{"product_id":"the-wit-and-wisdom-of-discworld-isbn-9780061370502","title":"The Wit and Wisdom of Discworld","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFor every Terry Pratchett fan, an absolute must-have, giftable book\u003c\/strong\u003e—\u003cstrong\u003efavorite quotations from his beloved Discworld canon.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGleaned from more than two decades' worth of Discworld tales, here is an essential compendium of insightful musings, witty commentary, and sagacious observations by \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestselling author Terry Pratchett, compiled by Pratchett expert Stephen Briggs.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e• In the bathtub of history the truth is harder to hold than the soap, and much more difficult to find. . . \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e• All assassins had a full-length mirror in their rooms, because it would be a terrible insult to anyone to kill them when you were badly dressed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFilled with wonderful bon mots, double entendres, not to mention breathtaking insights, \u003cem\u003eThe Wit and Wisdom of Discworld\u003c\/em\u003e is a compendium of the wittiest, pithiest, and wisest quotations from Pratchett’s madcap universe—a place that looks, sounds, and smells suspiciously like our own.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Pratchett has created an alternate universe full of trolls, dwarfs, wizards, and other fantasy elements, and he uses that universe to reflect on our own culture with entertaining and gloriously funny results. It’s an accomplishment nothing short of magical.”—\u003cem\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003eFor more than two decades, Terry Pratchett has been regaling readers with tales of Discworld—a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants, which are standing on the back of a giant turtle, flying through space. It is a world populated by ineffectual wizards and sharp-as-tacks witches, by tired policemen and devious dictators, by reformed thieves and vampires who have sworn to drink no blood. It is a world that is vastly different from our own . . . except when it isn't.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow, in \u003cem\u003eThe Wit and Wisdom of Discworld\u003c\/em\u003e, various nuggets of Pratchett's witty commentary and sagacious observations have been compiled by Pratchett expert Stephen Briggs, a man who, they say, knows even more about Discworld than Terry Pratchett.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWithin these pages, you'll find musings on:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cem\u003eInterior decorating:\u003c\/em\u003e \"It's a fact known throughout the universes that no matter how carefully the colors are chosen, institutional decor ends up as either vomit green, unmentionable brown, nicotine yellow, or surgical appliance pink. By some little-understood process of sympathetic resonance, corridors painted in those colors always smell slightly of boiled cabbage—even if no cabbage is ever cooked in the vicinity.\" (\u003cem\u003eEqual Rites\u003c\/em\u003e)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cem\u003eTravel:\u003c\/em\u003e \"Any seasoned traveler soon learns to avoid anything wished on them as a 'regional speciality,' because all the term means is that the dish is so unpleasant the people living everywhere else will bite off their own legs rather than eat it. But hosts still press it upon distant guests anyway: 'Go on, have the dog's head stuffed with macerated cabbage and pork noses—it's a regional speciality.'\" (\u003cem\u003eThe Last Continent\u003c\/em\u003e)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cem\u003eYoung men:\u003c\/em\u003e \"And then there was the young male walk. At least women swung only their hips. Young men swung everything, from the shoulders down. You have to try to occupy a lot of space. It makes you look bigger, like a tomcat fluffing his tail. The boys tried to walk big in self-defense against all those other big boys out there. I'm bad, I'm fierce, I'm cool, I'd like a pint of shandy and me mam wants me home by nine.\" (\u003cem\u003eMonstrous Regiment\u003c\/em\u003e)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cem\u003eClass:\u003c\/em\u003e \"'Old money' meant that it had been made so long ago that the black deeds that had originally filled the coffers were now historically irrelevant. Funny, that; a brigand for a father was something you kept quiet about, but a slave-taking pirate for a great-great-great-grandfather was something to boast of over the port. Time turned the evil bastards into rogues, and rogue was a word with a twinkle in its eye and nothing to be ashamed of.\" (\u003cem\u003eMaking Money\u003c\/em\u003e)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e . . . and more! Culled from all the Discworld novels, \u003cem\u003eThe Wit and Wisdom of Discworld\u003c\/em\u003e confirms Pratchett's place in the pantheon of great satirists and proves why the \u003cem\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/em\u003e has praised his Discworld as \"entertaining and gloriously funny . . . an accomplishment nothing short of magical.\"\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“[Terry Pratchett]’s inventiveness—with people, with plots, with things—is seeming inexhaustible . . . [he] always gives more than you dare expect . . . [he] can make you giggle helplessly and then grin grimly at the sharpness of his wit.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDaily Mail (London)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A master of laugh-out-loud fiction.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“He’s arguably the purely funniest English writer since Wodehouse.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWashington Post Book World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44888614633701,"sku":"NP9780061370502","price":22.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780061370502.jpg?v=1730229450","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-wit-and-wisdom-of-discworld-isbn-9780061370502","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}