A Hatful of Sky by Terry Pratchett, readalong final instalment
3 April 2013
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: A Hatful of Sky, Readalong, Terry Pratchett
And so we reach the end of our readalong of Terry Pratchett’s A Hatful of Sky. This has been a great book for a readalong as it’s such good fun. If you didn’t join in with the readalong then I would still recommend you read this series. The Little Red Reviewer and Dab of Darkness have acted as hosts for this. Questions and answer to follow but read no further if you don’t wish to encounter spoilers and if you do – don’t say I didn’t tell you so!:
1) Mistress Weatherwax has a philosophy of her job is to make sure everyone today can get to tomorrow – such as letting people believe in water sprites and goblins if it lets them lead a better life. Do you see yourself somewhere in this philosophy?
I suppose this is similar to ‘live and let live’ which I would say I do believe in also. Absolutely let people believe in water sprites if they want – anyway, they’re real aren’t they????
2) Do you think Mr. Weavall will be successful with the Widow Tussy? Do you think Tiffany got off light concerning Mr. Weavall’s stash?
I think Mr Weavall and the Widow will be very happy and probably rack up another 100 years between them with this new lease of life! I’m not sure about Tiffany getting off lightly really – at the end of the day the Hiver was controlling her – but, she does also realise that the Hiver is just fulfilling your own wishes – so really she did covet the money?? Anyway, she did feel really bad about her actions during the possession and I loved the fact that the Feegles helped her out with this – after all they weren’t using the money, other than for serving plates and they obviously didn’t want her to feel bad for stealing from Mr Weavall.
3) What was your favorite part of Mistress Weatherwax’s and Tiffany’s bonding time in the mountains with the little picnic and the owls and such?
I loved the way that Mistress Weatherwax was always being grumpy but then kind of looking askance at Tiffany to see how she was really reacting. She tries to act like a real meanie but actually she’s not really. I enjoyed the part where she was trying to sleep and attract the owl and Tiffany woke her up and scared away the owl.
4) Petulia Gristle heard Tiffany was going to face something nasty and went out to see if she could use some help. Have you ever had an awkward situation like that?
I thought that was really good of Petulia. I knew she was a good character and I thought it was great when she finally plucked up enough courage to tell Annagramma off! I don’t know if I’ve had an awkward situation like that – don’t get me wrong I end up in plenty of situations, usually embarrassing and probably more than my full share, but not really like this one.
5) Tiffany has her first and last conversation with the Hiver/Arthur. Did you see Tiffany’s answer to the Hiver dilemma coming or were you taken by surprise?
I was taken by surprise. I never figured out the conclusion at all and I couldn’t piece together what all her talk about wishes was about. I thought the conclusion was more satisfactory than with the Fairy Queen. And, I liked that she helped Arthur instead of simply trying to destroy him.
6) The Witch Trials are almost like a county fair, a happy outing for the entire family, or so Granny Weatherwax was grumbling about. What about the affair caught your attention?
You wouldn’t think a bunch of witches at a trial would be a family occasion would you – you could be turned into a toad just for a bit of sport! I suppose the Mexican standoff with Tiffany and GW was the most stand out part of the trials for me. You could sort of cut the tension surrounding them as they shared that moment – I really liked that part and thought it was very wise of Tiffany to act as she did.
7) In the final chapter, we learn the meaning of the title of the book. Did you feel this was a good wrap up to the novel?
It was a very satisfying ending. I liked the fact that she returned to the chalk to help with the lambing and then created her own hat. I thought it was interesting to see her changed feelings for Roland and also that he seems to be growing up and basically as with the last book I felt it was quite touching – the way everything returns to Granny Aching and the fact that Tiffany now seems to be taking her place in everyone’s eyes.
Thank you ladies for hosting both these readalongs and taking the time out to come up with all the questions. It’s been very enjoyable and I’m looking forward to spending time with Tiffany again later in the year. 😀
A Hatful of Sky by Terry Pratchett, readalong week 3
27 March 2013
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: A Hatful of Sky, litt, Readalong week 3, Terry Pratchett
We are nearing the end of A Hatful of Sky which I admit is a little bit sad because it really is a fun book and spending time in Tiffany’s world is an enjoyable way to spend the evening!
If you haven’t read this book before then you might want to avoid the rest of the post in case of spoilers and if you haven’t read any of the Tiffany Aching series I really do recommend them.
This week’s questions are provided by Andrea at Little Red Reviewer so stop on over and take a look and also don’t forget to call in at Dab of Darkness to check out the discussion there.
I got a chuckle out of Tiffany’s visit to ZakZak’s shop, especially the bit about the different styles of witch hats. What kind of witchy goodies would YOU buy there?
It’s a funny shop for sure – I was imagining what it would be like if all your books had eyes set in the middle – you’d have a constant stack of books rolling their eyes at you in disgust because you’d not picked them up yet! Mmm, now what to buy, well I’m low on eye of newt, not to mention tongue of dog (*eyes up her two dogs sat innocently on the rug in front of the fire*). This is a tough one. I genuinely don’t know – perhaps a crystal ball – it would be useful to see into the future! Or a broomstick – flying around would be such a stress reliever!
Inside Tiffany’s head might be the strangest place the Feegle have ever been. What did you think of Pratchett’s imagery of her mind, and of her safe place?
Yet again I thought this was really well done by Pratchett. A really dark and quiet place – which given that most of Tiffany was absent I guess it would be. I liked that it was everything that she felt comfortable with, the shack, the green rolling hills, the horse, and the absolute hush made it all the more chilling because it sort of embodied everything about Tiffany but without her being present. I thought her safe place was a really good idea and hadn’t guessed what was going on at all. I loved it when she rose up out of the hill and squished the hiver!
Poor Miss Level. Do you think she’ll ever recover from what happened to her? How is this going to change her relationship with Tiffany?
Well, given her own natural kindly nature I think Miss Level won’t hold this against Tiffany. I also think she may come to think of it as a blessing in disguise. She still has the extra pair of hands but without the duplicate body – which was a bit odd – and hopefully she will get more respect from the villagers now as they’ll think she’s more ‘witchy’!
In the discussion Tiffany has with Mistress Weatherwax at the end of chapter 9, Weatherwax gives Tiffany some very important information about how to be a witch. Who would you rather study with to become a witch? Weatherwax or Level?
Miss Weatherwax is certainly a very interesting character and I can’t deny it. That being said Miss Level is obviously good to study with due to her natural compassion and care for others. Again, not sure about this one. Part of me thinks Weatherwax but then the sensible side says that Level is a really good starting point to teach a bit of humility – perhaps I could go to Weatherwax for a masterclass!
Any thoughts on how the story might end? Do you think the Hiver is gone for good?
I don’t think the Hiver has gone yet. It’s creeping about for sure. I have this weird feeling there’s going to be a showdown.
A Hatful of Sky by Terry Pratchett, week 2 readalong
Today marks the second week of the Hatful of Sky readalong being hosted by Little Red Reviewer and Dab of Darkness. This week’s questions are from Dab of Darkness. Beware of spoilers if you haven’t already read these stories (and if you haven’t, seriously, you should get onto them – they’re such good fun).
1) Awf’ly Wee Billy, the gonnagle, comes up with a plan, the PLN. First, do you like the basic idea? Second, what was your favorite part of the execution of the PLN?
The Plan was mental really – I’m trying to remember why they came up with the idea of dressing up as a man-come-scarecrow but it did make for some strange and funny reading – it just seemed to me that they travel so much faster just as themselves. Obviously the part in the coach was very amusing – gradually all the other travellers removing themselves to sit atop – except for a few who couldn’t fit up there and those remaining few being privvy to a tantalising glimpse of the wee trouser occupant! Thank goodness they had such a lot of gold coins! I loved where the horse and cart is going faster than the carriage they’re trying to catch up to and actually takes over – there’s a lovely sort of irony.
2) Miss Level has a philosophy of ‘storing it in other people’. How do you like this philosophy and do you know any witchy people in life who might be secretly following it? Miss Level has certainly got a lovely philosophy and a very caring attitude – not sure I’d be quite so generous spirited – don’t get me wrong I’m not a meanie but she is just totally devoted to the people of the village and it’s really very time consuming. It’s a whole new way of looking at how a witch gets on – here I was thinking they’d spend all their time cackling and cooking eye of newt and in actual fact she feels more like a cross between a district nurse with a hint of Lady Bountiful thrown in for good measure. I don’t know if I know any witchy people but I certainly do know a couple of very thoughtful and kind people.
3) We finally get to meet some other witchlings, such as Petulia and Annagramma. What do you make of Tiffany’s first meeting with them? I really have to hand it to Pratchett writing that whole scene of the original meeting, he does a terrific job of creating the type of bitchy high school mean girls. Annagramma and her Earwig witch are both basically a big pair of bullies! I must admit though that I was surprised when Tiffany met these girls – at first anyway. She seemed so subdued and just immediately fit in with the group and acted in the same way as the rest of the girls. At first I thought she was going to stand her ground and stick up for herself but then I figured she’s never been in a group like this before and she doesn’t really know how to act so she’s trying to act in line with the others.
4) The Hiver has finally found Tiffany and Miss Level has finally met the Feegle. How do you think Tiffany will fair against the Hiver and how much damage do you think will be done (either by the Hiver or the Feegle)?
I think Tiffany will fair okay with the Hiver but to be honest that’s only because I’m being a smarty pants and I figure she must get out of this situation in order to be present in book No.3 – yes, I realise that’s called cheating and not using my own brain/imagination but…. needs must when the devil vomits into your kettle! I think the Hiver and the Feegles are equally capable of inflicting damage although the Feegle’s is not done maliciously.
I really enjoyed this week’s reading and must admit that this book feels a much stronger addition than the first – which I also really enjoyed but just think this one is definitely superior.
Books and travelling with Lynn 