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If you’ve never read any Discworld books, try one or two. Maybe that’s all I need to say, but…

Sir Terry Pratchett is dead now. His works will live on for a very long time, I suspect. Chief among his works: the 42 (I believe) Discworld books, including–VERY MUCH including–the half-dozen Tiffany Aching adventures.

I’ve read (and own) all 42, twice I believe, and a few of his other works. Later this fall, I’ll start another read–and, given that I only read one Pratchett for every 6-8 library books I read, this is likely to be the last pass. I like the books quite a bit–ever since I first encountered them, decades ago, in the shipboard library on a cruise. I’m pretty sure I began with the first, which I’ll always think of as The Colour of Magic (even though the American publisher later dropped the “u”). I’ve seen discussions of the series that say NOT to start with that book, but I think it’s as good a place as any–and after a few books, you’ll appreciate having the background.

Pratchett is funny, insightful. a great satirist, and…well, a really good writer. Discworld (it’s flat, resting on several very large elephants which in turn stand on an enormous turtle floating through space–and while there a half dozen or so auxiliary coauthored volumes exploring the science of Discworld, I’ve only read one and don’t think they’re at all needed to enjoy the series).

You may not like Discworld or Pratchett’s style. Tastes differ. But if you’ve never tried one, I recommend them.

A few side notes:

• The one Pratchett novel I’d suggest skipping is the first (NOT a Discworld book), The Carpet People, written when he was 12 years old and revised later. I believe I read it once. On a second try, I bogged down less than a third of the way through and am not likely to continue.
• On the other hand, the standalone novels Nation, Strata, and–especially–Dodger are all IMHO well worth reading.
• Other than The Last Hero, I haven’t really read the illustrated and coauthored Discworld novels or the various other ancillary works. I suspect they’re all good,
• As for the series The Long…, all coauthored with Stephen Baxter, to my eye they start out strong (The Long Earth) and fade away over time. You might love them.

Nothing more to say. If, a decade or so from now, I’m still around and still able to read and comprehend these, I might make a fourth pass–but that’s a lot of Ifs. Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to starting the series again later this Fall.