Pilgrim Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 Well, I'm still not finished (maybe 3/4) but do love this book and my daughter has started it and may finish first. I believe she's even given herself a screen name somewhere of "verucca gnome". The dialogue has already come in handy at a New Year's party when someone started talking about being bald and I used the "you know what they say about bald men" repartee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mia Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Well, I finished Hogfather just before Christmas and my opinion hasn't changed from the first time I read it - I just don't like it. Don't get me wrong, I love the Discworld books and I'm a major Pratchett fan, but this book is strange for me. I found it very funny (as usual), with some laugh-out-loud moments, but it just annoys me a lot. What's even more annoying for me is that I can't say why I dislike it. As I say, it's funny, there are loads of great characters, and it rattles along at a fair rate without any boring bits. So why I don't like it, I don't know... I'd read it when I bought it, but had never re-read it until it was chosen here, so I decided to give it a second chance, but my opinion remains the same. It's one of my least favourite Discworld books and I won't be reading it again. I'd still like to see the Sky version though, to see what sort of a job they've made of adapting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilgrim Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Great book - thanks, again. So much to love...the creative French chef/manager, the face off between Susan and Teh-ah-tim-eh - both times, the snowman disguise, Hex's FTB (fluffy teddy bear), Twyla and Gawain's children wisdom "And anyway..." I'm sure I'm forgetting a million things. My daughter and I finished the last 40 or so pages together - a landmark - Harry Potter's first year was the last time she wanted to read anything with me -thanks for that too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 I feel such a failure, and I hate to admit this as it's the first 'reading circle' book I've bought, but I've had to give up on Hogfather. It's just not doing it for me at all. I do like Susan very much, and I like Death and his funny portrayal of someone being Father Christmas without much of a clue what it's about, and I love the way he TALKS IN CAPITAL LETTERS, but I just couldn't get to grips with the other story at all, about Teatime and Ridcully etc. It wasn't like I only read a bit of it either - I got to about half way through! I really wanted to like it, and I'm disappointed not to have but when reading becomes a chore... well, life is too short! I've got the DVD of it that a friend kindly taped for me, so I will see how the story pans out that way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted January 21, 2007 Author Share Posted January 21, 2007 Despite being a HUGE fan of Terry, there are one or two of his Discworld books that I don't like at all (The Colour of Magic,The Light Fantastic, and Eric are the three that I really didn't enjoy at all) - in a series of this length (there are over 35 of them now), there will always be one or two that don't appeal to everyone. Some people can't get on board with Pratchett's style of writing at all. For example, I always thought Pratchett would really appeal to my Mam's sense of humour, but she can't read the books at all - she hates that there are no distinct chapters for a start, but she also really can't get on with his style. I really loved Hogfather, but it's not one of my absolute favourites in the series - more of a secondary one instead. However, if you were new to Pratchett before the reading circle and this one didn't float your boat, please don't be completely put off, as I really do believe he has something for everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 However, if you were new to Pratchett before the reading circle and this one didn't float your boat, please don't be completely put off, as I really do believe he has something for everyone. I am new to him - it's my first attempt, in fact. Two people on the Neighbours board who are huge fans have recommended that I try Wyrd (sp?) Sisters, so I'm looking out for it in the secondhand shops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Also, if you enjoyed Death, try 'Mort'.. that was my introduction to Pratchett, and I really enjoyed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Despite being a HUGE fan of Terry, there are one or two of his Discworld books that I don't like at all - The Colour of Magic,The Light Fantastic, and Eric are the three that I really didn't enjoy at all See, now, I really enjoyed reading those three. I haven't read all the Discworld books yet, but the one I didn't like was Pyramids. I couldn't seem to get into that one at all. It just goes to show that some of the Discworld books are better for certain people than they are for others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icecream Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 OK, so finally here are my thoughts, or at least some of them. I was completely inefficient by taking the book back yesterday before I wrote something down that I'd spotted. Might take a sneak peak when i go at the end of the week. I have never read any Pratchett before and therefore Discworld also) so I am completely new to the author and the world, though i have read plenty of fantasy before now. I too liked the dark element of the book. I think it was one of the first things I noticed. It is strange because it is almost comical, given in the context of the nature of the book, yet also has an element of realism that is too prominent to ignore. I liked Death too, a very likeable character. Is it ironic that one should like the character of death? It certainly seems so:lol: . I agree with Kell's comment about Santa, and just leaving a step or two behind where we are now. It makes the realism of Pratchett's writing prominent, while not being too much, therefore still keeoing that fantastical element, as you said Kell, a realism that gets under our skin.. As the world so closely parodies our own in this way and in many others, Pratchett it seems, is showing us more than we actually read in his book. The wizards themselves, I feel pose an interesting reality. As diddave said above, although the creatures in the book are not always human, they show closeness with humanity, and this, for me, came through with the way the wizards conducted themselves, from the use of normal things such as bathrooms, to the way they interacted with each other (including with Hex). This made me wonder how far we can actually push the boudaries of our own reality. How far are the real and unreal actually the same thing? I also enjoyed Susan's no nonsense approach. Also, I think her character helped in a big way to push the book in the direction of reality, especially as she was reluctant to leave reality (whatever that reallly is;) ). As for the pronunciation of teatime, I always read it as it was written and refused to indulge in his own pronunciation, whether it is right or wrong). I just couldn't be bothered with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 Has anyone seen the mini-series adaptation of Hogfather? It's going to be TV here in the next couple of days and I was curious as to whether it's any good. I'll probably tape it but won't watch it until after I've read the book (possibly in about 5 years time ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted December 20, 2007 Author Share Posted December 20, 2007 I wasn't overly impressed with it, but I think I was in the minority. The book is WAy better though, for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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