Talk:The Unseen University Cut Out Book

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"Challenging and entertaining[edit]

"The book is definitely not for children: it is a challenging and entertaining project for adults, especially those with an interest in Discworld and the novels of Terry Pratchett."

I wouldn't doubt this, but I would say: according to WP-Standards this claim ("challenging and entertaining") needs a source. Sounds a lot like PR to me. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.204.137.170 (talk) 22:06, 15 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Notability[edit]

Effectively unreferenced, no reviews listed at ISFDb nor can I find any reliable. Ping @Cunard - I intend to AfD this in a little while. _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 04:14, 29 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Piotrus (talk · contribs). Here are some sources about the book The Unseen University Cut-Out Book:

Butler, Andrew M. (2007). An Unofficial Companion to the Novels of Terry Pratchett. Oxford, Connecticut: Greenwood World Publishing. p. 393. ISBN 978-1-84645-001-3. Retrieved 2023-07-01 – via Internet Archive.
The book notes: "The Unseen University Cut-Out Book (2006): Co-produced with Bernard Pearson and Alan Batley, who is an illustrator and model-maker living in Norwich. It was published by Doubleday. Based on Pearson's model of the Unseen University, Alan Batley created seven origami and cut-out buildings that recreate it in paper, including the clock tower, the Great Hall, the High Energy Magic Building, the Library, Modo's Garden Shed, the Observatory and the Tower of Art. Pratchett contributes a foreword, 'Everything Under One Roof', as does Pearson, 'It's All in the Mind'. It is aimed at modellers from ten upwards.""
"Pratchett juggernaut rolls on". The Canberra Times. 2006-11-25. Archived from the original on 2023-07-01. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
The article notes: "In his introduction to The Unseen University Cut-Out Book, Prachett reveals that the format was inspired by his childhood love of a cut-out railway book "all you needed was sharp knife, a tube of glue and about 150 hours, which in that pre-TV age were in ample supply". The Unseen University Cut-Out Book is essentially a supplement to Discworld narratives for those who want to construct a physical Unseen University. Pratchett owes much here in design to the model-maker Alan Batley and Discworld artist Bernard Pearson. This book may also be a very clever marketing strategy, because if you construct the Unseen University then you don't have a book. Pratchett therefore says in his introduction, many fans will need to buy two copies."
"Luck of the draw". The Nelson Mail. 2006-11-30. p. 11. ProQuest 274516105.
The article notes: "The Unseen University Cut-Out Book: (Doubleday/Random House, 165 pages, $50) Terry Pratchett says he was a big fan of cut-out books - so he, Alan Batley and Bernard Pearson have come up with this book that allows you to cut out and create your own Unseen University, Discworld's greatest university of magic. Send your entry to Unseen University Giveaway."

If this is insufficient, this could be merged to Unseen University per Wikipedia:Deletion policy#Alternatives to deletion.

Cunard (talk) 08:31, 1 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Cunard Thanks. A capsule review, a mention in passing and another very short capsule review in a series of such reviews. Pretty borderline, but perhaps asking for more input at AfD would be good (merge or keep, certainly not delete)? I think what we hav here is a bit too little for keeping this as a stand-alone entry, so I'd lean towards merge. @Daranios, @Jclemens - what do you think? Merge or AfD to gauge consensus? _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 04:51, 3 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

This is borderline as the sources are all on the short side in providing 96 words (Butler 2007), 123 words (The Canberra Times 2006), and 59 words (The Nelson Mail 2006) about the book. I agree that deletion would not be the right approach but am fine with a merge. Cunard (talk) 05:08, 3 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Merging this into the UU article itself would actually give that article more evidence of real world notability. Jclemens (talk) 07:04, 3 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I guess I am fine with either keeping or merging the article. For the real-world-notability of Unseen University itself, the search for the Cut Out Book led me to this academic paper, which should go a long way towards establishing notability there (next to the sources mentioned in past deletion discussions), though the current state of that article isn't great. For the Cut Out Book, I came upone one more small bit of commentary in Discworld and the Disciplines, p. 69: "an amazingly detailed card-board model needing assembly, along the lines of the well-known paper model of the Globe Theatre." Daranios (talk) 15:06, 3 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]