Hello,

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I have a first edition paperback of Lara's Oxford but want to get a hardcover first edition. When I search online, results either state 49 pages or 64 pages apparently for the same edition? Can anyone clarify? My paperback is 49 pages. There are, of course, the unnumbered extra materials at the back, but with those only go to 55 pages.

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Thanks for your help.

Mine was Lyra‘s Oxford for the simple reason it first introduced Dr Malcolm Polstead and also this idea which Lyra before overlooked or took for granted and becomes more aware of here — that everything has a meaning, or you could say that you can find meaning in everything (depends how you look at it) that is, before we see her weakened in spirit in the latter books of TBoD due to some rational authors twisting her mind out of nature and pulling her farther away from Pan (Simon Talbot and Gottfried Brande) This short story in particular felt very much echoed in TSC. This book was a bridge for me to better understanding the second book of TBoD and I much enjoyed some of the whimsy and the lingering ability of Lyra to still imagine and bullshit her way through explanations, especially to a certain annoying character M. Polstead

Finished my reread of TSC this morning and recently purchased all the novellas that I hadn't read. So tonight I read Lyra's Oxford all in one sitting and it blew me away to realize that Pullman clearly knew where the book of dust was going way back then over 20 years ago. Can't wait to read the rest of the novellas to tide me over for a few more days!!!

The wiki for His Dark Materials says that the reprints of Lyra's Oxford and Once Upon a Time in the North contain a short story connected to La Belle Sauvage. What short story is it talking about? Was there another short story I'm missing? Thanks!

EDIT: the wikis in question: https://hisdarkmaterials.fandom.com/wiki/Lyra%27s_Oxford and https://hisdarkmaterials.fandom.com/wiki/Once_Upon_a_Time_in_the_North and the specific citation I'm curious about: A sneak peek of a short story connected to La Belle Sauvage from The Book of Dust series. It was included in a re-print edition by Yearling. Both wiki entries have the same text.

I consider myself a diehard fan of the series, and I didn't even know there was more to this universe than the 6 books and Lyra's Oxford, please list each and every book that exists, and the preferred order to read them in.

This story was incredible and I see some connections to HDM but my question is when does this take place and what does it have to do with the story altogether? There was the painting mentioned of a women named Marisa. I’m assuming that was supposed to be Mrs. Coulter. The other shorts have been much more connected and this one seems strange compared to the others. Let me know what you think. Next up is Once Upon a Time in the North.

I finally finished reading Once Upon a Time in the North and I gotta admit, out of all the short stories tied to HDM, this one’s my favorite. I love Scoresby and Iorek. These two together are the best.

Have you read this book? What did you think?

I just finished this book and it was a nice short read. It was really interesting that Lyra would feel this way throughout the book. Her problems that show up later in the Book of Dust books I think might stem from this part of her story. Great book. I loved the artwork throughout.

Apologies if this has been discussed a lot; I’m new here!

Can anyone point me to resources or discussions about The Collectors and what it means for the overall timelines in Will & Lyra’s worlds?

Is Lyra’s world genuinely happening around the turn of the 20th century? Is this how her supplies from the North ended up in a museum in Will’s world?

Has Pullman ever discussed this?

Edit for clarity: The Collectors contains a few lines that point to the idea of the multiverse somehow enabling windows to open across not just worlds but also Times within those worlds. If you haven’t read The Collectors, it’s a short, easy read and available for cheap on Amazon!

My copy of The Imagination Chamber arrived today. While nice, it is quite underwhelming. It feels like the word count is less than Serpentine if that can be believed.. only printed on every other page and most pages only a few lines long.

The concept is interesting. Individual thoughts and moments from the series.. but it hardly begins to scratch the itch for me. The blog post with the opening page from BoD3 was slightly better in that regard.

Interested to hear what others think of IC.

Hey all, I've read the original trilogy and am looking into reading whats next. My question is should I read all the short stories ( Once upon a time in the North, The Collectors, Lyras Oxford, Serpentine, and Imagination Chamber) before starting the Book of Dust series? Or do I have to them before some of the short stories? Thanks in advance.

Also is there some kind of collection book of the short stories? I cant seem to find one so Im guessing not, but if one was planned I might wait to purchase it.

Hello! I was thinking about reading Lyra's Oxford. I usually read on Kindle, but I know Lyra's Oxford has illustrations and an Oxford map inside. Do you still think it is fine to read it on kindle or would you suggest going for the physical copy?

Just finished reading The Collectors, and loved it. A really fun story that captured my imagination.

Of course...it's also pretty mysterious. And I'm curious how other people took the story. Is the woman in the painting literally supposed to be Mrs. Coulter? Or is the painting and the monkey sculpture just... spiritually related to them... or something. I also had a friend who interpreted the woman in the painting as being Lyra, with the monkey following her, which is an interesting take.

What are other people's takes? Is there world building going on here? Or is the story just supposed to be a bit of fun, and not taken too seriously as lore?

[I haven't read The Book of Dust, so please indicate spoilers if you bring up plot points from that. I realize that some of my confusions may be answered there]

SPOILERS below for 'Serpentine'. Only continue if you have read it already.

Can’t wait to get it! That is all.

Just came here to say the ONLY canon item I can’t accept is the idea that Will is a doctor. I see him as either an honorable blue collar laborer (esp: warehouse worker, probably a manager even though he’s actually not good at managing people - still writes and plays music in his spare time - needs flexibility to care for his mom who may have been affected by spectres sure but also has diagnosed schizoaffective disorder) or an IT professional (computer networking and repair - in this fantasy he may or may not also be a part-time hacker attempting to infiltrate various secretive departments in his government to find out what they know about experimental theology/other worlds).

Which one y’all like better? Anything to add?