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

[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?

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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?

[(Anonymous)]

bite your tongue.

[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

[philia-fan.livejournal.com]

I've been searching for this (it sounds unmissable!) but can't find it. Where? Any polygamist in particular, or just, you know, your archetypal polygamist?

[(Anonymous)]

it's in the tl;dr-worthy discussion. and probably not worth the time it would take to find it. archetypal polygamist, i think -- obvs. what they call people who are even more nerdy than nerds. "not that there's anything the matter with polygamists . . . " as they point out.

[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!

[philia-fan.livejournal.com]

Found it! That is...hmmm, I wonder what word they were actually going for there. Heck no, who would have a problem with polygamists?

[(Anonymous)]

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

`mwt

[peggy-2.livejournal.com]

and I think maybe not tell Markie we were So Stalking him and his blog, especially since my name is on the original Sounis post

[(Anonymous)]

YES

[kitsune-rains.livejournal.com]

Arg, sorry. That's me. *points up*

Viggo Mortensen is totally Relius... well... no....

Him and Alan Rickman are going to have to duke it out. Magus style.

[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.

[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]

*agrees* NOT Relius, but he'd make a very good Magus, thank you very much.

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

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

I can think of many other more appropriate ones.