The Book Thread

[North]

On 12/21/2020 at 2:19 AM, Django_3101 said:

Should have read this post before I bought Way of Kings the very same day. 

Around 30 pages in and really enjoying the pacing. Now, that you have laid down the order I am wondering should I start with Mistborn now? 

 

Sorry I just saw this. No, go ahead with Way of Kings. You don't have to read Mistborn first. Thats just the recommended order.

I also read Way of Kings first. 

Just read Warbreaker before Book 2 or Book 3. The earlier the better, but enjoy Way of Kings for now!

 

Its one of my all time favourites, happy reading!

(Feel free to post thoughts/theories/spoilery stuff, it would be cool to read lol) 

[North]

For some clarity:

 

All of Brandon's series can be read independently from one another. 

However, they are all interconnected within the Cosmere. 

Mistborn takes places on Scadrial, while Stormlight Archives takes place on Roshar for example. 

The individual stories are great but its written for an even bigger plot with regard to the whole system, the Cosmere.

 

So you will be missing out on that. Certain elements/interludes/characters may seem irrelevant.

For reference (its a minor spoiler): Hoid's arc will make no sense if you do not read Mistborn, followed by the novella Mistborn Secret History. 

 

But otherwise, you can play around with the reading order if you're interested ONLY in SA. 

I personally feel reading them all is a great idea, as they're amazing and they build up to the bigger problem at hand.

 

If anybody has any questions, or you don't understand why a certain event happened, please do not google as you'll get spoilers. 

Just type 'em here, I'll get back to you on it. Happy reading! 

 

[Bird Bird Bird]

Back to reading physical books. 

 

 

Solid 10/10. 

 

I recently saw this movie titled "Backstabbing for Beginners", and it opened a new world for me, documenting corruption at the highest levels of huge organizations like UN. 

 

The book the movie is based on will arrive next week, but this one arrived today (on a similar topic), and  I am already midway. 

 

For lovers of non fiction, must read. 

 

[Bird Bird Bird]

Read through ~100 pages of Backstabbing for Beginners. Absolutely incredible account of how UN used to work before the whole scam and Saddam Hussain's involvement came to light. Posting an excerpt here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Absolutely riveting read. 

 

[DinJo]

Sorry but how are you reading books watching movies with work and kids? 

[Bird Bird Bird]

22 minutes ago, DinJo said:

Sorry but how are you reading books watching movies with work and kids? 

Movies are rare. Mostly night time once everyone sleeps. 

 

Books - on holidays as much as possible. Thankfully I have 2 comp offs the next 2 weeks. 3 day weekends. 

 

Comics - almost nada. 

 

Edit: We are also trying to read more physical books to inculcate the habit of reading in our elder daughter. 

Edited January 26, 2021 by Bird Bird Bird

[North]

1 hour ago, Bird Bird Bird said:

 

Edit: We are also trying to read more physical books to inculcate the habit of reading in our elder daughter. 

 

Now thats cool parenting! I'm glad my parents got me to love reading as a kid, good luck!

 

And I love international relations and the UN and things like that, I'm ordering that book right away!

[KunjanPSD]

1 hour ago, Chirag2001 said:

 

Now thats cool parenting! I'm glad my parents got me to love reading as a kid, good luck!

 

And I love international relations and the UN and things like that, I'm ordering that book right away!

I haven't been into reading per se.

Probably Harry Potter is the only series I have read properly (huge HP nerd). But I am trying to get into it.

So any suggestions for the beginner? Will obviously prefer physical books, my eyes need some relief with the digital stuff afters years of those maths textbooks.

 

[North]

10 hours ago, kunjanp said:

I haven't been into reading per se.

Probably Harry Potter is the only series I have read properly (huge HP nerd). But I am trying to get into it.

So any suggestions for the beginner? Will obviously prefer physical books, my eyes need some relief with the digital stuff afters years of those maths textbooks.

 

Big up, I'm a huge HP fan too! Getting into reading is better with fiction rather than non fiction tbh, you can get into non fiction later. Plus fiction books are amazing as well. 

 

1. Mistborn (by Brandon Sanderson) - Its a fantasy trilogy by my favourite author, and probably the best place to enter the fantasy rabbit hole. 

The magic system here works on the system of ingestion of metals basically. For example, "consuming" pewter grants strength, while "consuming" tin grants you sensory skills, and so on.

Very few individuals are able to use one of the metals. Even rarer, you have a person who can utilize ALL of the metals, being 'Mistborn'. 

The society is oppressed by the evil lord called 'The Lord Ruler'. We follow a heist crew looking to pull off the biggest heist of all time, led by Kelsier who is a Mistborn.

 

Fantasy is my favourite genre, and this would make my top 5 series of all time. Its only 3 books, and since you liked HP you probably do like fantasy.

 

2. Hunger Games (by Suzanne Collins) - Dystopian trilogy. You know the story if you've seen the movie adaptation. If you haven't, the basic plot is that far in the future, Panem is split up into 12 districts. These districts rebelled against the oppressive Capitol who sit above them, but the rebellion was quelled. As penanance, the "Hunger Games' are put on for the entertainment for te rich folk in the Capitol every year. Every district must send two 'tributes' to enter the arena for a fight till death. At the 74th Hunger Games, a young girl, far too young is picked to be the tribute, but her elder sister Katniss Everdeen volunteers to save her sister. 

 

You could also check out the Maze Runner, has similar vibes to be honest.

 

3. Bad Blood (by John C.) - This is a non fiction but like @Bird Bird Bird once said, this reads like a fiction. A thriller at heart, its about the corporation Theranos which was a Silicon Valley startup doing blood testing which turned out to be a bunch of lies. Its a very famous book.

 

 

I'd recommend fantasy as its my favourite, and I of course, have endless recommendations. If you're not feeling these, just ask  

 

[KunjanPSD]

29 minutes ago, Chirag2001 said:

 

Big up, I'm a huge HP fan too! Getting into reading is better with fiction rather than non fiction tbh, you can get into non fiction later. Plus fiction books are amazing as well. 

 

1. Mistborn (by Brandon Sanderson) - Its a fantasy trilogy by my favourite author, and probably the best place to enter the fantasy rabbit hole. 

The magic system here works on the system of ingestion of metals basically. For example, "consuming" pewter grants strength, while "consuming" tin grants you sensory skills, and so on.

Very few individuals are able to use one of the metals. Even rarer, you have a person who can utilize ALL of the metals, being 'Mistborn'. 

The society is oppressed by the evil lord called 'The Lord Ruler'. We follow a heist crew looking to pull off the biggest heist of all time, led by Kelsier who is a Mistborn.

 

Fantasy is my favourite genre, and this would make my top 5 series of all time. Its only 3 books, and since you liked HP you probably do like fantasy.

 

2. Hunger Games (by Suzanne Collins) - Dystopian trilogy. You know the story if you've seen the movie adaptation. If you haven't, the basic plot is that far in the future, Panem is split up into 12 districts. These districts rebelled against the oppressive Capitol who sit above them, but the rebellion was quelled. As penanance, the "Hunger Games' are put on for the entertainment for te rich folk in the Capitol every year. Every district must send two 'tributes' to enter the arena for a fight till death. At the 74th Hunger Games, a young girl, far too young is picked to be the tribute, but her elder sister Katniss Everdeen volunteers to save her sister. 

 

You could also check out the Maze Runner, has similar vibes to be honest.

 

3. Bad Blood (by John C.) - This is a non fiction but like @Bird Bird Bird once said, this reads like a fiction. A thriller at heart, its about the corporation Theranos which was a Silicon Valley startup doing blood testing which turned out to be a bunch of lies. Its a very famous book.

 

 

I'd recommend fantasy as its my favourite, and I of course, have endless recommendations. If you're not feeling these, just ask  

 

I am not much interested in Hunger Games because the latter movies killed the series for me. 

I know books are much better and acclaimed but I am not excited by the story.

Fantasy fiction is right up my alley but I am open to real-world books as well.

Will get the other two and start with them. Thanks!

[dylanjosh]

His Dark Materials is another good series

[North]

6 hours ago, kunjanp said:

I am not much interested in Hunger Games because the latter movies killed the series for me. 

I know books are much better and acclaimed but I am not excited by the story.

Fantasy fiction is right up my alley but I am open to real-world books as well.

Will get the other two and start with them. Thanks!

 

Sure, I didn't know about your tastes so recommended a mix.

 

If you enjoy fantasy, Mistborn is fantastic. Any of the author's other books (SA, Warbreaker, etc) are also great choices to start fantasy.

Warbreaker is a standalone book, so you might wanna try that first if you don't feel like committing to a trilogy.

 

If you like the romance to be on the double, Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes is also a good pick. Its kind of like Game of Thrones. We follow 4 young people trying to manipulate and backstab their way to the throne, while fighting for love.

 

If you like urban elements, GreenBone Saga by Fonda Lee is a great choice. The first book, Jade City is among the best books I read in 2020. Its still fantasy, but set in an urban setting. Imagine The Godfather, set in modern day Hong Kong, but with fantasy elements. Essentially revolves around the use of jade, the green gemstone which grants power to select individuals by virtue of their bloodline. But a new drug enters the market, allowing ordinary people to also access the power jade grants. Its absolutely epic, and the third book is my most anticipated read for 2021.

 

In case you want more of a challenge, you could try the 14 book series "Wheel of Time". This in some ways, is the peak of fantasy writing. I'm still making my way through it. This is a big one though, so maybe the other options are better suited. This also follows like 6 different main characters lol. @dylanjosh Hoping to finish it this year bro

[Ne0]

Finally completed oathbringer.  I've mixed opinions, some parts are brilliant, others are slow and lagging.  Now onto the fourth book - Rhythm of war.  Not before I start it, want to know is it mandatory to read dawnshard ? Apparently, it's a novella set between book 3 and 4 and considered to be kind of like book 3.5 ?

 

Went to check what it's about, and got spoiled that

 

that harolds were fighting in braize and odium currently resides there

 

 

I hope that was a spoiler for dawnshard and not book 4 !!

Edited January 27, 2021 by Ne0

[North]

15 hours ago, Ne0 said:

Finally completed oathbringer.  I've mixed opinions, some parts are brilliant, others are slow and lagging.  Now onto the fourth book - Rhythm of war.  Not before I start it, want to know is it mandatory to read dawnshard ? Apparently, it's a novella set between book 3 and 4 and considered to be kind of like book 3.5 ?

 

Went to check what it's about, and got spoiled that

  Reveal hidden contents

that harolds were fighting in braize and odium currently resides there

 

 

I hope that was a spoiler for dawnshard and not book 4 !!

 

Ummm that spoiler doesn't even make sense so don't worry. I've read all the books.

Dawnshard is a novella about Lopen (the Herdazian bridgeman) and Rysn (the girl who works for the navy merchant). It has to do with Aimia and the interlude about that in OB.

I'd say it has relevance, and when its mentioned in ROW you might feel confused, but its definitely readable without reading Dawnshard first.

 

Tbh, its a lot more important to have read Mistborn Era 1 to get the underlying stuff in ROW, but again, you can go on to ROW without reading anything else.

Not sure if you read Edgedancer before reading Oathbringer, but it has to do with Lift. So if you skipped it, I would say read Edgedancer, and then ROW.

 

Some more people felt that way about parts of Oathbringer. It did have a bit of pacing issues, but still absolutely brilliant. ROW took all of the pacing issues away, don't worry.

There is some epic sh*t up ahead, happy reading!  

[Ne0]

hmmm ok, started with rhythm of war .... also,

lirin gets his own chapter now

, I always thought he was a side character

[roun90]

On 1/27/2021 at 12:45 PM, dylanjosh said:

His Dark Materials is another good series

 

 

This is just my opinion, but this is not a good series. The first book - The Northern Lights/The Golden Compass, is absolutely brilliant. But the 2nd book onwards, the books are miserable. Devolving completely in a strange religious war, the charm of the 1st book was completely lost. Just read the 1st book and avoid the rest I guess.

[Ne0]

 

BTW, here's the spoilerific video that explains harolds & braize   

 

Before this I didn't know the place where the harolds

 

hold the fused / voidbringers or whatever they are called, is a separate planet, I always thought its a different realm like shadesmar !

 

Since I never came across braize in the first 3 books, I thought it was a spoiler for ROW !

 

 

 

 

Edited January 28, 2021 by Ne0

[North]

35 minutes ago, Ne0 said:

BTW, here's the spoilerific video that explains harolds & braize   

Before this I didn't know the place where the harolds

  Reveal hidden contents

hold the fused / voidbringers or whatever they are called, is a separate planet, I always thought its a different realm like shadesmar !

Since I never came across braize in the first 3 books, I thought it was a spoiler for ROW !

  Hide contents

 

 

No this stuff isn't specific to ROW, and its not even like a story arc. This is general info.

 

And you'd know that Braize is a different planetary system if you were more familiar with the Cosmere.

 

Thats why I said its beneficial to have read Mistborn Era 1, Secret History, and Warbreaker before reading ROW. To enjoy the bigger picture.

Hoid's entire storyline is dependent on it tbh. 

[Bird Bird Bird]

On 26/01/2021 at 5:57 PM, Bird Bird Bird said:

Read through ~100 pages of Backstabbing for Beginners. Absolutely incredible account of how UN used to work before the whole scam and Saddam Hussain's involvement came to light. Posting an excerpt here. 

 

 

Absolutely riveting read. 

 

 

Finished till Ch 14. 

 

Each chapter is filled up with so much information that it can have it's own book. 

This is easily sitting in my top 3 reads OF ALL TIME. 

Absolutely mind boggling, and something which will stay with you for years to come. 

[Bird Bird Bird]

Another excerpt:

 

 

 

 

You'll be surprised at the level of nonchalance, non compliant, super corrupt attitude at UN. 

 

I remember the times of Boutros Boutros and Kofi Annan, and never in a hundred years would think such men to be corrupt. How wrong I was ! 

 

Every page is a shocking revelation.