That one book club...

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

Ok, I seem to keep bringing this up but... the month of April is over! That means that the book club we found a few weeks ago has started posting their thoughts on our favorite series.

http://smartremarksbookclub.blogspot.com/

It looks like only the first review is very negative... and I'll admit it kind of hurt me to read it. (I'm sorry I told you to read it! But, really, the one insteresting thing happened in the third chapter--so, what, only hand-chopping is interesting? Too much traveling and political intrigue? Oh, my heart! It hurts!) The rest of the reviews so far seem to be more-or-less positive, and some express a great love for the books.

I do have one annoyance--their misspelling of the names. But I guess the've only read the books once, and at great speed, as opposed to however-many times we've read them... but, Eugene? Anatolia? Ungh.

Comments

[peggy-2.livejournal.com]

Thanks for getting the recommendation from that bookstore girl.

: )

[peggy-2.livejournal.com]

also, could I please ask the sounis comm to not go over and post comments on their blog?

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

I second this.

[(Anonymous)]

or at least, let them get their own thought out first. their book discussions seem to run to the hundreds of comments and i am looking forward to waking up tomorrow, here in the eastern standard timezone, and seeing what they thought. people who don't like books don't usually go to the effort of posting reviews of them, which is why us authors get the big head and think that everyone loves us. more of markie will be good for me. also, people don't usually make it to sounis until they have thought about the books quite a bit. watching smart remarks is like watching people react in real time.

i do think that at some point someone should link them to the original post that identified the "sixteen year old" bookstore clerk. we wouldn't markie walking back into the bookstore unprepared.

`mwt

[(Anonymous)]

"that oily, two-pointed bearded jagbag"

oh. a new vocabulary word. landee for the win!

mwt

[peggy-2.livejournal.com]

you know, megan, I'm liking the name "Anatolia" more and more.

any chance one of their kids could be named that? the one with the wildest imagination, perhaps?

[magicsandwiches.livejournal.com]

Ah, thanks for posting that. I've been wondering how their monthly selection went. I will read, literally, any discussion I can find on these books. I actually do searches on Twitter to see who is talking about them and what they are saying. A little pathetic, yes, but I have to know what people think!

Wondering...is Markie the only guy in that group?

Rosaleeluann, just confirming for Saturday in case you missed my reply to you way back when. Should we make a community post about it?

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

Um, I'm not sure if I missed the reply... I can still do Saturday, but did we ever say where? I think a community post might be the best way to organize it, just so everyone sees it instead of it not being hidden away in an off-topic thread.

[thelasteddis.livejournal.com]

I don't like Markie. And I swear, this is not just because he doesn't like the books! What bothers me is that he has put so little thought into the plotline. He took everything at face value, and so obviously he wasn't going to understand or like what he read.

VIGGO MORTENSEN IS RELIUS.

Think about it... all the movies I've seen him in he's really ragged looking (and VERY hot, might I add), but with a haircut and, y'know, less dirt all over his face, he would make a great Relius.

[(Anonymous)]

YES

[elvenjaneite.livejournal.com]

Okay, admittedly I'm Miss Cranky paints because:
a) I love the series like Gen loves earrings
b) some of the comments definitely crossed a line
c) Orlando Bloom =/= Gen. Period.
And I know they read the whole series in a month. BUT I really didn't understand some of the complaints. Boring? We have true love, high adventure, kidnappings, murders, sword fights, wars, political intrigue, torture, and a habitual liar. If this is boring, we're on opposite planet.

I really, really didn't understand the historical research complaint. This is fantasy. MWT very clearly states that they countries are inspired by Byzantine culture. Besides the fact that they seem amazingly researched to me.

And Gen getting his hand back. The gods can't do that. "What's done is done, even for the gods." Besides the fact that I actually admire MWT greatly for not taking the easy out.

I mean, I don't care if you don't like a book a love. Welll...I might go phhht a bit in the back of my mind, but hey, to each their own. But that's only if you have a good reason for not liking them. Some of these comments made me wonder if I had read the same series.

[kitsune-rains.livejournal.com]

I felt the same way. And some of the people saying that not making it historically accurate was taking the lazy way out? Like MWT hadn't done her research?
I'm not sure but I got the feeling that MWT did her research well enough to go LIVE there as a native. Making it fictional isn't the 'lazy way out.'

QT is boring like Princess Bride is boring. Which is to say it's not.

[philia-fan.livejournal.com]

I'm still blinking from the comment where the reader thought Gen was female because first person narrators are never male. Um....

[(Anonymous)]

yeah, but have you gotten to the part where they said i looked like a polygamist? rofl. i'm thinking the polygamist's feelings would be hurt.

`mwt

[aged-crone.livejournal.com]

I have to say that I had strong suspicions that Gen was a girl when I started reading THIEF - and bear in mind that this was *after* I read KoA. For a bit I was thinking this wasn't the same Eugenides I knew, somehow it was somebody else. I think it was that he seemed to be hiding something, and that was what came to mind. Until they stripped him and made him bathe, at which point I figured somebody would probably have noticed and mentioned it if he had been a girl.

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

I feel like such an eavesdropper!stalker!snoop reading all their comments. How can something so bad feel so good? Gotta love the internet. Just when you think no one is reading your blog...

And only in Sounis would people throw around terms like "archetypal polygamist." :)

You go, bookshop girl!

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, yes. I didn't anticipate it, but I ended up feeling like Miss Manners would totally NOT approve.

`mwt

[kulai-raito.livejournal.com]

ok i woke up this morning, and basically lay in bed and read all their long comments on my phone and well i think i can hit someone* too and not Gen. good old internet like checkers said, think they need a chatzy instead. I don't know if i was laughing at their ignorant assumptions or if I was feeling evil at that time.. great bashing! before I really vent out, i think their title "smart remarks b.c." should change...

Oh and hunger games, probably because i saw this jap. movie before which people who saw movie and read book agree is pretty identical on plot wise call- Battle Royale, i didn't find the book as compelling when the movie was more violent, but I liked it.

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

i think their title "smart remarks b.c." should change...

I can think of many other more appropriate ones.

[magicsandwiches.livejournal.com]

So so, I read all the comments and there wasn't really a discussion going on over there, more like goofing around, which is fine. Not a lot of insight, but then, these books take a little time to digest and one read-through is simply not enough. *shrug* In addition, there are a number of members there who like the books as we do, they just don't stand out as much as Markie (who even said he liked Gen a lot). I have to admit, though, some of the things they said made me headdesk in a big, bad, ugly way.

WHAT IS UP with The Hunger Games? It was interesting, certainly, but didn't do much for me. I'd never read it again nor will I search out the second one when it comes out. I feel like I'm missing something when people go on and on about it. To each his own, yes, and I really, really like MY OWN.

[(Anonymous)]

You're right. I think they put their insight into the individual reviews and the "discussion" really is just for goofing around. I had predicted a fifty-fifty split on liking/not liking the books. I think the split was a little more in favor.

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

WHY DID YOU LINK ME TO THIS WHY.

screw finals, I must rage about people NOT GETTING IT and then making the people who do get it say things like I SOUND LIKE A SILLY LITTLE GIRL AND

FLAMES

FLAMES ON THE SIDE OF MY FACE.

also starting off the discussion with such a loaded question was a low blow. low. blow.

[peggy-2.livejournal.com]

*thinks jade was not only eaten by a dragon, but has BECOME a dragon*

do dragon bites work like vampire bites?

*wonders if jade is all sparkly now, too*

:-)

[lily7000.livejournal.com]

As a highly experienced internet lurker, this is just one of the many proofs that sounis is a super entertaining place to lurk populated by many intelligent people.

As for a lot of the rest of the internet... not so much.

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

Oh, no!

I am late to the MWT party.

*thinks these people are evil*

*would not usually say this but will make exception for Mrs.Turner*

*thinks Mrs. Turner should send secret ninja and dragon police after them*

Sorry, had a very strange conversation with thelastEddis.

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

I have figured it out Sounis.

This here is case of rogue Medes (this came up during the same strange conversation, and this is TheLastEddis's work not mine)

ATTENTION REPROBATES

SOUNIS IS IN A STATE OF EMERGENCY: ROGUE MEDES MAY OR MAY NOT BE ON THE LOOSE. BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR SUSPICIOUS INDIVIDUALS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

-Persons with red, forked, and/or glowing beards
-Manipulative-seeming folk
-Persons holding large amounts of hair oil on their person
-Jerks

This must be the blog were the rogue Medes gather.

Be on the look out Sounis.

*is sleep deprived*

[sgwordy.livejournal.com]

Managed to sneak in a bit of online time in betweenst spring travels and boy howdy! I sure am glad I did! This comment thread had me in tears laughing and then I had to go over and read the book club comments. Holy crap that was some funny stuff! I was def in tears but was often due to actual sadness rather than just laughing. I had to get a look at that polygamist theory and then discuss with my husband (1st husband as my others live together in a nerd-worshipers hut). We had quite a time trying to come up with what word they were actually trying to think of. You'd think with all the odd gay talk they could have revisited that whole polygamy thing and cleared the air.

By the way, my husband (agains, 1st husband:) takes great exception at these being gender specific books. He says (and I quite agree) they are books for people who love awesome plots, great characters and fantastic writing. I knew I married him for a reason.

Can't wait to see what fun I will be able to find in the comments next time I'm able to get a little online time.

[tiegirl.livejournal.com]

"(1st husband as my others live together in a nerd-worshipers hut)"


MUWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

My brother likes the books as well. But then, he likes some chick-flicks too. And musicals. And I'm pretty sure he's not gay since they didn't have any gays the year he was born. Perhaps he's just a polygamist...

[filkferengi]

[savors the merry wags & reprobates of sounis]

[thief-alchemist.livejournal.com]

Ack, had to stop reading that, it was making my brain hurt.
Did I miss this "Po" they speak of?
Also, those comments about polygamy and nerdiness? Please...