Teaser Tuesday: The Wit and Wisdom of Discworld - Terry Pratchett

 

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, the weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR! You can also just share what you are currently reading. We make it very easy to play along, it is as easy as 1, 2, 3! Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Ambrosia at the Purple Booker.

1: Grab your current read 2: Open to a random page 3: Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.

“You don’t understand!” screamed the tourist, above the terrible noise of the wingbeats. “All my life I’ve wanted to see dragons!” 

“From the inside?” shouted Rincewind.

location 139 of 5213

Waiting on Wednesday #80 - Darwin's Watch by Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. 

A welcome addition to the Discworld books, Darwin's Watch is scheduled for release June 9, 2015 from Anchor, a division of Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. 

Synopsis from the publisher:

Something terrible is happening on Roundworld: when Charles Darwin writes Theology of the Species, science is set back one hundred years and the wizards of Discworld must struggle to save the inhabitants of Earth...er, that's Roundworld...from an apocalyptic end.

The mind-bending Science of Discworld series offers a wizard's-eye view of our world in a clever mash-up of fiction and fact. When a wizardly experiment inadvertently brought about the creation of Roundworld the wizard scholars of Unseen University did their best to put things on the right course. In Darwin's Watch they may face their greatest challenge yet: A man called Darwin has written a bestselling book calledThe Theology of the Species, and his theory of scientific design has been witlessly embraced by Victorian society and scientific progress has consequently slowed to a crawl. Now the question is can the wizards find a way to change history back to the way it should have been? In Darwin's Watch, the authors explore the impact of major scientific advances on our planet and our culture, the dangers of obscurantism, and the evolution of the theory of evolution as you have never seen it before. This brilliant addition to Pratchett's beloved Discworld series illustrates with great wit and wisdom how the laws of our universe truly are stranger than fiction.

Why am I looking forward to it?

Well. Discworld and Terry Pratchett. I've really enjoyed his writing over the years. And, I am curious as to how the theory of evolution is presented, as a former biology teacher.

What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out. Happy Reading!

Terry Pratchett and Soul Music

The Discworld writer's death was announced on his Twitter profile.

Terry took Death’s arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night.

Terry Pratchett (@terryandrob) March 12, 2015

The End.

Terry Pratchett (@terryandrob) March 12, 2015

Among other things that happened not long after his death, over 3,000 people signed a petition asking Death to bring him back. 

That made me think of Soul Music, when Death disappears and his granddaughter takes over. Maybe people are asking the wrong person to bring him back? I'm pretty sure he would be amused by the petition. I  kept hoping we would hear, like from Mark Twain, that the reports of his death were greatly exaggerated. 

And oddly enough I had just shared the first book in the series with my daughter about a month ago. I had shared Soul Music with some of my students when I was teaching. I hope that they will all enjoy his books for a long time to come. 

The edition of Soul Music in the picture was published in May of 2003. Synopsis from Goodreads.com: 

When her dear old Granddad -- the Grim Reaper himself -- goes missing, Susan takes over the family business. The progeny of Death's adopted daughter and his apprentice, she shows real talent for the trade. That is until a little string in her heart goes "twang." 

With a head full of dreams and a pocketful of lint, Imp the Bard lands in Ankh-Morpork, yearning to become a rock star. Determined to devote his life to music, the unlucky fellow soon finds that all his dreams are coming true. Well almost. 

In this finger-snapping, toe-tapping tale of youth, Death, and rocks that roll, Terry Pratchett once again demonstrates the wit and genius that have propelled him to the highest echelons of parody next to Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, and Carl Hiaasen.

I don't need to really review it here. Suffice it to say that I really loved the book. And it was one of many of his Discworld books that I found to be so entertaining.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from Soul Music:

"The hippo of recollection stirred in the muddy waters of the mind."

"She got on with her education. In her opinion, school kept on trying to interfere with it."

"Be careful what you wish for. You never know who will be listening."

"She had a tall bearing and a tall voice and a tall manner and was tall in every respect except height. Amazingly, she'd apparently been able to keep this a secret from people."

Terry Pratchett will be missed.