Eddis, Attolia, Sounis

“As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure.”

It's not wrong... We're doing it, folks! The next series we're reading and discussing for the WSK Bookclub is The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. This is a very popular sci-fi series with a popular television adaptation on Apple TV, so heads up on placing inter-library loans early if you want to get them from the library. I also have some links under the cut to help you out with resourcing.

Now on to the main purpose of this post, a reading list and schedule! Per the last chat, we decided to cover the starting four novellas--this is one complete story arc--by reading two books over the course of two weeks and discussing both. (Don't panic, these are three to four hours long as audiobooks. You can finish them in less time than it takes to beat Portal.) After the first four novellas, we will revert to a normal one book per two weeks schedule as two out of the remaining three books are novel length. 

Reading order is a little tricky as Martha Wells is one of those authors who likes to publish out of chronological order. I decided to stick with publishing order for the novellas and novels as they are chronological with only one exception. However, I've slipped in the short stories where they fit best in the timeline. All chats will be on Sunday at 2pm CT in the Conspiracy Room.

Reminders will be posted periodically to help keep everyone on track. If this is your first time reading this series, you are in for a treat. (; Happy reading!

The While She Knits Book Club community reread, and discussion of The Chestomanci Chronicles continues with Conrad's Fate. Join us in the Conspiracy Room Sunday, Ocotber 13th at Noon PT/1pm MT/ 2pm CT/ 3pm ET.

We've almost finished the whole series! Our annual masked Halloween chat will be October 27th and The Pinhoe Egg chat will be November 10th. 

I live! Tax season is over and that means I'm here to get the show on the road for this year's While She Knits event. In case you haven't heard, WSK is our book club here on Sounis where we read and discuss series recommended by MWT as well as our members. 

The Chestomanic series seemed to be the most popular option for a DWJ series for us to read this year. (We can also do Dalemark at a later date.) I know many of you have only read Howl's Moving Castle, and Chestomanci has a similar appeal. (BTW, he is probably listening now since I've said his name several times. He's kinda like Alexa in that way.)

The Chestomanic series was written by the one and only Diana Wynn Jones and is a total of six books published between 1977 and 2006. This is a loosly connected series that could be read in any order, but I decided to go with the official recommended reading order. Paper copies and audiobooks should be readily available at libraries, and there is also a three volume omnibus edition. *deep breath* Have a chat date schedule!

Charmed Life — May 19th

The Lives of Christopher Chant — June 2nd

Witch Week — June 23rd

(intermission)

The Magicians of Caprona — September 15th

Conrad's Fate — Ocotber 6th

Now October 13th!

The Pinhoe Egg — October 27th

Now November 10th!

It's that time of year again! Are you ready for Sounis's annual masked Halloween chat? If you're not, it doesn't take long to get ready. Dress up as your favorite QT character and join your fellow reprobates in the Conspiracy Room this coming Sunday, October 29th at 6pm CT/7pm ET. (Note: this chat is at a later time for extra spooky goodness!)

If you are unfamiliar with masked chats, this a live roleplaying chat where you will pretend to be one of the QT characters. Please, log in with just your character name, and do not reveal your identity until the end of the chat. No one will know who is playing who and all sorts of shenanigans will ensue!

See below for the full list of codes of conduct and have a Happy Halloween!

Late summer greetings, Sounisians! Hope you had a great summer, and I can't think of a better way to bring the season to a close than to spend it with Costis and Kamet!

Our community wide reread and discussion resumes with Thick as Thieves. Start reading the book this week, if you want a full two weeks to finish it; but if you're gonna read it in a day, you've got plenty of time.

The chat to discuss the book will be held in the Conspiracy Room Sunday, August 27th Noon PT / 1pm MT / 2pm CT / 3pm ET.

In the meantime, what have you been reading this summer? I'd love to know!

Just your friendly neighborhood mod dropping by to remind you to finish reading Lavinia before the chat one week from today.

Join us to discuss Lavinia by Ursala Le Guin, a retelling of the Aeneid, in the Conspiracy Room Sunday, March 5th. 

Now at the new and improved earlier time of 1pm MT/2pm CT/3pm ET. 

I asked ChatGPT to write me a review for Lavinia, and it seemed to like it! XD

AI aren't going to take over the world... nope....

Happy reading!