Reading schedule for Pierce fan club

January 15, 2018 8:40 PM

Let's talk about how often to have posts about Tamora Pierce's books! I thought we'd do Tortall first, and then Emelan, but we can certainly mix it up between the two! Please share your preferences for order and timing and let's sort it out!
posted by Eyebrows McGee to Tamora Pierce fan club (24 comments total)

I am happy to post things according to the schedule (since I'm online on a very regular schedule for my shifts!) but I am also delighted to hand this off to anyone who wants to do it, and/or to follow the schedule you all decide is appropriate!

My fannish thought is to do Tortall first, one book every however long (month?), and when we run out of those, go to Emelan.

The Numair book (Tempests and Slaughter) releases February 6 so we should probably do that one right when it releases. :)

Also please note you can add "notable reviews" in the right-hand column of fanfare pages so if you know of/find good reviews or analysis, make sure to add them there!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:46 PM on January 15, 2018 [1 favorite]

I'm so happy this exists. Thanks, Eyebrows McGee!

Going to reiterate what I said in the original thread: "for anyone who doesn't have time to re-read books on a club schedule, consider joining us anyway! I mean, all the Tamora Pierce fans I know have re-read them so many times that they don't need to physically read the words in order to re-experience the books ..."

Tortall first sounds good to me; one book per month is quite manageable, considering how quick they go by. And, of course, we must drop everything to read the Numair book when it comes out!
posted by fire, water, earth, air at 10:10 PM on January 15, 2018

I'm absolutely down with this. Starting with Alanna?
posted by sciatrix at 10:44 PM on January 15, 2018

Sounds perfect to me. I'd vote for chronological through Tortall, with Numair interrupting us wherever he should fall, and then leave Beka for the end. They are more fun to read with the context of all the other books behind them. I haven't read the Emelan books in such a long time, it'll be fun to re-read those.
posted by ChuraChura at 7:49 AM on January 16, 2018 [2 favorites]

I'm in for Alanna. Almost every time I decide I need more Tamora Pierce, I just end up rereading Kel for the millionth time, so I haven't read Alanna nearly as many times.
posted by asperity at 8:36 AM on January 16, 2018

Alanna works as a starting point for me! I'm going to get Numair from the library, because I haven't re-read nearly as many of the more recent books, but will buy it later if I think it's great.
posted by dancing_angel at 10:16 AM on January 16, 2018

Thanks for starting this! I like the idea of starting with Alanna and going from there. I re-read every few years and am totally due.

Just pre-ordered Tempests and Slaughter, so excited for a new one! Has anyone read Tortall: A Spy's Guide? I enjoyed all the little back story bits but it really left me wanting a full novel about Jon and Thayet's early years on the throne, and all of Alanna's actual experiences as Champion.
posted by john_snow at 10:53 AM on January 16, 2018

uh, to clarify, how ChuraChura proposed doing it (Tortall, with Beka last, then Emelan). I can probably read two a month, at least at first with Alanna, since they are so short. So excited about this I posted without re-reading.
posted by john_snow at 10:56 AM on January 16, 2018

Starting with Alanna sounds good. Putting Numair in when his book comes out sounds right. Going to Daine, Keladry, Alianne, and only then back in time to Beka works for me. It sounds like that's what people are thinking?

I'm in for one to two books a month, or honestly one series/character per month. I'm fine with reading the circle books afterwards; like Beka, I'm not that into them (and don't own them) but I have read them all.

I read the Tortall spy's guide and yeah, it mostly made me want actual stories about the bits hinted at in there. Way too many boring lessons about how to be a spy instead, but that is what it's supposed to be, unfortunately.
posted by Margalo Epps at 11:31 AM on January 16, 2018

I think one a month is probably good, it spreads the joy out and lets us read other things in between.

I got Tortall: A Spy's Guide for Xmas, read it! I liked the part with the cook whose recipes were stolen best.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:31 PM on January 16, 2018

And here's the Alanna post! I mistagged it at first but it will show up on the club page now!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:32 PM on January 16, 2018

I've gone ahead and scheduled one book a month, on the 15th of the month, for the next 18 months, and that takes us through Tortall. I put Tempests and Slaughter on its release date (Feb 6) because WHO CAN WAIT?

I'm torn between monthly being too spread out and people might lose attention, but thinking if we go faster people will burn out after a couple months of reading a series a month or whatever -- so I don't know, tell me if I ought to switch it up.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:49 PM on January 16, 2018 [1 favorite]

I think we might want to go faster with the Alanna books, but that we might also want to slow down a bit as we hit some of the longer ones. IDK, though.
posted by sciatrix at 8:35 AM on January 17, 2018

In the Hand of the Goddess is up now!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:00 AM on February 17, 2018 [2 favorites]

So monthly may have been too far apart and I totally lost attention, but then I remembered and went back to rereading them. If I hadn't stopped watching TV, I would've noticed when the threads went up on Fanfare. I'll try to check it anyways...
posted by Margalo Epps at 7:06 PM on May 12, 2018

The beauty of fanfare threads is that they're open forever so you can always pop in later on. We're starting Daine in a couple days!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:45 PM on May 12, 2018 [1 favorite]

Any interest in moving more frequently on these posts? I am entirely unable to read these other than in a whole-quartet binge.

I guess I could take notes to post three months later, but what Pierce heroine would do that?
posted by asperity at 11:16 PM on May 14, 2018 [1 favorite]

Yes, I'd love to have quartets posted over the course of a few days, maybe one book per day, but one quartet every month. I prefer to read them all together too. With the last batch, I stopped at the end of each book to look at the thread (and comment if I had something to say) which is the longest I've ever gone between those books.
posted by Margalo Epps at 4:56 PM on May 15, 2018

yeah, we can switch to that. I'm tired and cranky tonight but I can rework the schedule tomorrow when I can think through a complex thought. :) Maybe I'll post a quartet all at once, but with two months between each set? (three months?)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:56 PM on May 15, 2018

Okay, I posted Wolf Speaker and I'll post books 3 and 4 in about 3-4 days and then 7-8 days, and then have a two-month gap and then the next one? Does that sound good? (I only worry if we do quartets monthly, slower readers or readers with less free time will have to read nothing but Pierce!)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:59 PM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]

That sounds awesome, thanks! Now, time to finish reading Eurovision in spaaaaaace and on to Daine!
posted by asperity at 7:23 AM on May 19, 2018

Thanks!
posted by Margalo Epps at 6:05 PM on May 19, 2018

Final Wildmage book is up! Sorry to be a teeny bit slow with this one -- I'm behind on my Pierce because I'm reading War and Peace ... in between my children interrupting me, so it's slow going. See you back around July 15 for Keladry!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:42 PM on May 28, 2018

I have also updated the schedule to read a series every two months (with 3 days between books just so we don't flood the front page and so people have a little time to read!), except I put the spy's guide in December so we can finish out the year with Tortall and start Emelan in 2019!

(Also, if I for some reason forget to post, either a) post it yourself for me! or b) memail me and be like, "yo where's the post?" Usually I just got distracted by my kids.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:47 PM on May 28, 2018