Growing Up - The Teenage Years

The next stage of growing up came in 1975 when I was 11 and we moved house, at the same time I also moved up to secondary school, and lasts until I was 18.

I was devastated about the move, I loved the old house and it being next to the park. The fact was that I now had 3 younger brothers and we needed a bigger house.

The new house was on the other side of the same town. It was quite a large semi with a big front and

back garden. It was totally run down and needed a lot of work doing before we could even move in. I remember helping with a lot of this work. There was an old air-raid shelter in the garden which had to be filled in as it flooded. I also remember knocking down walls of 3 rooms to make a large kitchen. It was a great kitchen where we spent a lot of time, particularly family meals. I had a nice bedroom to myself. We had to do a lot of work on the garden and I remember chopping down trees and digging up roots. There were some great apple trees and a good damson tree, we had a lot of fruit, and we build a tree house in the damson tree. We used to play cricket in the garden and I also remember building a lot of obstacle courses.

After about 3 years in the new house we had an extension built. This gave us 2 more bedrooms, one of which I moved into, and a games room downstairs. We had a table tennis table, a small snooker table and a dart board.

I moved up from cubs to scouts, who met in the local scout hut. I remember doing a lot of scout activities in the Hall park which was next to the scout hut. The scouts were tied to the local St Mary's church and we used to go to parades at the church. Peter Clarke (from Junior school) went to scouts and he and his brother Jonathan went to the church youth group, I started to go along. The youth group, the YPF, met after church on a Sunday evening, at the church hall. They also met during the week for activities at the Highfield Road Baptist church. I made some good friends at YPF, particularly Richard Espin, who lived around the corner from me, so we always used to walk home together. Richard and I shared a love for the greatest album ever made The Wall by Pink Floyd.

There was always a lot of parties and events happening around YPF and I remember a lot of the 80s music (Ultravox, OMD, Wham etc), I also remember the Christian group, After the Fire, whom we went to see in concert, in London. I also went on 3 YPF holidays, 2 in Wales and 1 in Yorkshire, which were very good. We also went to the Christian music festival Greenbelt a couple of times, it was quite a diverse festival and I remember seeing U2 and Cliff Richard. I also remember sitting up all night outside of the tent of my wife to be as I didn't think it was safe to be asleep in a tent on her own.

There were quite a few different groups of friends at YPF, mainly based around the different ages.  Our group was Richard, Jonathan, Peter and Me. There were also a group of girls that we used to get on with Debbie Andrews, Jackie Bailey, Rachel Clark, Phillipa Branford and Rachel Jones. Being the age we were there was a lot of interest between the various members of these groups and a few went out together at various times, although I never had a girlfriend ever (I did ask Jackie out once, on a Christmas Eve but was turned down), although you'll see what eventually happened at the end of this blog entry.

I watched a lot more tv during this period, a; there was a lot more on for kids and b; I was getting older so was allowed to stay up and watch more. I remember the start of Saturdays Multi-coloured Swapshop and Tiswas. I remember Blue Peter after school, and also the wonderful Grange Hill. I remember Saturday evening tv with game shows like The Generation Game and 321, and entertainment shows like Seaside Special. I will do another blog entry about tv shows.

  

I remember listening to the chart show on the radio each Sunday in the spare room around my Nan's, putting together mixed tapes from the radio. I also remember watching TOTP each week. I especially remember Grease when it came out and all the songs from it.

I was also now at secondary school, Rushden Boys Comprehensive. The school was a few miles away and I used to either cycle or walk there. It was a large boys only school, our year had about 9 classes, I was in stream 2 for nearly everything except maths were I was put up to 1. I was very

average at school, finally ending up with B/C grades at GCSE's. I was quite good at maths, I liked art (and was quite good at it) and design (I was very good at technical drawing!), I liked PE (although was only average), later on I loved computing. I remember school dinners in the hall, I loved the spotted dick pudding.  I do remember reading various books in English, the War poets, Graham Green and particularly The Hobbit. I was a bit of a nerd at school, I used to produce posters for the History department during the lunch break (earning credits). I was a member of various nerdy school clubs, the chess club (I remember getting thrashed in my games when we played against the girls school), the stamp club (I used to collect stamps), the railway club (of which I was treasurer, we had quite a good model railway set up in our spare bedroom, I also a briefly dabbled in train spotting and once in a summer holiday I remember a

few of us had unlimited railcards and went around the country watching trains!), the board games club (I was very good at board games and won the L'attaque competition beating some 6th formers) and, later on, the computer club (see separate blog entry about Computing). There were a few of us who liked board games (my old friend Dominic was one, another was Patrick Downs and there was the teacher who ran the board games club Mr Hughes) and we would meet outside of school to play longer games, we played Diplomacy a lot, I was very good at it, and we also played War In Middle Earth, a Tolkien game, which was excellent and started me on the road to Tolkien collecting (see other blog entries). I did not really have any friends at school, I was a bit of a loner, my friends were all from YPF. There was a bit of a bad time when I was in the 5th year, I got bullied by a group of kids. It started when I went through a door which banged into a thug kid who was coming the other way, he tried to make a big thing of it but I wouldn't get involved, from then on, every time he and his group saw me he would try to start something, he even punched me once, I spent a lot of time trying to avoid him.

Most of the holidays in this period were with the youth group. There were also a few family holidays to holiday camps, some on Hayling Island and one to the Isle Of White which was particularly

memorable. I was a tall lanky teenager at this point. I remember going to Blackgang Chine and the Needles. We went along to a table tennis exhibition and, at the end, they asked if any kids wanted to have a go, I volunteered. After a game with the exhibitors, they said that I had some talent and I won a free holiday to a table tennis camp. After my success my brothers, Nigel and Ian, also had a go and they too won holidays. Our achievement even made a small article in the Sun newspaper. The actual camps were split into 2 age groups, my brothers went with my mum and dad and I went with my Nan Bird. We went by train and nearly missed the connection in London. My brother Ian came 3rd in his competition and won a table tennis table.

After this, the family took up table tennis a bit more seriously. We had some coaching and formed our own team along with another family of Birds (Kevin and John). We were in the local leagues and did quite well winning the 2nd division a few times and I did ok in a few tournaments. we played at the Highfield Road Baptist Church. Ian was always the best player.

During this period, my Nan bird moved into a bungalow around the corner from us, we would still go for tea on Sundays, and my Grampy from Wolverhampton died.

I always used to love Christmas and we always had a full house with my Nan (Bird) and often with my Auntie Olive and Uncle Tony. Christmas tv also used to be a lot more exciting, I remember when the Christmas tv times would come out and we would plan what we would watch, they always had big films, which you hadn't seen and the Christmas specials were also good. When I was 15 the youth group always used to go to the pub on Christmas Eve and then to the late night carol service at the church, it was actually great fun.

When I was 15 my dad got me a Saturday job with the glass company he worked for. This mainly involved lots of cutting grass, cleaning up, burning rubbish and washing vans. When I was 16, after

work, my dad would give me driving lessons first in the works car park and then, when I was 17, around the industrial estate and beyond. I passed my test on the 2nd attempt and I brought a really old Ford escort mk2 van my dad's firm were getting rid off, it was rubbish, but at least I could get about. My dad also had an old moped which we used to drive around on. One of the silly teenager things my mates and I did a few times was 4 people driving, one person would be in the drivers seat working the pedals, one would be behind in the back leaning over and steering, one person would change gear up and the 4th person would change gear down.

Also during this period my love for Home Computing and Games Consoles started with the Atari 2600, the TRS-80 and the ZX Spectrum. I used to play these a lot. See the separate blog entry.

My 18th birthday turned out to be a very big day for me. I had a party at my house with most of the youth group invited. During the party Debbie approached me and told me she really liked me and we ended up together and I had my first kiss (I was 18 and had never had a girlfriend before). The next day was a youth group disco, Debbie and I didn't know what to do about the day before and we ended up avoiding each other, our different groups walked home and we went our different ways, but another girl told me that Deb really liked me, so I went back and walked her home (there may have been more kissing involved). The following day was a normal youth group meeting and we were together again and I again walked her home again. From then on we were together, at youth group meetings and events and at each other's houses (I have never been on a proper date!).

About the same time, I left school and got my first job.

This was the start of the next chapter in my life.

Sheri Tepper

Sheri Tepper is my third favourite writer (and I also collect all of her books).

She mainly writes Fantasy and Sci/Fi books (although she has written other genres, mostly under other names).

She is quite famous as a feminist writer, but she also tackles other worldwide issues such as over population and animal rights. What makes her very good is that she tackles these issues in very subtle ways, promoting her messages just within the great stories and characters (she normally has strong women leads) and not preaching.

Teppers stories are also on the weird/unusual side, which I like. Not massively but just enough to make them a bit more interesting.

I was introduced to Tepper by a work colleague, Dave Ufton, at work when I was in my early twenties. He lent me The True Game trilogy. This is a fantasy series about a world where the privileged people have limited magic like 'talents' which they use to play real life chess like games (with real people). It is still one of my favourite Tepper stories. There are also 2 follow up trilogies Mavin Manyshaped (the 2nd book is also one of my favourites) and Jinian, which are also good.

My favourite Tepper book, and one of my favourite books of all time, is Beauty. This is one of her stand alone novels. It features a lot of the classic fairy tales, linked together in a more real and gritty world (It did this before the current trend in the retelling of fairy stories). It is a sci-fi/fantasy cross and does get quite weird in places, but it is very atmospheric, has great characters and a good story. It has a lot of Teppers usual messages, feminism, over population etc, woven well into the story.

I also really like Plague of Angels. This is a Dystopia/Sci-Fi/Fantasy which has elements of The True Game. It is a very good story which twists and turns. One of Tepper's more recent novels The Waters Rising is a follow up book, but it is not as good (her most recent books are not to the same quality as the earlier books, they are still quite good though). Her latest book Fish Tails is very interesting as it brings together the True Game world with the Plague of Angels with an overarching storyline, again not her best but very interesting and its not bad.

The Gate to Women's Country is perhaps Tepper's most well known novel about a female dominated dystopian world. It was the one which started her feminist reputation as it features a strong woman lead and covers various sexism issues. Normally she does this quite subtlely within a good story, however this book puts forward quite strong messages. This it no tonne of my favourites.

I like the Marjorie Westriding/Arbai set of books Grass, Raising the Stones and Sideshow. These are sci-fi books and, although connected they are quite individually different. They all have strong characters and are atmospheric if not a little weird. Grass received a lot of critical praise.

Another book I really like is The Awakeners (originally published as two books Northshore and Southshore). This story is a sci-fi/fantasy cross and it is typical Tepper, atmospheric and obscure, with great characters and subtle messages.

The Revenants is one of Tepper's earliest books and its messages are subtlely woven into the story. It's fantasy/myth based with a questing story in typical Tepper atmospheric style. It's not bad, not her best but nowhere near the worst. After Long Silence (also published as The Enigma Score) is also within this ok category. It is more sci-fi based and typical Tepper. As is Shadow's End which has an over population, arrogant human message. Also in this mid range group is Gibbon's Decline and Fall, although technically sci-fi it is not a space/alien book, it is set on earth in the near future and features a lot of Teppers messages. It is not a bad story.

The Marianne trilogy are earlier books and are more magical realism stories. They are a bit weird, which I like, but overall in the mid range of the Tepper books. These books are quite rare. I do have all 3 books and also a trilogy copy.

The following are Teppers more recent books. I have to say that they are not quite as good as her early ones, but they are not bad. These tend to be a bit more drawn out and some are a bit overly long. Also also some of her messages are not so subtlely woven into the stories as in her earlier books, they are a bit more bluntly stated.

The Family Tree

Six Moon Dance

Singer from the Sea

The Fresco

The Visitor

The Companions

The Margarets

Tepper has also written other genres of book, under different names. Although I have most of these (I am a collector) I have only read a few of them. They are ok, but I am not a fan of the genre's. 

Horror:
as Sheri Tepper:

Ettison Duo:

Blood Heritage

The Bones

as E. E. Horlak:

Still Life

Mysteries:

as B. J. Oliphant:

Shirley McClintock Mysteries:

Dead in the Scrub

The Unexpected Corpse

Deservedly Dead

Death and the Delinquent

Death Served Up Cold

A Ceremonial Death

Here's to the Newly Dead

as A. J. Orde:

The Jason Lynx Mysteries:

A Little Neighborhood Murder

Death and the Dogwalker

Death for Old Time's Sake

Looking for the Aardvark (also published in paperback as Dead on Sunday)

A Long Time Dead

A Death of Innocents

I also have a few other Tepper rated items:

Lucus Magazine, Sept 1998 - Tepper Interview.

Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine, Oct 1990 - short story "The Gazebo".

Strange Dreams book - short story "Prince Shadowbow"

Night Visions 6 book - short story "The Gardener"

Here is Teppers official website http://sheri-s-tepper.com

Collecting Tolkien - Board Games

This is the first of a series of blog entries to go through some of my Tolkien collection.

I don't want these blogs to be a detailed look at each area, there are specialist websites for that and I don't want to do a blog entry for nearly every piece in my collection (there are 1000s), I wanted to have a general look at MY collection.

First up is Board Games because it was what sparked my Tolkien Collecting interest in the first place.

A few websites to mention:

http://www.freewebs.com/tolkienboardgamecollecting/

https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/1000/lord-rings-games-definitive-list

And this is a very good article: http://www.armchairgeneral.com/gaming-in-the-world-of-j-r-r-tolkien-an-overview-from-middle-earth.htm

Total Items: 105

The first game to mention is War of the Ring (by SPI). This game basically got me into Tolkien collecting. I was addicted to the books, but it wasn't until I became aware of this game that I realised there was more than just the books. The funny thing was, although I played this game, I didn't get my own copy until quite a few years later. I played this game when I was a teenager, as part of the our board games group, and it is a great game which catches the essence of Lord of the Rings very well. It is a hex based game (which means that movement is not fixed, you can go anywhere) and I have various versions of it, including a Bakshi Movie version. I also have the 2 single companion games Gondor and Sauron. One of the the highlights of my Tolkien collection is a Polish version of this game. I also have some magazines which feature this game, particularly the magazine Moves (one features a variation of the rules). Wanted: The Designer version and a full copy of the flat packaging version (the one I have is incomplete).

The next games I got were also from the 80s, by Iron Crown. First there was The Fellowship of the Ring then The Lonely Mountain and finally Riddle of Ring (which is reasonably rare). These are are also hex games, but with smaller boards. I then got another Iron Crown hex game, Battle of the Five Armies. I have subsequently got 2 older 70's versions of this game, one boxed by TSR (which is quite rare) and another bagged version by Lore (which is rarer still).

There are a few more bagged only hex based games from the 70's which are all very rare, I have Siege of Minas Tirith. Wanted: Battle for Helms Deep, There and Back Again (West Coast Games) and Battle of the Ring (only available from the Wargammer magazine #1).

There are a few 70s games which are all fairly rare, I have Quest of the Magic Ring (by Land of Legend), The Hobbit (by MB) and The Hobbit Game (by American Publishing Corp). Wanted: War of the Ring: The Game of Middle Earth (Fantasy Games Unlimited) and Conquest of the Ring (by Hobbit Toys and Games).

There are a few board games from the Bakshi film which I have (I do collect Bakshi stuff specifically), The Lord of the Rings, Recall and a version of SPI's War of The Ring.

I also have The Hobbit Adventure Board Game (by Iron Crown) from the 90s and a German version.

I also have another interesting German game called Ringgeister from this time period.

I didn't get many more games for a while, in fact there was a bit of lull in Tolkien games published during the 80s and 90s. The next game I got had a big release, The Lord of the Rings (by Fantasy Flight) designed by Reiner Knizia with art work by the renowned Tolkien artist John Howe, which came out just before the films. I have 2 signed limited editions of this, as well as two releases of the normal version, and the 2 extensions. Wanted: Thin box revised edition.

The first game I got following the release of the films was Risk. This is based on the traditional board game, which is one of my favourites, and I have various LOTR film versions of this game (Basic, Trilogy, Conquest (European edition) and Middle Earth). I also have the rare Gondor and Mordor expansion set.

Then there is Monopoly. Like Risk, this is based on the tradition board game. Again there are various film (LOTR and Hobbit) based versions of this. I have about 6 versions including a recently added Hobbit Trilogy version.

In the traditional games category I also have a LOTR Backgammon, Scrabble, Draughts, Dominoes and Stratego (all movie themed).

Tolkien Chess sets should be a separate area of collecting in its own right, however I don't have a lot of these. I do have a Royal Selangor Limited Edition pewter set and 4 versions based on the LOTR films.

Following the films there has been quite a lot of Tolkien based games.

Each of the LOTR and Hobbit films had its own game, there are also different games from America and Germany. I have about 12 of these games in total.

I also have various other film tie in games, Lord of the Rings Labyrinth, Battle of Destiny (I have two different themed versions), Tri-Memo, 3 Magic games (Triangle, Square and Hex), plus a few German games.

There were a few simple kid games which I have, The Confrontation (by Fantasy Flight), I also have a German and a Deluxe version, The Duel (by Kosmos), The Search (by Kosmos) and Lord of Rings (by Eagle Games).

There have also been a whole series of some larger games by Fantasy Flight which I have. The Hobbit (Wanted: Imagination version), War of the Ring (original and second edition - published by Ares Games) and 1 expansion (Battles of the Third Age) and 2 add-on (Warriors, Lords x2 - one a German version), The Battle of Five Armies, Middle Earth Quest and Hunt for the Ring. Along with a smaller game Lord of the Rings Journey to Mordor.

I also have The Hobbit: Defeat of the Evil Dragon Smaug (by Sophisticated Games) and a second edition of this game The Hobbit: Defeat of Smaug (by Playroom).

There are various factual based games which I have, Lord of the Rings Oracle, Lord of the Rings Tarot, Trivial Pursuit (2 versions) and Lord of the Rings Trivia (by Fantasy Flight).

There are a couple of Lego board games which I have, The Hobbit and the rarer Battle of Helms Deep.

Battle of Five Armies (by Games Workshop) is actually a wargame I have, however it is very limited in size and self contained (in a single box, with a few additional bits available) so I count this as a boardgame. It is quite rare.

Nazgul (Lord of the Rings), Journey to the Lonely Mountain and The Lord of the Rings Dice Building Game (by Wizkids) are 3 wargames/board/card game crosses I have, these are variations/extensions of the Heroclix wargame system.

Wizards Dual (by Games Workshop) is actually part of their wargames series, but it is a standalone mini hex game.

War games, Roleplaying games and Card games are all separate areas.

Favourite Books

I have already said how much I like reading in my very first blog entry, in which I touched upon some of the books I like, so this entry is all about my favourite books.

There are so many books I have liked, a lot by the same authors, but the ones below are those that are special to me. I have also put in the covers of the versions of each book which I have fondest memories of.

I also make no apology for the number of Fantasy/Sci-Fi on the list.

First on the list is Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien, the greatest book ever written. I have read this book many times and still love it. It is the classic genre Fantasy and it set the benchmark which no other Fantasy has reached again. It defined and introduced so much of the mainstay of the Fantasy genre. The depth of the world created is immense, with an incredible back history (a lot if it told in the also brilliant Silmarillion). The scale of the story is epic and the characters are brilliant. This book also spawned my major collecting habit.

Next is my second favourite book, Night Watch by Terry Pratchett. I could have included nearly all 40 of the Discworld series, they are just brilliant, but Night Watch is my favourite. I have read it many times and I enjoy it as much each time. I would say that you should read the preceding 5 guards novels first in order to get the full impact, particularly getting to know the excellent characters. The main character, the reluctant hero Sam Vimes, is one of the best created by Pratchett and is central in many ways to the brilliance of the book. This book has all the usual stuff in Discworld books, the humour, the real world parody, the great characters, the good writing. But what's really great about this book is the emotion, you really feel the characters and what they are going through, and they are very real. The story is excellent and the time travelling actually works, a very hard thing for a story to pull off.

To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee was one of the first classics I read when I started to read more than just Fantasy. It is an excellent book, full of atmosphere. I liked the fact that it is told from a child's nieve perspective but manages to tackle some serious race/justice issues. I also think that the film is very good (very few films of books are).

My next selection is 1984 by George Orwell. It may be a bit bleak, but it is iconic and a wonderfully envisioned view of the future. It is superbly written and very atmospheric. This was one of the first books I read in a book club.

Sheri S Tepper was an author I was introduced too when I was only reading Fantasy. Her writing is very good. I like lots of Tepper books and I will do a whole blog entry on her in the future, as i do collect her books, but Beauty is my favourite. It blends lots of classic fairy stories together into the real world (she did it long before the latest fad for this). It is very quirky and a bit weird. It is also more Sci-Fi than Fantasy. Like all of Tepper books it highlights a lot of moral issues (sexism, over population, abuse of natural resources etc) but does so very subtly and well.

I do like a lot of young adult books, although they can have a bit more simplistic style of writing. I find that they often tackle interesting and challenging topics within good story lines. One of the best is Wonder by R J Palacio. The way this book looks at the same story from the viewpoint of various characters is very interesting and very well done. It also looks at some serious issues very well.

Enders Game by Orson Scott Card is pure Sci-Fi and has one of the best endings to a book ever, I did not see it coming (It actually changed the way I read, in that I now think a lot more about where a story is going). I think the ending makes or breaks a book, it can make an ok book a good book or ruin a perfectly good book (I might do a blog entry of books with good endings). Saying this Enders Game is not just about the ending, it is well written and a good story which builds up gradually.

The next book is a book which I loved reading with all of my kids, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. It is a perfect interactive and fun way to introduce books to kids. I love the story and it is also educational.

I'm not a zombie fan at all, but World War Z by Max Brooks is just brilliant. very well written. The scope of it is huge, it presents the story in a very real, and global, way, with no aspect ignored.

One Day by David Nicholls is a great way to tell a story. I loved the yearly concept, and yes it is a bit romantic but there's nothing wrong with that. What makes this story great is its ending, such an impacting twist and you don't see it coming, very, very emotional.

Another Sci-Fi next, a real classic, Foundation (trilogy) by Isaac Asimov. This is the first real space Sci-Fi I read and was a great introduction to the genre. It really is an epic which just grows and grows with some major twists along the way. It is very cleverly thought out. I love the way it starts off small and just gets bigger and bigger. You do have to read the first 3 in the series. The rest are ok but they are a bit more drawn out and also a bit weirder.

l like unusual and quirky books and Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde has a large dose of both. Again a young adult book with an interesting concept. A dystopia where social standing is determine by a persons ability to see colour, what more could you want, just brilliant. It is very well written, humorous and a great story.

Another emotional story is Me Before You by JoJo Moyes. It looks and starts like a chick lit, but don't be deceived, it actually has great depth. Despite tackling some serious issues it still keeps a level of fun ness. Actually it is the characters which make this such a great book, along with a thought provoking ending.

The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton was a huge influence in my reading as it started my love for Fantasy. I loved this book, along with the others in the series (and also the Adventures of the Wishing Chair), and read them many times. This book may also have induced my love for reading altogether.

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi is a wonderful dystopian story about genetics, politics and corruption. It is incredibly atmospheric. The story is excellent and so are the characters. I read this book whilst on a business trip to Vietnam which was an amazing experience, enhanced by this book.

A few other books worth a mention are Day of the Triffids, Hunger Games, Wolf Hall, Harry Potter, The Help, American Gods, The Book Thief, Life of Pie and Cloud Atlas.

Terry Pratchett and Discworld

This blog entry is about my 2nd favourite author and another of my collecting obsessions, Terry Pratchett.

Everybody remembers their first Discworld book with fondness and I am the same. My first was Mort and I loved It from the start, the character of Death is one of Pratchett's greatest achievements. From then on I was hooked on Discworld.

But why do I love his books? Here are 10 good reasons:

First, there are so many fantastic characters. Death, Granny, Vimes, The Librarian, Nanny, Tiffany, Rincewind, The Luggage, The Patrician, Moist, Carrot, Angua, Dibbler etc, the list goes on and on. And they are brilliant characters, some of the best written in fiction. You really do love them.

Second, the humour. It is subtle, it is very funny and there is a lot of it.

Third, the stories. There are so many great stories.

Fourth, the emotion. A lot of the books have got real emotion to them. You really buy into the stories and situations and they pull on your emotions.

Fifth, the real world issues in a fantasy context. The way real world issues, even big issues, are explored within a fantasy, but real, setting is brilliant.

Sixth, the whole series. Although each book can be read on its own, the whole series, and sub series, links together to give you something even more special. And there are over 40 books to enjoy.

Seventh, they are unique. There is nothing like them, just try to find anything close.

Eighth, the Discworld. A flat world, on the backs of four elephants, on the back of a giant turtle swimming through the universe. What more do you need.

Ninth, there are no chapters. Just readable sized chunks.

Finally the man himself. He was such a great man. British, humble (always grateful to his fans), genuine (he didn't start out to be a writer) and principled (right to the end).

So which are my favourite books?

My top ten are:
1. Night Watch - just brilliant, so very emotional and time travelling.

2. Going Postal - great story, the Moist character is excellent.

3. Small Gods - a god trapped in a tortoise with only one believer, enough said.

4. The Wee Free Men - very atmospheric, Tiffany is a great character and it has Nac Mac Feegles.

5. Moving Pictures - a wonderful parody of the movie industry.

6. Mort - Death is a genius character and he takes on an apprentice, plus it's the first Discworld book I read.

7. Monstrous Regiment - a great story with great characters, exploring war, woman's rights and racism.

8. Guards Guards - the first of the amazing guards series, a fantastic group of characters.

9. I Shall Wear Midnight - the peak of the wonderful Tiffany series.

10. Soul Music - a parody of the music industry, with some great humour.

There are a few weaker books, still good but, in my opinion, not to the same level as the others (although some people like these a lot). I'm not a big fan of Pyramids, Eric, The Last Hero or Hogfather.

Another thing I like about the Discworld books is the original cover artwork by Josh Kirby. It is original, fun and iconic, and I'm sure it added to the books original popularity. It is a shame that he died and couldn't do the whole series.

There has always been a heated argument about what is the best order to read the books. This is mainly based on the fact that the first 2 books (Colour of Magic and Light Fantasitic) are a bit weirder than the rest of the series and people can be put off if they read these first, therefore a lot of people, me included, recommend that you should start with one of the others (I always recommend Guards Guards). The other camp insist that the series should be read in order. I have been involved in a few heated exchanges on Goodreads about this.

There have been a few tv/film adaptations of some of the Discworld books. I'm not a fan of the 2 animated films. The newer tv films are better, very well made and quite good, I liked Going Postal, but I thought David Jason was poor casting as Rincewind in Colour Of Magic and Hogfather.

Collecting Pratchett and Discworld stuff is another of my hoarding obsessions. Unlike Tolkien there is not as much to actually collect. There are the books themselves, and the various versions.

 I have all of the series in paperback (a lot in different versions) and almost all of them in hardback, in fact the highlight of my Pratchett collection is a first edition Eric (which I got from a car boot for £1).

I have a lot of the Clarecraft figures, which are excellent. It was a shame that they stopped producing them. I also have some of the Clarecraft pewter miniatures

I have also collected all the Discworld calendars since they were first published.

I do have quite a lot of odd other bits and pieces. Other books, Pratchett did write some non Discworld novels (probably my favourite is Good Omens, with Niel Gaimen), and there are some books about Discworld. I have DVDs and Videos, t-shirts, puzzles, games etc.

I must admit that I don't collect the stamps, this is a large area in itself and I haven't had the time or money.