The Truth by Terry Pratchett

I have a somewhat potted history with the Discworld series. I love them and even hosted a Terry Pratchett Reading Challenge back in 2010. They make me laugh and I think that Pratchett was just so clever with his observations on life and death, whether you are talking about the big things in life or just the inane. And yet, I have only read the first 9 books in the series, some more than once, plus a couple of other random books here and there, in particular the Industrial books. It's a good 7 years since I read a new Discworld book. And then there is Hogfather.

According to my spreadsheet which I started back in 2005 I first read Hogfather in 2007. In 2021, I listened to the audiobook in the lead up to Christmas, and then I have listened to it every year since. It's become part of my annual Christmas traditions!

Based on that it is probably a bit strange that I chose to listen to The Truth, especially seeing as I generally have a big aversion to reading series out of order, but I did have good reason. My read-on-a-theme bookclubs theme for our February meeting was 25. The Truth is both book 25 in the Discworld series, and was published in the year 2000, which makes it 25 years old! Perfect for the theme!

The Truth is about a man called William de Worde, who accidently becomes the editor of the first newspaper in Ankh-Morpork. He brings together a disparate group of people who become the staff of the newspaper. There are the dwarves who do the typesetting and printing, Sacharissa Cripslock, the woman reporter, Otto the vampire iconographer and more! William is determined that he will share the Truth, but soon the paper brings all kind of attention on him. He also does not want the paper to become just a vehicle for stories about funny shaped vegetables. When Lord Veterinari is accused of a terrible crime, William suddenly finds himself involved in the story rather than just reporting the story. The Watch aren't happy with him, the guilds aren't happy with him. In short, no one is really happy with him!

There are many familiar characters within these pages, from Foul Ole Ron and his friends, to CMOT Dibbler, the Watch and more. Then there are the new characters, in particular the bad guys Mr Pin and Mr Tulip. These are career criminals, and pretty violent ones at that, and yet even then Pratchett manages to give at least one of them some nuance. Mr Tulip is a thug and yet he has a strong appreciation for fine art!

Whilst I did enjoy the story and narration of this book, I must confess that I struggled a bit with getting into the audiobook. I think this is mainly because for the last 4 years I have listened to the audio of Hogfather which is narrated by Sian Clifford, and it took me a while to get used to Matthew Baynton's narration. Fortunately Bill Nighy was still there for the footnotes, and Peter Serafinowicz still made an appearance as DEATH, but he didn't come onto the page until around 75% of the way through the book. I also missed Susan.

My favourite part of the narration of this book was Otto the vampire iconographer. I loved the way that this character was performed, especially the parts where he was taking flash photography and that caused him to disintegrate, having to be revived with a drop of non human blood otherwise he would break his vow of abstinence as part of the black ribbon society (think Alcoholics Anonymous for vampires). It literally made me laugh out loud many times!

As usual, there are the cutting observations of life and death. There is one scene where Death is meeting a character and the character says something along the lines of is this where my life flashes before my eyes and Death responds with this is where how others saw your life flashes before your eyes. So clever.

When I think about all the social commentary in the Discworld books, I can't help wonder what Sir Terry might make of everything going on in the world right now.

My plan is to read or listen to another Discworld book in the next few months. Or if not, I will be very likely to be revisiting Hogfather come December for my next reread/listen.

March Magics is an annual event to celebrate both Diana Wynn-Jones and Terry Pratchett. It is now hosted by Calmgrove Books

This week

I'm reading

It's been a busy reading week with some great reads! It's been a pretty good start to the year with already having read two 5 star books. I only had three 5 star reads all of last year!

I finished The Paris Bookshop for the Brokenhearted by Rebecca Raisin which was my the second of my 5 star reads. My review for this will be up this week. For those playing along at home, the first 5 star read was Midnight in Paris by Gillian Harvey.

I snuck in a non review read, That Island Feeling by Aussie author Karina May. I am going to an author event tomorrow night and I wanted to ensure that I had read her book before I went. It was my first read by her, and I will be reading more as I really enjoyed this one!

Then it was back to review reads where I read The House of Echoes by Alexandra Walsh. I don't read that many Tudor books any more, and I did like this one. You can read my review here!

Finally, I started The Many Futures of Maddy Hart by Laura Pearson. I became an instant fangirl of this author when I read The Beforelife of Eliza Valentine last year so I was always going to read this one. My review for this one will be up next week.

We had our first meeting of our read on a theme bookclub for this year. The theme was "25" which turned out to be quite tricky, but people did a great job of coming up with ideas. Of the three books pictured, two were published in 1925 and the third was recommended as a book that everyone should read before they turn 25. My choice was to listen to the audiobook of The Truth by Terry Pratchett, which was published 25 years ago and is the 25th book in the Discworld series.

The next theme is Classics, and I have already chosen what I am going to read/listen to which will be the audiobook of Pride and Prejudice. I will be starting that later today.

Here is the January update I shared on Insta a couple of days ago. I read 13 books in January, all of them digital. Pictured are the books that I rated as 4.5 or 5 stars. I am still figuring out what else to include in the post for the update. Watch this space.

I'm watching



I ended up finishing The Road Trip, which is the TV adaptation of Beth O'Leary's book of the same name. I liked it.

I am thinking about starting the recent adaptation of Like Water for Chocolate. I haven't started yet but I do like the sound of it. Has anyone watched it?

I also watched the movie Plus One which I thought was a lot of fun. Two friends agree to be each other's plus ones for a series of weddings. Here's the trailer.

Life

We are currently in the middle of three days of extreme heat of over 39C which is over 100F so we are doing as little as possible. We usually only get a day this hot and then it will drop down a bit so three days with this kind of heat is a bit unusual. This is what my weather app said today

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: New to Me Authors in 2024
Book Review: There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
Blog Tour: The House of Echoes by Alexandra Watson

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - February Links
Weekend Cooking: What I Baked in my Kitchen in January

Six Degrees: Dangerous Liaisons to Tomorrow When the War Began


I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date and Sunday Salon hosted at Readerbuzz

This week....

I'm reading

This week I finished reading Summer at the Santorini Bookshop by Rebecca Raisin, which I really enjoyed. I reviewed this last week. 

I also started and finished Invitation to Italy by Victoria Springfield which I will review later in the week. Lets just say that after finishing this book I might have gently mentioned to my husband that we didn't make it to Procida so maybe we should think about going back to Naples. Don't like my chances anytime soon though.

After a few books set in locations like Italy and Greece, I started reading Making Memories at the Cornish Cove by Kim Nash. This is set in Cornwall and is part of the Cornish Cove series. 

I can definitely see an escapist theme in my reading at the moment, which is probably understandable given how stressed I am at work. 

On the audiobook front, I finished Before the Memory Fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi which counts as a bookclub selection. Last week I mentioned that the theme for our next read on a theme bookclub is related to Writers Festivals,  which could be an author you have seen at a festival before or one who is coming to a writers festival soon. I have tickets to see Toshikazu Kawaguchi at Melbourne Writers Festival in May.

Another author who is appearing at Melbourne Writers Festival is Shankari Chandran. I wasn't lucky enough to get tickets to her session. That didn't stop me from starting her latest book Song of the Sun God on audio, which will also count for bookclub. This audio is around 12 hours long which is longer than I have been listening to given that I have such limited listening time. I imagine it is going to take me a couple of months to get through this book.

I'm watching

This week we watched the first episode of a couple of series. We started Three Body Problem and also Nell Renegade. Two very different series.

Continuing on the escapist theme, I also watched My Big Fat Wedding 3. It was entertaining enough but does rely on the same old jokes. I did laugh out loud once.

Life

Like most of Australia, I have been shocked by events in Sydney over the weekend, and I think that this is just another example of events around the world that are affecting my stress levels. Work is very intense and then when you hear of events like this happening it just makes things worse. 

We had a very quiet weekend. The only thing that we did was going to brunch when we did the food shopping. I don't know if not doing anything was just what I needed, or if it gave me too much time to think about things.

Posts from the last week

Blog Tour: Summer at the Santorini Bookshop by Rebecca Raisin

Weekend Cooking: Figolli (Take 2)

Sunday Salon: Historical Fiction Reading Challenge - March statistics

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date

The Naturalist Of Amsterdam by Melissa Ashley

 

I don't know about you, but I am always on the lookout for historical fiction that is something that bit different, whether it be setting, subject or something else. As soon as I heard about this book, I thought it sounded really interesting for a number of reasons, but if I had to pick just one reason then it would be because of my husband's Dutch heritage.

I originally intended to read this mid last year when my read on a theme bookclub chose Science as a theme. However, I realised that it was too early compared to release date so I ended up reading Lessons in Chemistry instead. The theme for our January meeting was a book with a place name in the title.  I must confess I did have about 40 different titles on my Kindle  that would have fit the theme, and that doesn't include any titles with Paris in it, but this was the perfect choice for me!

 

We first meet Dorothea Graff (also known as Dortje or Dort) she is living in a Labatist community. Her mother has moved with her daughters into the religious community, leading to the breakdown of her marriage. It is a very austere life, and the only joy for Dortje is the times when she gets to spend time with her mother assisting with her work.

Her mother, Maria Sybilla Merian, is a famous naturalist, someone who observes nature and then, in Maria's case, creates amazing manuscripts full of detailed paintings and descriptions. Her work is popular and incredibly collectible at the highest levels of society. Dortje grows up assisting her mother, and when Maria decides to travel to Suriname there is no question as to whether she will be her mother's companion. It is a remote and dangerous life, but there is also incredible beauty in the unique plants and creatures that abound.

Whilst Dort loves her life in Suriname, she does wonder if she will ever have an identity of her own, whether she will ever meet an appropriate suitor. When the family returns to Amsterdam, it seems like her time may have come, but sometimes life gets in the way, and soon it becomes clear that not only is she her mother's companion, assistant and student she will be responsible for the protection of her ongoing legacy.

This is not necessarily an easy read. There is lots of details around the insects, about the printing processes and techniques and more. It is a book that feels pretty meaty but for me that was one of the things I loved about it. 

I also love it when you are reading great historical fiction and you find yourself going off to Google to search for information after reading about something and that is what happened with this book. This is especially true give that this book tells the story of real women from history.

I found myself searching for information about things like the Labatists religious community. Another thing that I learnt about was the existence of the Dutch West Indies Company. I feel like I know a bit about the Dutch East Indies Company, particularly given some of the history where Dutch explorers found the West Australian coat, and being involved in Indonesian history and more. I can't say I knew a lot about the Dutch West Indies Company. In a way, I would think it should be more well known given that the Dutch West Indies were responsible for founding New Amsterdam, which in time became New York, but it isn't really.

I also found myself searching for more information about Suriname, as I am not sure I could have said where it was prior to reading this book.

After having read about it in this book, I have added a place to visit next we go to Amsterdam to visit my brother in law and his family, which may be as soon as later this year. Hortus Botanicus is the oldest botannical gardens in the world and I definitely intend to go and explore at some point.

I am so glad that I got to read this book, and I am very interested to explore Melissa Ashley's backlist. It seems as though she rights about fascinating women from history, and I am looking forward to reading more.

I will be sharing this review with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.

Rating 5/5

About the book

Amsterdam, at the turn of the 18th century. For as long as she can remember, Dorothea Graff has lived in service to her mother, Maria Sibyilla Merian, one of the greatest naturalists in Europe. But as she collects insects and colours illustrations for Maria’s world-famous publications, Dorothea longs for a life that is truly her own.

When Maria becomes entranced by the plant and insect life of Suriname, she is determined to record it for herself, taking Dorothea with her. All the family’s savings are ploughed into the dangerous expedition, but greatness is never achieved without sacrifice. The Metamorphosis of the Insects of Suriname will be Maria’s masterpiece, but ensuring its legacy – and her own survival – will become her daughter’s burden. When offered a chance of happiness, will Dorothea have the courage to take it, and risk everything her mother built?

From the jungles of South America to the bustling artists’ studios of Amsterdam, The Naturalist of Amsterdam gives voice to the long-ignored women who shaped our understanding of the natural world – both the artists and those who made their work possible.

Weekend Cooking: Spring Clean for the Peach Queen by Sasha Wasley

This month my read on a theme bookclub theme was "books with a colour in the title", so I chose to read this book, and the added bonus is that the book is good for a Weekend Cooking post.

Charlize Beste is up and coming actress who would probably be about a C-list celebrity, but she has a particular knack of making it look like she is doing much better than she actually is. However, she moves to be more infamous than famous when she is pictured in a compromising position with a famous actor who then dies later that night. The situation is not helped when some artistic semi-nude photos are released in the aftermath.

Charlize's real name is Charlotte Benze, known as Lottie, and given the media attention that she is receiving Lottie decides that it is time to return to her home town of Bonnievale and make some changes in her life. Lottie is going to Marie Kondo her life, getting rid of her phone, all her acting paraphernalia, social media - everything. Unfortunately Lottie's feminist mother is disappointed in her and so the welcome home is less than warm. To be fair, Lottie often feels like she is a disappointment to her mother.

And so it is that Lottie finds herself staying in a run down caravan on the farm that belongs to Angus Brooker. It just so happens that Lottie is the reigning Peach Queen of the town, and Angus was her King. The contest hasn't been run for years though as the town has been going through a really hard time. Years before, the peach trees were infected with disease. For many farmers this meant ripping out all of their orchards, and replanting resistant trees or just walking away. Things are better now, but it has taken a long time for the town to recover.

Whilst on the farm, Lottie helps Angus' mum with her own de-cluttering projects and gradually Lottie learns about the Brooker's life, and also some of their secrets. It soon becomes clear that there is something not quite right with Mrs Brooker.  There are signs of forgetfulness, and Angus is worried that she is going to endanger herself by doing things like leaving the oven on, or leaving the house and getting lost. Angus is glad of the help with his mum, but otherwise he would not be best please with having Lottie around. He has been through a nasty divorce, and he now has a "policy" which basically means that he is avoiding any kind of romantic entanglements.

In the meantime, his well meaning but bossy Aunt Pris has decided that it is a perfect time to reinstate the Peach Queen contest and that Lottie is the perfect person to be the face of the contest, whether she likes it or not. After all, a little bit of scandal will be good for publicity, although publicity is exactly what Lottie is trying to avoid.

This was a really interesting story which covered a lot of subjects from celebrity to the plight of farmers, dementia, de-cluttering and starting over.  The characters were interesting to read about, and I liked the way that each of them were facing up to their issues, and how each of them were able to help the others move forward with whatever their current reality was. I also enjoyed the chemistry and banter between Angus and Lottie. For example, they had a fun game between themselves where they were hiding money that Lottie was trying to give Angus as rent and he was refusing to accept it!

Bonnievale  is based on the town of Donnybrook in the south of Western Australia. I have been there before as my cousin lives and works in the town. It is a town which is build around the fruit farms in the surrounding areas.

So what about food I hear you ask? Obviously there is lots of information about peach farming. Mrs Brooker is also a stereotypical farmer's wife in that she is a fabulous cook. Lottie really isn't,  but soon she is learning all about things like making jam, scones, plum cake and so many more different delicious sounding foods.

I thought I would share a passage from the book because it entertained me

Mrs Brooker and I spent the morning making chutney from some unripe nectarines Angus had brought down.


"Chupney, I called it for many years," she confessed when the diced onions were frying in a pot.

 

"Chupney?" I couldn't help laughing.

She smiled. "Nobody corrected me for ever such a long time. My mother taught me how to make it and I'm still not sure if she simply never noticed I was saying it wrong, or if she thought it was funny and let me be. I was still saying it as an adult, you know. I would make it with my mother-in-law She never said a word about my pronunciation either. It was Pris who broke it to me, in the end."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?

Mrs Brooker tinkled a laugh. "I was writing up the labels and she looked at me and said, "What one earth have you done? You've spelled chutney wrong!" I was confused until she told me in no uncertain terms it was a t, not a p. I didn't believe her at first, but I took a stealthy look at my old CWA cookkbook and my heart sank when I realised she was right. What a blessed fool I must have made of myself for all those years, down at a school fete or in the Progress Association meetings. Why did no one ever tell me?" She shook her head.

Have you got a story about when you have mispronounced something like this?

We are on holidays for the next three weeks so expect some "What We Ate on Holidays" posts coming up!

Weekly meals

Saturday -  Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake

Sunday -  Out for dinner

Monday - Chicken Shwarma

Tuesday - 

Wednesday - Mexican Chicken and Rice

Thursday - Beef Teriyaki Bowls

Friday - Sausages, mash and broccoli

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

Weekend Cooking: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

I know I am very late to the party but I have just finished reading Lessons in Chemistry. This book was voted as best debut novel in the Goodreads Choice Awards in 2021 and it was even a Cook the Books choice earlier this year. I did start reading it then, but review books got in the way so put it to one side.

This month, my read on a theme book club theme was science and so this was my chance to finally read the book. Actually I wasn't the only one to read it as several people in the group chose this book. I also listened to a book called The Botanists Daughter by Kayte Nunn so it was a busy science themed month for me.

So after the good intentions and the false start, what did I think? I really loved it. Once I restarted it again, I read the whole thing in less than 24 hours and I loved it!

Elizabeth Zott is a very unusual for her time. The role of a typical 1960s woman is not for her. Not staying at home to be a housewife, not waiting for her husband to arrive home with dinner on the table. She is first and foremost a scientist, but that is not easy in a world where people, or more precisely the men in charge, don't believe that women have what it takes. She has had to deal with sexism and much worse. She ends up working at Hastings Institute and you better be sure that she isn't going to put up with anyone's rubbish. There she meets fellow scientist Calvin Evans, a man who is destined to win the Nobel Prize. After a rocky start, Elizabeth and Calvin realise that they are destined to be together, and so they build their unconventional life together. 

When tragedy strikes, Elizabeth finds herself out of work and so she sets up a laboratroy in her kitchen so she can continue her important work, even helping out her previous colleagues, for a price. After all, now she is a single parent to her daughter Mad and owner of Six-Thirty the dog. 

Elizabeth knows that it is important to ensure that her daughter's nutritional needs are fully met. She is therefore incensed when she realises that one of her daughter's school friends is eating Mad's carefully planned lunches. She confronts the child's TV producer father who is stunned.  He sees an opportunity to start a cooking show starring Elizabeth. Right from the beginning she is perceived as being difficult as she will not conform to the norms. For example, she insists on wearing a lab coat, and she insists on speaking scientifically. The bosses don't believe that this is what the viewers want to see, but for the women watching it is a breath of fresh air, empowering them one recipe at a time

Meanwhile, we learn about both Calvin and Elizabeth's pasts, about science, rowing, food and so much more. The book is very clever, it is funny and it is also sad. I recommended this book to my former boss and when she finished it she texted me at 7 o'clock in the morning to say that she had cried and it was all my fault. She is not normally a crier at all!

It would be remiss of me not to mention the secondary characters, in particularly Six-Thirty the dog. He is one of the more unusual animal characters in fiction.

I am sure you can tell that I really enjoyed this book, and I am very excited about the upcoming TV series which is due out in October. Here's the teaser trailer:

I thought I would share a quote from the book where Elizabeth is making...well....I am sure you will be able to tell what she is making, although I haven't ever seen it described this way before!

Holding an egg in the palm of her hand, she turned to him. "Here's a tip, Six-Thirty: never crack eggs on the side of a bowl - it increases the chance of shell fragments. Better to bring a sharp, thin knife down on the egg as if you're cracking a whip. See?" she said, as the egg's contents slipped into the bowl.

Six-Thirty watched without blinking.


"Now I'm disrupting the egg's internal bonds in order to elongate the amino acid chain," she told him as she whisked, "which will allow the freed atoms to bond with the other similarly freed atoms. Then I'll reconstitute the mix into a loose whole, laying it on a surface of iron-carbon alloy, where I'll subject it to the precision heat, continually agitating the mix until it reaches a stage of coagulation.

"LaLanne is an animal," Calvin announced as he wandered into the kitchen, his T-shirt damp.

 

"Agreed," Elizabeth said as she took the frying pan off the flame and placed the eggs on two plates. "Because humans are animals. Technically. Although sometimes I think the animals we consider animals are far more advanced than the animals we are but don't consider ourselves to be." She looked to Six-Thirty for confirmation, but even he couldn't parse that one.

I am also sharing this review with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge and with Foodie Reads hosted at Based on a True Story

Weekly meals

Saturday -  

Sunday -  Out for dinner

Monday - 

Tuesday - 

Wednesday - Pork Nachos

Thursday - Thai Red Beef Curry 

Friday - Takeaway

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

This week...

I'm reading...

I haven't made very much progress with the book that I started last week unfortunately. I need to make some time so that I can start the next book ready for next week. The pressure is on!

I did finish listening to Mrs Harris Goes to Paris this week. I decided to try something else before I listen to Mrs Harris Goes To New York. I did have some trouble deciding what to listen to though. I feel like I am very indecisive at the moment. So many choices and yet nothing really calling to me. In the end, I decided to start listening to All This Could be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews. It's pretty different to what I tend to read which could be a good thing...or not.

We had our first bookclub meeting for the year on Saturday. Out next theme for the next meeting is books that have been adapted for the screen, whether it be big or small screen. Surely I should be able to find something to read right?

I'm watching...

See the above comment about indecisiveness. I need to get totally swept  up in something so that I can binge it from beginning to end!

We did watch a couple of episodes of Only Murders in the Building. We are just over half way through the second series, so we should finish that this week. 

Life

Not a lot to talk about this week.

Max

Look at this angelic face. Unfortunately he has decided that he really likes digging up the camellias that we planted down the side of the house. While we were away he dug them all up. We bought more and planted those, but he started digging those up too. My husband was really not happy.

Posts from the last week

Top Ten Tuesday: Books that were reviewed 3 times for HFRC

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge: February 

Weekend Cooking: What I Baked (In My Kitchen) in January

Six Degrees of Separation: Trust to Lords of the White Castle

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date

This week....

I'm reading...

I  mentioned last week that I was reading The Great Passage by Shion Miura (translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter) which I finished this week. It was touch and go. I finished it on Friday night thinking that book club was on Saturday, which it was, but then it was postponed to next week. That, of course, means that I finished a week early.

I started reading Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown, which is the next Cook the Books selection. I have read a few chapters and so far it is a lot of fun. I think I am going to enjoy it. 

I also started reading another book yesterday, just because I could. Bree from All The Books I Can Read is a big fan of Karen Swan and has read many of her books. I have tried reading this author before but I really didn't enjoy it. However, I generally trust Bree's taste in books so I thought I would try another one. And this one, The Christmas Secret, has grabbed my attention from the first chapter. In fact, it is calling my name right now.

I'm watching...

Nothing really

Life

We went to get our second vaccination today so whilst there hasn't been a lot of  activity this weekend, things are definitely heating up on the social life front.

Posts from the last week

Blog Tour: A Mother's Story by Maggie Christensen

Music A-Z: X

Weekend Cooking: A WWII wedding cake

I've linked this post to It's Monday, what are you reading? as hosted by Book Date