pratchett – was my first introduction to his short stories. They did not disappoint.

My favorite non-Discworld selection was “Mind the Monoliths” as it appealed to the historian and social studies teacher in me.

My favorite Discworld selection would be “The Sea and Little Fishes” as it contained Mistress Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg.

I shall have to seek out any other collections of Pratchett’s shorter works.

Favorite Line:

AND YOU ARE AWARE OF THE THEORY THAT THE STATE OF SOME TINY PARTICLES IS INDETERMINATE UNTIL THE MOMENT THEY ARE OBSERVED? A CAT IN A BOX IS OFTEN MENTIONED.

Rating: 5 stars

Bingo Square: A Collection of Essays

Now, before you start accusing me of cheating, I checked on the definition of essay:

Essays are generally scholarly pieces of writing giving the author’s own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of an article, a pamphlet and a short story.

 

What have you been reading?

 

 

Have a suggestion for a poem, photograph, or future post?

Drop a note in the prompt box!

 

Don’t forget to follow me on:

Facebook – where I share news stories, articles from other blogs, and various and sundry miscellany that happens to catch my eye. It’s stuff you won’t see here! Well, mostly.

Instagram – where I show you my Life in Motion and share quotes and such. The widget only shows my last three photographs – don’t you want to see them all?

Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.

Teaser Tuesday: The Last Hero

In addition to my parents visiting this week, the wheel of time turned on its axis to

Teaser TuesdayJust in case you don’t know, Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! All you have to do is grab the book you’re currently reading, open to a random page and share a few sentences from that page. But make sure you don’t share any spoilers!*

*I wish I could take credit for this introduction, but I shamelessly stole it from Heather over at bitsnbooks. To help me make amends, you should go check out her blog.

This week I’m reading The Last Hero: A Discworld Fable by Terry Pratchett.

I’m excited to read this; I’ve looked for it for several years.

I finally found a copy on Amazon at the same time I possessed money to spend.

I already leafed through it, amazed at Paul Kidby’s illustrations.

The Truly Random Number Generator sends us to page 112:

'What?' said Rincewind, perplexed at the sudden 
     subject of fruit. 

I'd just started eating an apple, and I just rested 
     it in the air . . . and it's gone.

The ship creaked in the glaring sunlight.

And an apple core came tumbling gently 
     through the air.

The Last Hero cover

In Retrospect

This Teaser Tuesday was prepared in advance of a busy week.

Check back next week for a book review of Last Will by Bryn Greenwood.

 

What have you been reading?

 

 

Have a suggestion for a poem, photograph, or future post?

Drop a note in the prompt box!

 

Don’t forget to follow me on:

Facebook – where I share news stories, articles from other blogs, and various and sundry miscellany that happens to catch my eye. It’s stuff you won’t see here! Well, mostly.

Instagram – where I show you my Life in Motion and share quotes and such. The widget only shows my last three photographs – don’t you want to see them all?

Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.

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