That's "colour" to you colonials...
I am a huge fan of Terry Pratchett, and I urge anyone who has only read the first book, or even the first two or three, to check out his current work. While they are still funny, they are also masterpieces of Swiftian satire and some damn good characters and stories.
When I'm writing something, and I come up with a clever turn of phrase or something particularly witty and insightful, it's a rare treat and I savor it. Pratchett does this about two or three times on every frigging page.