Presents, anyone?Aside from world peace (which I ask for every year and have yet to receive) and infinite time (ditto), I would love some books!
Last night I saw a bit of "Hogfather," which HH and I discovered was a British TV production based on Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" books. Considering the man is as prolific as Stephen King, John Grisham and James Patterson combined, I have only read one of his books: "Good Omens," which he wrote about 15 years ago with Neil Gaiman. However, considering my memory is like a sieve, the fact that I remember this with such clarity means it made an impact. I usually have a horrible memory for books I've read and movies I've seen.
"Hogfather" was fascinating! And now I have to check Netflix to see if it's available. And "Discworld" sounds fascinating too; sadly there are about nine million books in the series which means, unless I get that gift of infinite time, I won't get around to reading many of them.
Normally, I don't care for fantasy. Too many people want to be Tolkien (who was difficult to read anyway) or Rowling (for whom the right elements combined at the exact right moment) and create massive worlds with all sorts of wizards and magic stones and hobgoblins and they all take themselves so darn seriously. But I recall what I liked about Pratchett was his sense of humor. I like a light touch in both my sci-fi (see Douglas Adams) and fantasy. And for this reason, I am really excited to get into a new series. Besides, sometimes you just get tired of reading - and writing - realistic stuff with realistic characters and situations.
So I'm looking forward to gifting myself with either Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy or a couple of the Pratchett novels and have myself a "fantasy-tastic" new year!
Your Hollywood connection,
Leigh
