[West Ender]

I don't read much fiction but I do read Terry Pratchett, his sense of humour is fantastic. Who could resist a world populated by 3 witches - one a spinster who has to jump-start her broomstick by running up and down with it, one the mother of many sons who's "been around a bit" and likes a drink or 6, and a drippy, hippy one? Where else do you find a police force with, amongst many others, a 6' dwarf, a troll who knocks himself out when he salutes, a female werewolf who gets a bit embarrassed when she's "on the change" and a world-weary commander who eventually marries Lady Sybil who runs a dragon sanctuary (and lights his cigars with the flames from baby dragons, much to her annoyance)? What about Gaspode, the talking dog and Greebo, Nanny Ogg's beloved mangey, one-eyed cat. In one book a vampire who has terrorised a town for centuries turns into a bat - as they do - and, sadly for him, meets Greebo. As Pratchett says, while Greebo burps contentedly, vampires have risen from the grave and from the flames - but never from the cat.

I've got every Discworld book that's been published in paperback and I re-read them all the time. I've just finished re-reading Nanny Ogg's Cookbook, a superb spin-off, much censored by her publishers due to the - er - errotic nature of many recipes. I've taped Hogfather to watch next week. It's a good book but, in my opinion, not one of the funniest. Can't wait to watch it though.