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Unseen Acadenicals, by Terry Pratchett Discworld Series, book 37 My rating: 6/10 A goblin working in the basement of the Unseen University, discovers his talent at "Foot-the-Ball", aka soccer, kicking off a journey into more than just sports. Joined by his friends--a cook, a model, and a soccer player--he must discover his talent and identity. Can he find who he is before it's too late? And maybe more importantly, can he be who he is without hurting everyone he loves? The development of soccer in Anhk Morpork was hilarious, but I do have to point out that as an American, it was very confusing! All through the book I was struggling with the fact that Pratchett was calling soccer "football". Aside from that, the humour was sharp and the characters were interesting. His writing was as good as ever, as well. This is where it goes downhill. There's no good way for me to put this: the plot was sub par. It was meandering, confusing, and by the end,

I love the Discworld, as you may have gathered from my four posts about it. I have read thirty six of the forty one so far, and I decided that right before the end was as good a place as any to stop and reflect on the Discworld and what makes (most of) the books such compelling reads. The first thing that I have to mention is, of course, the creativity. How could I not, with a picture of the Great A'tuin, the massive turtle that swims through space, carrying the four giant elephants that hold the Disc on their back, right here? From all of this to the Rimbow and the Circumfence to the cities and countries, the whole world is stunningly creative. All of the characters are also very well done, including Death, the Gods, the witches, and the wizards of the Unseen University. You have to give him kudos for over forty creative, funny, and original books on the Discworld. I also love the writing. His trademark humour is hilarious, but underneath it run deeper currents of actual mor

Making Money, by Terry Pratchett Discworld Series, book 36 My rating: 7/10 Ever since Moist Von Lipwig fixed the Post Office, he's been bored, but is the job of fixing the derelict and mismanaged Royal Mint really what he wants? Plunged headfirst into the fortune and danger of the world of economics, he must keep the bank out of the wrong hands--or his own life will be on the line. First of all, I'm going to call the main character, Moist Von Lipwig, "John", because those words should never-- ever --be a name. With that out of the way, let's take this apart. The books about John are always fun, with excitement and mystery and races against all odds, and I loved the premise. I also loved the end, which has the perfect twist right before the last bit. If I were just judging by these things, this book was definitely a ten. Now, the name. Pratchett is normally very good with naming, keeping the names normal and the humour in its proper place- the writing!- bu

Flash Fiction Forward, by James Thomas and Robert Shapard My rating: 6/10 This collection of vivid, minimalistic stories tells many creative ideas and theories. From a date with a neanderthal to a phone scamming operation to a mesmerist, these flash fiction pieces will have you hooked. While it's true that flash fiction can sometimes be hard to engage with, and it's certainly not for everyone, I did enjoy this book. If you're not looking to read the whole book straight through, some of the best stories are Sashimi Cashmere, Traditional Indian Style Garage, Fruit Series, Travelling Alone, Quill, and Three Soldiers. My all time favorite from Flash Fiction Forward is a tie between The Orange and The Death of the Short Story. They were both very creative and well written, as well as poignant and balanced. However, not all the stories were as good as those ones, and I have to say that most of them seemed to end the same way: with depression about life, or death. Th

Becoming, by Michelle Obama My rating: 10/10 Former First Lady Michelle Obama tells the story of her previously unknown personal life in stunning prose. Covering everything from childhood, law school, and romance to work-life balance, the campaign trail, and her children, she lays out her life, decisions, and identity with impressive clarity. This book had a lot of insight about Michelle Obama finding her identity- which includes her struggle with race and gender. She talked about bringing more racial diversity to the table where she worked, and about the push back she received for the color of her skin. Becoming also contained a lot of ideas that seem really important right now about gender equality- including her sharing her experience as First Lady, having to deal with sexism from all across the board. I enjoyed that she was able to bring these issues into the light and talk about how these factors influenced both her and other women in politics. One pleasant aspect about

Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett Discworld Series, book 33 My rating: 10/10 By all rights, Moist von Lipwig should be dead, hanged for being a conman- so how is he here, in the office of the ruler of the city, being employed as the Postmaster of Ankh-Morpork's derelict and nonfunctional postal service? The new Postmaster tries to get the Post Office back on its feet, uncovering the corruption, controversy, and danger of the world of the clacks system on the way. I loved this book, and it definitely deserves place among my favorite Discworld books. Underneath witty writing, not-so-subtle jabs at the government, and Moist's humourous adventures, lies a deeper layer of meaning; Moist struggles with identity, his former cons, being tied to a job, and love. It also provides commentary on modern life- letters vs. emails, big corporations vs. smaller ones, the government, etc. Although the plot and writing were great, what really stood out to me was the premise. Over the las