Moving Pictures
January 28, 2002 (3:53 AM) ( link )

So, Terry Pratchett's Moving Pictures is only slightly amusing. There have been some laugh-out-loud moments, though: the introduction of "banged grains," Dribbler's new and improved movie descriptions ("Pelias and Melisande: A Storie of Forbiden Love. Thys wille shok you! With a 1,000 elephants!"), and some of Pratchett's more evocative descriptions ("Dibbler’s expression was the expression worn by something long and sleek and white as it swims over the reef and into the warm shallow waters of the kiddies’ paddling area").

It's also an easy read so far, which is good, considering I don't really have that much time to read it. Unfortunately, it's not yet rolling-on-the-ground funny, which I was kind of hoping for. Then again, very few books actually make me laugh out loud as I read. For some reason humor just doesn't translate well on the page for me. In fact, I can't think of a single truly funny book that I've read—even The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy wasn't funny to me until people started repeating the jokes. God knows I could use some humor now, though, as the thesis monster cackles on my shoulder.