Too soon to try to understand?

[Xero stormz he/him]

So I am a huge fan of the stormlight archive, after listening to both of them in quick succession I picked up Mistborn and after a while I finally got really into it and am now halfway through the second book. Just being curious I looked up a bit about the cosmere and now I'm obsessed and want to know so much more!!!!!!! The question is having only 3 1/2 books under my belt should I hold off on doing any extensive research?

 

[Pagerunner he/him]

The most 'natural' introduction to the cosmere, in my mind, comes during Mistborn 3 or Stormlight 1. I'd say you should wait until you've finished the first trilogy, then, to read up on the larger universe. Arcanum Unbounded, a collection of novellas and short stories, goes the deepest into the connections between books; you should definitely wait to read that (which contains Mistborn: Secret History) until you've read all the other books.

Don't waste time researching right now. Read the books first! Once you're out of books, you can go hunting through the additional information Brandon has given in interviews and signings, or start trying to understand all the crazy theories flying around, or read up on some old unpublished cosmere tales . But finish the books, first, since they are the intended medium to enjoy these stories. 

[Thunder_93]

I understand you get kind of obsessed with the Cosmere now... But just remember, if you do an extensive research on this topic, you have a big risk of spoiling yourself.

Maybe with smaller things, or with really big things (for example, with the end of the original Mistborn trilogy).

If I was you, I'd first read all the "big" cosmere books, before going to deep into cosmere-research. That would be:

-Elantris

-Warbreaker

-Stormlight Archive 1 & 2

-Mistborn Era 1

-Mistborn Era 2

-Secret History

 

Shorter stories (like Edgedancer, Sixth of the Dusk, Shadows of Silence in the Forest of Hell) are probably not that bad, as there aren't that big things to spoil... 

The thing is, if you look up one thing, you quickly go to another topic. Maybe you're reading about Adonalsium, and probably wouldn't get spoiled there, but then you quickly go the next link, then the next.... and end up spoiling yourself

[DocHoliday he/him]

Long ago, while attempting to learn more about Mistborn, I stumbled upon a new word: Adonalasium.

And that Kids is how I fell into the rabbit hole...

Seriously, don't spoil yourself now. Read the Mistborn books (there's 6), Warbreaker and Elantris (stand alone books), and follow those up with the Stormlight Archives (book 3 is released later this year).

By the time you're done with your Homework, you'll have an established base of knowledge to begin understanding the Cosmere; which is the Universe all these books take place in.

There's a lot to learn and enjoy, I recommend taking notes lol

[Calderis he/him]

And as much as you're welcome here, remember at all times on the forums, that if you haven't read the books, the Shard is a dangerous place. 

Edit: and I didn't notice before posting that this question is from mid may... Necromancy abounds

Edited June 29, 2017 by Calderis

[Ammanas]

We at the 17th shard have a proverb, "He who is certain he knows the ending of things when he is only beginning them is either extremely wise or extremely foolish; no matter which is true, he is certainly an unhappy man, for he has put a knife in the heart of wonder."

Long story short just listen to pagerunner and leave off looking at spoilers/theories until you have finished reading the books.