When/How did you find Sword & Laser?

[Fresno Bob]

I walked the Roberator path as well, G&S to S&L to Goodreads, although I'm surprised I hadn't found Goodreads before as just a spot to track books I've read......wait, after reading the wiki, I've determined that it must have been looking for info on either Scott Sigler or Boardgames (TableTop) that got me to G&S.....

[Anand]

Rob wrote: "So with upcoming 10 year anniversary of Sword & Laser, and Tassie Dave's cool new History page (http://swordandlaser.wikia.com/wiki/A...) on the wiki, it got me wonder..."

I found this group while looking for goodreads discussions about the latest Expanse novel, Babylon's Ashes. I like swords, I like lasers, and so here I am.

[Bill]

I joined Rob's side group in 2013 and heard S&L being mentioned by him and other members so after a few months I checked it out and have been here since.

[Scott]

G&S is the answer for me too, although I didn't start listening to the audio podcast until after the (first run of) the video show ended. And, I didn't start reading along until Dragonflight (I listened to all the back episodes of the podcast first lol)

[Tassie Dave, S&L Historian]

OK where are all the "been here since day one"-rs.?

I know we have a few on here that were here from the start.

TK? JL?

[Robert]

I used to listen to Buzz Out Loud podcasts on my morning commute (so always one day behind :-)) and started listening to the S&L podcast fairly early on. I think one of the first podcasts I listened to (and my first read) was the Golden Compass, but I may be mis-remembering.

I never joined the Ning site but I was certainly a listener through that time.

[terpkristin]

I've been here since as long as it's been around, I think, back pre-podcast in the old Ning days. I think I found it from TWiT.

[Michele]

World of Warcraft led me to The Guild and Felicia which led me to Geek and Sundry which led me here and to Vaginal Fantasy. So it's all my brother's fault, for encouraging me to become a (recovering) WoW addict.

I blame my dad for buying me that text adventure Hobbit game back in the 80s.

[Daryl]

Found and fell in love with the podcast through Geek and Sundry. I don't really watch much of Geek and Sundry content anymore but continue to be a big fan of Sword and Laser.

[Todd]

It's funny how your mind plays tricks on you, as I had pretty distinctly remembered having joined S&L before moving from MD to NY, but after looking at the timeline of when it all started I now remember. I moved a few months before the group started, but didn't have a new job, so I was driving 6 hours down and back every other week for a couple months.
To pass the time, I would queue up several podcasts, and I started listening to BoL. I must have heard about the upcoming S&L from there, and thought, "Hey, a book club like this would be a great way to finally break my fantasy mental block(big laser, not so much sword)." I immediately joined the ning group, but then the first 3 or so books were ones that I had already read, so I skipped them.
I was on autopilot for quite awhile, but S&L did finally help me break that mental block I had with fantasy novels.

[Rob, Roberator]

Todd wrote: "It's funny how your mind plays tricks on you, as I had pretty distinctly remembered having joined S&L before moving from MD to NY, ."

Hah. I moved from Buffalo to MD, and you moved from MD to Rochester...

[Todd]

Rob wrote: "Todd wrote: "It's funny how your mind plays tricks on you, as I had pretty distinctly remembered having joined S&L before moving from MD to NY, ."

Hah. I moved from Buffalo to MD, and you moved fr..."
That's funny! I had made the Buffalo to MD move years earlier as well(grew up in Rochester, undergrad and start of grad school at UB, then followed my grad advisor down to College Park when he got a government job).

[Rob, Roberator]

That's cool that you were able to move back home.

It seems like there are more people have been moving back to WNY recently.

I had planned to do that when I first moved to MD if I could, but at some point I decided I was going to be staying here.

[Misti]

I remember hearing Tom and Veronica talk about it back during the Buzz Out Loud days, but I didn't jump on board until the video show debuted on Geek and Sundry. I believe my first read-along was Leviathan Wakes.

[Lauren]

I thought my story would be similar to others', but it seems my route is a bit unusual, so here it is.

Back in 2007 when I was in graduate school, I started a research project on LGBT gamers, and I wanted to follow a particular group in World of Warcraft. I swiftly realized that I had to be good at World of Warcraft and speak the language of the game to have enough cred that anybody would talk to me, so I started listening to podcasts about WoW to speed up my learning. One of my favorites was The Instance hosted by Scott Johnson. Veronica appeared on one of their shows or was mentioned, and S&L was mentioned as well, so I decided to check it out because I have always been a science fiction and fantasy fan.

I think I listened to many of the very first S&L podcasts, but as my brain was being consumed by graduate school, I just did not have the time or energy to participate in the discussion. (I rarely had the opportunity or time to read for 'fun', so I lived vicariously through S&L.) Eventually I stopped listening to podcasts for other reasons, but sometime in the meantime I joined Goodreads to keep track of the few books I was able to read for pleasure (getting more active when I was finally finished with grad school and my brain became my own again). I followed S&L on Goodreads to see what the book picks were but didn't listen.

It was only a year or so ago that I came back to podcasts when I started trying to get in shape by walking and eventually running. I used S&L as a way to trick myself into actually wanting to exercise - because I'd much, much rather be curled up with a book than out running, but if I can run AND get geeky book talk, that's something I can do. And here I am back again, thanks to Scott Johnson, I guess, way back in 2007/8.

[John]

I found the book club after Tom or Veronica mentioned it on TWIT in early 2012.

I had wanted to get back into regular reading for a while and had been thinking about finding a sci-fi book club and et voila the universe provided what has proved to be the perfect solution.

(looks at the iTunes feed)
(still haven't completely forgiven Veronica for resetting it that time)

My first podcast was no 94, and the group was reading The Lies of Locke Lamora so I decided to jump in with the next book The Magicians, but the less said about that pick the better. ;-)

I haven't liked all the picks, but I do like the diversity and breadth of the stories chosen. There is no way I would have found some of these books and being part of S&L has made me a more adventurous reader.

I love all things T&V, especially their geeky banter. I really appreciate them holding this space for us and sharing their love of all things sci fi and fantasy, however tangentially related...

“We are the knights who say Ni"

Oh yes we are...

[Selena]

I found it while looking for sci-fi and fantasy podcasts that focus on books rather than pop culture and tv shows. So glad I found it!!!!!!

[Eric]

Pretty sure I found it via Boing Boing a few years ago.

[Craig]

Like many others, I discovered Sword & Laser when their videos premiered on Geek & Sundry. Sword & Laser is the reason I joined Goodreads.

[Kelli]

I'm another one who found Sword & Laser through Geek & Sundry. The first book I read (well, re-read, as it were) with the group was The Hobbit in December 2012. I've been happily following along ever since! I don't comment a lot in the forums but I do lurk. :)

[Anne]

I must have come here back when Tom and Veronica were part of the TWiT team and mentioned the book club in one show or another. I think it must have been late 2010 or early 2011 based on the S&L bookshelf. I remember reading along with Shadow & Claw, but am not sure whether I joined in for one of the books before that.

[Minsta]

The Guild -> Felicia Day -> VF book club -> Veronica Belmont -> Sword and Laser (and now the Hunted TV show thanks to Sword and Laser!)

[Melissa]

I joined this group on May 31, 2010. I think I first heard of S&L on Books on the Nightstand. I started running in 2006 and I carried around a "Sport" CD player. It was a "Sport" edition because it came with strap to attach it to your hand, and it was supposed to have anti-skipping features. I eventually graduated to an iPod, and started amassing podcasts to listen to while I ran.

Sword and Laser is a staple of my Saturday podcast playlist for my long runs. When I started running, I couldn't go a mile without stopping to catch my breath. I have now run 8 marathons (including Boston) and many, many half-marathons. Thanks, Tom and Veronica for the company.

Thank you also for reigniting my love of science fiction and fantasy. I have been teaching Literature for a very long time, and I had become entrenched in the classics. Listening to your podcast reminded me of my love for the books of my youth. I introduced my children to your podcast, and we have read some of the S&L picks together (my kids are grown). Thanks again!

[Leesa]

I joined 3/2012 back when I would watch the Vaginal Fantasy chats. Love the group!

[Karyn]

I also found S&L through VF about a year ago! Wyrd Sisters was the first book I read along with the podcast. :)

[Shawn D Whale]

My path to Sword and Laser was that of a game of hop scotch that started with Felicia Day and the Guild.

Hop to Wil Wheaton and Table Top.

Jump to Geek and Sundry's multiple channels.

End at Scotch (because why wouldn't you) and my lovely find of the S&L videos of Tom, Veronica, and Lem.

Sadly I departed the S&L family for a bit.

Fast forward through over 400k of driving for work, finishing my steamroll through all 800+ of the Nerdist podcasts, and needing a new podcast. Enter our bearded Wisconsin lord Patrick Rothfuss and his timely post of the S&L anthology.

BAM!
Who got a new podcast?
This guy!

PS
I was the Shawn who called in to say hello and got a lovely mention few episodes back (I'm almost famous!). It gave me the "smiles" for a few hundred miles.

[Darren]

Shawn D Whale wrote: "Fast forward through over 400k of driving for work, finishing my steamroll through all 800+ of the Nerdist podcasts, and needing a new podcast. Enter our bearded Wisconsin lord Patrick Rothfuss and his timely post of the S&L anthology. "

You finished 800 Nerdist podcasts on one tank of gas? :-)

[Shawn D Whale]

Darren

I did fill up once or twice.
Only two vehicles though.
And my thanks for making me laugh