'Personally, I think the best motto for an educational establishment is: 'Or Would you Rather be a Mule?' 

A couple of weeks ago, we lost the author of these words; fantasy writer Sir Terry Pratchett. By an odd and strangely meaningful twist of fate, I happened to be reading one of his books as the news broke.

I see baths as literary excursions more than hygiene sessions. When the CNN alert went off on my iPhone, I switched my copy of 'The Long War' to my left hand and read about the author's death with my right. I then glanced back and forth from book to phone.

I find it meaningful that I will now always be able to say that when I learned of Sir Pratchett's death, I was deeply engaged in enjoying his work. 

Pratchett is among the bestselling authors ever to write in the English language. And perhaps his great success can, in part, be explained by another of his quotes. It hints at broad-spectrum learning and the value of not imitating the voice of others. May you own your industry, and may you take Sir Pratchett's words to heart: 

'If you are going to write, say, fantasy - stop reading fantasy. You've already read too much. Read other things: read westerns, read history, read anything that seems interesting, because if you only read fantasy and then you start to write fantasy, all you're going to do is recycle the same old stuff and move it around a bit.'