My Life With Terry Pratchett

I first met Terry Pratchett in the early 90s. I was trolling the aisles at Half Price Books when I found him in the fantasy section. No, he wasn't wedged on the shelf made of raw pine 2x4s. Acres and Acres of Books had the same shelves. I consider it the mark of a serious bookseller/hoarder when they could give a shit about staining the wood just put the damn things up; they have piles of books waiting to be rescued. Wyrd sisters was facing out toward the aisle, just daring me to read the blurb. One of the only US editions of his novels available at the time. I bought it. Pratchett's words are like taking a hit of crack. You ride the high until the last page then you must have more. There was none to be had. I scoured the countryside until I found a wonky little comic book/anime shop hidden in a strip mall in Arlington TX. I could order his paperback books from the UK for the precious sum of $15. Mind you, I was a college student with a cashier job. I couldn't afford my electric bill. Paying $15 for what was a $5 paperback back then was madness. I handed over the cash without a whimper. I had to have my fix. I like Pratchett so much that when he became widely available in the US I bought every new edition in hardbound, because I wanted the money to go to him.

His last books were a little painful. It was like reading someone who spoke Pratchett but wasn't him. I have a feeling his assistant was filling in more gaps than Pratchett wanted us to know about. But even diluted Pratchett is better than no Pratchett at all. Now, even that is ripped from us.

He died yesterday 3/12/15. He was in bed with his cat sleeping beside him. Not a bad ending.

I wish I had the words to truly convey how much thinking he made me do. When I was taking classes in theology and philosophy I would recognize elements in his books. Amazing profound ideas that he would use merging humor and anger. I really felt the characters. Granny Weatherwax was the woman I want to be, Commander Vimes was my ruthless sense of justice, Vetinari was my chess master, Nanny Ogg is the woman I am(common as dirt, and a complete glutton for everything), Brutha was my spirituality that had to grow up, DEATH was and is my sense of right and wrong, and Susan Death is my cynical questioning of DEATH. I love so many of the books for so many reasons. I recommend him to everyone. If you don't know Discworld, you should. Pratchett's books make you a better person for having read them. I can't think of another author I would say that about with such self assurance.