The Gold Bug, a short story by E. A. Poe

"I say the singularity of this coincidence absolutely stupefied me for a time. This is the usual effect of such coincidences. The mind struggles to establish a connection—a sequence of causes and effect—and, being unable to do so, suffers a species of temporary paralysis. But, when I recovered from this stupor, there dawned upon me gradually a conviction which startled me even far more than the coincidence."

About the story: The Gold Bug is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe and is the first story in his Tales of Mystery and Imagination collection (which I am currently reading.) Poe is supposed to have submitted this story to a writing contest and won a prize of a hundred dollars, making it one of his most widely read and appreciated stories, during his lifetime.

Summary: William Legrand, the narrator's friend, leads a curious life on Sullivan's Island near Charleston, South Carolina. He lives in a small hut, which he himself built, and along with an old man called Jupiter, engages himself in activities like gunning and fishing; not to mention searching for unique shells or entomological specimens. It is on one such quest that Legrand captures and gets bit by a unique little bug, that seems to be made of pure gold. A month after this incident, the narrator notices his friend still acting very strangely. When Legrand forces the narrator to go on a long expedition into the forests with him, carrying the bug along with them, the narrator is most certain of his friend's insanity and has all sorts of questions going through his mind; What caused this insanity? Was it the bug-bite? Where were they heading? (which you would have to read the story to answer!)

My Thoughts: The story is very unique and lovely, and the atmosphere, quintessentially Poe; eerie and dark. I loved that though the story is a treasure-hunt, it doesn't focus on what treasure they found and what they did with it, but the element of mystery and the "drum-roll" or suspense that is built up on the way.

I loved the eccentric characters and the narration. What I really appreciated, was that the narration is very precise. You find out close to nothing about the narrator, making it easy, even, to relate to the story; I could easily put myself in the narrator's shoes. Also, the narrator sticks to the one story and skillfully avoids writing anything irrelevant to this plot; in fact, even the names of characters other than the ones critical to the plot aren't mentioned.

Poe was known to have an intense interest in cryptography; and I could see that from the story. The detailed descriptions of the code-breaking and puzzle-solving were very intriguing and entertaining. The descriptions are vivid and there is a tinge of humour to the writing, though the language does take some getting used to.

The story also had " 53(85;8*+6*3 "

Read the story and break the code to figure this one out! (Did this convince you to read the story?)

This is definitely one of my favourite short stories by Poe and certainly a must read!

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

This review is a part of the Dystopia 2012 Challenge hosted at The Bookish Ardour.

"A chair, a table, a lamp. Above, on the white ceiling, a relief ornament in the shape of a wreath, and in the center of it a blank space, plastered over, like the place in a face where the eye has been taken out. There must have been a chandelier, once. They've removed anything you could tie a rope to. "

About the book: The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood, which was first published in 1985.

Summary: (from Goodreads) Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining fertility, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now...

My Thoughts: This may seem like a very halfhearted review and I do not blame you for thinking that. I don't usually tend to write reviews about books I don't like, unless they're review copies, in which case I have to. It's because I am mostly unable to think of anything to write. But since I read this book as part of a challenge, I decided to go ahead and write the review.

I have seen this book compared to Orwell's 1984 countless times. I won't try to tell you how wrong those comparisons were; I merely want to show how wonderful I expected this book to be. What I got, instead, was very clumsy writing; not to mention very little character development and an average plot.

The book starts out painfully slow. The writing is childlike, with short pretentious sentences, too many metaphors, an inconsistent narrative and for some reason, no quotation marks. The authors tries too hard to sound beautiful, scary, touching. Throughout the book, the reader is kept in the dark about most important things, and instead presented with a whole lot of irrelevant details. Till the very end you don't get a clear explanation of why the world is this way, what drove the characters and we never find out what happened of half the characters.

So much of the plot is withheld for so long, and I can think of no other reason why the author would do this than to attempt to keep the audience intrigued. I wasn't intrigued, just confused, slightly irritated and sort of amused. The only reason I kept reading the book was because I had to find out if the mystery ever ends.

I wish the book had a more intricate plot, or better developed characters. The book would make a much stronger statement, if only all the underlying themes such as gender, sex, caste, class and patriarchy were, in fact, underlying. I like books that have a point to make, but not if the message starts to hinder the plot and character development. I appreciated the basic premise of the book, the world that the author has tried to create and the impact she's tried to make; but that basic idea was the only thing I am completely certain I liked.

If someone asks me how I find this book, I won't say I hate it, because I don't; I would just call it okay.

The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton

"He remembered a hornbill, which was simply a huge yellow beak with a small bird tied on behind it. The whole gave him a sensation, the vividness of which he could not explain, that Nature was always making quite mysterious jokes. Sunday had told them that they would understand him when they had understood the stars. He wondered whether even the archangels understood the hornbill."

About the book: The Man Who Was Thursday is a metaphysical thriller written by G. K. Chesterton. It was first published in 1908, and is often considered to be the author's best work.

Summary: The Man Who Was Thursday is the story of Gabriel Syme. He is a poet-turned- detective from Scotland Yard, who goes undercover to infiltrate the Council of European Anarchists. The Council consists of a group of eccentric characters, whose codes names are the names of the seven days of the week; Syme becomes the new Thursday. It is now up to him to stop the planned assassination of the Czar and the French president, without getting caught in the process.

My Thoughts: The Man Who Was Thursday is less than 200 pages and a quick read. It is also a fun read! I read the book in one sitting. When I was done, I couldn't exactly form full-sentenced thoughts. The words that popped up in my mind were.... Nightmarish, literally. Wild. Bizarre. Surreal. Intriguing. Witty.

What I found wild was the fast pace, the kind that makes the book seem less like a metaphysical thriller and more like a spy novel. The plot races across the pages. The novel is an allegory, a great one, because it does not even try to convince you that it is literal. It is, at times, strange and eccentric and that makes it even more fun. You cannot miss a single detail and you just have to read between the lines. There are times when you lose track entirely of the many twists and turns in the plot; I'll admit I was sidetracked a couple of times and I had to re-read a couple of paragraphs, but it's intriguing how each time you re-read something, the deeper, intended meaning becomes clearer. The language is beautiful, though it does take getting used to. It reminded me of the couple of books by P. G. Wodehouse that I have read. If not anything else, this book lets you experience the author's way of simply playing with words.

Look at it one way and it's a mystery novel, otherwise it's a satire, or even a thrilling fantasy. The emotions involved in the book and the ideas about laws and religion and war, humanity and anarchy are all still very relevant. So whichever way you look at it, though written in 1908, the novel is timeless. I couldn't write more about the plot or the ideas, without spoiling the book for you. This book is certainly a must read.

This review is a part of the What's in a Name Challenge for "something on a calendar" hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

The Prince's Tale is SO overrated

There. I said it, and I do think it is. I see how this goes against the planned Valentine's Day strictly lovey-dovey posts, but this is one love story I certainly did NOT like. Finding out Snape's 'big secret' was probably the worst part of reading the Deathly Hallows for me. Well, until the movie came out and I was made to watch the incredible Alan Rickman actually cry like a baby. Quick question Rowling, why did you have turn such an amazing, complex character into a soppy teenager? WHY!?

Let me take you back seven Hogwarts years. I loved Snape from the moment he was introduced, you know, ever since when Harry saw him in the Great Hall and his scar hurt. The malicious, badass Slytherin professor who does everything in his capacity to make Harry's life miserable, and in spite of being described as greasy-haired and icky, is portrayed by Alan Rickman. What's not to like?

Actually, it's not the part where he turns out to be on Dumbledore's side that bothers me. That's one 'twist' we all sort of expected; I mean, you didn't really think he fooled Dumbledore, did you? I wish it wasn't because of love though, because a mushy love story just doesn't fit in with such a badass character.

It's funny how Snape suddenly goes from 'an adult who bullied you, not to mention all your friends, for seven years' to 'a great man you ought to name your kids after'! And all because he had a crush he couldn't quite get over.

Sure, he loved Lily. I bet Lucius loved Narcissa; doesn't make either of them saints. Did everyone who read 'The Prince's Tale' not read 'Snape's Worst Memory'? When James Potter was a troublemaker, Snape was a budding Death Eater. Did he not care about Lily when he turned into one? And when he told Voldemort about the prophecy? When he asked Voldemort to spare Lily and just kill her child? And in Hogwarts, after supposedly turning super-good, it wasn't just Harry, whom he bullied. Snape tortured every person he set his eyes on who wasn't a Slytherin.

Snape wasn't evil, true. He stayed loyal to Dumbledore till the very end. But he was definitely not the hero he is made out to be. I mean, think about it, if it had turned out, that the prophecy was actually about Neville Longbottom, Snape would have switched loyalties in a heartbeat...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Love

Willow - The one boy that’s really liked me, and he’s a demon robot. What does that say about me?
Buffy - It doesn’t say anything about you.
Willow - I mean, I thought I was really falling…
Buffy - Hey, did you forget? The one boy I’ve had the hots for since I’ve moved here turned out to be a vampire.
Xander - Right, and the teacher I had a crush on? Giant praying mantis.
Willow - That’s true.
Xander - Yeah, that’s life on the Hellmouth.
Buffy - Let’s face it, none of us are ever gonna have a happy, normal relationship.
Xander - We’re doomed!
Willow - Yeah!

[They all laugh, though their laughter quickly becomes nervous and stops..]

This post may be ten years late, (and ten pages long... sorry!), but I'm still going through with it.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS) is probably my favourite television show ever. If this makes you roll your eyes or smirk or go 'ew, really', then you've never seen the show, or worse, only seen the movie. I don't like love stories, which diminishes my stock of Valentine's Day themed posts considerably. What I do like are witty, romantic sub-plots, which this series is full of. I know it's old, but what the show lacks in effects and technology, it makes up for in the ingenuity of the plots and the amazing script. It's not a love story, because it's more like an action-story about the Slayer and all her fighting and saving the world stuff. The trio, Buffy, Willow and Xander, fight demons on a regular basis, guided by Watcher and high school librarian, Rupert Giles. Sunnydale high is situated directly on the Hellmouth, a place where all the evil in the world converges. And isn't that what high school is like, anyway?

Still. BtVS has got a lot more to do with romance than it initially lets on. A witch in love with a werewolf; a witch losing control of her powers, using dark magic, and wanting to end the world when the love of her life dies; a thousand year old demon girl falling for a human boy; a vampire restoring his soul for a human...

The vampire-in-love-with-a human concept is old news, now. I haven't seen it as deep and insightful ever as in Buffy. In Buffyverse, when a human is turned into a vampire he loses his soul or conscience, his ability to care, making him just a ruthless killer. Angel, however, is a vampire who is cursed with a soul, to make him eternally suffer for his sins.

Buffy can't help being attracted to him (I mean, have you seen David Boreanaz?) They kiss and he turns into his vampire self. Being the slayer, she sets out to kill him, until she finds about the curse that keeps him "good". Their relationship develops and when they have sex, in that moment of perfect happiness, the curse on Angel is revoked, turning him ruthless again. He begins to terrorize Buffy and her friends, and plans to destroy the world. Prior to a huge fight, Willow somehow restores Angel's soul, but it's too late. Buffy kills Angel. He is banished to a Hell dimension, where he seemingly spends an eternity before mysteriously returning to Earth, a few months later. Though Buffy and Angel get back together, noticing the effects he has on Buffy's life, Angel decides to leave her; hoping that she would be happier without him. And unlike most vampire-human love stories, he goes for good. He loves her enough not to risk her life. She keeps loving him till the very end, though. I think Buffy and Angel make the perfect example of forbidden love, the most real one at any rate.

With Angel gone and high school over, Buffy is at a turning point in her life; soon, she meets the perfect guy, Riley Finn. Riley is an agent in a top secret government operation to capture, study and incapacitate demons. Riley already knows about the supernatural world and Buffy finally finds a human boyfriend, whom she can be completely honest with. Soon, though, Riley begins to think of himself as a liability to Buffy. Seeking thrills (and also, assuming Buffy loved Angel because he was a vampire) Riley lets a female vampire feed on him, which later turns into a sort of addiction. Buffy finds out and their relationship ends when Rileys leaves Sunnydale.

The third big romance for Buffy is another vampire, Spike. After Buffy is magically resurrected from the dead by her friends, she feels lost and lonely. Spike is everything Buffy hates about this world, and the only one she can talk to. They start a violent, sexual relationship. Buffy breaks it off, when she realizes that she is just using him to get over her own suffering. Afterward Spike almost rapes her, losing her trust completely. Wanting to prove that he is good enough for Buffy, Spike undergoes a series of trials and - wins back his soul.

Spike returns to Sunnydale completely crazy. He is haunted by the memories of the people he tortured. When Buffy learns about his newly-acquired soul, she lets him back into her life. They never develop a relationship again, though they are close. He is her only support, when everyone else turns their back on her. In their very last fight, Spike dies to save the world. And when's he's about to die, Buffy holds his hand and tells him that she loves him. He goes laughing in the face of death, becoming a true champion.

Spike: A hundred plus years, and there's only one thing I've ever been sure of - you. Hey, look at me. I'm not asking you for anything. When I say I love you, it's not because I want you, or because I can't have you. It has nothing to do with me. I love what you are. What you do. How you try. I've seen your kindness and your strength. I've seen the best and the worst of you, and I understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are. You are a hell of a woman. You're the one, Buffy.

Now that's true love, or unconditional love, or sometimes true love, which doesn't really work out because the time isn't right. You know, some love stories end happily, some not so much. But the thing is, I love they way they are written. It's not that original, true, but it's very grown-up, mature, well thought out.

I love how every single thing has an in-depth explanation, how carefully every single action is filmed and how all the seasons are sort of related and tied together. It's what I feel when I read Harry Potter, like the entire plot was planned first and then divided into seven parts. Which is crazy, because, of course they didn't plan the tv series beforehand! But must be some show if it makes you think that...

More than anything, this is one of those shows that knows it has to become super-intense and dramatic at times, but makes up for all the cliches by laughing at itself the next moment. You may think that the dialogues are cheesy, you're just not in on the joke.

Angel: I saw you before you became the Slayer.
Buffy: What?
Angel: I watched you, and I saw you called. It was a bright afternoon out in front of your school. You walked down the steps... and... and I loved you.
Buffy: Why?
Angel: 'Cause I could see your heart. You held it before you for everyone to see. And I worried that it would be bruised or torn. And more than anything in my life I wanted to keep it safe... to warm it with my own.
Buffy: That's beautiful. Or, taken literally, incredibly gross.
Angel: I was just thinking that, too.

Why I love the Tiffany Aching series by Terry Pratchett (more than Harry Potter) #2

Okay, so my last post was very vague, and didn't exactly do justice to the 'Why I love the Tiffany Aching series by Terry Pratchett (more than Harry Potter)' title. Here's a post that will. I compared the Tiffany Aching sub-series of the Discworld with the Harry Potter series because they are quite similar in many respects; for one, they both belong to the young-adult fantasy genre, are written by British authors and were published around the same time.

To anyone who cares to read, this is why I think the Tiffany Aching series is a much better read than the Harry Potter series:

1. The Lead Characters:

Tiffany Aching and Harry Potter - Tiffany Aching discovers she has magical powers at a very young age, and so does Harry Potter. Harry has lost his parents and Tiffany, her grandmother - their only possible connections to the magical world. They come from a similar background and grow up to be similarly powerful, each in his/her own world.

I have never quite loved Harry, even though I loved the series. I honestly don't think he is a very appropriate lead character. I mean, he IS kind of boring. He is neither particularly smart nor very talented. He is brave and good and modest, but that doesn't make him any different from any other hero. Think about it, we hardly learn anything else about Harry Potter's character through the seven years that we know him.

Tiffany Aching on the other hand is witty and quirky. She loves words and loves to imagine the way certain words might sound. She thinks she can taste certain words. She thinks fairy tales and children's stories are silly. She finds it, for instance, hard to believe that some boy stupid enough to sell a cow for just five beans could kill a giant and steal all his gold. She refuses to wear black robes or be a wicked old witch in black, with warts and a crooked nose. Tiffany also seems very mature in comparison to her Wizarding World counterpart, who is pretty naive, in spite of all that he has faced. Tiffany Aching has character, that makes her a much more lovable lead than Harry Potter.

Dumbledore and Granny Weatherwax - I am comparing, here, Tiffany Aching's witchcraft to the wizardry from the Harry Potter series. (Wizards and witches of the Discworld, unlike the Potterworld, practice completely different forms of magic.) Granny Weatherwax is the all-powerful witch in the Tiffany Aching series and Tiffany's teacher/guide/mentor; like Dumbledore is for Harry Potter.

I have always said I would have loved to know more about Dumbledore. Things of greater relevance than his sexuality, for example. You can't just wear a pointy hat and sport a foot-long white beard and call yourself a great wizard. I know Dumbledore is more than that, and his past (the one with Grindelwald) tells a lot about his character. But it doesn't show why he is so powerful now. You learn about his weakness in the last book of the series, but when do you learn about his strength? Almost everything you know about Dumbledore is what other wizards said/wrote about him.

Mistress Weatherwax has quite a personality. She uses her common sense and is willing to bend rules, and frankly, the ability to get inside the heads of animals and things makes her more powerful than any incantation-saying wizard, non-verbal incantations included. As a teacher though, Granny Weatherwax pretty much helps Tiffany help herself. Granny Weatherwax definitely wins in the power-department, but I would give it to Dumbledore for playing a better role as a guide.

2. The Bad Guy:

I cannot compare Voldemort to just one character from the Tiffany Aching series, because there is no singular villain in all the Tiffany Aching books as there is in the Harry Potter series. That being said, Voldemort is the single Wizarding World character with as much personality as any of the lead Discworld characters. He is the perfect villain and also the thing that ties all the seven books together (it's unfortunately not Harry, who does that.) While I love Voldemort the character and the ingenious way in which he was defeated, I do wish I could believe with total conviction that Harry Potter was capable of pulling that off.

3. The most prominent Side characters:

The entire Weasley family functions, for me, as sort of a side-character. I am not including Hermione in this, because again, I don't think there is much to her than being very studious. Molly Weasley is the perfect mother, strict but actually pretty nice, Arthur is the eccentric Dad, Fred and George, the ultimately fun and lovable pair and so on. It is the parts involving the Weasley family that I love to read in every Harry Potter book. Who would be the Tiffany Aching series counterpart for the Weasley family?

Not in the sense of relationship with the lead, but purpose in the book, I'd say the Nac Mac Feegles. The Feegles are smurf-sized fairyfolk with super-strength and super-speed, who are usually thieves and pests, but are on occasion very helpful, and are also very loyal to Tiffany. I would love to see Ron Weasley try and take down Rob Anybody (hey, that rhymes!) Each Weasley, on his own, is a more developed character than each Feegle. All the Feegles put together, though, are much funnier and more enjoyable than all the Weasleys put together.

4. Witchcraft:

Another thing to think about: what does Rowling really tell you about the craft? The Tiffany Aching series provides a much deeper insight into the craft, and magic, generally. It doesn't leave many unanswered questions; say, for example, why are some people magical, and others, not? Why do wizards need wands? Where, incidentally, do the wands get their power from - it's the wand that chooses the wizard, right? I could write an entire post about how the Tiffany Aching series magic is superior to the Potterworld magic, but I guess this speaks for itself:

'Come outside then,' she said. 'I'll give you lesson one. It's the only lesson there is. It don't need writing down in no book with eyes on.'

She led the way to the well in her back garden, looked around on the ground and picked up a stick.

'Magic wand,' she said. 'See?' A green flame leaped out of it, making Tiffany jump. 'Now you try.'

It didn't work for Tiffany, no matter how much she shook it.

'Of course not,' said Granny. 'It's a stick. Now, maybe I made a flame come out of it, or maybe I made you think it did. That don't matter. It was me is what I'm sayin', not the stick. Get your mind right and you can make a stick your wand and the sky your hat and a puddle your magic... your magic... er, what're them fancy cups called?'

'Er . . . goblet,' said Tiffany.

'Right. Magic goblet. Things aren't important. People are.' Granny Weatherwax looked sidelong at Tiffany.

If it were only the plot that mattered; I would have chosen the Harry Potter series over the Tiffany Aching books a thousand times. The theme of the books and the detail and insight that Pratchett provides in everything that he writes makes his books much deeper and more commendable than the Harry Potter series. The Harry Potter books may be more accessible to the general public, and easier to relate to or to understand than the Discworld series. First: You don't face that problem with the Tiffany Aching novels. Second: If you could get through seven enormous volumes, you do definitely like to read enough to give one of these a try. More importantly, do note that reading the Tiffany Aching series makes for an amazing experience!

P. S. - If you compare the Harry Potter wizards with the Discworld wizards, the Harry Potter ones seem so much cooler. Then again, when it comes to magic schools, you would be crazy to think that Hogwarts could beat the Unseen University!

Why I love the Tiffany Aching series by Terry Pratchett (more than Harry Potter)

We had gone to visit my aunt tonight, and we were in the car on the way back. We were chatting about my sister's wedding, which happened last week and is the reason I have been so busy lately. I thought about writing an entire post about the awesomeness that the big event basically was; but I scrapped that idea, what with this essentially being a Book Blog and all. The wedding was preceded by weeks of shopping and other dull activities like that, though I did soon learn to enjoy them. And I happened to socialize quite a lot during the actual ceremony, which was fun too. Plus, of course, I am so very happy for my sister!

Getting back to the point, we were crossing this bridge and I noticed the huge moon. It was a particularly, notably huge moon. Only, it was not quite a half moon, but not really round at the same time. It was this "gibbous" moon which instantly reminded me of (from Terry Pratchett's Discworld) Tiffany Aching.

"Tiffany knew it was gibbous because she'd read in the Almanack that gibbous meant what the moon looked like when it was just a bit fatter than half full, and so she made a point of paying attention to it around those times just so that she could say to herself: "Ah, I see the moon's very gibbous tonight...."

It's possible that this tells you more about Tiffany than she would want you to know."

If it were just a couple of years ago, I would have, observing the moon awhile, thought of (from J. K. Rowling's Wizarding World) Bane or another centaur repeatedly and monotonously stating "the moon looks unusually bright tonight" or something of the sort. Definitely not gibbous.

You see what I am getting at? This is not another Harry Potter vs. some other fantasy series post. Fine, it may be. But it's also an appreciation post... appreciation of fantasy fiction in general, how hugely books affect my thinking, and of course, the great Terry Pratchett for creating the fantastic Discworld.

Harry Potter was a great introduction to fantasy fiction for me - no, I hadn't read Lewis or Tolkein before Rowling. I have always thought of it as the ultimate book because of all the memories I have attached to it. It basically defined the better part of my childhood. Being a complete novice when it came to fantasy fiction, I was utterly fascinated by every single thing I read.

My love for Discworld, on the other hand, has much more to do with the actual book than how much fun I had reading it. It is a work of pure genius. There are puns and word-plays I had to read twice (initially) to work out, every sentence makes you laugh, every line makes you wonder about the symbolism and double meaning. What, on the outside, seems like a completely new, original world is full of subtle parodies of and references to the real world wherever you care to look for them - that's great writing. You cannot compare a novel written for adults and children alike to a book you'd have to be a very intelligent and well-informed child to completely understand and enjoy. (The latter is Discworld, by the way.) You cannot compare J. K. Rowling to Terry Pratchett. Consider this: Pratchett had already published twenty Discworld books before the first part of the Harry Potter series was written.

You can, however, compare two young adult fantasy series, both written by British authors, both published around the same time. The Tiffany Aching sub-series of the Discworld is a lot like the story of the Boy Who Lived. Tiffany is barely nine years old when she discovers that she is a witch, just like her grandmother who happens, also, to be a very powerful witch. Her grandmother isn't alive any more though, and Tiffany has to learn to use her magic powers and save her brother from an evil Queen of the Elves all by herself. When she defeats the Queen, Tiffany earns herself a teacher and a lot of respect. Throughout the series, Tiffany grows up a great deal, and it is rather wonderful to read about it than have me give a not-good-enough summary.

Like the rest of the Discworld series, it's a series of four amusing books; but quite unlike the rest, it's also touching. I know people who love the Harry Potter series but don't quite get the Discworld. (Well, it's pretty difficult not to get this one.) The Tiffany Aching series has less satire and more action, drama, whatever. The plot is much more significant here than in the usual Discworld book and the writing is much more young-adult-ish; easier to get into. And I found it better than/as good as Harry Potter for all the reasons that makes Discworld a more evolved story; the experienced writer and the intended audience being the more important of those. Tiffany Aching tells us that witchcraft is as much about helping people and doing all the things no one else will do as brewing potions and reciting spells. It is, on the one hand, the coming-of-age story of a lonely little girl who grows up to find her charming knight and on the other, an amusing adventure of the girl who dances with Winter.

Also - Tiffany is a very lovable character.

Tiffany thought a lot about words, in the long hours of churning butter. 'Onomatopoeic', she'd discovered in the dictionary, meant words that sounded like the noise of the thing they were describing, like 'cuckoo'. But she thought there should be a word meaning 'a word that sounds like the noise a thing would make if that thing made a noise even though, actually, it doesn't, but would if it did'.

Glint, for example. If light made a noise as it reflected off a distant window, it'd go 'glint!' And the light of tinsel, all those little glints chiming together, would make a noise like 'glitter glitter'. 'Gleam' was a clean, smooth noise from a surface that intended to shine all day. And 'glisten' was the soft, almost greasy sound of something rich and oily.

If you're as great a Harry Potter fan as I am, do make it a point to read the Tiffany Aching series! And while you're at it; don't miss the footnotes - they are some of the best parts of the books!

P. S. - The Nac Mac Feegle could beat every Wizarding World creature.