Crivens!

[caddyman]

It’s been a busy day; this is the first chance I’ve had to break my silence, not that I have a lot to say.

I have been assailed by ludicrous deadlines brought about by our Legal Adviser deciding that the middle of the annual Subsidy Determination process is the ideal time for a fortnight’s leave. That plus the fact that our attempts to make an interim subsidy payment to a particular local authority seem to be dogged by misfortune, the latest being the inability of one computerised system to play nicely with another. The authority is being uncommonly civil about it; I doubt I would be in the circumstances. Still, it now looks as though they will get their money tomorrow, only two (additional) days late.

I am reading Pratchett’s The Wee Free Men despite it being allegedly for kids (or at least pitched a little younger than most of his Discworld novels). I’m only 68 pages in, but it’s already a great deal of fun. In anticipation I have acquired the further stories featuring trainee witch, Tiffany Aching: A Hat Full of Sky and Wintersmith. The “Wee Free Men” have barely made an appearance as yet, but it looks as the Nac Mac Feegle are going to be a great deal of fun.

Why the kids absorb Harry Potter when this stuff is available is beyond me.

Crivens!

I have been talked into opening a MySpace account. I have no idea what I shall do with it. I daresay it will lie fallow like my blogspot and the other blog thing, the name of which escapes me for now. MySpace seems inherently counter intuitive to use and extremely cluttered by the standards of good old LJ.

We shall see.

Comments

[wulfboy.livejournal.com]

I liked Wee Free Men quite a lot. Apparently at some point (possibly Christmas) the "final" (?) book in the series And I Shall Wear Midnight or some such, is due.

I detected a slight anti-Potter theme in the Aching books. And liked them all the more for it. It reminded me of an alleged comment of Pratchetts. Apparently, in "The Truth" when Pratchett called the school William De Worde attends "Hugglestones" his editor cautioned him to change it for fear he be accused of being derivative off J K Rowling. He allegedly replied that it was no big deal as he had clearly been derivative off J K Rowling for over twenty years ... No idea if it is true, nor do I care.

[ladkyis.livejournal.com]

Oh that sounds like the man himself!
He was asked if his job as publicity man (or whatever it was) for the nuclear power stations had anything to do with the fact that the magic books on discworld had to be kept chained in reinforced bunkers because they leaked.
His face remained expressionless with no hint of a smile as he replied "absolutely nothing at all, pure coincidence"

Wintersmith

[mathcathy]

I've got Wintersmith. It's fantastic. I've been meaning to read the first two.

[agentinfinity.livejournal.com]

Why the kids absorb Harry Potter when this stuff is available is beyond me.

Pratchett's not exactly an undiscovered talent ;) In fact I'm sure a few years ago fantasy spods were decrying his mainstream success at the cost of *insert random fantasy book*.

[ladkyis.livejournal.com]

That would be the 'fantasy purists' wouldn't it. They need putting in the same room as the 'country music purists' or the 'blues purists' who decry anyone who touches their preferred medium and shakes it up a bit.
Fantasy is fantasy if you don't like the style read something else!
*kicks soapbox*

[bluesman.livejournal.com]

Careful there, m'dear!

Hey, what's that shakin'?

[fredlums.livejournal.com]

I love all 3 of these books- having not really heard of Mr Pratchett until Mr B came along- have just given said Mr B the new grown up one Making Money at which he is laughing rather a lot!