Trying to figure out how to word this title was interesting, lmao. I realize it sounds clickbait-y, but it's an actual thing!

So I was already in a bit of a novel reading slump. I did get back into reading One Piece, though! (I don't track manga here, so it's been quiet for me here, lol. I'm at the Egghead Island arc, if you're curious).

But then, on 24 June, I went to the ER because my ankle was in severe, 9/10 pain. After a shorter-than-expected wait, I had a fluid sample drawn from my ankle, and it turned out that I had an infection in my ankle that caused Septic Arthritis (basically a temporary arthritis caused by infection in a joint, that can lead to permanent and severe arthritis if left untreated). So I ended up getting emergency surgery to flush the infection from the ankle.

I was hospitalized for a week, and I had my copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy with me the whole time, and I just... didn't touch it. It's the perfect time to read, and my brain was like "Nah, you've got zero motivation to read right now. Enjoy boredom!"

Anyone else get that feeling? You're in a position where reading would be perfect, but you just... can't? (I'm hoping to shirk this slump soon)

I'm posting this in Small Gods, but it seems to apply for Terry Pratchett's writing as a whole.

The choice of vocabulary is delightful and odd.

To elaborate, I find he used a lot of interesting and uncommon words. Archaic slang, historical terms, and just plain interesting words.

What inspired me to write this is three new words to me. Well, two and a half. One I had heard before, but didn't know the meaning.

Trireme, oriflamme, and agog. I'd heard trireme before, but wasn't aware of the definition.

Off topic, ish, but I should make a post at year end with all my new words from the year...

This chapter was a stark contrast compared to the previous one, holy. Really interesting tonal shift, but it's definitely a bit of whiplash.

Also, you can absolutely tell this was written in the 70s with how much and how often the main character smokes, holy frig, haha.

Poor Calcifer. He needs a nap for sure after the scarecrow incident.

I get the distinct impression that Adams had some issues with his local council and bureaucracy based on how annoyed the tone is when writing about them, haha.

Captain Vimes' notes: "Itym: Where did it come from? Itym: Where did it goe?"

My brain: The Dragon was Cotton-Eye Joe!!

I have no idea if that was intentional or not. I wouldn't be surprised, honestly, if Pratchett had referenced that (the song itself has been around since before the American Civil War), but I don't know if those specific lyrics were in any version recorded prior to the writing of this book.

But the fact that it could possibly be a reference to the folk version of Cotton-Eye Joe amuses me to no end.

I get the distinct impression that Adams had some issues with his local council and bureaucracy based on how annoyed the tone is when writing about them, haha.

Howdy folks!

As the title implies, I'm wondering if anyone knows of any novels that are like the anime Space Dandy?

It's an episodic comic science fiction anime. It's basically a space opera parody that plays fast and loose with the absurdity button. The main character, a rockabilly styled guy named Space Dandy, a weird talking cat-ish alien thing, and an outdated robot.

I've been rewatching it, and decided to see if there's any sort of novel/series that might be like it.

I'm guessing Hitchhiker's Guide will probably be mentioned by someone, lol.