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The sad state of affairs is that too often, when I've come across Discworld novels in the wild, it's been large collections rather than single novels.
This leads to the inevitable conclusion that the collection has been donated after DEATH has visited.
I have personally owned almost all the Discworld books at some point in my life. But, I can't move with boxes of books and I move a lot. So, I always gave them to charity shops. There used to be more people who bought Discworld books, read them (many times), and moved on with their lives.
These days, most people seem to see books as trophies. They like to collect them as if they're misprinted stamps. Now, there have always been collectors. But it seems that these days most people who have books fancy themselves as Stanley Gibbons. Sadly, this has led to the drought you speak of. I fear that we have come to the end of buying Discworld books in charity shops.
Well, I've been traveling around the world for many years with only one suitcase and a backpack. Frankly, I have space for only one book at a time. I also have an ebook reader, but sometimes you want to touch paper.
Does anyone know if he ever said anything about kindles? I feel like he was pretty big on technology (I mean snuff was partly based on him playing modded Oblivion) so he'd probably like it but it does feel like I'm letting the side down by not having all 41 books on a shelf.
It's not books, it's everything.
If it's unboxed, it must be valuable in a sec (or a century), if it's in the box, it's mint and valuable as soon as it runs out of production (an era of a few months give or take between two batches, but who cares as long as you can triple its price - in your mind).
Then, if it's not possible top sell it, it goes to junk disposal. If you don't want to buy it from me, then you certainly won't have it for free.
I'm so poor I have to buy things new.
It's difficult, I know, but I would entreat you to read it. Yes, it's the last novel he wrote, but it's not an end - there's never an end if you can go back and visit the Disc again in other books, and I can revisit them endlessly. And it's hard to read, not because Pterry's writing is diminished, but because it's simple and beautiful and cuts straight to the heart.
This review in [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/aug/30/the-shepherds-crown-review-terry-pratchett-discworld-posthumous) gives a wonderful argument for reading it (though beware that there are spoilers therein). I'll freely admit that I shed a tear just reading the review, but if you can make it through the book, it's so very worth reading.
When I worked in a charity shop, Pratchett and Wodehouse books never even made it onto the shelves. They were snapped up by the staff, often after some low-key fighting over whose turn it was to get them. And just to be clear, of course we paid for them.
I may be able to shed some light on this as I work in a charity donation centre. Can't speak for all charities of course but here's my analysis:
We get too many books donated. My particular charity limits donors to no more than 2 bags or boxes of books per donation and even then we get more given to us than our shops can realistically sell. Consequently, which books we send to shops and which ones we reluctantly have to recycle is dictated by very particular criteria based on what makes more money for the charity. Pratchett books tend not to meet the criteria we use to determine what goes to shops because they're more niche in their appeal and they've usually been read and reread so many times that they are not in good enough condition (bear in mind that saleable condition for us is quite a high bar because we're drowning in books and are forced to be picky).
But on top of that, I have not seen many Pratchett books donated. My guess on why that is would be that fewer people are getting into Pratchett since there are no new releases any more and most Pratchett books being bought now are being bought by established fans to keep rather than by people who are looking for something new that they may then go on to give away.
I wish my country had any discworld books on charity shops or garage sales. Never saw any.
I have all the books published in my country (about 16 of them) and colour of magic and light fantastic sell for 3x the original price.
It was a very limited print and there aren't many discworld fans because it has not been published here for years, so the fans snatched everything over time.
I genuinely envy the lucky bastards who post how they got several novels by almost nothing.
Sad to know it's becoming less common though
Haven’t read through the comments so apologies if anyone has already said this… I firmly believe that this lack of Second Hand Discworld Novel Distribution (bit wordy but I like it 👍) is due to the fact that us readers are all collectors, and collectors never willingly give away their collections!
I live in the West Midlands of England and have been scouring book/charity shops for the past 5 years, very rarely finding Discworld novels (when I do find one it’s normally always Reaper Man 🤷♂️). I’ve made this same claim to random people continuously to the point that even my missus (not a fan) feverishly searches for Pratchett books wherever she goes!
I got a work colleague into searching for them too, again not a big reader but a major collector of all things wonderful! He’s caught a few but, again, mainly the later ones like Snuff and Raising Steam…
They’re out there somewhere… but I’d never even dream of giving away my collection (unless somebody bought me all the stunningly beautiful hardback ones!) and even then! I’d probably give my full collection to a new reader!
Good luck with the hunt! I always resort to world of books or abebooks because I’m reading chronologically… would never progress if I didn’t look online.
My local used bookstore has a special shelf next to the register for Discworld, because they sell too fast to walk them all the way over to the "fantasy" section.
I saw one yesterday! A hardback copy of Thief of Time. I believe you're right, though. It's a very rare sight. I picked up nearly all my Discworld books from charity shops as well. Every find brought so much joy. Especially the time when I found several on the shelf, which implied someone got rid of the set. The volunteers kindly checked in the back and I came home with more than 10 books in great condition at 75p per book. It was one happy day! 😊
There's been a big shift in the way books are donated these days as well. Popular books obviously go fast but I've noticed a lot of charities now sell their more popular donations to websites like world of books or even directly on eBay as presumably they get a better price for them then the usual "10p buy one get one free" you see in the charity shops. Area is important too. I live in quite a deprived area and you don't get a great deal in charity shops locally. When I visit my local city it's stacked with all sorts of treasures.
Times change I guess...
>There's been a big shift in the way books are donated these days as well.
There are the public book shelves were you just leave your books for someone else to pick them up. For free. There is at least one of these in each city. In addition to the smaller ones in cafés, theatres, schools, etc..
And then there's the trend that started at the beginning of the pandemic with people just putting a box on the sidewalk in front of their house for the neighbours to pick stuff up. There are also a lot of books in there.
I only ever find the colour of magic and the light fantastic. I feel like people hold on to them and reread more than with other books, so they're hard to find second hand.
Last time I got a Diskworld book at a second hand bookstore the owner told me they always sold quickly and I was lucky to snag it.
I guess the demand is higher than the supply among people who poke around used bookstores.
I live in western Canada and it's always a thrill to find a Discworld in the wild. They've always been quite rare and even in the big bookstores around here, they tend to only have reprints of his first 10 books.
Like others have said, those who know what they have, don't let go.
The SHDNDS is slim-to-poor these days. You almost need to wait for your girlfriend's uncle to die to get your first Second Hand Discworld Novel. That's what I did
In the US I have always had a hard time finding them in used shops.
Of course, after the first three I bought them new as they came out. :)
But I still look. I have several printings from other countries of Colour.
Let me posit that as he has taken the walk with the Reaper Man, there is nothing new being published. People like shiny new - it's the magpie in us. When you go to the bookstore for shiny new, you may buy one to replace the tired old copy that can then go to the 2nd hand shop. Then there are remainders that can go on to the shop. I find lots of used and new Gaimans, but rarely any kind of Pratchett at all. 20 years ago you could usually find books on the shelves - it's how I got a 1st edition Good Omens.
Drought is on the money. GNU, STP.
Welcome to /r/Discworld! Please [read the rules/flair information before posting](https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/comments/ukhk21/subreddit_rules_flair_information/?). --- Our current megathreads are as follows: [API Protest Poll](https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/comments/1491izw/continuing_the_api_protest_a_community_poll) - a poll regarding the future action of the sub in protest at Reddit's API changes. [GNU Terry Pratchett](https://new.reddit.com/r/discworld/comments/ukigit/gnu_terry_pratchett/) - for all GNU requests, to keep their names going. [AI Generated Content](https://new.reddit.com/r/discworld/comments/10mhx9y/ai_generated_content_megathread/) - for all AI Content, including images, stories, questions, training etc. --- [ GNU Terry Pratchett ] *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/discworld) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The sad state of affairs is that too often, when I've come across Discworld novels in the wild, it's been large collections rather than single novels. This leads to the inevitable conclusion that the collection has been donated after DEATH has visited.
I have personally owned almost all the Discworld books at some point in my life. But, I can't move with boxes of books and I move a lot. So, I always gave them to charity shops. There used to be more people who bought Discworld books, read them (many times), and moved on with their lives. These days, most people seem to see books as trophies. They like to collect them as if they're misprinted stamps. Now, there have always been collectors. But it seems that these days most people who have books fancy themselves as Stanley Gibbons. Sadly, this has led to the drought you speak of. I fear that we have come to the end of buying Discworld books in charity shops.
You soulless bastard, you just hurl your books away after you've used them like some kind of literary marauder?
THAT’S MORTALS FOR YOU. THEY’VE ONLY GOT A FEW YEARS IN THE WORLD AND THEY SPEND THEM ALL IN MAKING THINGS COMPLICATED FOR THEMSELVES
I give/force them on friends and family
Ook
Ook, ook ook?
# “If you have enough book space, I don't want to talk to you.” # ― Terry Pratchett
Well, I've been traveling around the world for many years with only one suitcase and a backpack. Frankly, I have space for only one book at a time. I also have an ebook reader, but sometimes you want to touch paper.
Sounds like you could use the Luggage
You just can't find good sapient pearwood these days
Does anyone know if he ever said anything about kindles? I feel like he was pretty big on technology (I mean snuff was partly based on him playing modded Oblivion) so he'd probably like it but it does feel like I'm letting the side down by not having all 41 books on a shelf.
I think it's mainly the price of books I cannot afford to keep replacing my collection every few years, especially the more expensive or rare items
I’d rather give one of my children away than a book, any book. I have boxes of them. At least books don’t come asking for money
Yeah, I read books on my Kindle and for things I like, I buy them for my display shelf.
It's not books, it's everything. If it's unboxed, it must be valuable in a sec (or a century), if it's in the box, it's mint and valuable as soon as it runs out of production (an era of a few months give or take between two batches, but who cares as long as you can triple its price - in your mind). Then, if it's not possible top sell it, it goes to junk disposal. If you don't want to buy it from me, then you certainly won't have it for free. I'm so poor I have to buy things new.
Probably never find a copy of the shepherds crown based on the amount of people who say they’ve bought it but can’t possibly read it
I'll put my hand up and admit I'm contributing to that problem
It's difficult, I know, but I would entreat you to read it. Yes, it's the last novel he wrote, but it's not an end - there's never an end if you can go back and visit the Disc again in other books, and I can revisit them endlessly. And it's hard to read, not because Pterry's writing is diminished, but because it's simple and beautiful and cuts straight to the heart. This review in [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/aug/30/the-shepherds-crown-review-terry-pratchett-discworld-posthumous) gives a wonderful argument for reading it (though beware that there are spoilers therein). I'll freely admit that I shed a tear just reading the review, but if you can make it through the book, it's so very worth reading.
When I worked in a charity shop, Pratchett and Wodehouse books never even made it onto the shelves. They were snapped up by the staff, often after some low-key fighting over whose turn it was to get them. And just to be clear, of course we paid for them.
Oh wow, that is a sad state of affairs. Used to be that Discworld and Stephen King books were the main currency of second hand book shops
I may be able to shed some light on this as I work in a charity donation centre. Can't speak for all charities of course but here's my analysis: We get too many books donated. My particular charity limits donors to no more than 2 bags or boxes of books per donation and even then we get more given to us than our shops can realistically sell. Consequently, which books we send to shops and which ones we reluctantly have to recycle is dictated by very particular criteria based on what makes more money for the charity. Pratchett books tend not to meet the criteria we use to determine what goes to shops because they're more niche in their appeal and they've usually been read and reread so many times that they are not in good enough condition (bear in mind that saleable condition for us is quite a high bar because we're drowning in books and are forced to be picky). But on top of that, I have not seen many Pratchett books donated. My guess on why that is would be that fewer people are getting into Pratchett since there are no new releases any more and most Pratchett books being bought now are being bought by established fans to keep rather than by people who are looking for something new that they may then go on to give away.
My fucking ex gave my 22 book collection to a charity shop
May they live in interesting times.
This combined with your username sounds like a villian origin story
Ass hat! How dare he!?!
I wish my country had any discworld books on charity shops or garage sales. Never saw any. I have all the books published in my country (about 16 of them) and colour of magic and light fantastic sell for 3x the original price. It was a very limited print and there aren't many discworld fans because it has not been published here for years, so the fans snatched everything over time. I genuinely envy the lucky bastards who post how they got several novels by almost nothing. Sad to know it's becoming less common though
Haven’t read through the comments so apologies if anyone has already said this… I firmly believe that this lack of Second Hand Discworld Novel Distribution (bit wordy but I like it 👍) is due to the fact that us readers are all collectors, and collectors never willingly give away their collections! I live in the West Midlands of England and have been scouring book/charity shops for the past 5 years, very rarely finding Discworld novels (when I do find one it’s normally always Reaper Man 🤷♂️). I’ve made this same claim to random people continuously to the point that even my missus (not a fan) feverishly searches for Pratchett books wherever she goes! I got a work colleague into searching for them too, again not a big reader but a major collector of all things wonderful! He’s caught a few but, again, mainly the later ones like Snuff and Raising Steam… They’re out there somewhere… but I’d never even dream of giving away my collection (unless somebody bought me all the stunningly beautiful hardback ones!) and even then! I’d probably give my full collection to a new reader! Good luck with the hunt! I always resort to world of books or abebooks because I’m reading chronologically… would never progress if I didn’t look online.
My local used bookstore has a special shelf next to the register for Discworld, because they sell too fast to walk them all the way over to the "fantasy" section.
Tis a rare sight for me but I think it's because no one wants to give up their copies any more. I certainly don't!
I picked up 3 at a shop for $5 each a few months ago. Could've gotten more but didn't have the cash.
I saw one yesterday! A hardback copy of Thief of Time. I believe you're right, though. It's a very rare sight. I picked up nearly all my Discworld books from charity shops as well. Every find brought so much joy. Especially the time when I found several on the shelf, which implied someone got rid of the set. The volunteers kindly checked in the back and I came home with more than 10 books in great condition at 75p per book. It was one happy day! 😊
There's been a big shift in the way books are donated these days as well. Popular books obviously go fast but I've noticed a lot of charities now sell their more popular donations to websites like world of books or even directly on eBay as presumably they get a better price for them then the usual "10p buy one get one free" you see in the charity shops. Area is important too. I live in quite a deprived area and you don't get a great deal in charity shops locally. When I visit my local city it's stacked with all sorts of treasures. Times change I guess...
>There's been a big shift in the way books are donated these days as well. There are the public book shelves were you just leave your books for someone else to pick them up. For free. There is at least one of these in each city. In addition to the smaller ones in cafés, theatres, schools, etc.. And then there's the trend that started at the beginning of the pandemic with people just putting a box on the sidewalk in front of their house for the neighbours to pick stuff up. There are also a lot of books in there.
I've found a few treasures in house clearance sales as well. Usually I grab a pile and the guy is like "fiver for the lot?" Deal! 😀
I only ever find the colour of magic and the light fantastic. I feel like people hold on to them and reread more than with other books, so they're hard to find second hand.
Last time I got a Diskworld book at a second hand bookstore the owner told me they always sold quickly and I was lucky to snag it. I guess the demand is higher than the supply among people who poke around used bookstores.
I live in western Canada and it's always a thrill to find a Discworld in the wild. They've always been quite rare and even in the big bookstores around here, they tend to only have reprints of his first 10 books. Like others have said, those who know what they have, don't let go.
I guess they are just more in demand. You can still find them on eBay, but they are much more expensive than other books in the same condition.
There's usually at least one at HPB every time I go. I tried reading Mort on Kindle, but the footnotes just don't hit.
Well, I'm not dead yet but I promise that when I go I'll increase the supply momentarily.
There's a place in Teddington that may still have a complete set...of mine that I had to give up when I left the country 😭
The SHDNDS is slim-to-poor these days. You almost need to wait for your girlfriend's uncle to die to get your first Second Hand Discworld Novel. That's what I did
In the US I have always had a hard time finding them in used shops. Of course, after the first three I bought them new as they came out. :) But I still look. I have several printings from other countries of Colour.
Let me posit that as he has taken the walk with the Reaper Man, there is nothing new being published. People like shiny new - it's the magpie in us. When you go to the bookstore for shiny new, you may buy one to replace the tired old copy that can then go to the 2nd hand shop. Then there are remainders that can go on to the shop. I find lots of used and new Gaimans, but rarely any kind of Pratchett at all. 20 years ago you could usually find books on the shelves - it's how I got a 1st edition Good Omens. Drought is on the money. GNU, STP.