I've been a bit stunned that Discworld doesn't seem to have quite the following as Lord of the Rings, other than that it doesn't take itself as seriously. The world building and character development has been so wonderful. And that one could really pick up nearly any book as their first read and not be lost while there is so much referential content really highlights how natural the world feels. And what you read has such actual value in real life. I'm affirmed some thoughts and feelings that I've had, but it's also gotten me to think about things I hadn't given much thought to or how to process some things I couldn't come up with words for expressing.

Nobby and Colon are great examples of both character building, not just for themselves, but Vimes as well. Night Watch and Thud! showed how far they had come since Guards! Guards! and it's not that they're written differently to make them less useless, it's that Vimes has taken account of what he has to work with and has become such a great leader that he can turn what would be a disadvantage to most into just the right thing the situation needs.

The other character that I really love that I wouldn't have anticipated is Detritus. From when he temporarily gains intelligence from the cold weather to when he defends Cheery in front of all the dwarves, he's become so much more than he started as. The vampires, golums, and zombies all shine too and bring so much to the stories. No one feels like a throwaway character.

I do want to see how it all wraps up. I don't expect everything to end up all neatly settled, but that kind of thing, the books have shown me, is for stories, but the Disc is alive and likely won't have a storybook ending. Or maybe it will. I love that I still don't know what to expect after nearly 40 books.