Following a discussion with Busifer over on Green Dragon I thought I'd kick off something similar here:

Yes you are restricted to ONE choice each for your favourite and least favourite Discworld book. I know it's hard

Fav: Hogfather
Least: Small Gods but there are a few other close contenders.

Fav: this is hard, but right now I'll say Jingo
(there are actually seven contenders to this one; which I enjoy most depends on mood - Small Gods, Moving Pictures, Night watch, Reaper Man, Feet of Clay (Discworld), Soul Music and Witches Abroad)

Least: Going Postal (Discworld)

*edited when I saw how weird the touchstones was! I never even got an alternative for some of them! Had to add "Discworld" to get it right...*

Message edited by its author, Mar 10, 2007, 2:08pm.

fav: Small Gods ...(sorry reading_fox)
least: The Truth

Others favorites include Carpe Jugulum, Thief of Time, The Light Fantastic (partially because of the luggage), and The Fifth Elephant

My lowest rating is three stars, so the least isn't that bad.

PS: Reading_Fox... link us to your discussion.

Message edited by its author, Mar 9, 2007, 9:11am.

I agree with dchaikin... even the least liked Discworld novels gets high ratings from me, so while least liked I still like them, on a broader scale :-)

#3 Its not much of a discussion, just a few comments over Here about post 48 or so

As everyone has started cheating already and listing more than ONE, my other least favourite contenders are
Colour of magic (discworld novel), light fantastic, interesting times, and the last continent. Although none get less than 3 stars too.

I know many people who do really like Small gods, but I just don't find it that funny. Some conversations seem to indicate that to get the jokes you need to have more (ie some) of a catholic upbringing than I did.

On Small Gods - I've had an decidedly atheistic upbringing... when I grew up at the end of each term the school gathered in the church singing psalms etc. and my parents wrote to the headmaster saying I should be excused for not believing in God (at that point which God was not an issue - there was only one, hehe).
Etc.
BUT I grew up in a society permeated by religion, and maybe that have helped? Also, I'm very interested in the history of ideas - how our views of the world and ourselves has evolved, through different systems of belief and other means, etc. - and maybe that's more at the root of why I appreciate that novel?

I love the religion-based ones (grew up Catholic, so I have a huge appreciation for Small Gods), although I don't have a real favorite. At the moment it's Jingo, but that might just be because that's the one I've just finished reading.

My least favorite is probably Eric so far, probably because I'm only marginally familiar with Faust in any of its incarnations. Although I still thought it was funny.

Lords and Ladies. How can ya go wrong adapting what Shakespeare stole from others. (Midsummer Night's Dream for those not familiar.)

Moving Pictures and Wintersmith are real close together as far as bad goes. MP for being truly forced and WS for being too, "OO! Paint my room pink!"

*picture me with really big eyes!*
I just LOVE Moving Pictures for the Hollywood parody! It could have been that my reading it coincided closely with me actually staying in LA, but in my view it's quite right on target...

Good thing tastes differ :-)

#5 etc... no Catholic upbringing here. I grew up casually Jewish. I do really like Pratchett's religious discussions, esp. in Carpe Jugulum where a witch gets involved. I'm not sure why.

I love Small Gods for many reasons, partly because it was my first Pratchett, but I also just love Om harmlessly cursing everything in sight.

Message edited by its author, Mar 9, 2007, 3:34pm.

#9 Yes tastes differ. ;)

MP did nail the sarcasm and parody, but the really forced part was CMOT. His characterization in this book is so far over-the-top it's bordering on the absurd. Yes, CMOT (as well as everyone else) is generally over-the-top, but in most books they are only enough over-the-top to become idiosyncratic. (Okay, sometimes they get just plain sterotypical, but only for the walk-ons.)

I do realize that the actions of the characters were forced by universal compulsion, and that there are, indeed, such personalities in La-la land, but my liking of the Discworld is this: even though it takes place in an incredibly improbable setting, the characters and situations have always been observable, if only just, over the reality wall. MP was just a little too far away from that wall.

Geez...did I just write a review?

Favorite: Night Watch, for the background on Sam and the Watch. WIth this novel, Pratchett has turned Sam and the other key Watchmen into fully realized characters, rather than a spoof. It was also the most poignant of the Watch novels. I heard Pratchett speak last September, and he said he's been told by many fans that they didn't like Night Watch because it was too dark. That's what I liked about it - the humor that springs out of even desperate situations and painful memories (e.g., Reg burying himself to show solidarity with those who died and stayed dead).

Least: Eric Sure, it's Faustian, and despite having taken, back in the day, an entire college course on Goethe, Faust and the Faust Tradition, I just didn't warm to this book. Seemed very unDiscworldish.

#11 - yes, you just did ;-)
I felt that the proportion of "weirdness" between real life LA and Moving Pictures is the same as for, say, real life faculty and the wizards of Unseen University... But that's just me, eh?

#12 - Yes, I enjoy Night Watch for the same reasons that you do, Stringcat, so you're not alone!

I can only choose one??? Argh! I really had to think long and hard about this one.

Fave: Night Watch because it had great character development and an excellent story, as well as starring Vimes (who is one of my favourite characters).

Least fave: Eric - it just never did it for me, although I was hard pushed to pick that one over The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic, beacuse I really don't rate either of them - in fact, if i'd started at the beginning of the Discworld series, I might never have read the rest of them!

Favorite: Night Watch. I love the Guards books, and this is definitely my favorite of those for all the reasons everyone else has mentioned. But then again, like you said #7... it depends on what I've just finished reading.

Least Favorite: I would have said Eric, except, well, I'm reading it again, and see above. So... I keep forgetting what A Hat Full of Sky is about, and I haven't read it more than once (yet), so I'll say that one.

Since we're all cheating, I also love Small Gods and Mort, and I don't like Thief of Time or Colour of Magic as much as others. Though I do love the luggage.

I liked Thief of Time better the second time, though. I guess that says something about how much I really dislike any of his books :)

This is so hard!!

My Fave, above all others, is Reaper Man. I actually journeyed across three states to get my battered, torn cover, over-loved copy signed by The Master Himself. I love that book and I reread it over and over whenever I'm in a foul mood.

My Least Fave: The one that first came to mind was Monstrous Regiment. It didn't feel like it took place on the Disc, and I didn't like the running gag about how *everyone* was a girl. It was a really frustrating read for me.

Contenders: For faves, I love Hogfather, Witches Abroad (because you never forget your first), and surprisingly enough, Eric. That one was the first Rincewind book I really enjoyed and I loved all the bits in hell. For unfaves, I have to go with Jingo and Pyramids, which was very forgettable.

I've got a few that don't sit well with me, that I will catalog as "undecided", like Wintersmith because Tiffany didn't really seem all that much like Tiffany, The Fifth Elephant because it always seems difficult to read, and the first few Rincewind books, which don't have the characters as being as fleshed out as they become in later books, therefore they always seem so inconsistent with how I know them in my head.

Geez, I hope I didn't ramble too much. ^_^!

I'm finding it really interesting to see which one everyone picks as their least favorite,
I hope we get a lot more postings!

-CD

Favorite: Hogfather, possibly just because it was my first, but especially because of Death.

Least favorite: Eric - I did like the parts in Hell, but I was comparing them to Dante. I haven't read Faust yet.

I liked The Color of Magic a novel of Discworld because it was an intro, it was also my first Rincewind and Luggage book, whom I love. Lords and Ladies also is very high up there, probably right after Hogfather.

My favorite Discworld novel is Going Postal! I used to write lots of letters to pen pals, so I love the mail that wants to be read. I think it is a really good read for people new to Discworld.

I don't have a least favorite that I can remember right now.

Favourite is pretty hard. At the moment I'd go with "Thud", just because of how timely the story was. Plus I think his darker work is the stuff that we'll be talking about in fifty years' time.

Least favourite is easy. "Making Money" doesn't just suck, it blows. Surely to Gods PTerry didn't actually write that one?!

Making Money wasn't that bad... worst has got to be Monstrous Regiment -- shoulda had a pink lacey cover...

Fav: anything with Rincewind in it, he's my favorite character, followed closely by Granny Weatherwax. Also the books that deal with religion. I love when Om is trying to strike people down, but all he can manage is the equivalent of a static shock!

Least fav: Mort and Moving Pictures. Sourcery was also not one of my favs.

#21 Awww, I just read Moving Pictures and thought my gut would bust I was laughing so hard! I love classic films and the parallels were hilarious. My favorite part was the 50' woman climbing the tower with the ape in her hand.

MrsLee, there were plenty of laugh out loud parts, but like others said, it just felt forced. I especially loved Gaspode, the talking dog.

Favourite: normally one of the witches books, I love granny weatherwax- I'll say Wyrd Sisters

Least:Probably Making Money, just seemed identical to Going Postal(which I did like)

My favourite is Small Gods, I think. Could be a contender for this group's favourite, that one.

My least favourite is probably The Colour of Magic. It was my first one and I got very confused. It wasn't as funny as it could have been. If I hadn't read Mort a week later, I might not be here now.

I have very fond memories of reading Moving Pictures while lying on my bed, my feet up against the wall, only to read about how Victor was doing the exact same thing. I thought it was a very funny book myself. I also must defend Eric. I thought it was great.

My Favorite would have to be Jingo or Witches Abroad.

Least Favorite would be hmmmm Mort.

My favorite is Mort, although I loved Eric. Both of them had me laughing out loud over and over again.

Least favorite was Colour of Magic. I'm glad I kept going after that one, because I liked it all right, but not enough that normally I would have bothered reading any more by him, if I hadn't read Going Postal first and enjoyed that one.

My favorite is probably Thud or Night Watch; I'm a HUGE Vimes fan.

Least favorite would be The Color of Magic.

Message edited by its author, Apr 8, 2008, 8:38am.

I really liked Monstrous Regiment, but my fav is probably Soul Music, probably because it was my first but I like Last Continent and Hogfather too.

My least fav is Jingo, I had to start reading it 3 times before I got through it, and I've never revisited it (i've read most of the others at least twice) I don't think I got it.

Fave would be a toss up between Men at Arms and Witches Abroad I really cant decide between the two.

Least Fave would have to be Mort I found it really hard going. Not sure why but I did.

I'm adding Soul Music to my least favorites. I thought it had the same problem as Moving Pictures, it tried too hard. Still funny it parts, just not the best.

Caspette, how can you dislike Mort?! And enough to list it twice?

It's the one I always used to give people as a gateway into the series. How can anyone resist "Death comes to us all. When he came to Mort, he offered him a job."?!!

Joanna: I didn't really like Mort. I like DEATH and all, but I just didn't find Mort (the character) or the story very compelling.

My favorite would have to be Small Gods. My upbringing, education, and past work in churches makes this one a classic for me that I re-read often.

My least favorite would probably be Monstrous Regiment. Out of the 35 or so Pratchett books I own, there are very few that I haven't re-read at least once. This is the only one where I felt that even one read was a waste of time.

My fave (and it does change, but I'm going with the one that came to me first) is Thud.

My least favourite is Monstrous Regiment - the only one I've never re-read.

I've just finished re-reading Night watch, so that's my favourite (until I pick up the next Discworld book anyway...)

Least favourite - probably the colour of magic. It takes a few books for the characters and the settings to take on a life of their own.

My Fave is Interesting Times, and I also really like Hogfather, Small Gods and all the Guard novels.

Least favourite Maskerade and Sourcery

My Favorite at the moment has to be The Truth

My least favorite is Moving Pictures only because I had to pick one and that was the only one I can't recall all that well. I'll have to read it again soon.

Fav Soul Music as a former dj and all-around music lover, I just kept reading to see what would be referenced next...

Bud y Holley
a deaf Leopard
he looks "elvish"

I really don't have a least...
but I guess I'd have to say Wintersmith it's the only one that I couldn't get into and didn't finish (but I plan to go back and do so)

I'm ashamed at how long it took me to get the "elvish" reference. *blush*

Favorite would be Interesting Times - the picture in my head of Rincewind traveling from place to place 'like on a huge rubber band' had me in stitches for days.

Least would be Moving Pictures. Hollyweird doesn't interest me at all.

Favorite: Reaper Man today. Hogfather,Small Gods or any of the Watch books tomorrow.

Least: Eric would have been a lock, but I listened to it while commuting and enjoyed it much more than I remembered liking the book.

So MonsterousRegiment it is. Couldn't get all the way through it a second time-- the only Pratchett I can say that about.

On the basis of what I seem to go back to most often I'd say Maskarade is probably my favourite - I love the way the publishing industry gets it in the neck, and the arts and it's got the witches on good form.

Least favourite without a doubt has to be Monstrous Regiment because it just played it's one idea on for too long. Perhaps it could have stood as a short story or a sub-plot in something else but as a book to itself... no.

Favourite so far: Small Gods, closely followed by Reaper Man, Soul Music and Lords and Ladies. And any of the witch novels :)

Least favourite so far: Interesting Times but that's probably because I read it in German and lots of the jokes just got lost during the process of translation. Closely followed by Thief of Time which kept dragging on and on and on...