#f: discworld

[cdyssey]

I love how Granny and Nanny’s shenanigans in Maskerade start because of how much they care about each other.

Nanny being so worried about Granny being depressed that she desperately tries to find another witch to fill Magrat’s void and jumps at the first opportunity to get Granny away from Lancre and out of her own head vs. Granny being righteously indignant at the idea of Nanny being stiffed by her publisher, so yeah, she’s heading to Ankh-Morpork to make sure her own reputation isn’t sullied by a “disgustin’” book, but, of course, she’s going to make sure Nanny gets her well-earned money along the way.

[farragoofwires]

don' dweeblog

The thing is that everyone who's tried a "gods gain power proportional to their followers" thing in the past 30 years is doing so in a post-Small Gods world, so even if they specifically haven't read Small Gods, everyone else they've been reading has.

[incorrect-wormquotes]

Skitter: There are causes worth dying for.   Tattletale: No, there aren't! Because you've only got one life but you can pick up another five causes on any street corner!   Amy: Good grief, how can you live with a philosophy like that?   Tattletale: Continuously! 

[syl-stormblessed]

JUST FINISHED READING MONSTROUS REGIMENT. WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THE REST OF MY LIFE NOW.

[potato-lord-but-not]

fellas is it gay

[cosmicrhetoric]

vetinari's dubious sexuality being a genuine puzzler for the citizens of his city........the bit in unseen academicals where glenda is like "no one knows what side of the bed vetinari got up on. or even if he went to bed at all" vs. the two seconds in the truth where i was convinced that had de worde not stopped him his neighbor would've fully called vetinari a slur

[ksebur]

So, a little breake from twomp on DEATH mimis

I really glad that all thouse years ago my art teacher told me that I remind her of him. That was a very fofilin expirience to read the whole DEATH sykle but I kinda can't read normally now. But thanks to it I know that I'm probably have ADHD, thank you DEATH (:

I can't stress enough how many autistic traits this man has

[annaholak]

"Oh no you don't. Not on my watch."

Inktober - Prompt 9: Nest

[setewbro-polls]

Angua & Sam Vimes

(Discworld)

VS

Mako Mori & Raleigh Becket

(Pacific Rim)

VS

Kim Dokja & Yoo Sangah

(Omniscient Reader's viewpoint)

[kateksmallcuteowl]

Kinktober day 8 Tentacles

Hope tumblr let’s this stay 😅

[makingshortstorieslong]

Does anyone have any good nonfiction books to recommend? About basically anything, but I'm very interested in astronomy, anthropology, evolution, and linguistics (this is the only category I've really done any reading in. Both fun pop-linguistics stuff and the linguistics degree. But there's also still definitely things I haven't read!)

[cdyssey]

My graduation present to myself was a print of Granny Weatherwax’s Cottage. 😭 It’s so gorgeous.

[do-rey-me]

absolutely devastated thinking abt that part in feet of clay where carrot doesnt know who mrs easy is. the man knows everyone from the shades to the palace but not her. maybe hes never even walked down cockbill street

[vorpalmuchness]

I'm being torn apart by the desire to create for four fandoms rn

[analytically]

Books I read in 2023

This is a bit late, but I wanted to post about the books I read last year, partly because it's fun and partly because I think it'll motivate me to read more in 2024. I'm excluding books I read for classes unless there's something I have to say about them, and I'm also excluding one nonfiction, political book I read at the start of the year, because I don't remember it well enough to share my opinions accurately.

Fiction

The Ministry for the Future (2020) by Kim Stanley Robinson

A pretty good book; it's about various groups working in the near future to fight climate change, some of which resort to extralegal tactics. It presents a pretty bleak future with a high level of impact from climate change; I thought it was good, but if you're the type of person who catastrophizes about climate change it may not be the best book for you. There's a lot of procedural stuff and description of how organizations work, too — it's not just describing suffering. This book has a moderately anti-capitalist message.

Invisible Man (1952) by Ralph Ellison

Reading this book is an interesting experience; Ellison's writing style is often quite surreal and reading can feel like walking through thick grass. If you don't like that, you may not want to read this book. It's about an African-American man who moves from the South to New York in the 20th century (pre-Civil Rights Movement), and his experiences along the way. There are strong political messages here, although they're less obvious 70 years on. Black nationalism/separatism are discussed and critiqued, and the main character ultimately ends up isolated from society.

The Truth (2000) by Terry Pratchett

This is a fantasy novel about the first newspaper in a society. It's pretty great — one of the best of the Discworld books I read this year. It's got a pro-journalism message.

Going Postal (2004) and Making Money (2007) by Terry Pratchett

These two Discworld novels, in a medieval fantasy setting, are both about Moist von Lipwig, a clever criminal who's spared from execution by the city's mostly-benevolent tyrant and forced to become a civil servant instead. He reopens the postal system and invents fiat currency (in this way we get a look at the institutions of our own civilization), becoming more ethical and exposing corruption along the way. Both books are good, but I think Going Postal is a little better.

Huda F Are You? (2021) and Huda F Cares? (2023) by Huda Fahmy

These are a pair of semiautobiographical graphic novels about a Muslim teenager growing up in Michigan. Huda F Are You? focuses on the protagonist's struggle to define her identity and make friends in middle school; it was emotionally engaging and quite relatable. I wish I had been able to read it when I was in middle school! Huda F Cares? focuses on the protagonist's relationship with her siblings and her struggle to practice her religion, despite prejudice from society and her friends' at times differing values. I found it slightly less compelling than Huda F Are You?, but still definitely a book worth reading! Perhaps that's because I'm an irreligious only child.

Klara and the Sun (2021) by Kazuo Ishiguro

This book is definitely science fiction, but it has a much more personal and melancholy tone than most sci-fi books. It's told through the perspective of an unusually perceptive and empathetic robot who worships the Sun, in a world where... well, it would be spoilers to talk about how different the world is! Let's just say that the book explores loneliness, intelligence and its relationship to society, and the possible effects of technological progress. I've heard that this book is supposed to deal with AI, but I found its message to be pretty far from the concerns raised by recent advances in large language models (LLMs) and image generation. I'd say that social media (vis-a-vis a decline in real-world socialization) and pre-LLM automation relate to the book's world more than today's AIs. Klara and the Sun is also very well-written.

Nonfiction

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain (2007) by Oliver Sacks

A fascinating exploration of the psychological and neurological aspects of humanity's affinity for music, this book strings together a series of anecdotes from the author's time practicing medicine about how music affects the brain, especially among people with rare brain disorders. There are some truly fascinating — and surprising! — cases discussed. These are interspersed with explanations of what we know, and don't know, about why music has such an effect on the human brain. Overall, this book was quite interesting, and I recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in these sorts of topics.

[ego-sum-arbor]

I was considering Wintersmith instead of the Hogsfather for my seasonal Pratchett reread, but apparently I don’t own a copy. Sad.