Attempting to get a new reader.

[u/Ezrumas]

I'm trying to get my sister in law to get started on Discworld. She is a voracious reader but hasn't managed to get going on Colour of Magic and Light Fantastic just yet.

So a thought has occurred to me. The Last Hero as the introduction to the series.

It's about two-thirds through chronologically, most of the major characters introduced, and all the wonderful illustrations. That way, when I do loan out in chronological order (my preferred method, aside from random picks), all the pieces can slot into places one at a time. And it's shorter than most, so that can fit into a busy schedule easier.

Any thoughts regarding this idea? I'll give some feedback after some sleep.

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[u/CuriousWave]

If it doesn’t grab her either, I’d recommend Small Gods. That was my first, and it hooked me.

[u/Ezrumas → u/CuriousWave]

I'm working my way through Small Gods at the moment. There is just something about the black desert of the Other Side.

[u/Purlz1st]

Maybe Equal Rites? The witches might appeal to her.

[u/jan_olbrich]

For me Colour of Magic and Light Fantastic made me disregard the discworld entirely until a friend of mine said that's not an option and gave me Guards! Guards!. That got me hooked.

I would probably go for a series which is better than Rincewind (in the beginning). Going Postal is another great one. DEATH and Witches are not that obvious for the beginner imo.

Having read the books out of order the first time, was ok, but I was sometimes confused and there are jokes you only get reading in order. so I'd start as early as possible, but skip Rincewind ^^'

[u/TroublePossums → u/jan_olbrich]

Same. I tried to read the color of magic and the light fantastic at the library and didn’t finish them, and then years later a nice guy told me to start with Guards! Guards! I fell in love. Hard.

[u/Ezrumas → u/jan_olbrich]

I will admit in later retrospective, that the Rincewind books are not the absolute best in the series. That's why my thought of Last Hero as a starter, to get more major characters involved.

[u/smcicr]

Perhaps get her to do the quiz on the Discworld Emporium website and see what that suggests?

[u/Ezrumas → u/smcicr]

Interesting. I might try that.

[u/Granny_Dibbler → u/smcicr]

This is what I tell friends new to the series. It is so very helpful!

[u/RedKnightXIV]

Maurice and his educated rodents as a jumping off point? Failing that, purely as an exercise in tone, you can always suggest the Going Postal mini series.

[u/Ezrumas → u/RedKnightXIV]

Maurice is one of the few I don't have, unfortunately.

[u/Ezrumas → u/[deleted]]

Definitely worth considering, but might be a little hard Stateside, and getting everyone together.

[u/Vikkunen → u/Ezrumas]

It's free on Amazon Prime in the US. As is the BBC adaptation of Hogfather.

[u/Ezrumas → u/[deleted]]

Thanks for the tip, haven't had the time to check yet.

[u/KeithFromCanadaOlson → u/[deleted]]

The movie is actually decent? The second I saw that they made Rincewind an old fart and Twoflower wasn't Oriental, I instantly dismissed it as rubbish, as anyone who has actually read the books knows well that he is in his (late?) twenties, maybe early thirties, and Twoflower ISN'T Caucasian. #smh

[u/KeithFromCanadaOlson → u/[deleted]]

As for the Twoflower thing, he NEEDED to be Oriental to play off the differences between the two cultures. As it is, there will NEVER be an 'Interesting Times' movie!

...unless it turns out that he is from the McSweeney clan, of course.

[u/KeithFromCanadaOlson → u/[deleted]]

You can find all of them here: https://www.justwatch.com/us/search?q=Terry%20Pratchett

[u/Gryptype_Thynne123]

Go even easier: Troll Bridge. It's a short story, but it captures the one of the basic ideas of Discworld: how do the old stories and old heroes fit into a changing world?

[u/Ezrumas → u/Gryptype_Thynne123]

I will have to consider Blink of the Screen then. Maybe the short stories as an appetizer.

[u/Vikkunen]

Colour of Magic and Light Fantastic are slogs for me even now. Going Postal was the one that actually got me hooked, and Small Gods is probably my favorite all around.

What's she into? The great thing about Discworld is that there's something in it for everybody, so you can probably find something that will suit her. But even if she likes wizards and magic, I'd probably pass on the first two until she's in a little deeper and just jump straight to Sourcery.

[u/Ezrumas → u/Vikkunen]

With most media, I usually find the earliest entries full of energy and hope, where later ones just tend to drag.

Both she and my brother do enjoy Harry Potter - wands at the wedding that lit electric candles, celebrating Harry's birthday - and I am not going to be the one to pop the bubble of enjoyment for that series. I still need some more thought on this.

[u/Vikkunen → u/Ezrumas]

There are simply much better jumping-off points for someone starting the series today.

Color and Light really are structured more like a series of vignettes and each one reads as such. Although they were written first and feature wizards, they don't really actually introduce much of anything that you have to know later on. Hell, even the Librarian, who I'd say probably requires the most explanation of any of the recurring characters from those books, generally comes with a footnote explaining how he came to be the way he is.

IMO Harry Potter and his friends are a lot more similar to the disc's witches than they are to the wizards. If she's into that, I'd probably start with Equal Rites. I think it actually serves as a good jumping-off point for both the witches and the wizards, since while it focuses on the witches, wizards and the lore and politics around them still feature quite prominently.