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Men At Arms
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
A Young Dwarf's Dream Corporal Carrot has been promoted! He's now in charge of the new recruits guarding Ankh-Morpork, Discworld's greatest city, from Barbarian Tribes, Miscellaneous Marauders, unlicensed Thieves, and such. It's a big job, particularly for an adopted dwarf. But an even bigger job awaits. An ancient document has just revealed that Ankh-Morpork, ruled for decades by Disorganized crime, has a secret sovereign! And his name is Carrott... And so begins the most awesome epic encounter of all time, or at least all afternoon, in which the fate of a cityindeed of the universe itself!depends on a young man's courage, an ancient sword's magic, and a three-legged poodle's bladder.
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Robotswithpersonality
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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Pickpick

Always a wonderful time to reread a City Watch book in the Discworld series. I admit that this probably ranked lower in my last reread because I was focused on thinking of the City Watch books as the Vimes books. Sam Vimes has a dark night of the soul here and the ending establishes a key post for the character going forward, as well as the running joke of his unwilling promotion, but he actually doesn't participate in much of the plot or action.

Robotswithpersonality 2/? This is a book where the Watch starts to take shape, where Carrot's previously suggested royal lineage is most addressed, where he and Angua start to figure things out, where the multi-species makeup of the watch is established as a very effective commentary on police forces often being the unthinking or righteously complicit tool of systemic racism. Of course gun violence is the loud point of commentary in the narrative, but 3w
Robotswithpersonality 3/? while Pratchett manages to convey an effective and chillingly sinister lesson about the necessity of gun control, or preferably, the non-existence of guns, it felt like the discussions of racism/speciesm hit harder because the ignorant views initially come from the Watchmen's mouths themselves, even Carrot's. The 'gonne' is an adversary, an outside threat, possibly with supernatural powers, but prejudice is insidious 3w
Robotswithpersonality 4/4 because your friends and coworkers might be saying it without thinking, i.e. hurting a potential love interest with unexamined thought from the mouth of a man professed to be universally likeable. Harder, and more important to shed a light on. Well done, Terry.
⚠️animal death
3w
1 like3 comments
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Robotswithpersonality
Men at Arms (Revised) | Terry Pratchett
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Pickpick

Discworld City Watch books reread continues! I was right to remember this one as an ensemble piece. As with Guards, Guards, upon reread my biggest gripe is that Sam Vimes is still figuring himself out, and we don't get as much of him on the page as I prefer. 😏 It's a lot less confusing getting a chronological intro to Detritus and Angua this time round! 1/2

Robotswithpersonality 2/2 While the gun control commentary remains chillingly effective, what really struck me this time 'round was how skillful, concise a replication is shown of the kind of casually racist scripts common in the 20th century, unexamined prejudice thinly veiled via troll/dwarf hate. Found family/'gang's all here' vibes of the watch do not prevent the author from making pointed references to corruption, brutality, injustice, prejudice that are often associated with police forces (and politicians). 13mo
Robotswithpersonality P.S. Gaspode is a smelly treasure. 13mo
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Robotswithpersonality
Men at Arms (Revised) | Terry Pratchett
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Stay human. ♥️

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MariaW
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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Pickpick

School started after the summer break and I am back to my daily commute. I went back to Terry Pratchett. I really like the Nightwatch novels and I love Captain, ahh Commander Vimes. And the wry comments of Vetinari and lovely naivety of Carrot and … I just love everything. 💗💗💗

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SolaRaynor
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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“Cats will amusingly tolerate humans only until someone comes up with a tin opener that can be operated with a paw.“ --Terry Pratchett, “Men at Arms“.

RaeLovesToRead Pickles also uses me as a hot water bottle! 😸 3y
SolaRaynor @RaeLovesToRead Aaww! Love it :) 3y
johncadams @SolaRaynor What a sweetie! 3y
SolaRaynor @johncadams He is...most of the time! 3y
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TK-421
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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“Dwarfs were not a naturally religious species, but in a world where pit props could crack without warning and pockets of fire damp could suddenly explode they'd seen the need for gods as the sort of #supernatural equivalent of a hard hat. Besides, when you hit your thumb with an eight-pound hammer it's nice to be able to blaspheme.” #QuotsySep21

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TobeyTheScavengerMonk
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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Pickpick

I made it through 2 Discworld books during my career-change imposed Litsy hiatus, & my completionist spirit mandates that I add reviews of them to my #DiscRead thread.

Book 15 deals with the chaotic introduction of a fire arm into the fantasy of the Discworld, & the efforts of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch (newly diversified with a troll, a dwarf, & a werewolf in the ranks) to stop a killer.*

The subject matter made this the darkest entry so far.

TobeyTheScavengerMonk *Plus a very special appearance by Gaspode the Wonder Dog! 4y
MariaW #gnuterrypratchett #speakhisname I love Gaspode! 😍 4y
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Mangelli
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
Pickpick

So fun and immersive just like the rest of his Discworld series!

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TK-421
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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“No clowns were #funny. That was the whole purpose of a clown. People laughed at clowns, but only out of nervousness. The point of clowns was that, after watching them, anything else that happened seemed enjoyable.” #QuotsyMar20

Crazeedi This is true! 5y
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KatjeIsWriting
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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Not pictured: the ebook I'm reading on the Libby app.

This is the pile of books I brought up to my mom's place in January when I thought I'd be visiting my husband every month (and thus able to grab more books as needed).

Now there's a pandemic and I'm quarantined with strange symptoms awaiting the results of my swab.

Thankfully there are ebooks and mom's personal library of over 10,000 books. I'll be okay.

Lindy It sounds like you are back at work since posting this? (edited) 5y
KatjeIsWriting @Lindy yes! My swab came back negative for covid or flu, so I'm back on the roster for work. Conclusion is my allergies are worse in this town and that's what caused the burning sensation in my lungs. 5y
Lindy @OfMonstrousWords Hope medication is enough to control your allergy symptoms, and without impairing your daily activities. Stay strong! 🌻 5y
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Andrew65
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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Geenie Interesting 5y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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Pickpick

I‘ve gotten a bit behind with my #PratchettPosse
#OokBOokClub reading, but this week the library came through with this one & the next 2...so Catch-up weekend!

I really enjoyed this one, I think the Watch is my second favorite group, I love reading about them. And I loved seeing my favorite librarian & dog make appearances again too.

As always Practchett spins a delightful yarn, with lots of wit and wisdom buried in there if you pay attention.

DrexEdit I am grooving on The Watch as well. Really enjoyed this book! 😊 5y
JazzFeathers I read the first book in The Watch bunch a few years ago and really enjoyed it. I need to get more of them. 5y
KCofKaysville I liked it a lot too. Not sure when I read it.
4y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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Sometimes the big crimes are so big and far-reaching they are almost impossibly to see at a glance.

#PratchettPosse
#OokBOokClub

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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charl08 Genius! 5y
DrexEdit 💜😂😂😂 5y
JazzFeathers 😂😂😂😂😂 Oh my goodness! Help! 😂😂😂😂😂😂 5y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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gossamerchild
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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Oh, the Librarian 🤣🤣🤣 I think he is probably my favorite character. I think I've said that before 🤔🙄😏

I'm a little behind on the #OokBOokClub reading, but I'll catch up at some point.

#pratchettposse

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khooliha
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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I am listening to Radio Morpork and one of the hosts is describing one of the romances in it as a D/s relationship and he's talking about Carrot and Angua and NOT Vimes and Sybil??? I am puzzledly, tilting my head so far that it's in danger of falling off.
#OokBOokClub

khooliha I wouldn't take Gaspode's word on human relationships, is the real takeaway. 5y
julesG There is absolutely no emoji that could convey what I looked like reading your blurb twice! Say whaaa?! 5y
khooliha @julesG I think he put too much stock in Gaspode saying "He's your master." Again, don't put stock in Gaspode! 5y
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julesG
Men at Arms (Revised) | Terry Pratchett
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Pickpick

The Guard is growing on me. They will never crawl into that special place in my heart held by the Witches, but they might get the second row seats. 😉

#OokBOokClub #Discworld #SirTerryPratchett #TerryPratchett #PratchettPosse #ReadAlong #BuddyRead #EpicBuddyRead

Lucy_Anywhere The City Guards are my fave Pratchett books 😊 5y
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julesG
Men at Arms (Revised) | Terry Pratchett
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#OokBOokClub @TricksyTails

Hello friends! Open discussion is in the FOLLOWING POST marked as a spoiler. Find Men At Arms post & tap “show me“ on the spoiler tag to join in the discussion. Join in whenever you can! Today. Tomorrow. Next month! The post will always be up so just tag each other & we'll jump in to discuss with you. Feel free to chat about anything!

#Discworld #TerryPratchett #PratchettPosse #ReadAlong #BuddyRead

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julesG
Men at Arms (Revised) | Terry Pratchett
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#OokBOokClub @TricksyTails

Welcome to the #OokBOokClub open discussion for #MenAtArms! Feel free to discuss anything! Don't forget to tag each other in the comments so your friends can see your reply. Have fun!

#Discworld #SirTerryPratchett #TerryPratchett #PratchettPosse #ReadAlong #BuddyRead

julesG Vetenari and Carrot trying reverse psychology made me giggle. 5y
Aimeesue “Sometimes it‘s better to light a flamethrower than curse the darkness.” 😂 5y
khooliha One of my strongest memories of this book is from my first read, when I told my best friend I had cried over Cuddy's death and got mocked for it. 5y
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khooliha Anyway, I love this book! I love all of the new characters introduced and I love the new phase of life Vimes gets. 5y
Gezemice @Aimeesue This one is full of quotables. My favorite is Vimes‘ Boots theory of economic inequality. 5y
Gezemice @khooliha This was my first “real” Discworld book and I loved it so much I did not stop until I read all the Watch books. This is still my favorite. Hilarious from start to end (those letters from Carrot 😂 ), the characters are awesome, one of the best Discworld plots, and there is some serious commentary on racism, hate, sexism, prejudice... even good people like Carrot have issues with the undead. Until they get to know one. 5y
khooliha @Gezemice This would be a great starter book! It's a good showcase for character development, a promise of how (most) of the series will go. My starter was The Last Continent and I think it's -technically- a bad starter, but I love it just the same. 5y
julesG @khooliha @Gezemice I read this book for the first time. My first Pratchett was Pyramids. I agree, MaA is a good starter. I'll keep it in mind for future reference. 😉 5y
Aimeesue @Gezemice I quote Vimes' Boots Theory ALL the time! Brought my kids up to live by it, when they can. 5y
Gezemice @Aimeesue I quote it often, too, although have not brought my kids up that way lol. 5y
Gezemice @khooliha Last Continent is one you kinda have to know Discworld for already... I am glad you liked it and kept reading! 5y
Gezemice @julesG Yeah, I recommend it usually as a starter, although Guards, Guards would work as well. Personally I think Men at Arms is better because more of the characters are there and Vimes is no longer a happless drunk. 5y
khooliha @Gezemice It made middle school me laugh A Lot, and Rincewind is a type of character I have always loved. It worked out! 5y
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khooliha
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
Pickpick

Guards, Guards! established the Watch, but Men at Arms -makes- it. A joy to read even when it's sad.

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khooliha
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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Some stray thoughts:
- So Carrot is asexual, right? Like, not sex repulsed, but ace
- We should have dropped in on Cuddy's ghost a second time, post- funeral
- Vimes kind of falls out of the book for awhile and I wished we had cut back to him periodically.
- When the heck does this book take place wrt Guards, Guards? I need a timeline.
- Vetenari and Carrot just trying not to grin at each other with their Vimes plans is Very Cute
#OokBOokClub

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khooliha
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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This description is TERRIBLE
#OokBOokClub

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khooliha
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett

Also, I love Vetenari. I don't know if the series thinks I should? But I do.
#OokBOokClub

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khooliha
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett

I forgot that Cuddy and Detritus bond over counting. I did not forget that I love them.
#OokBOokClub

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khooliha
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett

Merry Christmas to me, I'm getting to read Men at Arms!
#OokBOokClub

Gezemice Merry Christmas! 5y
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gossamerchild
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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This is another reason I love Terry Pratchett. He GETS me 🤣🤣🤣. I have a huge hangup with italics in books, so I feel seen with these sentences.

#OokBOokClub #pratchettposse

julesG 🤣🤣🤣 5y
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julesG
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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#OokBOokClub-ers, our Discworld adventure continues TODAY with #MenAtArns!

Looking forward to our discussion next month!

Happy reading!

@TricksyTails

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julesG
Men at Arms (Revised) | Terry Pratchett
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Just a friendly reminder that next month we'll be reading #MenAtArms! Dig out your books, put in your library holds, or place your orders! The next Discworld adventure continues on December 8th! Woohoo!

If anyone wants to be tagged/untagged for future posts please let me know! Happy to oblige!

@TricksyTails

#OokBOokClub #Discworld #SirTerryPratchett #TerryPratchett #PratchettPosse #ReadAlong #BuddyRead

64 likes7 comments
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uwak
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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Pickpick

it was nice seeing familiar and new faces back at the Night Watch in a murder mystery 😊 although I felt parts of this book kind of dragged and Pratchett is unfortunately one of those authors who struggles writing coherent action scenes. The unexpected death of a certain character towards the end made me surprisingly sad 😭

#fantasy

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uwak
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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🐀🍅

MayJasper 😂😂😂 rat without ketchup! That way lies madness! 5y
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uwak
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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cold and rainy weather calls for a return to the Discworld and the Night Watch (aka time to get back to the books I bought in June...) ☔

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TK-421
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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“Foul Ole Ron was a Beggars‘ Guild member in good standing. He was a Mutterer, and a good one. He would walk behind people muttering in his own private language until they gave him money not to.” #Incoherent #QuotsyJune19

Soubhiville Bugrit! Millennial Hand and Shrimp! 5y
TK-421 @Soubhiville 😂 Yes! 5y
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catsuit_mango
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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What do you do when your current book is a doorstop per that you can't carry in the public transportation? You start another book for the bus-subway ride to work. And when once at work you don't have enough to keep you busy? You start reading an eBook on your computer. That my friends is how you end up reading 3 great books at the same time ;) as the doorstopper Les furtifs. as the bus read the haunting of hill house. as the eBook men at arms ;)

BooknerdsLife Hahaa that‘s why I‘m always multiple books at a time too 😂 Each book for each different occasion 👍🏼 5y
catsuit_mango @BooknerdsLife i'm trying to avoid this now but I used to have up to 5 books on the go ;) 5y
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Emma3
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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Pickpick

Didn't finish any books in March 😱😱 but this is my first one for April
Love Terry Pratchett and the Discworld series

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Soubhiville
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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“The Librarian was, of course, very much in favour of reading in general, but readers in particular got on his nerves. There was something, well, sacrilegious about the way they kept taking books off the shelves and wearing out the words by reading them.”
Terry Pratchett, Men At Arms

olivia.ferz 😂😂😂 6y
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Soubhiville
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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Pickpick

Men at Arms is one of my favorite of the Discworld books. The action kicks off right away, the story is well developed and fun, and all my favorite Watch characters are here! We get to see a bit inside the Assassins, Thieves, and Beggars Guilds, and hang out some more with Gaspode, Dibbler, and Death. A perfect book!

TheBogwitch Loved this series. I think Mort might have been my favorite. 6y
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Soubhiville
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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Froedrick and I hereby decree 📜: Today is a day dedicated entirely to reading! I‘ll be finishing up my latest Owl Post Book, (which is wonderful the second time through @Foragingfantasy ) and also Song of Achilles on audio as I have breakfast, then diving into Discworld with Men at Arms, an old favorite.

Happy Sunday everyone! 🧡

#Froedrick #CatsofLitsy #OokBOokClub #PratchettsPosse

ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled I ❤️ Froedrick!! 😻 6y
Jee_HookedOnBookz Love Song of Achilles! 6y
AmyG Happy Sunday! He is too cute. Those 👀 6y
Mimi28 Aaaawww he‘s adorable!! 😻😻 6y
LauraBeth He looks so soft! 😻 6y
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Soubhiville
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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I‘m determined to read Hogfather by Christmas this year, and so I am devoting December to Discworld. Here‘s my #DecemberTBR ! (Plus audiobooks- Lilac Girls at least, probably 1-2 others as well.)
#PratchettsPosse #DiscworldLove #OokBOokClub

Aims42 I love re-reading the Hogfather around Christmas. Death and Death of Rats are by far my favorite characters LOL 💀🐭 SQUEAK!! (edited) 6y
Booksnchill I have those editions as well- so lovely! 6y
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Moray_Reads
Men at Arms (Revised) | Terry Pratchett
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#best #quotsysept18 illustration © Paul Kidby

julesG 😍😁 6y
saresmoore I love this. 6y
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hoggman
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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Participated in a book swap last weekend with a couple of friends. Got rid of a few classics I'd been meaning to read but hadn't gotten around to.

rather_be_reading hey check your email. i need your full address for the Hocus Pocus Swap 🎃 6y
13 likes1 comment
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jillrhudy
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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Reading “Men at Arms” on my Kindle Paperwhite for a book discussion with Anglophiles Anonymous on Goodreads. I love the Guards novels nearly as much as the Witches novels. #anglophilesoflitsy #discworld #ookbookclub

Aims42 Yes, same here! I can‘t pick a favorite between those two lol 6y
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Aimeesue
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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Carrot! Nobby Nobbs! Detritus! Vimes!
And of course, The Patrician, Lord Vetinari, Who will always and forever be played by David Bowie in my head.
#Dogsoflitsy #AnglophilesofLitsy

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Booksbymybed
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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Discworld fix

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jpmcwisemorgan
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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rubyslippersreads This ties in well with my coulrophobia. 🤡😱 6y
Tera66 Do not like clowns. Do love this quote! 6y
jpmcwisemorgan @rubyslippersreads Nearly every time I see anything about clowns I think of the girl in college who had a huge clown on her dorm room door and how it started a kerfluffle with someone because they thought it shouldn‘t be up because there might be people around with a coulrophobia. I don‘t remember the outcome, though. 6y
jpmcwisemorgan @Tera66 I think you‘re in good company with your dislike of clowns! 6y
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TK-421
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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"...when you hit your thumb with an eight-pound hammer it's nice to be able to blaspheme. It takes a very special and strong-minded kind of atheist to jump up and down with their hand clasped under their other armpit and shout, "Oh, random-fluctuations-in-the-space-time-continuum!" or "Aaargh, primitive-and-outmoded-concept on a crutch!” #Random #QuotsyApril18

LibrarianJen 😂🤣😂 7y
Marmie7 😂 7y
Pee You got that right! 😤😩 7y
CarolynM Personally, I find four letter words more therapeutic😂 7y
TK-421 @CarolynM @Deidre-Dee-OfficialBookworm 😂 I usually end up shouting a mixture of blasphemies, obscenities and random mundane words in odd combinations. Then my husband &/or friends laugh at me, which is *so* helpful 😠 7y
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TK-421
Men At Arms | Terry Pratchett
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"But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that‘d still be keeping his feet dry in ten years‘ time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet. This was the Captain Samuel Vimes “Boots” theory of socioeconomic unfairness.” #theory #QuotsyMarch18 #QuotsyCatchup

CarolynM I think this is a brilliant distillation of economic unfairness. Terry Pratchett was just too clever 7y
TK-421 @CarolynM Definitely! I wish that I had discovered his work much sooner... I only learned of him about 3 years ago. He was so brilliant! 7y
CSeydel Vimes is probably my favorite character in Discworld! Loved Men at Arms. Still procrastinating on Light Fantastic... 7y
TK-421 @CSeydel 🙌 Vimes is one of my favourite characters too! I also love Granny Weatherwax & Nanny Ogg. I can't blame you for putting off the Rincewind books! I've only read as far as Eric (which I don't recommend) so I still have a few more to go, but ugh! I just don't like the Rincewind books as much as the rest of the Discworld books! So far the Rincewind one I liked best was Sourcery. The others were just OK. 7y
CSeydel Glad it‘s not just me. I actually haven‘t read any of the witches series either! But I plan to. I accidentally stumbled into Discworld by reading Monstrous Regiment, and since then I‘ve mostly read ones featuring the Night Watch. 7y
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