It’s not a Discworld joke unless you read it, don’t parse it as a joke, and then carry on with your life for ten years until someone stops you to say something like “It’s a pavlovian response because the dog ate a pavlova” and you scream Terry’s name with enough indignant rage you hope it rattles the pillars of the multiverse so wherever his soul is he’ll hear it.
#shoutout to the one in Soul Music about the leopard that got thrown out of the circus because it couldn't hear the ringmaster#it was several months after my second or third time reading the book that I clocked it was a Deaf Leopard (via @morkaischosen)
Twurp’s Peerage made me throw a book (gently) at a wall.
In the UK, the book of the peerage is called Burke’s Peerage. Burke sounds like berk, which means a silly/annoying person. So Terry took ‘twerp’, another word for a silly or annoying person, and replaced the e with u.
The Book of Silly and Annoying People, based on the real thing with a pun on the name thrown in for good measure.
Latinclass ca. 9th grade: the text we had to translate contained the words trans means "on the other side of" or in german it can be translated to "über/ hinüber". Also silvas; silvanis means "the forest" or in german "der Wald".
Trans silvas very simply translated into german would be über den Wald
Trans silvas -> Transsilvanien -> Überwald
My latin teacher gave me a very weird look as I suddenly facepalmed myself and groaned quietly.
In Carpe Jugulum, Count Magpyr boasts of having helped write the Malleus Maleficarum, along with the Torquus Simiae Maleficarum, the Auriga Clavium Maleficarum, and in fact the entire Arca Instrumentorum.
The Malleus Maleficarum is a very real, very nasty and absolutely batshit insane book from late 15th-century Germany, basically laying out the procedure for catching, torturing, and executing witches. Its title translates to The Hammer of Witches. The other titles are Pratchett's inventions.
Malleus = "hammer"
Torquus Simiae = "monkey wrench"
Auriga Clavium = "bucket of nails"
Arca Instrumentorum = "box of tools"
Monstrous Regiment is named for a pamphlet written by extremely shouty Calvinist and one of the leaders of the new Church of Scotland, John Knox, in the 16th century against all the women getting into positions of power in politics at the time (Liz I, Mary Queen of Scots etc). The document itself is titled "The First Blast of the Trumpet against the monstrous regiment of Women".
In a book about an overbearing and baffling and misogynist God and the heroes being a ragtag regiment of literal women and monsters, I punched the air on that one. The layers of pun are built up like a millefeuille.
(Also, if you read some of the stuff in the actual tract, you can see where Pterry got some of Nuggan's laws, although proceed with caution because it's a vitriolic piece of work)
“The daily routine of most adults is so heavy and artificial that we are closed off to much of the world. We have to do this in order to get our work done. I think one purpose of art is to get us out of those routines. When we hear music or poetry or stories, the world opens up again. We’re drawn in — or out — and the windows of our perception are cleansed, as William Blake said. The same thing can happen when we’re around young children or adults who have unlearned those habits of shutting the world out.”
Is it bad that I feel slightly bad that I keep coming to the library to use its quietness and its desk space and its pleasant atmosphere for writing but I never check out books?
Why would you feel bad? You’re using the library for one of its intended purposes. The desks, WiFi, space etc are LITERALLY there for you to do exactly what you’re doing AND each time you go in you add to the foot traffic numbers that prove hey people are coming in to use our stuff mr. government so keep funding us.
I think it's a bit sad that with more and more public spaces vanishing, people are feeling bad about not "buying" stuff to "earn" their time at a library.
A library is like a park, you're allowed to just. Exist in it.
I check out books every 4 weeks, when the learning period from my current books is up, but I go much more frequently with my kid to just sit there and read to them, and that's okay. In my school days, we'd go and do our research for presentations there, just reading, never checking out.
So a year or so ago, we added some new desklets at our library, in areas where we noticed that people gravitated to but didn't have the right furnishing to use them in the way they wanted to.
The first few weeks of having the new furniture were absolutely filled with excited librarians whispering to each other, "Look! Someone's using the desklet in the back corner!" and "casually" walking by to enjoy the sight like wildlife researchers who had successfully baited a particularly elusive rare bird. Nobody cared if those people checked anything out or not. There was a need! We saw the need! We filled the need! Hooray!
And you literally pay for the thing! You pay taxes! I’m sure they would want you there regardless and I understand you feel like you have to pay for rent but you very much did already pay for it, that was a thing that happened!
I’ve just realised that my favourite thing about the detective/murder mystery genre, beyond the puzzle elements and ‘who dunnits’, is the lovely big found family my favourite franchises always end up establishing.
Whether it’s Detective Conan, Agatha Christie’s Poirot, Ace Attorney, Ghost Trick, whatever, it’s having THE GANG with you that makes the experience so wonderful. Whether it’s the hapless policemen, a bumbling assistant, or the idiot who’s always getting into trouble, no matter what you have a hardy group of tried and tested friends and pals who you KNOW are always safe. They are never the murderers (with some brilliant exceptions), they will always make you laugh, they will always help out in some way, and they are ALWAYS on your side, helping you uncover the truth and still being your FRIEND and PAL every step of the way.
Robin Hobb is an amazing fantasy writer if anyone wishes to read fantasy that doesn’t have romance at the forefront. I love her style of storytelling, writing a bunch of different POVs from completely different people in different places and tying them all together. I’m just almost finished with Dragon Keeper and let me tell you Robin Hobb is NOT a coward
Spring is almost here (though it feels like it for us on the West Coast) which means all the spring reads are starting to drop. We have a variety of books this week, all which look like fun reads.
Click below to find your next read.
If We Never End by Laura Taylor Namey
Bloomsbury
Sylvie Castellano is used to goodbyes. Every summer, her friends leave to vacation at faraway beaches and her parents jet off to work on a luxury yacht, dumping her with her tia Vivian. Sylvie may love her aunt Viv, but just once, she wishes the summer held a big adventure for her, too.
When Sylvie scores the thrift find of a lifetime-a vintage gold watch worth thousands-she thinks maybe her luck is turning around. Then a turn of the watch’s dial summons a ghost boy. With no idea who he is or why he’s attached to the watch, and only his name to go off of-Penn-Sylvie offers to help him unravel the mystery of his death.
Sylvie’s summer is suddenly full of road trips, beach bonfires, and ferris wheel rides as she and Penn try to piece together the life he lost. But soon, Sylvie begins to imagine a future together-a future they can never have. Then a devastating discovery brings everything crashing down. The watch’s secrets extend far beyond Penn, and it’s not only Sylvie’s heart at risk, but her life.
Estela, Undrowning by René Peña-Govea
Quill Tree Books
Estela Morales is one of the only Latinas who tested into San Francisco’s most exclusive public high school. In her senior year, Estela just wants to keep her head down, eke out a passing grade from her racist Spanish teacher, and get into her dream college.
But after placing second in the Latiné Heritage Poetry Contest behind a non-Latino student, Estela is thrust into citywide debates about merit, identity, and diversity.
Things only get messier when her family is threatened with eviction. As Estela’s friends organize against bigotry and her landlady increases the pressure, Estela is suffocating and finds release only in poetry and in a breathless new romance. When tensions finally reach their breaking point, Estela must find a way to undrown the community she loves—and herself.
The Dragon and the Sun Lotus (The Three Realms #2) by Amélie Wen Zhao
Delacorte Press
A decade ago, the Kingdom of Night began the war against the Kingdom of Rivers, ravaging the lands and releasing mó—beautiful, ravenous demons—to roam free, drinking the souls of mortals. Now the mó have made it beyond the magical wards of the immortal realm—the Kingdom of Sky—and will not stop until the entire world falls to darkness.
Àn’yīng is determined to banish the mó to their realm and return the mortal realm to peace. But a stunning betrayal has turned the tides of this war: Her handsome rival from the Immortality Trials and the man she was falling in love with, Yù’chén, is now the enemy. Yù’chén is half mó, his mother none other than Sansiran, the Demon Queen of the Kingdom of Night . . . and the monster responsible for killing Àn’yīng’s father.
There is one hope for the future, though. The boy in the jade—Àn’yīng’s lifelong mystery guardian and heir to the last mortal Emperor—Hào’yáng. Àn’yīng and Hào’yáng must join forces to rally an army that stretches across realms, from the Four Seas of the Dragons to the Phoenixes of the Golden Desert. But first, Àn’yīng must awaken to the immortal power slumbering in her own veins.
Ramin Abbas Has MAJOR Questions by Ahmad Saber
Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
Ramin Abbas has spent his whole life obeying his parents, his Imam, and, of course, Allah—no questions asked. But when he starts crushing on the ridiculously handsome captain of the soccer team, so many things he’d always been so sure about are becoming questions:
1. Music is haram. But what if the Wicked soundtrack is the only thing keeping you sane because you’re being forced to play on the soccer team? With Captain Handsome?!
2. A boy crush is double haram, and Ramin’s parents will never accept it. But can he really be the only Muslim on Earth who feels this way?
3. Allah is merciful and makes no mistakes. Then isn’t Ramin just the way Allah intended him to be?
And so why should living your truth but losing everything—or living a lie and losing yourself—have to be a choice?!
She Drinks the Light by Yasmin Angoe
Feiwel & Friends
Addae has spent her whole life on the Golden Isle, a private island off the coast of South Carolina that has been in her family for centuries. Island residents don’t really fraternize with mainlanders, and for good reason. Golden Isle was founded by the Kinfolk, descendants—including Addae and her Nana Ama, the island matriarch—of escaped enslaved Black people.
But the Isle and the Kinfolk have secrets that must be protected from the outside world. Secrets of spirituality, mythology that are deeply rooted in their West African culture, beliefs, and traditions. The Kin are bound to protect the Golden Isle and, in turn, it protects them.
When Addae’s best friend Naria goes missing and one of the Kin turns up drained of blood, Addae’s way of life is threatened. It looks like the work of the Adze, West African supernatural beings that drink human blood in order to survive—also known as vampires.
Believing Naira is alive, Addae travels to the mainland. But as Addae gets closer to finding Naria, she uncovers deep secrets about Nana Ama’s past, and about her own… secrets that could change how she feels about the Golden Isle and her lineage.
Torn between two worlds, Addae will have to decide how far she is willing to go—and who she is willing to cross—to save her best friend, and even herself.
When I Was Death by Alexis Henderson
G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Roslyn isn’t herself anymore. It’s been a year since her sister, Adeline, died under mysterious circumstances, and Roslyn is still tormented by her absence. So when the elusive caravan of girls that Adeline spent her last summer with rolls back into town, Roslyn joins them to finally figure out what happened to her sister.
Strange, beautiful, and intriguing, the girls are closed off from the world. And as it turns out, they’re brought together by a force more sinister than Roslyn’s nightmares could’ve conjured up: Death himself.
Death has spared the girls from untimely endings, and to pay for their lives, the girls travel the country reaping souls on his behalf. Now Roslyn must decide if finding closure is worth the price of striking the same deal.
The Oks Are Not OK by Grace K. Shim
Kokila
Seventeen-year-old Elena Ok (pronounced “Oak”) has mastered the art of being both a Los Angeles party girl and financially savvy influencer, but her family doesn’t see the brilliance behind her carefully curated image. Instead, they endlessly praise her older brother, Gavin, whose most impressive achievement is consistently forgetting his homework. All of Elena’s hard work and social clout disintegrates when the Oks, founders of the wildly popular (and now bankrupt) fast-fashion brand It’s Ok! (pronounced “OKAY”), lose their fortune overnight.
With their empire crumbling and an investigation underway, the Oks flee to Blaire, CA—a farming town that’s as glamorous as Temu. Mr. Ok, a now-disgraced retail mogul, and Mrs. Ok, a now-also-disgraced fashion-forward matriarch, realize they’ve spent decades perfecting their public personas at the expense of actually knowing their kids. Meanwhile, Elena and Gavin are stuck in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to distract them from their family’s unraveling dynamics—or each other’s annoying habits.
But life in Blaire isn’t all bad. As the family reconnects with their Korean farming heritage, Elena discovers a hidden gem: the Blaire Fair, the local market brimming with untapped potential. Applying her business savvy, she helps the small-town vendors thrive and sees how they put their profits back into the community. For the first time, Elena begins to question her own definition of success.
The Oks Are Not OK offers humor and drama to tell a story about family, self-discovery, and the fine line between building a brand and building a life.
"but you have to keep living!!" how about you let me live in peace without questioning my mask all the time? how about you let people live instead of alter their existence or stop it completely by letting deadly viruses spread?
as always when i need to vent, it turned into a perzine. it took me forever to make this one because it's digital so of course the opportunity to edit, edit, edit, doubt what i'm saying and how i'm saying it, was too tempting. but i'm throwing it into the world it's a blog post but in zine form (blog posts are actually zine contents put online to me and it's very 2026 to phrase it as if the analog was the one copying the digital ik ik)
a zine about covid, masking, and live since 2020
free digital copy here you can download to read or print it: https://ko-fi.com/s/edb5bc7958
read in browser: https://starkittyzines.itch.io/but-you-have-to-keep-living-zine (doesn't work great on smartphones)
get a physical copy here: https://ko-fi.com/s/a463c85c78
Genuinely, one of the measures that's stopped book banning the most when districts implement it, is having the would-be banners fill out a form that demonstrates if they've read the book or not. Like where they have the summarize the plot and characters and do a mini book report and give a review. It stops them in their tracks. This is why in my high school, every time someone wanted to ban a book it ended up going nowhere. There was one where a conservative student wanted to ban the manga "Legal Drug" for having a marijuana leaf on the cover, then got the form that required them to actually read and either balked, or read it and realized it was not pro-drug at all.
(The other one that reduces book bans even further is "requiring the would-be banner to be affiliated with this actual school in some way, either by being a student, faculty/staff or a parent of a child at the school" because the vast majority of bans are "activists" with no affiliation with the school who just travel around trying to do this in districts all over the U.S. IIRC a few years ago someone crunched the numbers and just 51 parents were responsible for all the book bans that year nationally. 51! In a country with 50 states, with over 300 million people total!)
Genuinely, one of the measures that's stopped book banning the most when districts implement it, is having the would-be banners fill out a form that demonstrates if they've read the book or not. Like where they have the summarize the plot and characters and do a mini book report and give a review. It stops them in their tracks. This is why in my high school, every time someone wanted to ban a book it ended up going nowhere. There was one where a conservative student wanted to ban the manga "Legal Drug" for having a marijuana leaf on the cover, then got the form that required them to actually read and either balked, or read it and realized it was not pro-drug at all.
(The other one that reduces book bans even further is "requiring the would-be banner to be affiliated with this actual school in some way, either by being a student, faculty/staff or a parent of a child at the school" because the vast majority of bans are "activists" with no affiliation with the school who just travel around trying to do this in districts all over the U.S. IIRC a few years ago someone crunched the numbers and just 51 parents were responsible for all the book bans that year nationally. 51! In a country with 50 states, with over 300 million people total!)
"I didn’t say she was beautiful.”
“All women are beautiful,” said Istvhan, dismissing this. “It is the job of their lovers to make them feel that way if they do not already.”
how well known is it in the wider culture RN that there's a whole trilogy of sequels to His Dark Materials?
was talking to a friend about HDM a while back and realised they had no idea the sequel trilogy existed & it's struck me that i feel like i never see anyone talking about them outside of the circle of die hard HDM fans. are they passing people by or are people just not very interested? im curioius!
in fan circles the trilogy has been Hotly Anticipated since uhh i think around 2006-7? originally it was gonna be just 1 further book called The Book of Dust but evidently it grew legs
There really really ought to be a book about how the staple crops of different civilizations shape and influence those civilizations, and I really want to read it.
Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky and A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage (three are alcohol, three have caffeine) are not quite that, but may still be of interest?
I read Salt back in the day and it's so so good, second the rec. I have heard of 6 Glasses and not read it but I am sure I would probably love it. Gotta see if the library has it. Thank you!
A Short History Of The World According To Sheep by Sally Coulthard blew my mind. So many things are tied to wool and sheep and weaving and so many words and phrases are tied to wool, people have no idea.
Example words which come from textiles/weaving, if not specifically wool (go look them up!): subtle, shoddy, tabby, Brazil, rocket, twit, warped, going batty, on tenterhooks, text...
I'll throw in a rec for Pickled, Potted, and Canned by Sue Shephard - a very interesting look at food preservation and how the availability of different types of food preservation shaped cultures and cuisines.
The Lost Supper: Searching for the Future of Food in the Flavors of the Past might also be up your alley. It's about "forgotten" foods and staples. They talk about different types of wheat, sauces, veggies, etc and a little about the cultures from whence they come
DO I HAVE A SERIES FOR YOU. University of California Press has a gift for you and it is a 80+ book series on food studies. There are even some that are open access (legally free), but the rest are in libraries.
I also highly recommend Frostbite by Nicola Twilley. It’s about the impact refrigeration has had/is having on food preservation and culture, globally. It was one of my favorite books of this last year.
dededos
kianamaiart
turnnoffyourmind
prguitarman
annaxmalina
