Do you take breaks between books when reading a series?

[bedtime]

Just curious what you all do after reading a book which is part of a long series. Lets say the book was The Way of Kings. Would you then read Words of Radiance right after or would you take a break and read an unrelated book and come back to it later?

In any event, I just read The Way of Kings and I jumped into Words of Radiance right after (currently 25% finished), but I'll likely be taking a little break and reading another fantasy or Mistborn after.

[Qianweilian He/him]

I do take a "break" to wait for the next book to come out! If I have multiple unread in a series, (like I did for the Wheel of Time), I power through the series til I'm done.

If I was reading the Way of Kings right now, then I would read Words of Radiance right after, then Oathbringer, then Rhythm of War, and so on. The only exception might be novellas like Edgedancer or Secret History, which I might insert in.

[Frustration]

I read WoK through OB in a little over a month, and I highly recommend it. I think it really helps keep everything fresh.

[Usseewa ✾ She♡Her ✾]

Nope. i dont. Well...sometimes a few hours, or save till next day ('specially when i finish at night or evening)

Edited January 29 by Usseewa

[pureintonation she/her]

Yes… my horrifying reading order was mistborn (1-2), warbreaker, way of kings, mistborn 3, mistborn era 2 audiobooks WHILE reading words of radiance, 3/4 of oathbringer, tress, the rest of oathbringer, row, (surprise dostoyevsky moment), half of wat, reread way of kings for some reason, rest of wat, reread way of kings again

anyway just follow ur heart or instinct or weird voice in ur head

youll be ok theres always the coppermind and youtubers that summarize the books in great detail if u get lost on ur path

[bedtime]

52 minutes ago, Qianweilian said:

I do take a "break" to wait for the next book to come out! If I have multiple unread in a series, (like I did for the Wheel of Time), I power through the series til I'm done.

If I was reading the Way of Kings right now, then I would read Words of Radiance right after, then Oathbringer, then Rhythm of War, and so on. The only exception might be novellas like Edgedancer or Secret History, which I might insert in.

29 minutes ago, Usseewa said:

Nope. i dont. Well...sometimes a few hours, or save till next day ('specially when i finish at night or evening)

This sounds like a recipe for burnout in my mind. I think I'd find myself either burnt out or just being pulled to something else due to interest.

41 minutes ago, Frustration said:

I read WoK through OB in a little over a month, and I highly recommend it. I think it really helps keep everything fresh.

That's the big reason I'd like to keep reading—keeping it fresh in mind. Storm it if I could remember a few traits about a character or their name a few days after reading the story, but Sanderson does have a way of making at least the main characters stick in your head.

14 minutes ago, pureintonation said:

Yes… my horrifying reading order was mistborn (1-2), warbreaker, way of kings, mistborn 3, mistborn era 2 audiobooks WHILE reading words of radiance, 3/4 of oathbringer, tress, the rest of oathbringer, row, (surprise dostoyevsky moment), half of wat, reread way of kings for some reason, rest of wat, reread way of kings again

anyway just follow ur heart or instinct or weird voice in ur head

youll be ok theres always the coppermind and youtubers that summarize the books in great detail if u get lost on ur path

That reading order doesn't seem too off the wall. Might even be a decent way to balance the Cosmere out? But yeah, I think I'll just let the moment guide me. The Fandom site seems like a great place for chapter summaries and info on characters. Have used it quite a bit. Also have some fan art of the main characters. I find that helps a lot to be able to put a visual image to the character.

I was thinking of reading a little Robin Hobbs next due to the difference in prose style if I did choose to read a non-Sanderson book.

Anyways, I'm so attached to the characters right now that I'm choosing to storm through it.

[Qianweilian He/him]

2 minutes ago, bedtime said:

Fandom site seems like a great place for chapter summaries and info on characters. Have used it quite a bit. Also have some fan art of the main characters. I find that helps a lot to be able to put a visual image to the character.

Use the Coppermind instead; it’s much higher quality. If you want to avoid getting spoiled, use the Time Machine and set it to before the book you are reading. They also have great chapter summaries (example: Words of Radiance)

[bedtime]

39 minutes ago, Qianweilian said:

Use the Coppermind instead; it’s much higher quality. If you want to avoid getting spoiled, use the Time Machine and set it to before the book you are reading. They also have great chapter summaries (example: Words of Radiance)

Thanks so much for this. I've used Time Machine and set it to 'Before Oathbringer', so I hope that's correct.

I'm liking the info and layout so far.

[Qianweilian He/him]

You’re welcome. Beware however that if you haven’t read any book published before Oathbringer, than those spoilers will be on the version of the Coppermind you view with the Time Machine. Although, before Oathbringer is early enough, you should be fine if you stay on Stormlight-related pages.

[Treamayne]

Welcome to the Shard. Please consider an Intro Post to let us know what you have or have-not read (whichever list is shorter). Also, please consider checking out the Sharder FAQ for some useful forum info and tips. 

3 hours ago, bedtime said:

Just curious what you all do after reading a book which is part of a long series. Lets say the book was The Way of Kings. Would you then read Words of Radiance right after or would you take a break and read an unrelated book and come back to it later?

In any event, I just read The Way of Kings and I jumped into Words of Radiance right after (currently 25% finished), but I'll likely be taking a little break and reading another fantasy or Mistborn after.

I think part of the equation is what other Cosmere have you read? Stormlight Archive is the most crossover heavy (starting in WoR and increasing with each book), so if you are the type that has not read other Cosmere and also like shorter books between bigger books, then mixing in other Cosmere between Stormlight works is a great method to do so. I've had a number of friends who did so. From the Reading Order Q&A:

On 2/24/2023 at 4:31 PM, Treamayne said:

On 2/23/2023 at 11:46 AM, offer said:

If you like epic fantasy than I recommend starting with the Stormlight Archive. It has the most world building by far and in my opinion is the best entry point to the cosmere.

Some people do start with Stormlight Archive (Book 1 - The Way of Kings), but I do not recommend that. Of the people I know that have started here, most have regretted it; or finished book 1, then moved to other Cosmere works between books in this series (*see example explanation below). Each book is quite large (1000+ pages) and while Book 1 can be safely read early, later books can quickly have references or spoilers for things you have not yet read.

It's certainly not wrong to start here - it is epic and long and wonderful. just understand the trade-off you will have by making that decision. 

*That specific example:
The referenced individual read SA Book 1, Mistborn Era 1, Warbreaker, SA Book 2, Edgedancer, Elantris, SA Book 3 etc

Stormlight Reference list: 

Spoiler

Books and their references - Labelled as Major - Important references impacting story, Minor - References that clarify story, Easter Egg - Tidbits that are just interesting when you notice, but not impacting story. Some Major and Minor references also have Easter Eggs, but titles are listed in their highest classification only.

1. Way of Kings has references and/or cameos from:
   • Major: None
   • Minor: None
   • Easter Egg: Elantris, White Sand, Mistborn Era 1
2. Words of Radiance has references and/or cameos from:
   • Major: Warbreaker
   • Minor: None
   • Easter Egg: White Sand, Mistborn Era 2, Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell, and multiple Curiosities[1]
3. Oathbringer has references and/or cameos from:
   • Major: Warbreaker
   • Minor: Elantris
   • Easter Egg: White Sand, Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell, Mistborn (both Eras)
4. Rhythm of War has references and/or cameos from:
   • Major: Warbreaker, White Sand, Elantris
   • Minor: Sixth of the Dusk, Mistborn (both Eras)
   • Easter Egg: Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell
5. Wind and Truth
   • Major: Warbreaker, Elantris
   • Minor: Sixth of the Dusk, Mistborn Era 1
   • Easter Egg: White Sand

 [1] - If you are not aware of Sanderson Curosities:

  Hide contents

They are the "unpublished" works he has made available for fans. In the Cosmere, that is primarily:

• White Sand Prose
• Aether of Night[1]
• Way of Kings Prime
• Dragonsteel Prime[1]

 

Hope that helps

Edited January 30 by Treamayne
SPAG

[Schizoposting]

It depends on how much I like the series: I read Wheel of Time straight through in ~2 weeks, because the books where enjoyable enough*  that I wanted to see what would happen next; on the other hand, I'm taking a break from reading The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, because the books are a bit of a slog (IMO). 

*With the exception of New Spring and the Andoran civil war plotline—which I found to be excruciatingly boring—I did not have any particularly big issues with the infamous slog, although at around Lord of Chaos it became one big mush for me until The Gathering Storm. 

[Qianweilian He/him]

7 hours ago, Schizoposting said:

I did not have any particularly big issues with the infamous slog,

From my perspective, I think most of the "slog" was a big deal when the books took two years to write

[bedtime]

21 hours ago, Treamayne said:

Welcome to the Shard. Please consider an Intro Post to let us know what you have or have-not read (whichever list is shorter). Also, please consider checking out the Sharder FAQ for some useful forum info and tips. 

I think part of the equation is what other Cosmere have you read? Stormlight Archive is the most crossover heavy (starting in WoR and increasing with each book), so if you are the type that has not read other Cosmere and also like shorter books between bigger books, then mixing in other Cosmere between Stormlight works is a great method to do so. I've had a number of friends who did so. From the Reading Order Q&A:

Hope that helps

Thanks for the info!

So far I've only read 'The Way of Kings' and a third of 'Words of Radiance', but I've read a couple of other fantasy novels, so I'll be sure to include that in the intro.

20 hours ago, Schizoposting said:

It depends on how much I like the series: I read Wheel of Time straight through in ~2 weeks, because the books where enjoyable enough*  that I wanted to see what would happen next; on the other hand, I'm taking a break from reading The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, because the books are a bit of a slog (IMO). 

*With the exception of New Spring and the Andoran civil war plotline—which I found to be excruciatingly boring—I did not have any particularly big issues with the infamous slog, although at around Lord of Chaos it became one big mush for me until The Gathering Storm. 

I love the series. I think this is my favorite series to date. That said, time, circumstances, and life tend to derail me, so possibility looms.

11 hours ago, Qianweilian said:

From my perspective, I think most of the "slog" was a big deal when the books took two years to write

That's the great thing about coming late to the party—no waiting for books to be written. Perhaps I should have dived into the Cosmere around 2030, so I could watch the new series on Apple TV as well. 

[Qianweilian He/him]

19 minutes ago, bedtime said:

That's the great thing about coming late to the party—no waiting for books to be written.

That was Robert Jordan, not Brandon Sanderson. With Sanderson, you'll have books coming out must faster.

[Use the Falchion]

Not in the sense I think you're talking about, since if I take a break for air I probably won't come back to the series. If I'm getting burnout, I usually push through. However, if I'm reading a series and a book by an author I love comes out, and I'm more excited about the new book than the book I'm reading, I'll pick up the new book in a heartbeat. But I usually recommend breaks or palate cleansers for other readers just in case they're the type of reader to get burnout before finishing. 

[Schizoposting]

14 hours ago, Qianweilian said:

From my perspective, I think most of the "slog" was a big deal when the books took two years to write

True, but a big problem with the slog is that the different books aren't very well delineated, so it becomes very indistinct—I remember The Dragon Reborn pretty well, but I have no clue in which book the Seanchan invaded. Contrast this with Stormlight, where Oathbringer, for example, is very distinct from Words of Radiance and Rhythm of War.

[Qianweilian He/him]

9 hours ago, Schizoposting said:

a big problem with the slog is that the different books aren't very well delineated, so it becomes very indistinct—I remember The Dragon Reborn pretty well, but I have no clue in which book the Seanchan invaded.

Is that a problem? I've experienced the same thing, and I don't think it really matters whether as long as I remember the overarching plot (even if I can't place details in the correct book).

[Treamayne]

18 minutes ago, Qianweilian said:

Is that a problem?

Depends on the person. Major events for books and series I follow, I will know to the book (and sometimes section or chapter) because that is how I organize things for how I think. It aids my enjoyment of the works and helps me look up references when answering a new reader's question. 

WoT is not one of the sereis for which I have done that, though. 

[bedtime]

15 hours ago, Use the Falchion said:

Not in the sense I think you're talking about, since if I take a break for air I probably won't come back to the series. If I'm getting burnout, I usually push through. However, if I'm reading a series and a book by an author I love comes out, and I'm more excited about the new book than the book I'm reading,...

This has happened to me for so many books. There are books that I've stopped reading half way through that I abandon due to seeing other interesting books, and I never get back to them. Some books I've read half way through a couple times.

As to the Stormlight Archives, it's interesting enough for me to not stray, which is unusual. Sanderson has me hooked quite well.