A year ago today the world lost a literary giant. Terry Pratchett died following a battle against Alzheimers. He was my favorite author, is my favorite author. I spent hours trying to write this post. A year ago I wasn't ready to lose him, even though I knew it was coming.

All I have to offer are his own words from Going Postal "Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?"

Terry Pratchett, Terry Pratchett, Terry Pratchett.

So Donna Andrews is one of my favs. I knew that going into this reread. I sped through her books, 18 in 9 days. I should have posted this yesterday, but it was my birthday and I was busy stuffing cupcakes in my face. They were delicious.

Megs Langslow is badass, she's a woman working in what is primarily a mans job, and she is hella organized and talented. She has a huge sprawling family, and they are all written magnificently. She starts off single and gains a boyfriend, a house, dogs, llamas and chickens and kids as the series goes on. The characters are well written and the inter family drama is so real.

The books have a running bird theme, peacocks, penguins, puffins, parrots, owls and ducks all make an appearance. My favourite bird of the series is the wrought iron flamingos of book three, the only book where the bird involved isn't walking, running or flying through the pages. I just love the idea of hard core lawn flamingos.

Meg is smart, and picks up small details like a boss, she has a mind for trivia and isn't afraid to open her mouth about what she knows. She cares about the people around her and the communities she finds herself in. It's nice to watch her learn and grow through out the series.

I deeply recommend reading the series. 10/10 

Had a tiny hitch with my first big read.

Mostly, my cat has great taste, and I'm not on book 14 of the series.

So instead of just doing the first book, I'm gonna read the whole thing.

There's only 17 books after all, so I'm almost there.

You can check out the series over view and the individual books over at goodreads. 

It's March!

YAY it's March! That means it time to start reading some murder mysteries!!!

I switched things up for my first big read this month. Because I am a crazy cat lady and my cat is adorable, when she demanded my attention and then pointedly grabbed one of my books of the shelf, I decided that obviously that book should be my first big read.

Amelia (that's the cat) has excellent taste and has chosen Murder With Peacocks by Donna Andrews. You can check it out at goodreads. It's the first book in the Meg Langslow series. Meg Langslow is a blacksmith headed into what looks like a crazy busy summer. She is maid of honor in three different weddings, and all of the brides have dumped planning things into her lap. When a nasty lady runs her mouth and then ends up dead, suddenly Meg has a lot more in her lap than just weddings.

The series is one I collect, so maybe I'll swing a reread of all the books.

Ok so February is at an end, so fantasy month is over.

I had a great month of reading, with 23 books, making my total so far 57 books!

I had a couple outstanding reads that I want to shout out.

 Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs  check it out at goodreads. 
Sweep in Peace by Illona Andrews check it out at goodreads 


As always when it comes to fantasy, these are my favourite authors: Terry Pratchett, Guy Gavriel Kay, Neil Gaiman, Kelley Armstrong and Patricia Briggs.


Next month is Mystery March! I switched it up a little for my first read, in that my cat got my attention and then determinedly pulled a book on my shelf, so I'm using it as my first big read of the month, since it was a mystery. It's a little crazy cat lady, but I only have 2 cats, so while the crazy fits, the cat lady doesn't yet.

Februarys final big read

I chose to reread The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett. Check it out over at goodreads. I have so much emotion bound up in this book. It's Pratchetts last, and as with any loved thing, I'm not ready for it to be over.  I laughed, I cried, I laughed while crying, I made undignified noises and a pile of snot and tear filled kleenex.  I basically started crying at the dedication and stopped at the end of the book.

This book is about the ending of things, and moving beyond endings to to fill the spaces left behind. Tiffany Aching finds herself with big boots to fill as she steps up as the official  unofficial head witch. Witches don't have leaders, but if they did, that leader was Granny Weatherwax, who chose Tiffany to take over after her death. Tiffany also takes on the discs first male witch apprentice. She is juggling two steadings (areas that she personally attends to as a witch), a long distance relationship, the loss of a mentor and a bunch of fairies trying to take over the world.

Pratchett writes his fairies beautifully. They are not the tiny colorful sprites of Disney. In an earlier book, he describes them thusly: "Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder. Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels. Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies. Elves are glamorous. They project glamour. Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment. Elves are terrific. They beget terror." Pratchett uses the terms fairies for his Tiffany Aching books, which are young adult books, and Elves for his adult discworld books.

This book was actually left unfinished, and was lovingly turned into a full novel by Rob Willkins. You can definitely see it in comparison to Pratchetts other work. It is stretched thin in some places and some spots are oddly flat. It is still an amazing novel. It is in the running for the Carnegie medal, which is the oldest running award for children's books in the United Kingdom .

I love this book. I loved it when I first read it and I shall love it equally 50 years from now when I reread it for the final time. I deeply recommend it, as I do all of his books. 10/10

Last big read for the month

I chose my last big read. I'll be rereading The Shepherds Crown by Terry Pratchett. Check it out at goodreads. I sobbed my way through it after it was published. I'll probably sob my way through it again. But that's ok. I have a letter, from Terry Pratchett himself, telling me that it is totally ok to cry while reading.

Terry Pratchett has been my favorite author since I was 15. He was the bestselling author of the Discworld series, as well as Good Omens (with Neil Gaiman), the Bromeliad Trilogy, The Long Earth series, the Johnny Maxwell series, and co-author of over 20 Discworld companion books. The Shepherds Crown is the fifth book in the Tiffany Aching series of Discworld books, and the 41st Discworld book.

It's always hard, losing someone you love, at least we have the Disc to remember him by.