A Sounis Milestone!

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

sounis is four years old and has 500 members! (ok, 499 but close enough.)

Four years ago Queen rowana and the elusive eddis decided to start up a new community dedicated to the Attolia books. Since then we've discussed nearly every aspect of Megan's books, celebrated the publication of The King of Attolia, recommended other well-loved books, created lots of fanart, and generated not nearly enough crack.

To mark the occasion, let's get to know everyone a little better. Whether you're a shy lurker, could simply never think of something to say, have only commented a few times, or post in every thread and never leave Chatzy, introduce, (or re-introduce) yourself in a comment. You can talk about anything - where you found the books, why you like them, how you found sounis , who your favorite character is and why, or what you think will happen in A Conspiracy of Kings.

Let the Wild Rumpus (and the many comments into my inbox) begin!

Comments

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

HI I'M JADE

I have become a much quieter presence here on the comm than I used to be--partially because when I first got here I was a scared college freshman who didn't know how to leave her dorm room, and now I am a scared college senior who doesn't have time to go back to her dorm room. So things are not so different after all.

I am procrastinating on NaNo! I am also a good 16Kish behind where I ought to be. Oops.

I found the books through QoA in eighth grade--read it once, enjoyed it, read it twice and realized that my life had been changed. Still puzzling out just how that happened (an overabundance of cool aloof female figures in my works?), but it's definitely left a mark.

Checkers, I have been meaning to email you about a comm-wide readalong leading up to the premier of Conspiracy. Remind me to do this.

So anyway, I used never to leave Chatzy, and the friends I made here pretty much sustained me through my first semester of college, and I know they're still around whenever I need them, and they are absolutely lovely people because MWT fans are the best. And I have a deep and abiding love for Sounis as one of the coolest places on the internet.

Also, in the land of quasi-reality, I'm married to Costis and have septuplets. See Checkers's aforementioned crack.

All right, all right, it's back to the Word document...

[zumie-ashlen.livejournal.com]

Hi, my name is Zumie, and I am a creator of crack.

I don't post on the comm as much as I'd like, due to Real life Nasties trying to munch on me most of the time nowadays, but I think when A Conspiracy of Kings comes out I will NEED to talk about it with the fury of a thousand suns, so expect me here with popcorn and a manic expression.

I started reading the Attolia books through recommendation coercion from Viviolo. I read The Thief first and was not enthused, but finally read the Queen and was utterly HOOKED. HURR HURR.

The Sounis fandom is one of the few I really love--it's filled with cool, smart, awesome people, there's no drama (other than fights over who gets to marry Costis, but man, who can blame anyone for that?), and it's just really sweet.

I'd like to someday publish books (non-crack ones, at that!), and while my current NaNoWriMo progress does not make me hopeful on that front, I'll keep on trekking and my real book (halfway done! \o/).

So, yeah.

[in-my-niteshirt.livejournal.com]

I discovered MWT through Squeetus (author Shannon Hale's blog) when Shannon decided to "interview" Megan: http://oinks.squeetus.com/2007/09/squeetus-excl-2.html
Intrigued, I put them on my birthday wish list. I enjoyed The Thief, but *loved* QoA and KoA. I then spent weeks re-reading my favorite parts (basically everything) thus becoming hopelessly obsessed. A moment of clarity eventually interrupted this frenzied state, when it occurred to me to search online for discussions and/or fellow fans. Hooray for Sounis! Such clever people here, with impeccable taste in books.
What an amazing night, when I met some Sounisians at our first Utah ThiefCon! We had a blast talking Gen for hours and hours. (Our second meeting was even more spectacular.)
I like these books for so many reasons: They're well written; Great plot, characterizations, symbolism, irony; And I don't tire of them because the themes resonate with me, and because I relate to some of the characters, or at least some aspects of the characters. I can relate to Gen, because I've experienced loss that will never be "okay", and had to get past it and move forward; I can relate to Irene, having to be harsh and strict when I don't really want to be, and feeling the weight of duty and responsiblity smothering me; I can relate to Costis, fumbling along trying to do what's right and honorable, trying to understand the world around me. I am so excited for CoK it's making me crazy! I have no idea what will happen, and I don't even try to guess. I prefer to let MWT surprise me.
I'm proud to say I've recommended these books to 17 friends who have read them and loved them. (#18 is half way through The Thief right now.)

[bookaddict88.livejournal.com]

Hi! I've been in the community for over two years, but I tend to be mainly a lurker. After hearing the Attolia books recommended again and again over on athanarel, I decided to give them a try. I enjoyed The Thief well enough, but I didn't quite get why it was so highly recommended. And then I read QoA, which I loved, and KoA, which absolutely blew me away.

Anyway, this community is amazing. I love the discussions and book recommendations and crack. And of course, the people! I had the privilege of meeting several Sounisians at a sounis/athanarel meet-up last summer. I've never before felt so comfortable with strangers! I'd love to do another meet-up at some point, because Sounisians are some of the most awesome people ever.

[mycenaeth.livejournal.com]

I joined Sounis through the recommendation of my online acquaintance fabricalchemist She had read a poem I had written about a thief on my website, and had emailed me to see if I had read the books. I had, and they were my favorite books of all time, so we fangirled together and when Sounis was created she gave me the heads up. I don't really post much, but I used to host the read-alouds when I had a website, and I definitely read all the posts! I can't wait to read the fourth book!

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

Hello! I first read The Thief some ten years ago, after I read an intriguing review of it on a Usenet children's book group. An American friend had to buy it for me, since in those days, American-published books were hard to obtain in the UK. It was book 3 that really made me fall in love, though. It contains pretty much every one of my Favrit Things: outsider viewpoint, secretly awesome hero, revelation scenes, concealed serious injury etc. etc. I'm very much looking forward to the next book. Since two of my all-time favourite series contain a book called "____ of kings", the title alone augurs well. ;-)

I really can't remember how I found this community. It was possibly just by clicking on various of my listed interests, and seeing what came up. I don't post much, but I do enjoy reading the discussions.

By the way, I know that the Lymond series often comes up in discussions here, but I don't remember any mention the Niccolo series by the same author. I'm deeply immersed in that series at the moment, and am really enjoying it. I found the first book slow, confusing, and often unengaging - and, indeed, I gave up about 100 pages into it on my first attempt to read it - but it picks up marvellously by book 2. The hero's very much in the Lymond (and Eugenenides) vein, in that he's super-intelligent, sneaky, a master of masks and secrets, and excellent at manipulating everyone around him. He's also constantly misunderstood, and obligingly gets himself wounded or captured or fevered in each book, which is a characteristic I like very much in a hero. ;-)

[philia-fan.livejournal.com]

I seem to be a little unusual (so far) in that I read Thief first and loved it. I had picked it up after reading a review in Horn Book, and I could tell very quickly that it was My Kind Of Thing and not quite like anything else out there. I didn't know there would be more books. Years later I was browsing in a bookstore and happened to see QoA (sparkling new, with a big hand on the cover) and snapped it up. Oh joy! It was an emotional read, but in the end the book blew me away, and I had shifted from eager fan to rabid obsessive fan. The only person I could convince to read them lived across the country, so I was very frustrated at having no one to talk to about the books, and then when KoA came out I HAD to talk to someone and thought I would burst, and then, thank the gods, Fuse #8 mentioned Sounis on her blog, and I came running.
I'm a writer (not terribly successful) and a martial artist, and I'm usually pretty opinionated, so I comment fairly often if it's a matter of textual interpretation, or, say, of guessing first lines of books. I hope not obnoxiously often.

[ilysia-039.livejournal.com]

*waves*

I'm ilysia, and I'm not here nearly as much as I would like... but things happen, yah? So my presence here has degenerated into mostly lurking and bemoaning the fact that Real Life is such a slave driver sometimes. BUT.
When CoK comes out, things will change. Oh, yessss, precious, they will. Ahem.

I first found MWT's books at a library booksale. My little sister showed me The Thief and I bought it on the offhand chance that it might be good. HAH. When I fell in love with Gen, I forced half my family and entire gaggle of friends to read it, too.

I really don't remember how I found sounis, only that I did, and for that there was much rejoicing and sacrificing of goats.

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

My name is Alison. I live in southern Canada (almost as far south as you can go in Canada, actually), and I'm a university student, majoring in History. I plan on becoming an elementary school teacher, and possibly one day trying to get published (I mostly write YA).

Here's the story of how I discovered the books:

I was almost eighteen, and about to go away to visit a friend for a week, and I needed something to read on the train. I was in Chapters (basically the Canadian version of Barnes and Noble or Borders) and I saw King of Attolia. The cover immediately jumped out at me, and when I read the back I knew that I would love the book. But for some insane reason I didn't buy it. It must have been a stroke of fate, because I went home, googled it, and realized it was part of a series. So I went back to Chapters just before my trip, and bought the first two books.

(On that note, it must have been another insane stroke of fate that I somehow hardly remembered anything from the back cover of KoA, and was therefore hardly spoiled for it.)

I wasn't crazy about The Thief at first, but I think that's mostly due to the fact that I was reading it every night when I was half-asleep. However, when I got to the big twist, I was completely shocked, in a good way... and I decided that I loved the book. And that was the beginning of the end. I was addicted. XD

So I read The Thief when I was seventeen-about-to-turn-eighteen, and Queen of Attolia and King of Attolia when I was eighteen. And now I'm 21.

[keestone.livejournal.com]

HI, I'm Kee, an American postgrad student in Ireland. I comment less often than I'd like and more often than I should. I'm a trying to finish a PhD, so if I'm on the computer I should be writing the cursed thesis.

I read The Thief shortly after it first came out, after Lois McMaster Bujold recommended it on the Bujold Mailing List. I loved it, and was very excited when QoA came out and the series went from a fun adventure with great characters and world-building and some political intrigue to all that and a hard-hitting examination of life's tough questions.

I spent a little over a week in Greece this summer, and I kept on taking pictures that I've been meaning to upload and post links to because I kept going, "Ooh! Olive trees! Landscape! Atmosphere! That looks like Gen's brother's watches!" (Unfortunately, the "Ooh! Costumes!" day was a day without a camera.)

[lylassandra.livejournal.com]

Now that's hardly fair. I think this comm generates lots of craic! =)

Happy birthday!

[reader-marie.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't think of myself as a particularly vocal member here, but I am a pretty dedicated lurker and do come out of hiding for special occasions (like this).

I'm currently working towards my Master's degree in English literature (I live in the Midwest of the U.S.A.) and even though I don't really have time to read outside of class...somehow I still find myself picking up the QT books in times of idleness, stress, and pure enjoyment.

I found The Thief in my local public library when I was in junior high or maybe high school--read it, enjoyed it thoroughly, got totally thrown for a loop by the ending. Then I found QoA next to it on the shelf and was IN LOVE.

I re-read them obsessively for the next several years until I found, in my first year of college, that KoA was due out that year. (Talk about excitement! I stumbled upon it online late at night and am still amazed that my roommate did not wake up, what with my squealing and practically hyperventilating.).

That was about the time I started watching Sounis, though I didn't officially join until much more recently. I have a great time hearing about all the various aspects of these books that people love, all the great insights that we keep finding, and all the fun we have with them. (Plus lots of good book recommendations.) Keep it up, Sounis!

[elvenjaneite.livejournal.com]

Hey all! I'm Maureen or sometimes EJ on Chatzy. Call me either, I don't really care. :) I read The Thief for the first time when I was 18 and Queen shortly thereafter. I didn't know that King existed for several more months and did a dance of enormous joy when I found out. I love all three, but I think King might be just a smidgen my favorite.

I'm a senior (ACK! ACK! FLEE!) English major. Not exactly sure what I'll be doing after college, but probably moving back to the midwest and hopefully finding a library job that pays enough for me to decrease my student loans. *crosses fingers*

Sounis is definitely my favorite community--everyone here seems to genuinely love the books and care about having intelligent discussions. And I've gotten some awesome book recommendations! Besides the fact that it's funny and MWT comments.

I'm looking forward to many more years here.

EDIT: Oh, and I managed to hook my entire family on the series. Muahahahah.

My name is Styromgalleries. I just met you. And I love you.

[styromgalleries.livejournal.com]

You're studying in Ireland?! I'm wanting to get over to Scotland for my masters (also from the U.S.) Any tips?

[styromgalleries.livejournal.com]

I don't feel like typing out the whole story right now (I really should be researching Wallace Stegner short stories), but basically, Jade got me into the books. It took me several years to get my hands on all of them, I liked the first two a lot, but not until KoA did I fall head over heels for these books. And now I'm just counting down the days until Conspiracy of Kings comes out.

I'll be graduating from college next semester, which is exciting but also nervewracking. Pressure, much? The plan right now is to go to grad school in Aberdeen, Scotland for a masters in library science. If that doesn't work out, I'll dig a basement under my parents house here in Alabama and live there the rest of my life.

Re: My name is Styromgalleries. I just met you. And I love you.

[keestone.livejournal.com]

Make sure you've got funding sorted. If you're saving up to pay for it yourself, save about twice what you thought you'd need. As far as I can tell, if you don't have a Fulbright or a Marshall or something like that, financial aid possibilities are pretty much borrowing money. Student visas generally restrict the amount of hours you can work as well. And, the exchange rate situation sucks to high heaven.

If you're thinking of going on to do a PhD, make sure you want to do that in the UK as well. I've heard that US universities can be really picky about acknowledging your degree when you apply to do a PhD, and a lot of MA programs in the UK and Ireland are one year programs rather than two year programs. I don't know how it is in Scotland, but I have had hardly any support or direction doing the PhD here, and that's been very frustrating, so possible PhD study is something to seriously think about before you take the plunge.

Oh gosh, other than that? I dunno. Go for it! It's honestly been a great experience mostly.

[drashizu.livejournal.com]

NaNo laggers unite! It *is* such a wonderful month-long way to procrastinate, isn't it?

Re: My name is Styromgalleries. I just met you. And I love you.

[styromgalleries.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I figured the whole borrowing thing would be the route I'd have to take.

Thanks so much!

[emmaco.livejournal.com]

Wow, 17 (maybe 18) new fans converted?! That deserves some sort of prize!

...I wonder what the record is for converting people to MWT?

[drashizu.livejournal.com]

Hi, I'm drashizu. I used to have a livejournal account several years ago for the purpose of joining this community, deleted it after realizing that I hardly ever commented on anything and was basically a lurker anyway, and came back to make a new one because I realized with the impending release of CoK that I didn't want to be a lurker any more. (Squeeing about QT is fun! I don't know why I ever stopped!)

I discovered the first book in my school's library way back in the sixth grade. I remember taking it up to the checkout counter, where the librarian said, "Oh! This is a good one, you'll love it! We've had it for a while, too bad no one's read it yet." I was the first person to get a checkout date stamped on the book slip.

I enjoyed the whole thing, but basically fainted dead away from delight when I got to the twist ending. I'd never met a character as fascinating as Gen and I wanted more. Unfortunately, it was the only book the library had of MWT's, and I didn't have easy Internet access back in the sixth grade, so I didn't know there was a second book until fully a year later, when I was trolling the shelves and stopped to admire one of my favorites and consider rereading it. I noticed there was a new book sitting next to it that had the same author's name on it... I took one look at the cover, and raced up to the front desk to check it out. That was when I became addicted.

I found this community round about the time the third book came out (which I had in my hands within days of its release). Like I said, I've been an on-off lurker since then but fully enjoyed reading everyone's wonderful insights into the books and laughing at the periodic crack (of which I agree there is certainly not enough!). As for my interests outside of the world of QT... I'm a first-year college student concentrating in Linguistics with a possible second concentration in Computer Science, I did martial arts for a few years back at home, I am also pilfering away my spare time with NaNoWriMo, and of course I read. A lot.

[sgwordy.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I love birthdays! I came by the series in a public library whilst browsing the young adult section. It was Queen of Attolia that caught my eye (the edition with the big hand on the cover) and after I started it I was hooked and finished it in two days. It remains my favorite of the three and I've never been sorry that I read it out of order. When Gen said he wanted to be King it was the first time I'd been surprised by a book in I don't know how long. I think it was at that moment that I fell in love with MWT. :) This series was the first that ever inspired me to write a fan letter and MWT was kind enough to reply and she mentioned this community which is how I came to join Sounis. Lucky me as Sounis is awesome good fun. I tell everyone I know to read these books but many people I know are turned off by the YA fantasy genre (silly, I know, a good book is a good book).

In real life I am a scientist, recently relocated to No. Cali, and I spend most of my time reading, working with horses, hanging out with my dogs, watching sports, and keeping up a friendly argument with my husband as to whether QoA or KoA is better.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi. I'm Left-Handed Creativity. I unfortunately don't have a LiveJournal account, but at least I can still comment! And I've been lurking for years, but I only first posted about two years ago (anonymously). If I remember right it was a hypothesis about book four starting with Sophos locked up.

I first discovered the books back in middle school (between 6th and 7th grade, I think...) when I got a five-pack of Newberries from Costco. The one I really wanted was Robin McKinley's "The Blue Sword." I eventually got around to reading "Thief," went "meh" and went on my way. In eighth grade I saw a friend reading QoA and I checked it out from the library (raper cover). I think I was a little immature when I read it because most of the romance and politics went over my head, so it was another "meh." Years passed and I forgot about the books, until one day I was poking around on the library's website looking for some summer reading between my junior and senior years of high school. There was KoA...and I thought the Attolia part sounded kind of familiar. So, I checked it out and LOVED it and promptly dug up my old copy of "Thief" and checked QoA back out from the library and read them three times each. I believe I found Sounis because I wanted to find out if there was a place where I could find out about future books.

Since then, I have gotten seven people to read the books (the seventh is on the verge of starting book three. I don't think it is helping that I and all of our roommates are telling her how awesome it is). I think I managed to convince them of their awesomeness by just the right combination of "strong-female characters," "interesting politics," "good writing," "amazing characters," "but it was a wooden sword."

And now I am a crazy, stressed college senior who is keeping those roommates up to date by running around squealing whenever new CoK news comes out. We are all anxiously awaiting the next installment.

[katewaits.livejournal.com]

I'm Kate. I've popped into the community off and on for the past couple of years, but just joined a few months ago.

I bought The Thief in a bookstore because I liked the way the cover looked. Love the dirty hands and the Gift. Anyway, I really loved it. I saw TKoA in the same bookstore, but saw that it was not the second and finally ordered QoA from Amazon because I've never found it in an actual store. QoA is the first book I literally could not put down. I walked around the house with it open in one hand. When it was done I closed it with a smile and went straight to King. I've been a rabid fangirl ever since.

Happy Birthday, Sounis! This is a fun place. I especially like seeing all the fan art/fiction that people share. Keep it up!

[twelfthfantasy.livejournal.com]

Hey, I'm Carolyn, long-time lurker - couple years at least.

I like to tell people that I found these books by magic. Or you could say that they found me. The Thief appeared in my house one day when I was in junior high or high school, and no one could say for certain where it came from. Since no one was claiming it, it just laid around the living room for a while until on morning I got bored and decided to try it. I finished it that same day, and as soon as I closed it on the final page, I flipped it over to read it again. It is still my favorite.

I found QoA almost by mistake as well. It never occurred to me that there could be a sequel, but I was walking through the YA section of the bookstore and saw the word "Attolia" and instantly stopped and bought the book. After that, I knew to keep an eye out of news of a third book, and I'm fairly sure that's how I found you guys.

And to conclude, you are all awesome. Happy birthday, Sounis!

[tiegirl.livejournal.com]

Happy Birthday everyone! I honestly don't remember how I came to Sounis; I think I must've Googled Eugenides out of sheer wistfulness that I didn't have people to talk to about the books. I lurked for awhile because I'm old and am not comfortable with computer stuff. Then I dived right in and now I can't shut up. Sorry.

I found The Thief in Borders when I was maybe in my 40's, as I always check for new YA. I loved it immediately. Then maybe a year later I found QoA at the same Borders. It took me longer, because I think I don't understand all the political machinations, so I tend to skim important parts (big dumb girl), then get kinda lost and have to start over. But I still loved it. Then maybe a year later I was in a wifi place with my brother's laptop (and my brother) cruising around Amazon (because I could) and I found KoA. AWKWARD, jumping up and down and screaming in a public place! I ordered all 3 books so as to have new copies. I read KoA in one sitting.

I love MWT; and so I love her fans. I have seen only a few other communities, but this one is the best of all, along with History Haven. People are warm, thoughtful, kind, funny, intelligent beyond belief, just as I imagine MWT must be.

*HUGGLES ALL OF SOUNIS* I LOVE YOU PEOPLE!!!