2026 Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to discuss Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.

Pages: 384 pages

Length: 1 month (August)

Participants: Jill, Lorraine

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.

Here are some questions to help get the conversation started! Feel free to look up discussion questions specific to this book or come up with your own. Just make sure any questions that contain spoilers are under spoiler tags.
Discussion questions are not required but may be a fun way to talk about the book and get to know each other!

Prior to starting:
What prompted you to join this buddy read?
Have you read this author before? What do you think of their other books?

Mid-read:
What character or ideas do you relate to the most and why?
Do you have any favorite quotes or scenes?

After reading:
What was enjoyable or not-so-enjoyable about this book?
Did this book change your perception about anything, either within the book (character development) or in real life?

Hello Jill,
I'll probably start the book next Sunday, and I'm really looking forward to it.
My youngest brother (well, if someone in his sixties can still be called "young" 😊) watched the show and absolutely loved it. That surprised me because he's usually the type to watch documentaries or children's movies, so his enthusiasm was what led me to the book.
I believe you've watched the show as well? I've never seen it myself. I have, however, watched a few seasons of Lucifer, and I always found it amusing when the angels and fallen angels talked about their Boss. 😊
We'll see if this book is just as funny!
Just so you know, I'll be going on vacation for a week starting August 9th. We won't have Wi-Fi at the chalet, though, so I may not be able to post comments very often. We'll see how it goes!

Lorraine,
Yes, I adored the first two seasons of the show, though the third season was disappointing. I have read the book, but that was awhile ago. I opted for an audiobook this time around, which has Michael Sheen as Aziraphale and David Tennant as Crowley (the same roles they played on the show). I’m looking forward to revisiting it, though I may be late starting it. I’m preparing to move (probably in September) and am heavily invested in deciding what to keep and what to throw out or donate.

Hi Jill,
I hope the preparations for your move are going the way you want. I don't know if you have huge bookshelves, but I'm not in any hurry to decide which books I should keep and which ones I should donate. Well, if all goes well, I have another 2–3 years before I have to make that decision! 😊
I finished Good Omens a week ago, but I wanted to take some time to think about my final comments.
(view spoiler)[I have to say that, even though I truly enjoyed the book at first and laughed out loud many times, I found there were too many characters and too many changes of direction toward the end. I felt that this story was almost made for television rather than for reading—unless jumping from one situation to another within a few paragraphs isn't a problem for you.
That being said, I finally succumbed and got an Amazon subscription (which I had been avoiding since last year because of the situation between the U.S. and Canada) so I could watch the show. So far, I've only watched two episodes, and I have to say I find it quite funny! (hide spoiler)]

Yes, I think the smartest thing they did with the TV show was to keep the focus on Crowley and Aziraphale. I agree that the book loses something toward the end when they are jumping around between different points of view. I think part of the problem is that there were two authors who wanted to write about two different sets of characters. From what I understand, Gaiman was primarily interested in the children while Pratchett was the one who turned the whole angel v. demon thing into the focus, including making them into a romantic couple.

I think I mentioned that I’ve been listening to the Audible version. Which has Tennant and Sheen recreating their Crowley and Aziraphale. It’s hilarious, and I strongly recommend it for fans of the show.

My move is going well. I have five bookshelves crammed with books, and I feel very accomplished by the fact that I have managed to donate about two dozen books to the local library. My goal is to manage to get down to four bookshelves. The fifth bookshelf I can donate to my niece, who is helping with the move and wants a good bookshelf for her six-year-old daughter.