He is not dead.......

Terry Pratchett has Alzheimer's :-(

But as he says in the statement , I too am taking the news philosophically and with optimism and hope that one of the best comic fantasy writer/satirist the world has ever seen will continue writing and give us more of the Discworld, Ankh-Morpork ,Unseen university,The Librarian, Rincewind,The Luggage,The Sweeper, Commander Vimes, Corporal Nobbs, Captain Carrot, Nanny Ogg, Granny Weatherwax,Cohen the Barbarian,Moist von Lipwig and of course DEATH until THE MAN himself comes calling with a scythe in HIS hand to take Pratchett to HIS world (which I hope happens at a very later date...preferably as late as it can)

Till then Sir, I am with you and "Bugrit, millennium hand an' shrimp...".

Thrillers,Fantasies, Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, Satire, Humour, Comics, Adventure,Biographies and a lot more.......

If you are wondering what is the list of names under Enlightenment, Education and Entertainment is, then stop scratching your heads. Its the list of authors I like......

I have spent quite a bit of my life reading.

Time I spent laughing at the plight and antics of the characters from a P G Wodehouse novel.

Time I spent experiencing the vast range of emotions created by Jeffrey Archer, Vikram Chandra,Khushwant Singh, David Gregory Roberts, Erich Segal, Mario Puzo, Mark Haddon, Sheldon.

Time I spent feeling the adrenaline rush from Matthew Reilly, James Rollins, Alistair Maclean, Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child, Grisham, Jack Higgins,Frederick Forsyth, Ludlum, Tom Clancy, Nelson Demille thrillers.

Time I spent on the conspiracy thrillers of Dan Brown, Daniel Pearl.

Time I spent visiting the magical worlds created by Tolkein, Philip Pullman, Angie Sage, Jonathan Stroud, Rowling, Rick Riordan, Trudi Canavan, Eoin Colfer, Cornelia Funke, Paolini, Neal Stephenson.

Time I spent contemplating on life and its existence, thanks to Umberto Eco, Mitch Albom, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, J D Sallinger, Harper Lee.

Time I spent marvelling at the genius of Terry Pratchett, Tom Sharpe, Bill Waterson,Scott Adams who with their satire made me realise the vagaries of life.

Time I spent in the enchanting town of Malgudi, with R K Narayan alongside introducing me to a host of delightful characters.

Time I spent with Lance Armstrong, Richard Feyman, Anne Frank experiencing their struggles, anguish, joys.

Time I spent with the famous five, three investigators, the hardy brothers who had a way to get in to mysteries.

Time I spent in awe of the vision of Jules Verne or the brilliance of Saki, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Conan Doyle.

All the time I spent in the company of such illustrious people with a gift (a gift of writing), I have been enlightened, educated and not to forget entertained. And by no means the list on the right is a static one. There is still a lot more worlds to be explored in this literary universe and I hope to visit quite a few of them, if not all.

Also not to forget the innumerable Asterix, TinTin,Archies, Mickey Mouse,Hagar,Beetle Bailey, Dennis, Family Circus, Hi & Lois and a host of other comics which helped me to take my mind off the tensions of daily life.

I thank them all and their creators.