Here are the books that I enjoyed most in 2021. You can read about those I liked best in 2020 here. Biography/memoir/autobiography/history The Element of Lavishness, Letters between Sylvia Townsend Warner and William Maxwell was a Christmas present from 2020 that got shunted into the waiting room while I read her letters to and from … Continue reading The Good Books 2021
Category: Terry Pratchett
Canadian sff: Sleeping Giants, and Bloody Rose
Two mini reviews of science fiction and fantasy novels by Canadian writers, of Sylvain Neuvel's Sleeping Giants, and Nicholas Eames' Bloody Rose. Sleeping Giants I enjoyed this a LOT. Partly it was the plot: gigantic metallic pieces of what appears to be a body are found buried in remote, and less remote, locations on Earth. … Continue reading Canadian sff: Sleeping Giants, and Bloody Rose
Pratchett on bigotry
From time to time I binge on Discworld. This week, on holiday, I’ve been rereading some of the Terry Pratchett novels that tackle bigotry and racism. They are deeply satisfying combings from the beard of his invention. They don't offer a unified theory of how people could be nice to each other, but they are … Continue reading Pratchett on bigotry
Newspapers, lies, magic and responsibility: Terry Pratchett and The Truth
This week's Newspaper Novel abandons the literary historical approach to journalism, and just wallows in satire. Terry Pratchett is one of the most popular and widely-bought British authors, but he is also hardly ever mentioned in the heavyweight literary weeklies because his writing is funny. He was a writer of fantasy fiction, predominantly in the Discworld series, … Continue reading Newspapers, lies, magic and responsibility: Terry Pratchett and The Truth
Stone stories: N K Jemisin’s The Obelisk Gate
When Terry Pratchett wanted to explore how trolls might name themselves, he used mineralogy. Jade was one of the first Pratchett trolls to have a name. It was curiously dignifying as well as amusingly paradoxical (how could a lump of rock have a name, ho ho ho). Pratchett continued to dignify his troll characters rather … Continue reading Stone stories: N K Jemisin’s The Obelisk Gate
London calling: Kate Griffin’s A Madness of Angels
I feel I’ve come rather late to the fair with Kate Griffin’s sorcerers-in-London series, since the first one came out in 2009. I was looking stupidly at A Madness of Angels in a bookshop last autumn, wondering why it wasn’t ringing bells – surely I’d read all the magical-London novels in print? – and was … Continue reading London calling: Kate Griffin’s A Madness of Angels
Framework, unfinished: Terry Pratchett’s The Shepherd’s Crown
You know that feeling of ‘damn, she got there before me’? That’s what I felt, listening to Helen Lewis on the New Statesman podcast talking about the last Terry Pratchett novel, The Shepherd’s Crown. At every point she made, I nodded, and chopped the celery a little more crossly while admiring, of course, her perspicacity in … Continue reading Framework, unfinished: Terry Pratchett’s The Shepherd’s Crown
Tell Me What You Read: Wendy Bryant
In Tell Me What You Read, a new feature on this blog, I interview well-kenned folk in public life about how their reading has shaped their lives, in the past and now. This week, Wendy Bryant, senior lecturer in occupational therapy at the University of Essex, artist and dog-walker Tell me which authors, or what reading, you … Continue reading Tell Me What You Read: Wendy Bryant
Reading Terry Pratchett: a beginner’s guide
A short list of suggestions for how to start reading Terry Pratchett's novels, because the list is now closed. Guards, Guards, for the perfect, all-in-one introduction to Discworld's major city, to its plethora of characters and races, and to the immortal Vimes. Monstrous Regiment, for searing satire on feminism, war-mongering and class. I Shall Wear … Continue reading Reading Terry Pratchett: a beginner’s guide
Hooting at What We Do In The Shadows
A vampire film is not my usual tipple, but I do love a spoof. Specially when it's a mockumentary dripping with blood; when the jokes just keep on coming; when the acting is so vérité that the idea of Wellington's nightlife and suburbia being inhabited by vampires, werewolves, witches and zombies seems totally plausible. The superb … Continue reading Hooting at What We Do In The Shadows
Kate Macdonald 