I took a break from more serious reading to return to one of my chronic indulgences: Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels. The one I finished today is Reaper Man. I should explain that my interest in fantasy (if I have any interest in fantasy) is in no way connected to “discovering a new world” or any kind of escapist desire: I read Pratchett as a satirist, not as a fantasy writer. Reaper Man was particularly interesting to me because of the way it deals with the “death of cities”, a subject that is obviously very much of interest to me. Of course it is, like other Pratchett novels, generally delightful, as well. Of course there are the standard recurring characters, primarily the Reaper himself - and his mousy companion. There is a lot of University business too. As a graduate student, I find the Wizards of the Unseen University particularly effective as a satire of a very insular community.
I am moving on to a 1939 city guide for New York written by out-of-work writers under the WPA. Of course I am reading it more as history than as a guide, but it seems to be very well written, as well, beyond being informative. And some great illustrations.
