Allison Symes's Blog - Posts Tagged "terry-pratchett"
What Do You Read?
I love reading fiction and non-fiction. I love the worlds of totally made up stories and hard facts. What I read then depends on my mood.
I am really fond of history so historical fiction and non-fiction has a very big thumbs up from me. I've enjoyed a few of the Ben McIntyre books, especially Operation Mincemeat.
To flip the coin over, I love fantasy and adore the Discworld novels of the much missed Terry Pratchett.
Is it good to mix up your reading? I think so. I see reading as feeding my mind so I want to nourish it well from a good variety of sources. Ideas for writers spark from all manner of places so the more open you are (and this includes in what you read), the better.
And now back to writing and reading!
I am really fond of history so historical fiction and non-fiction has a very big thumbs up from me. I've enjoyed a few of the Ben McIntyre books, especially Operation Mincemeat.
To flip the coin over, I love fantasy and adore the Discworld novels of the much missed Terry Pratchett.
Is it good to mix up your reading? I think so. I see reading as feeding my mind so I want to nourish it well from a good variety of sources. Ideas for writers spark from all manner of places so the more open you are (and this includes in what you read), the better.
And now back to writing and reading!
What Your Book Choices Reveal
What do your book choices reveal about you? Well, for a start, hopefully, that you have excellent taste in books!
Your choices should also reveal you are widely read, with a good selection of non-fiction books, as well as fiction, on your shelves.
Certain titles give themselves away, of course. Having the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook on your shelves points to there being a writer or artist in the household!
Your choices should also reveal which genres are your favourites as these will tend to dominate your bookshelves. (In my case, it's humorous fantasy and yes I do have a shelf full of Terry Pratchett and Tom Holt's works).
On the non-fiction front, your choices should reveal what your favourite genre is here (for me, it's anything historic.
Your choices should also reveal you are widely read, with a good selection of non-fiction books, as well as fiction, on your shelves.
Certain titles give themselves away, of course. Having the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook on your shelves points to there being a writer or artist in the household!
Your choices should also reveal which genres are your favourites as these will tend to dominate your bookshelves. (In my case, it's humorous fantasy and yes I do have a shelf full of Terry Pratchett and Tom Holt's works).
On the non-fiction front, your choices should reveal what your favourite genre is here (for me, it's anything historic.
Being Read To
I was thinking about this for my post on my From Light to Dark and Back Again book page on Facebook tonight.
The reason the topic came up is because I'm looking forward to reading a couple of my 100-word stories from the book at the upcoming Bridge House/Cafelit/Chapeltown event in London in December. But I'm also looking forward to being read to by the other writers taking part then. I've always loved being read to from a very young age.
A good narrative voice can add so much enjoyment to a story. I love the audiobook versions of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels (the ones read by Tony Robinson) and we often have those on when on a long car journey. Makes the time just fly. You can hear the characters literally being given their own voice.
I find reading my own work out loud is a fantastic way of showing up where my dialogue is not quite so easy to read as I thought it was! If I trip over it, any reader would so out comes the old editing pen. I don't know what it is about the spoken word showing up faults in the word as it is written, but it does do so and I find reading out loud a vital part of my editing.
The reason the topic came up is because I'm looking forward to reading a couple of my 100-word stories from the book at the upcoming Bridge House/Cafelit/Chapeltown event in London in December. But I'm also looking forward to being read to by the other writers taking part then. I've always loved being read to from a very young age.
A good narrative voice can add so much enjoyment to a story. I love the audiobook versions of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels (the ones read by Tony Robinson) and we often have those on when on a long car journey. Makes the time just fly. You can hear the characters literally being given their own voice.
I find reading my own work out loud is a fantastic way of showing up where my dialogue is not quite so easy to read as I thought it was! If I trip over it, any reader would so out comes the old editing pen. I don't know what it is about the spoken word showing up faults in the word as it is written, but it does do so and I find reading out loud a vital part of my editing.
Top Five Favourite Books
What are your top five favourite books? They can be any genre, non-fiction or otherwise etc.
So often my favourite books do depend on my mood. If I want humorous fiction, I will read that. If I want crime, I will turn to that genre.
But I think for me the five that stand out overall are:-
1. The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey. This book is one of the few novels to ever change my mind about a historical character, in this case Richard III.
2. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein. The sheer scale of Tolkein's imagination is amazing and you won't get a better good-v-evil battle in fiction, I think. Loved the film version too.
3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. This was my first introduction to the use of irony in fiction and Elizabeth Bennett has long been one of my favourite heroines.
4. Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett. It was hard to pick just one Discworld novel but I plumped for this one as, for me, it is where Sam Vimes really takes off as a character.
5. The Best of P.G. Wodehouse Am I cheating here by going for a best of collection? Maybe! But I'm not sorry. This wonderful book shows off PGW's fabulous array of characters.
So what would your choices be? Do you think they would change, say, annually, or be permanent selections?
So often my favourite books do depend on my mood. If I want humorous fiction, I will read that. If I want crime, I will turn to that genre.
But I think for me the five that stand out overall are:-
1. The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey. This book is one of the few novels to ever change my mind about a historical character, in this case Richard III.
2. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein. The sheer scale of Tolkein's imagination is amazing and you won't get a better good-v-evil battle in fiction, I think. Loved the film version too.
3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. This was my first introduction to the use of irony in fiction and Elizabeth Bennett has long been one of my favourite heroines.
4. Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett. It was hard to pick just one Discworld novel but I plumped for this one as, for me, it is where Sam Vimes really takes off as a character.
5. The Best of P.G. Wodehouse Am I cheating here by going for a best of collection? Maybe! But I'm not sorry. This wonderful book shows off PGW's fabulous array of characters.
So what would your choices be? Do you think they would change, say, annually, or be permanent selections?
Seasonal Reading
Do you worry about reading according to the seasons?
I generally don't, though will concede I read more during the autumn and winter. There is just something about the longer dark evenings that encourage getting the Kindle out or raiding the To Be Read pile. For me, it is one of the joys of the colder times of year. (The other is hot chocolate!).
But what I read doesn't change much during the year. I read according to mood. So if I fancy crime, I read that. If I want historical I go for that. (Sometimes I fancy historical crime!!). The great thing about reading and writing flash fiction is one collection can cover a lot of moods in one volume! Mine falls into that category.
I will put my hands up to re-reading Terry Pratchett's Reaper Man around Harvest Festival Time and his Hogfather in the run up to Christmas though but that is about it for me for seasonal reading.
What I would like to do more of though is read more poetry. I know what I like in that line when I come across it but it is remembering to do so. For me it is the easiest thing in the world to reach for prose to suit my moods. And of course the majority of the time that is exactly what I do.
I do have what I call "comfort reading" books and these are generally humorous like Pratchett or Wodehouse. When I want a sure fire bet to entertain and amuse me, these are where I head first.
So what do you read seasonally?
I generally don't, though will concede I read more during the autumn and winter. There is just something about the longer dark evenings that encourage getting the Kindle out or raiding the To Be Read pile. For me, it is one of the joys of the colder times of year. (The other is hot chocolate!).
But what I read doesn't change much during the year. I read according to mood. So if I fancy crime, I read that. If I want historical I go for that. (Sometimes I fancy historical crime!!). The great thing about reading and writing flash fiction is one collection can cover a lot of moods in one volume! Mine falls into that category.
I will put my hands up to re-reading Terry Pratchett's Reaper Man around Harvest Festival Time and his Hogfather in the run up to Christmas though but that is about it for me for seasonal reading.
What I would like to do more of though is read more poetry. I know what I like in that line when I come across it but it is remembering to do so. For me it is the easiest thing in the world to reach for prose to suit my moods. And of course the majority of the time that is exactly what I do.
I do have what I call "comfort reading" books and these are generally humorous like Pratchett or Wodehouse. When I want a sure fire bet to entertain and amuse me, these are where I head first.
So what do you read seasonally?
Books into Films
My favourite adaptation has to be Peter Jackson's take on J.R.R. Tolkein's The Lord of the Rings - the vision conjured up seemed to match what I had thought when I first read the trilogy.
It was wonderful "seeing" The Shire. The darkness of Mordor was vividly brought to life too.
I've also loved the adaptations of Terry Pratchett's Going Postal, Hogfather, and The Colour of Magic.
I would love to see an adaptation of Men at Arms and Raising Steam.
I still don't understand how you can get three films out of The Hobbit though!
Having said all of that, I am all for film adaptations of books as long as they stay faithful to the book. I don't "get" changing endings, character roles etc. It makes it a different story to the one the author originally intended and I really can't see the point of that.
What are your favourite adaptations and why?
It was wonderful "seeing" The Shire. The darkness of Mordor was vividly brought to life too.
I've also loved the adaptations of Terry Pratchett's Going Postal, Hogfather, and The Colour of Magic.
I would love to see an adaptation of Men at Arms and Raising Steam.
I still don't understand how you can get three films out of The Hobbit though!
Having said all of that, I am all for film adaptations of books as long as they stay faithful to the book. I don't "get" changing endings, character roles etc. It makes it a different story to the one the author originally intended and I really can't see the point of that.
What are your favourite adaptations and why?
Happy New (Reading) Year!
Happy New Year!
I'm looking forward to discovering authors new to me this year and getting plenty of reading done. The TBR pile, unlike my ironing pile, is one where I'm not that sorry if it stays pretty much at its high level!
I'd like to read more non-fiction this year too and expand my range of subjects.
The biggest problem, of course, is time. I always mean to read more over the Christmas break and, yes, I did catch up a bit. However, I'm usually too tired to read for long so I never get as much done as I was hoping for.
Am trying to read more (particularly magazines) at lunch time and am enjoying that.
I'd also like to get back to more humorous reading and suspect it will soon be time to resume the works of P.G. Wodehouse and Terry Pratchett, both of whose books bring me much joy.
Whatever your reading plans are this year, I hope you have a fabulous time with them. I intend to!
I'm looking forward to discovering authors new to me this year and getting plenty of reading done. The TBR pile, unlike my ironing pile, is one where I'm not that sorry if it stays pretty much at its high level!
I'd like to read more non-fiction this year too and expand my range of subjects.
The biggest problem, of course, is time. I always mean to read more over the Christmas break and, yes, I did catch up a bit. However, I'm usually too tired to read for long so I never get as much done as I was hoping for.
Am trying to read more (particularly magazines) at lunch time and am enjoying that.
I'd also like to get back to more humorous reading and suspect it will soon be time to resume the works of P.G. Wodehouse and Terry Pratchett, both of whose books bring me much joy.
Whatever your reading plans are this year, I hope you have a fabulous time with them. I intend to!
First Books You Chose For Yourself
Do you remember the first book you chose for yourself?
The first single book I chose was Jane Austen’s Collected Works. It is handy having them in one volume!
The first book series I collected (and still have) was the Agatha Christie series published via Odhams Books. Remember them? The nice thing with that series is it covers all of her major characters from Poirot to Marple to Tommy and Tuppence. Great stories.
The first fantasy book I chose for myself was The Lord of the Rings.
The first history book I chose was Simon Schama’s History of Britain which tied in with his TV series of the same name.
The first comic series I went for was P.G. Wodehouse’s wonderful works. (I don’t have them all but do have a fair number). I started with Jeeves and Wooster, thanks to the fab TV adaptation where Stephen Fry played Jeeves and Hugh Lawrie played Bertie.
I then went on to Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. I started with Jingo and then worked backwards to the beginning with The Colour of Magic.
Oh and I mustn’t forget Enid Blyton’s Famous Five series. My local (at the time) ITV network, Southern TV (sadly long gone), produced a great adaptation of these and the books were reissued with the covers showing the child actors in their roles. Sadly Southern lost their franchise and I believe the series ended. I don’t know what happened to the books I managed to collect (I used to be able to buy them from the local newsagent - how times have changed!) but loved the stories.
So can TV and film have a great influence on book buying? Oh yes!
The first single book I chose was Jane Austen’s Collected Works. It is handy having them in one volume!
The first book series I collected (and still have) was the Agatha Christie series published via Odhams Books. Remember them? The nice thing with that series is it covers all of her major characters from Poirot to Marple to Tommy and Tuppence. Great stories.
The first fantasy book I chose for myself was The Lord of the Rings.
The first history book I chose was Simon Schama’s History of Britain which tied in with his TV series of the same name.
The first comic series I went for was P.G. Wodehouse’s wonderful works. (I don’t have them all but do have a fair number). I started with Jeeves and Wooster, thanks to the fab TV adaptation where Stephen Fry played Jeeves and Hugh Lawrie played Bertie.
I then went on to Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. I started with Jingo and then worked backwards to the beginning with The Colour of Magic.
Oh and I mustn’t forget Enid Blyton’s Famous Five series. My local (at the time) ITV network, Southern TV (sadly long gone), produced a great adaptation of these and the books were reissued with the covers showing the child actors in their roles. Sadly Southern lost their franchise and I believe the series ended. I don’t know what happened to the books I managed to collect (I used to be able to buy them from the local newsagent - how times have changed!) but loved the stories.
So can TV and film have a great influence on book buying? Oh yes!
Perfect Books To Relax With
What kind of book do you like to relax with? My favourites are fantasy (especially the humorous kind such as Terry Pratchett’s wonderful Discworld stories) and crime (though I am more at the cosy end of the market).
Though right now I am loving Peter Ackroyd’s London, which is a biography of the city. An interesting way of writing up a history and full of fascinating tales.
It’s a fairly big paperback but is an engrossing read so very happy to recommend it. If a writer’s style draws me in, as it does here, it doesn’t matter how big the book is!
They’ve got this reader to the end (which is a challenge for all of us writers to ensure we try and do that with our own writing).
I can’t read in the bath. I’d be worried about dropping a book or Kindle in the water. Neither would come out well.
This is why my main reading is just before I go to sleep. I am so relaxed then. It’s not the time to read a gripping vampire novel though. Mind you, I wasn’t planning on doing this so that’s okay.
For me books have to be entertaining and help me relax. If I want a challenging read, I will carve out time during the day when my brain is better able to cope with said challenging read!
I hope you have plenty of excellent new reads for Christmas and I hope you have a safe and as good a celebration as possible.
If ever there was a year, we all needed books to help us escape, it is in 2020.
Though right now I am loving Peter Ackroyd’s London, which is a biography of the city. An interesting way of writing up a history and full of fascinating tales.
It’s a fairly big paperback but is an engrossing read so very happy to recommend it. If a writer’s style draws me in, as it does here, it doesn’t matter how big the book is!
They’ve got this reader to the end (which is a challenge for all of us writers to ensure we try and do that with our own writing).
I can’t read in the bath. I’d be worried about dropping a book or Kindle in the water. Neither would come out well.
This is why my main reading is just before I go to sleep. I am so relaxed then. It’s not the time to read a gripping vampire novel though. Mind you, I wasn’t planning on doing this so that’s okay.
For me books have to be entertaining and help me relax. If I want a challenging read, I will carve out time during the day when my brain is better able to cope with said challenging read!
I hope you have plenty of excellent new reads for Christmas and I hope you have a safe and as good a celebration as possible.
If ever there was a year, we all needed books to help us escape, it is in 2020.
Humorous Books
If ever there was a time for humorous books, it is now isn’t it? Something to cheer people up with and I must admit I was pleased to see that sales of P.G. Wodehouse books have gone up during the pandemic. (I hope the same has happened with Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books too).
And of course humour creeps into other genres too, including crime and horror. I do love a witty one-liner from a character where you know the character is capable of coming up with such things.
It is a bugbear of mind that humorous books aren’t taken more seriously. They are “proper” literature and shouldn’t be looked down on.
If anything a writer capable of writing humour should be lauded simply because it is not the easiest thing to do. Humour is subjective after all.
Mind you, the written word has a huge advantage here. I love “seeing” puns come out, where appropriate to the storyline.
Language, and playing with it to make stories, should be fun and I like to see fun in the final results.
I guess this may well be one reason that misery memoir really is not for me, no matter how well written it is. I’ve got to have some cheer somewhere and even a gripping crime novel, with the odd bit of humour in it, will always work better for me than that.
Have you any favourite funny books you turn to for literally light reading relief as and when you need it?
And of course humour creeps into other genres too, including crime and horror. I do love a witty one-liner from a character where you know the character is capable of coming up with such things.
It is a bugbear of mind that humorous books aren’t taken more seriously. They are “proper” literature and shouldn’t be looked down on.
If anything a writer capable of writing humour should be lauded simply because it is not the easiest thing to do. Humour is subjective after all.
Mind you, the written word has a huge advantage here. I love “seeing” puns come out, where appropriate to the storyline.
Language, and playing with it to make stories, should be fun and I like to see fun in the final results.
I guess this may well be one reason that misery memoir really is not for me, no matter how well written it is. I’ve got to have some cheer somewhere and even a gripping crime novel, with the odd bit of humour in it, will always work better for me than that.
Have you any favourite funny books you turn to for literally light reading relief as and when you need it?
