Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

- A Discworld Novel -

It's the night before Hogswatch and it's not Hogfather himself who delivers the presents but Death! Why? Well, it's because Hogfather has disappeared and someone has got to do the job. Susan, a governess with special abilities and relations, is drawn into the mystery and realises that she has to solve it by morning or there won't be a morning...

It's clearly a story about Christmas and Santa Claus (or Father Christmas) but instead of Santa he is known as Hogfather and Hogfather doesn't use reindeers - he has pigs (or hogs) and they're not necessarily as well behaved as Santa's reindeers, nor as cute but I love the image it portrays. The cleverness of Pratchett's storytelling and references to "our" world and traditions are nothing but ingenious and so true. This is what our traditions and world must seem to an outsider and it's really good fun to look at it that way.

I was first introduced to Terry Pratchett when Swedish telly showed an animated series called Discworld - and I fell in love. Finally there was something for me! I love animations and cartoons and this one also contained other things than the sweet stuff that Disney makes. So I went on to read a few of his books. And then something must have happened because I stopped. I don't know why and I don't really care because I have found my way back by reading Hogfather. Brilliant, funny and the words! I love the way Pratchett writes. It's on a level that is really beyond me but By. God. I. Love. It!

My only problem now is that I have to pick another Discworld book and there is quite a few to choose from...

(Hogfather is also available on DVD, I haven't seen it myself - yet - but am in the process of ordering it)

Books All Around

I walked into town today on my lunchbreak - other people (millions and billions) of them were rushing around for the perfect bargain. Not me. I walked into a book shop. And came out with 7 new books. A little excessive perhaps but darn it! I fancied something new and I deserved new books the way I've been hanging out in 2nd hand book stores for the past year. I wanted the smell of new books.

This is what I bought:

• The Leaving of Liverpool by Maureen Lee (I've never read anything by her before - or heard of her - and I'm going to try books that are different to what i normally pick out.)
• Queen Camilla by Sue Townsend (never liked Adrian Mole but am loving her 'The Queen and I' + I'm a sucker for the Royal family.)
• The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (Books II and III of His Dark Materials. Liked the first one so...)
• Heaven Sent by Christina Jones (There's always room for some more chick-lit.)
• Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones (It just sounded fantastic and I think it might be...)
• Blood River by Tim Butcher (Again, it sounded to good to miss out on)

Now I just need to finish the other ones I'm currently reading and have a clear-out of the ones under my bed. There are loads of books that I won't read again and as we live in a flat with minimum storage (but oh-so-lovely) I've decided that for every new book I buy, an old will have to go.

Sea Fever by Sarah Mason

Erica 'Inky' has but one dream and that is to sail in the America's Cup for Britain. This is something that is most definitely easier said than done as she has to compete against old superstitions and prejudices about women on boats etc. And her fellow dreamers also need to battle against people determined to see them all fail. People sharing your world are not always the friendliest.

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!

I was so excited when I got my hands on this one as I had been so totally won over by the previous ones by Sarah Mason (this and this). But. Sea Fever is quite different to the other 2 and not in a bad way - not at all. Whereas they others are very laugh out loud funny and charming this is more thought out and you can tell there are hours and hours of research behind it. The characters are so nicely captured and I loved every single page of it.

If you don't know anything about sailing, then you will by the end of it. It's not "in your face" information, you want to know more about this different world as the story moves along and you just suck it all up. It's not just about Inky but about everyone who has the same dream as her and they're all fighting on more than one front - they're outsiders and a joke to many but their determination takes them closer to their goal, one step at a time.

In ways it reminds me of Jilly Cooper*, Sarah Mason has chosen a surrounding that is not every reader's familiar milieu but it becomes something you want to be a part of. Albeit Sarah Mason is a bit lighter on the rude-ish language...

Like I said, it's a really good book and my dream of learning how to sail is stronger than ever before!



*Riders - showjumping world, Appassionata - classical music/orchestra world etc etc

Lucy in the Sky by Paige Toon

I picked up this book to read on the flight to Cape Verde and my motivation for making it a "flight book"? Well, the story kinda starts when the main character gets on a flight...

Lucy is on her way back home to Australia for the first time in 9 years and the reason is that her 2 best friends from her childhood are getting married - to each other. Just as she's about to turn off her phone on the airplane - she reads a text message sent from her boyfriend's phone and that's when all hell breaks loose.

The long flight forces Lucy to think about her relationship and even if she thought she knew it all she has to re-evaluate it as soon as she steps off the plane and.... the story continues.

It's supposed to be funny and don't get me wrong, it is, but it is also a book that tells you the perhaps not so good story about a relationship that's been going on for a while. It made me think about my relationship and I realised that mine isn't that bad at all, although I already knew it but it's nice to have it confirmed!

It's written in a way that it gets you involved. I kept on telling Lucy to "do this" and "don't do that" and "he's obviously a tosser" but also "what are you getting at?" (obviously quietly as I was on a plane myself and didn't want to be seen as a nutter - which is one of my ultimate fears). So it's not just a read and forget kind of book.

I enjoyed it but just as much as I think it's ok - someone else is going to dislike it. It's very much a book that feeds of your current state of mind so it could go either way. I read it on a good day so I liked it.

An explanation -

I have not stopped reading - that'll only happen the day I die - and then I'll hopefully be able to speak to loads of the already dead authors until I annoy them so much that they all get together to have me evicted from whatever place I am at. And then I'll be able to continue reading as many books as I like.

I've just been busy and to be honest - haven't really fancied writing about the books I've read, which sadly isn't as many as I would have liked it to be... Here are a few of them.