Death is doing duty as the Hogfather, filling stockings and driving the sleigh. Meanwhile Susan Sto Helit is tracking down the tooth fairies with the help of the oh god of hangovers (temporarily cured).
I love Susan and Death's a close second but I have a really hard time reading this novel. I don't know what it is but I had deep resistance every time I picked it up until about half way and even then it wasn't easy to read. Maybe it's the villain of the story (I really don't like him) or his cronies. It's a good story, just not for me. ( )

Terry Pratchett, once again.

Bedtime storytime is an institution which had been foundering in our household.

More than that, for years in December I had brought down our collection of holiday/winter picture books and we'd read one a night in addition to our regular story. But the kids are getting older, and the stack of books that I would imagine could still hold their interest dwindles every year.

And this year, I had the brilliant idea: Hogfather.

Suddenly, EVERYONE wanted story time, every night and sometimes even asked for more chapters! I think the exact right amount of time had gone by since we'd seen the movie adaptation — enough to not remember exactly where things were going, but recent enough to make it easy to picture most of the characters, and keep a vague grip on the shape of the thing.

Easily in my top ten story time books we've enjoyed together as a family, ever. Susan and her exasperation is such a wonderful guide through all the chaos, making it easier to take glee in the unhingedness, to not be too unsettled by the deranged. And then the message, finally, is just so perfect.

Maybe someday in the future, when Jefferson comes home from college for the holidays, we can read it again. ( )

I loved everything about this book, from the little fairies that kept popping into existence with a glingle-lingle-ling to Death playing the role of Santa in his very own way, to the Auditors, to the poker. Especially the poker. Hogfather is going to join with Dicken’s Christmas Carol and Dr. Seuss’ Grinch to form my very own Holy Trinity of Christmas stories.

Now I just need to find it on audio for my annual re-reads!

Paperback version, read for the 2017 Christmas Bingo.
( )

Good book, overall. Some time ago, I tried to read "Light Fantastic" (after having read "The Colour of Magic") and decided that I wasn't much a fan of Pratchett. At the recommendation of a friend, I read this book, and was pleasantly surprised, and would certainly give Pratchett another chance. ( )

Unraveling Pratchett's plots is always a challenge. This one is ultimately about belief creating the gods that create the world and what happens to the world when the belief changes. On the surface, it's about Death stepping in to deliver toys on Hogswatch Night because the Auditors of the Universe have caused the Tooth Fairy to be kidnapped. See what I mean?

Somewhat darker than many of Pratchett's fantasies, this one buries some intriguing questions under the puns and humor, and it reaches far, far back into the imagined history of Discworld, when propitiating the unknown and unpredictable gods was serious business indeed. ( )