Which book do you reach for first?

[jennifer19l.livejournal.com]

 Now that there are four books to pick from, I'm curious.  Which book is your favorite?  Why?  I'd love to hear everyone's answers.

Comments

[jennifer19l.livejournal.com]

I'll start, unless someone beats me to it :)

Hands down, Queen of Attolia. Why? It has everything. Love. Despair. Ingenious, foolhardy plans. Hidden meanings.

While I thoroughly enjoyed The Thief the first time I read it (and now thoroughly love it), this is the book where I fell in love with Eugenides. And Eddis. And Attolia. And the MoW. And...okay everyone. Except the Medes.

[lizzyazula.livejournal.com]

The king of Attolia. QoA won me over, but it sort of left you starved for more Attolia/Gen, and KoA delivered. It had a lot of romance (Yeah, I admit, the romance is what made this book for me) It is the best romance I've ever read. THE BEST. It wasn't cheesy or stupid, it was heartfelt, serious, funny, believable... everything you could ever want - and it didn't take up the entire book. A large part yes, but there was political intrigue (I LOVE political intrigue!,) and my favorite boy trio: Relius, Teleus, and Costis - I love those boys. They're not really a trio but...well I think of them that way. I mean this book was PERFECT. The only flaw was the severe lack of Eddis, but let's be honest, this is Attolia and Gen's book. And besides, she made up for it in ACoK.

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

This is EXACTLY how I feel, too. I read QoA first and it's always been my favorite. Favorite book ever, still.

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

I'm either boring or predictable, but I only read them in order. I see it as one big story, and I can't see starting in the middle. I'm always, at least that I can remember, that way with chronological series. Not so time consuming with these books, a lot more so with George RR Martin.

[jennifer19l.livejournal.com]

I definitely agree about it being the best romance ever. I was recently explaining the series to two librarians at my library who hadn't read the series(?!?!) and that was one of my selling points. It's a romance, but it's not blatant and wouldn't make you cringe if you found out your 12 yr old niece was reading it (as I did when I found out said niece had read Twilight). Every time I think of Gen and Attolia I just sigh. Happily.

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

THIRDED.

I just feel all belly-achey, and then better about everything, whenever I read it.

*huggles*

[reader-marie.livejournal.com]

I tend to read them in order, too. I feel like I get a better sense of the story arc that way, and that way it also feels like reading one book that takes as long as four, so it's not as much of a letdown when I get to the end.

That said, I also randomly grab whichever book is nearest (usually over lunch, or during times of intense procrastination) and reread favorite scenes. Several times.

[elle-winters.livejournal.com]

same here, I like to make sure I'm getting every little thing

but KoA has got to be the favorite, I think

[reader-marie.livejournal.com]

It's a toss-up for me between QoA and KoA for the actual favorite (CoK being at a severe disadvantage because I haven't read it as much), though I can't imagine any one of these books without the others.

One of the tragedies of my existence is, however, that I don't yet own a copy of QoA, so my random browsing usually ends up in KoA. Is it also the longest (and thus most fruitful for browsing), or has my copy just expanded with age?

[styromgalleries.livejournal.com]

King of Attolia. It's so much fun! And I love seeing the interplay between Gen and Costis, Gen and his attendants, and Gen and Attolia. This is the first book that made me LOVE the series, so it's my favorite, though the others get better and better with every reread.

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

QoA on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays

KoA on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays

On Sundays I can't make up my mind.

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

Also, I find I'm always noticing new things, or things are resonating in new ways, when I read them in order, and I would miss that (in every sense of the word) if I went out of order.

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

And there are always new things to get, no matter how often I read.

[aged-crone.livejournal.com]

My mom has just informed me that she liked The Thief but she will not be finishing QoA. Why not? I asked.

It was the chopping scene.

Oh, dear.

[aged-crone.livejournal.com]

KoA, partly because it was the first one I read and mostly because it was just so absolutely incredible.

QoA is a close second, though. Clearly I'm a romantic at heart.

[ulkis.livejournal.com]

Queen of Attolia, I think. What made me pick it over King is that it has more action (and more of Eddis and the MoW).

[sgwordy.livejournal.com]

It can depend on my mood but I reach most often for QoA. It was the first one I read and is my favorite... not just in the series but of all the books I've read it's on my favorites list. It's probably my second favorite book of all time, actually!

I think I've said this before but there is no time at which I fell for a character or a scene and so became hooked on the series. I fell hard and fast for mwt herself at right about page 5 of QoA (and then lost my mind just a bit after the boat scene - holy crap she's good!). There's been no looking back. :) I like Gen (and many others:) very much indeed but if he never appeared again I would still keep coming back. It's mwt's amazing craft that has me completely hooked.

[charlie-ego.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and how many romances do you know of in YA books where the best part of the romance comes after the wedding? Just awesomeness. I want more books like this! :)

[elle-winters.livejournal.com]

NOOOO!!!

Tell her she can get past it! :/

[puppeteergirl.livejournal.com]

*sigh* Alas all good things must come to an end.


But seriously, tell her you will never trust her opinion of a book again if she doesn't finish reading QoA. Or you could try the whole tying--her-to-a-chair-and-force-reading-it-aloud-to-her thing. ;-)

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

THIS except I didn't read KoA first. I did fall absolutely positively in love with it first, though.

[puppeteergirl.livejournal.com]

I'd have to say I like the Thief and KOA on the same level, and then QoA and then CoK. But between TT and KoA? I just can't say.

[thelasteddis.livejournal.com]

Well, it might change once the novelty wears off, but I dearly loved A Conspiracy of Kings. I just loved it. Sophos was a true, Gen-caliber hero, Eugenides was there, being awesome (and heartbreaking), and Eddis... Oh, I just adore Eddis. I loved her in every other book, and honestly I wouldn't have loved her as much here if I hadn't read the others, and I didn't love her as much before this book as I do now. Her two personas, the queen we've seen before and the raw, real person in CoK, fit together perfectly.

I loved the insights we got into Mede culture, and Sounisian culture, and the politics of the peninsula. I loved the wide geographical scale of it, and the flashes to other books.

I think the only thing that could have possibly been better was Attolia. There needed to be MORE of her.

But GAH! I loved that book.

[eme369.livejournal.com]

Definitely KoA, though QoA and TT are very, very close seconds. CoK would also be close other than I haven't read it as much and like many others I lament the lack of Gen (though it was still great!). KoA was the book which really captured my heart, possibly because of the resonating poignancy of Gen's struggle to deal with the conflicting sides of his heart ~ that which hates being King and that which loves Attolia. This book was so powerful, and so powerfully well-written (with lots of Gen-style humor and intrigue thrown in) that it forever hooked me on the series and remains to this day my very favorite novel.

[eme369.livejournal.com]

I totally do this as well! Almost everyday I will just grab one of the books off my shelf and flip through to a favorite passage. Talk about addictive!