A Slip of the Keyboard

Author: Terry Pratchett
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0385538332
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 295

Book Description
A collection of essays and other non fiction from Terry Pratchett, spanning the whole of his writing career from his early years to the present day. Terry Pratchett has earned a place in the hearts of readers the world over with his bestselling Discworld series -- but in recent years he has become equally well-known and respected as an outspoken campaigner for causes including Alzheimer's research and animal rights. A Slip of the Keyboard brings together for the first time the finest examples of Pratchett's non fiction writing, both serious and surreal: from musings on mushrooms to what it means to be a writer (and why banana daiquiris are so important); from memories of Granny Pratchett to speculation about Gandalf's love life, and passionate defences of the causes dear to him. With all the humour and humanity that have made his novels so enduringly popular, this collection brings Pratchett out from behind the scenes of the Discworld to speak for himself -- man and boy, bibliophile and computer geek, champion of hats, orangutans and Dignity in Dying. Snuff was the bestselling adult hardcover novel of 2011. A Blink of the Screen, Terry's short fiction collection, was also one of the bestselling hardcovers of 2012.

A Slip of the Keyboard

Author: Terry Pratchett
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1448126975
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 314

Book Description
Terry Pratchett in his own words With a foreword by Neil Gaiman Terry Pratchett earned a place in the hearts of readers the world over with his bestselling Discworld series – but in recent years he became equally well-known as an outspoken campaigner for causes including Alzheimer’s research and animal rights. A Slip of the Keyboard brings together the best of Pratchett’s non fiction writing on his life, on his work, and on the weirdness of the world: from Granny Pratchett to Gandalf’s love life; from banana daiquiris to books that inspired him; from getting started as a writer to the injustices that he fought to end. With his trademark humour, humanity and unforgettable way with words, this collection offers an insight behind the scenes of Discworld into a much loved and much missed figure – man and boy, bibliophile and computer geek, champion of hats, orang-utans and the right to a good death.

Shaking Hands With Death

Author: Terry Pratchett
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1473540461
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 38

Book Description
Why we all deserve a life worth living and a death worth dying for ‘Most men don’t fear death. They fear those things – the knife, the shipwreck, the illness, the bomb – which precede, by microseconds if you’re lucky, and many years if you’re not, the moment of death.’ When Terry Pratchett was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in his fifties he was angry - not with death but with the disease that would take him there, and with the suffering disease can cause when we are not allowed to put an end to it. In this essay, broadcast to millions as the BBC Richard Dimblebly Lecture 2010 and previously only available as part of A Slip of the Keyboard, he argues for our right to choose - our right to a good life, and a good death too.

A Blink of the Screen

Author: Terry Pratchett
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0385538316
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Book Description
A collection of short fiction from Terry Pratchett, spanning the whole of his writing career from schooldays to Discworld and the present day. In the four decades since his first book appeared in print, Terry Pratchett has become one of the world's best-selling and best-loved authors. Here for the first time are his short stories and other short-form fiction collected into one volume. A Blink of the Screen charts the course of Pratchett's long writing career: from his schooldays through to his first writing job on the Bucks Free Press, and the origins of his debut novel, The Carpet People; and on again to the dizzy mastery of the phenomenally successful Discworld series. Here are characters both familiar and yet to be discovered; abandoned worlds and others still expanding; adventure, chickens, death, disco and, actually, some quite disturbing ideas about Christmas, all of it shot through with Terry's inimitable brand of humour. With an introduction by Booker Prize-winning author A.S. Byatt, illustrations by the late Josh Kirby and drawings by the author himself, this is a book to treasure.

The World of Poo

Author: Terry Pratchett
Publisher: Doubleday
ISBN: 0385538251
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 134

Book Description
'Bestselling, fedora-sporting, multi award-winning Knight of the Realm, creator of worlds and one of the most popular British authors on the planet, Terry Pratchett is not so much a writer as a one-man publishing phenomenon who has single-handedly re-shaped the world of fantasy fiction....satirised everything from religion to Hollywood, been adapted for stage and screen and proven beyond all doubt that a wizard's staff does indeed have a knob on the end.' SFX's Outstanding Contribution Award From Snuff: 'Vimes' prompt arrival got a nod of approval from Sybil, who gingerly handed him a new book to read to Young Sam. Vimes looked at the cover. The title was The World of Poo. When his wife was out of eyeshot he carefully leafed through it. Well, okay, you had to accept that the world had moved on and these days fairy stories were probably not going to be about twinkly little things with wings. As he turned page after page, it dawned on him that whoever had written this book, they certainly knew what would make kids like Young Sam laugh until they were nearly sick. The bit about sailing down the river almost made him smile. But interspersed with the scatology was actually quite interesting stuff about septic tanks and dunnakin divers and gongfermors and how dog muck helped make the very best leather, and other things that you never thought you would need to know, but once heard somehow lodged in your mind...'

The Long War

Author: Terry Pratchett
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062067788
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 333

Book Description
The Long War by legendary author and Discworld creator Terry Pratchett and award-winning science fiction novelist Stephen Baxter follows the adventures and travails of heroes Joshua Valiente and Lobsang in an exciting continuation of the extraordinary journey begun in the New York Times bestseller The Long Earth. War has come to the Long Earth.... Humankind has spread across the new worlds opened up by stepping, which Joshua and Lobsang explored a mere decade ago. Now "civilization" flourishes, and fleets of airships link the multiple Earths through exploration, trade, and culture. Humankind is shaping the Long Earth, but in turn the Long Earth is shaping humankind. A new America that has christened itself "Valhalla" has emerged more than a million steps from the original Datum Earth. And like the American revolutionaries of old, the Valhallans resent being controlled from afar by the Datum government. In the intervening years, the song of the trolls—graceful, hive-mind humanoids—has suffused the Long Earth. But in the face of humankind's inexorable advance, they are beginning to fall silent . . . and gradually disappear. Joshua, now married and a father, is summoned by Lobsang. It seems that he alone can confront the perfect storm of crises that threatens to plunge all of the Long Earth into war. A war unlike any that has been waged before... The full list of books in the Long Earth series include: The Long Earth The Long War The Long Mars The Long Utopia The Long Cosmos

Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes

Author: Rob Wilkins
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1473568943
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 488

Book Description
WINNER OF THE 2023 LOCUS AWARD FOR NON-FICTION WINNER OF THE BRITISH SCIENCE FICTION ASSOCIATION AWARD FOR BEST NON-FICTION 'Always readable, illuminating and honest. It made me miss the real Terry.' - Neil Gaiman 'Sometimes joyfully, sometimes painfully, intimate . . . it is wonderful to have this closeup picture of the writer's working life.' - Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Observer -------- At the time of his death in 2015, award-winning and bestselling author Sir Terry Pratchett was working on his finest story yet - his own. The creator of the phenomenally bestselling Discworld series, Terry Pratchett was known and loved around the world for his hugely popular books, his smart satirical humour and the humanity of his campaign work. But that's only part of the picture. Before his untimely death, Terry was writing a memoir: the story of a boy who aged six was told by his teacher that he would never amount to anything and spent the rest of his life proving him wrong. For Terry lived a life full of astonishing achievements: becoming one of the UK's bestselling and most beloved writers, winning the prestigious Carnegie Medal and being awarded a knighthood. Now, the book Terry sadly couldn't finish has been written by Rob Wilkins, his former assistant, friend and now head of the Pratchett literary estate. Drawing on his own extensive memories, along with those of the author's family, friends and colleagues, Rob unveils the full picture of Terry's life - from childhood to his astonishing writing career, and how he met and coped with what he called the 'Embuggerance' of Alzheimer's disease. A deeply moving and personal portrait of the extraordinary life of Sir Terry Pratchett, written with unparalleled insight and filled with funny anecdotes, this is the only official biography of one of our finest authors. -------- 'Spins magic from mundanity in precisely the way Pratchett himself did.' - Telegraph 'As frank, funny and unsentimental as anything its subject might have produced himself.' - Mail on Sunday

The Folklore of Discworld

Author: Terry Pratchett
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1407034243
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 514

Book Description
NOW UPDATED to include material on the Discworld books up to Raising Steam. Most of us grow up having always known to touch wood or cross our fingers, and what happens when a princess kisses a frog or a boy pulls a sword from a stone, yet sadly some of these things are now beginning to be forgotten. Legends, myths, fairytales: our world is made up of the stories we told ourselves about where we came from and how we got there. It is the same on Discworld, except that beings which on Earth are creatures of the imagination - like vampires, trolls, witches and, possibly, gods - are real, alive and in some cases kicking on the Disc. In The Folklore of Discworld, Terry Pratchett teams up with leading British folklorist Jacqueline Simpson to take an irreverent yet illuminating look at the living myths and folklore that are reflected, celebrated and affectionately libelled in the uniquely imaginative universe of Discworld.

Seriously Funny

Author: Terry Pratchett
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1473541883
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 130

Book Description
‘I’ll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there’s evidence of any thinking going on inside it.’ The most quotable writer of our time, Terry Pratchett’s unique brand of wit made him both a bestseller and an enduring, endearing source of modern wisdom. This collection is filled with his funniest and most memorable words about life, the universe and snoring.

The Discworld Atlas

Author: Terry Pratchett
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1448127327
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 128

Book Description
Unseen University are proud to present the most comprehensive map and guide to the Disc yet produced. In this noble endeavour, drawing upon the hard won knowledge of many great and, inevitably, late explorers, one may locate on a detailed plan of our world such fabled realms as the Condiment Isles, trace the course of the River Kneck as it deposits silt and border disputes in equal abundance on the lands either side, and contemplate the vast deserts of Klatch and Howondaland - a salutary lesson in the perils of allowing ones goats to graze unchecked. This stunning work brings to life the lands and locations of the Discworld stories in a way never seen before. Accompanied by lavish full-colour illustrations and a detailed world map, this is a must-have for any Discworld fan.