Nanny Ogg's Cookbook - Terry Pratchett, Stephen Briggs, Tina Hannan, Paul Kidby

When I first set eyes on ‘Nanny Ogg’s Cookbook’ it did not take long for the word “spin-off” to jump into my head, and my instinctive reaction was to have nothing to do with it. However, Terry Pratchett himself was in the building on a publicity and signing tour to promote his then-new novel ‘The Fifth Elephant’. With the prospect of getting one more book signed I relented, and shelled out £12.99 for my troubles. In search of something light to read I recently read the book for the first time. The first thing to note is that the volume is not merely a Cookbook, containing as it does sections on etiquette (with witches, ...  Read the complete review

This is a very silly book that works a great deal better than it probably should. It's the supposed follow-up to the "Joy of Snacks" the infamous much banned book of aphrodisiac recipes published by Nanny Ogg under the name 'A Lancre Witch' and mentioned in the Discworld novel "Maskerade". It's a book of two halves, which don't necessarily fit that well together. There's the funny stuff and the actual recipes. The two halves are not separated. The Patrician's recipe for bread and water and Leonard of Quirm's recipe for a cheese sandwich are both funny enough to cause choking should you try to read and drink at the same time. In fact I ...  Read the complete review

I will be the first to admit to being a fairly obsessive Discworld addict. It's about the only series I won't just buy in hardback but will buy in hardback at full price the day of publication. So, when the Nanny Ogg's Cookbook got announced a few years ago, my family knew what they needed to buy me for Christmas. This isn't just about recipes. The book introduces itself with an argument between two editors, one of them against many of the recipes on the principle that "they make his wife laugh". There ARE recipes in there, but such ordinary things such as Maids of Honor (well, they STARTS as maids but they ends up tarts) mix with recipes ...  Read the complete review

For die-hard Discworld fans, Nanny Ogg’s Cookbook is described as “a useful and improving Almanak of Information including Astonishing Recipes from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld” and is printed in the form of a real recipe book. Some recipes have cute sketched images and nearly all recipes can be actually created although some, like the fake “sheep’s eyes” made of pickled onions and olives may be a bit hard to stomach. Throughout are included some notes from the Discworld publisher, a JHC Goatberger and Thos. Cropper which add a bit of humour to the book. The cover is very enticing and looks really good – I never buy supplementary books unless they have excellent content ...  Read the complete review