Thursday 29 October 2009

Pratchett Revisited

There are some books that never leave you. I remember being quite small, and hanging on the words of anyone who would read me Fantastic Mr Fox. And I had and still do have a tendency to get hold of an author and read them dry, Enid Blyton's Famous Five and Secret Seven, and more recently P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster.

In my teens, this was Terry Pratchett all the way. Just before I discovered boys, and Hooper's Hooch, I was lost in a world of wizards, a Death (WHO SPOKE IN CAPITALS) and fantastic yet compelling characters. I am rereading a few of his books at the moment, starting with Guards Guards and Men at Arms (almost finished, so quick and gripping to read) and I might find time for Small Gods before marketing takes over my whole November. I didn't realise at the time, but these stories shaped my thoughts and values, embedding themselves in my creative consciousness. So much so, that rereading them now is like catching up with an old friend, even 15 years later.
Poignant, colloquial and clever, they celebrate the uniqueness of people and places by holding up a wobbly fairground mirror to reality.

And, as the icing on the cake for today's ponderances, my marketing exam is about ... Black & Decker! As it has been pointed out to me, with no preconceptions about the brand, I am forced to use the knowledge I have learned to prepare and get through the test ... blimey!

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