Sounis, what have you done for me lately?

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Or,

HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY, SOUNIS!

In November 2005, while waiting very impatiently for the publication of The King of Attolia, some people got together and started a fansite/discussion group.  Five years later, sounis is going strong with over 650 members, nearly 1,600 journal entries, and a brand-new book to squee over.

In celebration, let's do a little bonding.  What has sounis done for you?  Why did you join, what have you enjoyed, what has it meant to you?






Then we'll all sit around, hold hands, and sing Kumbaya.  Maybe wave our lighters and cell phones.  :)

Comments

[styromgalleries.livejournal.com]

Given me an impossibly long to-read list.

I joined the comm after reading KoA. I'd read Queen and TT, but those didn't grab me the way King did. And then I was hooked. I'd known of the comm for a while, through Jade, 'cause we became LJ friends around when she was having ~issues with Costis, if I'm remembering correctly. I had no idea what was going on then, but I've come to learn that all of you are a delightful bunch of mildly insane reprobates (I'm right there with you and love all of you).

This comm has done great things for me. It brings the lulz, provides surprisingly intelligent discussion (for being an internet forum), and I've come to be LJ friends with some really awesome people (forgive my abuse of positive adjectives; I'm hyped up on caffeine and NaNo fever).

For all these things and more, I raise my Starbucks cup to you, dear Sounis. To another five years! (And hopefully another new book before then)

[(Anonymous)]

Do I have to sing? I can't sing. Really. Can't. Sing. The bucket that I carry a tune in has a gaping hole in it. Trust me on this. But okay. First and foremost:

1. I have made FRIENDS on Sounis. Real, live, friends. I feel like I could go to the four corners of the Earth and know people, and have something meaningful in common with people wherever I might find myself, just by yelling "Elephants" or "Socks" or "Megan Whalen Turner"!

2. I know so much more about these books than I did before, and this knowledge has enriched my life.

3. I have gotten so many book recommendations here! Awesome book recs! Some I have enjoyed more than others, yes, but none that I have not somehow taken something away from (bad sentence).

I don't think I can number this anymore; it's going to get too cumbersome. I have learned about the internet. I have learned about publishing. I have learned about fansites. I have learned about fanfiction. I have learned about other countries.

Wait, I'm sensing a theme. I have learned SO MUCH from y'all!

And of course, I met MWT. And I met Philia. And I met Guin, and a few others. That is EPIC!

I CANNOT EXPRESS HOW MUCH SOUNIS HAS MEANT AND STILL MEANS TO ME. THANK YOU.

*GLOMPS*

[tiegirl.livejournal.com]

Sorry, that was I/me/whatever. I was fangirling. Sorry for all the bad sentences and mistakes and such. Ugh.

[dqbunny.livejournal.com]

I joined thanks to earthstar_chan after I blew through TT, QoA and KoA, and I wish I participated more than I have to date. This group is intelligent and a ton of fun, even lurking. I've gotten to appreciate the books even more, which is amazing considering how much I love them to begin with.

(That being said, if there's any sounis members around the Harrisburg, Pa. area, I'll love you forever and ever and ever and bake you cookies.)

[tiegirl.livejournal.com]

I am I am I am I am I am I am!!!!!! I work in Harrisburg!!!! I live in Dillsburg!

[tiegirl.livejournal.com]

I kinda wish Sounis journal entries with all their links could be published, ya know? :)

[zumie-ashlen.livejournal.com]

I have met many people, found many books and authors, gained a new appreciation of the Attolia series I probably wouldn't have gotten on my own (like, all the linguistic analysis, or historical references I never would have found!)... a lot, basically.

I joined because I believe thelasteddis manhandled me in here. Not that I mind, now!

[earthstar-moon.livejournal.com]

I love this series for a few years, but I couldn't find people who read the books that I could discuss it with. Then I discovered this charming little place, which is probably one of the better and more friendly communities I've come across.

I love how we can go into so many different topics here about the books and issues relating to it. Now if only there was a queen thief con we could attend every year. Think of the cosplaying we could do? XD

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

I joined because I'd gotten an LJ for katara_zuko and while dragging loquaciousquark down with me she mentioned she'd seen a comm for MWT's books. Unlike now, when the first thing I do when entering a fandom is check out their ff.net page search for an LJ comm, back then I hadn't really considered that, you know, you could search for this sort of thing! MY MIND WAS BLOWN.

And then I came here and was all super-intimidated by all the people and all the jokes they were making (CLEARLY THEY HAD ALL BEEN FRIENDS FOREVER, and not just, you know, a few months), but I wandered into Chatzy, and the rest...is history.

Sounis got me hitched and gave me two-year-old septuplets, so...thanks for that?

It also gave me the idea for my minor's thesis, friends across the globe, book recommendations, friends who send me chocolate and postcards from everywhere, an awesome Ophelia poster!, a sneak peek inside the Bodelian, dragon earrings, GREAT NEPTUNE'S MAN NIPPLES, endless opportunities to embarrass myself in front of MWT, and a little corner of home on the internet.

♥

[dqbunny.livejournal.com]

*grins* You never know! I really did meet my husband through fandom!

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

p.s. Checkers your mod hat, IT IS THE MOST AWESOME.










p.p.s. Kuuuuuuumbayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, my Looooooooooooooooord, Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuumbayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

It's a nice hat, isn't it? :)

*waves lighter*

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

Yay!

I joined this community wayyyy back in the Dark Ages just after I turned 18. :P I had just read The Thief and Queen of Attolia, and was about to read King of Attolia, but I couldn't wait till after I read it to post, so I was just very careful not to look at spoilers. I remember being so shocked and thrilled that, not only was there a community for these books, it was an active community!

That's probably one of the things I love most about this community, that it's always been so active, even during periods when there was no new book to squee over. I know I barely ever post these days, but I'm still lurking around here, I promise.

Oh, and I love all the amazing book recommendations we have here! I may never have heard of The Perilous Gard for example, if it hadn't been for this community, and that would have been tragic indeed!

Has it really been five years?

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

I want to sing! I want to sing!

Sounis has given me lots and lots.

I first read QT when I was 15, found Sounis when I was about 16, joined just after I turned 17, and here I am almost 19 and still coming around and finding new things to talk about.

This place has really become a part of my daily life. It's wake up, brush teeth, eat breakfast, check Sounis. I've made so many friends here, many of which I speak to on other comms and by e-mail. I would really miss you guys if I was for some reason unable to keep posting.

Like everyone else, I've found lots of great books. More than I could ever read.

I've gotten to speak to many favorite authors, like Kate Coombs.

I've had some of the funniest and most intelligent conversations of my life.

Sounis inspired me to write fan-fiction, which has led to great personal growth as a writer.

I've come to understand me favorite series so much better, and have had the greatest fun doing so!

It may be corny, but hey... QT really has changed my life!

*starts to sing*

*gets shoes thrown at her*

[emmaco.livejournal.com]

I think I found the community in 2006 when KoA came out, but Checkers and Rowana came and encouraged me to come join and talk :)

As well as a place to squee over some of my favourite books, this community has given me so many friends. Meeting some of you in real life in London with MWT was one of the highlights of my time here in the UK - Megan was so nice and clever and funny, and everyone from Sounis was too! I would love to the get to the USA to meet more of you.

[philia-fan.livejournal.com]

*thinks this is an awesome idea*

[philia-fan.livejournal.com]

Sounis has done amazing things for me. It's found me friends (real ones), a housesitter for when we went to France, a chance to meet people from around the world, including Megan, and it gave me a book to write. I would not have written my last book if not for Sounis in general and Emerald in particular (or anyway, it wouldn't have been the same book! and I'm sure not nearly as good). I also might not have gotten my short story published without Sounis, since Sounis is what drew me to LJ in the first place, and LJ is where I found the information for submitting that. So, I guess it sounds kinds of pathetic to say it gave me a huge career boost, since, um, I don't actually have much of a career, but it matters to ME, and to me the difference between a story published and NOT is enormous.

[elle-winters.livejournal.com]

Yayyy!!!

[elvenjaneite.livejournal.com]

Besides making me laugh hysterically?

Well, I have two new favorite series (Elizabeth Wein and the Vorkosigan series) thanks to Sounis. I've witnessed what can happen when a bunch of AWESOME fans get together for serious discussion and CRAZY CRACK FICTION. I've had MWT respond to one of my comments. *faints*

I don't know, Sounis is just my favorite fan community ever. Not like that's saying a lot, or anything.

(I joined just because I didn't know many people in real life who had read the books and I had to talk about them with someone.)

[beth-shulman.livejournal.com]

YES me too! (Except for the Vorkosigan part - sci-fi, with rare exceptions, is just not for me. I know this because I tried to read Mirror Dance after you reviewed it, and bleh. I don't know why, but except for Madeleine L'Engle and Ender's Game, I don't like sci-fi. Which kind of shuts out an entire genre, so boo to that.)

Anyway, I've gotten the same things - people to talk about these books, people to talk about any books, awesome conversations, and a response to one of my comments by MWT *faints right with you*

ALSO ALSO people to wait for the next books with. Because we've only got about - five and a half years to go! Or three and half, if we want to be optimistic.

[emerald-happy.livejournal.com]

SO MANY DAMN AWESOME FRIENDS. Many of whom are RL friends now
SO MANY DAMN AWESOME JOKES
A DEGREE and A LIFE - since without the above two I would probably be dead or bored or dead bored.

Also this year I am trying to be organised about the other anniversary and then totally forgot this one. One day I will remember both!

[elle-winters.livejournal.com]

A DEGREE and A LIFE - since without the above two I would probably be dead or bored or dead bored.


<<<< :)

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

I went on a Google quest shortly after I'd read the Thief books. Surely I wasn't the only person who'd read them and thought they were brilliant? And I found this community. I lurked for a while, until the approach of CoK spurred me out of hiding. I was super-fortunate to get an ARC copy of the book and simply had to share the love, lunacy and obsessive plot analyzing with the best bunch of MWT fans out there... namely Sounis! It's been a blast.

Sounis has increased my already immense appreciation for the Thief series, and put me on the trail of several other great books, authors, websites and blogs. It's fascinating how many seemingly unrelated things Sounisians have in common, so it's always a fun place to visit. Always a safe place to geek out. And last but not least Sounis has honesty encouraged me in my chosen field of study, writing and editing - oftentimes when a little inspiration was what I needed most!

♥ to you all!

[elle-winters.livejournal.com]

I have met some (REALLY REALLY) amazing people and had some ridiculously crazy fantastic times (via posts, chatzy, etc)

:-)


*huggles you all*

[creative-lefty2.livejournal.com]

Yes, as many have said, this group has given me a place to talk about these books (even if I did manage to coerce all my friends into reading them, it still left a several year long gap when we couldn't talk about them as a group because there were only two copies of each book being passed around. Yeah, I'm one of the lucky ones. And I think as a group we are up to four copies of each book?)And it is intelligent conversation! That's what I love most about this group. It gives me an excuse to keep doing English major-y stuff, picking quotes to pieces and finding those obscure references.

[brandy-painter.livejournal.com]

Not adding anything new here really. I joined only four months ago so I'm pretty new. But I lurked for about a year before that. This comm has given me people who actually care about the books to discuss them with.

And my TBR list is totally out of control now thanks to this place.

[tencups-i-swear.livejournal.com]

I'm only here for the cookies and the smarts of everyone else.

(And for the hole in the guards steam room)

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

And for the hole in the guards steam room

You drilled those holes! I saw you do it!

[drashizu.livejournal.com]

I found Sounis right after King came out and instantly loved the crazy fannishness of everyone on the comm, who were just as obsessed as I was---or sometimes more! The discussions are so intelligent and get me to think even more deeply about aspects of the book that I never even realized existed, and having this community to turn to has meant that I haven't had to suffer alone (or in silence) while going through Gen withdrawal or waiting for the next book. Thank you Sounis!!! :)

[drashizu.livejournal.com]

Oh and you guys introduced me to Miles Vorkosigan, who makes the time between QT books go wayyy faster. *grin*

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

I had just finished reading QoA and was so blown away I tried and tried to find a discussion group for the books. Readerville did a fabulous month-long discussion, but sadly it ended (and it's now been removed from the 'net). Anyway, shortly after this group started up and it was so much fun. KoA was published then, out of the blue, Megan sent Queen Ro an email, (http://community.livejournal.com/sounis/6847.html) and came and chatted with us a bit.

I've made some good friends, and met several people in RL, even managed a trip to England and met with Sounisians in Oxford! And the conference meetup in Dayton (http://community.livejournal.com/sounis/141138.html) a few years ago with Megan, Peggy, and Bear was wonderful.

The depth of discussion and book recommendations are my favorite things. Y'all are so much fun, too. I haven't had as much free time to spend here lately, but it's still something I love to do. *hugs sounis*

(edited to add hotlinks)

[teenareena.livejournal.com]

Happy birthday Sounis!

I'm relatively new here. Only discovered it in March after finishing ACoK and fervently looking for a place to squee my joy. I actually ran into chatzy first and I think I met the fabulous checkerz in my first day as a Sounisian. :D

What I got from Sounis? A laugh, of course! And a place to squee and discuss Queen's Thief to my heart's desire. Also, I got loads of book recommendation which I immediately fall in love with. I'm now reading the Perilous Gard and already had Freedom and Necessity on my shelf waiting.

wow

[bookwormbekah.livejournal.com]

I didn't know that this forum started right before King of Attolia came out. During those months before King, I Googled Sounis fan sites, and I found this lovely community. That means I've been lurking here for 5 years...wow...and I just joined it. This site has always been great to go to. I have loved hearing everybody's opinions, and seeing that I'm not alone in my enthusiasm for these books. Happy belated Birthday Sounis.

Re: wow

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Wow indeed! Welcome, and so glad you are a former lurker.

[crazededdisian.livejournal.com]

I LOVE SOUNIS TOO MUCH TO EXPLAIN HOW AND WHY AND WHEN AND... AND... HAPPY (belated) BIRTHDAY, SOUNIS! I LOVE YOU GUYS!

(And yes, this is way too late, I think because of Nanowrimo. :( I am now singing Kumbaya.) Kumbayay!

[hazelwillow.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I'm late on this!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOUNIS!

Sounis is my favourite corner of the Internets. I love it. I love YOU! You guys have taught me so much about my favourite books, you're funny and smart and kind and welcoming and have caused me to say Nehuserfish aloud. How could I not love you?

I'll admit I joined originally purely for the purpose of reading those two extra MWT stories that are stored somewhere in the archives. I got a livejournal account just for that. Or SO I THOUGHT. Of course, once I'd devoured the two stories I started devouring the archives and Realized What I'd Found.

xo

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

Ha, ha. I went on a similar quest to find Thief!, so I visited Wikipedia, found a link to Sounis, and the rest is history.