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So, after I wrote that last post about Flannery, I fully intended to stand up, take the book and put it back on the bookshelf (literally).  But then I thought … well, I had originally intended to read both A Good Man and Everything That Rises Must Converge … and if I put it back now I may not pick it up again in a long time … and maybe I liked her more than I originally thought … so perhaps I should just plow through and read it now.  (Can we say Completion Issues? )  So I went ahead and read Everything That Rises last week.

And while I liked it a lot, perhaps more than A Good Man, I also noticed a definite drop in my mood.  Tragic & seemly senseless violence factors large in her stories, and it can bring one down if you read too many too fast.  Don’t get me wrong – they are good, in that same well-crafted, rattle your heart & brain kind of way, but also a bit of of a downer.

So J says, maybe you should read something happy — like Pratchett.

Ahhhh, I feel much better now 🙂

I’ve been purposefully stretching his books out to make them last.  I think there are 30 books in his Discworld series, and I only read 2-3 at a time (in order of course – this is me we are talking about!), and then wait a couple of months before reading any more. If you are unfamiliar – the series has a set of characters that he will jump between … one book will feature one character, who might make a cameo in the next book that focuses on someone else, but they are also written so that each is a self-contained story and doesn’t require prior knowledge to enjoy each on their own.  They are found in the stores under Fantasy, and they are a bit of a satire (some more heavy handed than others) of politics, religion, human behavior, etc. And they are quite funny.  If you think puns are funny.  Which I admit I do.  Also the footnotes make me laugh out loud.

Per Wiki, he’s now the 2nd best-read author in the UK, and while some of you may dislike him for reasons similar to the 1st best-read UK author, I found him to be a perfect choice for today’s lazy Sunday afternoon.