A Fan But Not A Reader (yet)

[Fedi]

Hi everyone! I'm Fedi, a 26 yo from Europe. I love Brandon Sanderson - but I haven't read any of his books yet.

I'm a big fan of Writing Excuses, and I love following Brandon's lectures when they get posted on YouTube - but I am an extremely picky reader, and it's difficult for me to just read for fun, closing an eye about what I dislike. I studied to become an editor and that perspective is difficult to shrug off, even when reading is not work-related.
Most people I know rave about Brandon's novels, and I am afraid I'll be disappointed.

I am also an aspiring writer, and I joined this forum out of curiosity. It seems pretty cool, so let's see which awesome things I will find here

[Lightning he/him]

Maybe this will help: you will certainly dislike something Brandon has written!  I'm a huge Brandon Sanderson fan, but every author has stuff that just doesn't work for some people.

Give something a try, and if you don't like it so be it.  I'd recommend you start with the first Mistborn book.  It could be that fantasy is just not your thing, but you'll never know until you try.

[Fedi]

Thank you @Shadows4Silence! It's very nice to be welcomed here :3

@Lightning, you're right. Every author (especially one as prolific as Brandon) has very different titles to offer. I know for a fact that fantasy is my thing, but it's such a broad category that I am bound to dislike something. I actually read the first lines of the first Mistborn book, once! It's a sad and funny story at the same time; you see, I'm not an English mothertongue speaker, and somehow I read "Ash" as if it would be a name. So this poor guy Ash is falling from the sky and Lord Tresting simply frowns?

I was very confused... and then I felt like an idiot

[Lightning he/him]

22 minutes ago, Fedi said:

Thank you @Shadows4Silence! It's very nice to be welcomed here :3

@Lightning, you're right. Every author (especially one as prolific as Brandon) has very different titles to offer. I know for a fact that fantasy is my thing, but it's such a broad category that I am bound to dislike something. I actually read the first lines of the first Mistborn book, once! It's a sad and funny story at the same time; you see, I'm not an English mothertongue speaker, and somehow I read "Ash" as if it would be a name. So this poor guy Ash is falling from the sky and Lord Tresting simply frowns?

I was very confused... and then I felt like an idiot

What part of Europe are you from?  I just got back from visiting Poland, France, and Belgium for work.  I know Brandon has a big following in Poland (and his books have been translated to Polish) but I don't know about some of the other languages over there.

[Fedi]

I'm from Italy, but currently live in Switzerland and will probably soon move to the Netherlands - so a bit from all over the place! I guess maybe I could look up Brandon's books in Italian, though I usually read everything in English and have no problem. I wouldn't know if Brandon has a big following in Italy, but short of one or two people he is not read by people I know. It's better in Switzerland.

Was it your first time in Europe? Did you like it?

[Calderis he/him]

@Fedi welcome to the Shard. 

I suggest starting with Elantris. I say this because it was his first published novel. You will see his strengths right from the start, and his weaknesses are most apparent there. 

He's greatly improved since, and he didn't start off bad. If you can deal with the issues in that story without an issue, everything from that point forward will be an improvement. 

That said, I hope you enjoy it, and I will gladly discuss the story (both positive and negative aspects) when you're ready. 

[Lightning he/him]

29 minutes ago, Fedi said:

I'm from Italy, but currently live in Switzerland and will probably soon move to the Netherlands - so a bit from all over the place! I guess maybe I could look up Brandon's books in Italian, though I usually read everything in English and have no problem. I wouldn't know if Brandon has a big following in Italy, but short of one or two people he is not read by people I know. It's better in Switzerland.

Was it your first time in Europe? Did you like it?

It was my third time in Europe.  The other two times were centered in Poland only.

I do like Europe.  Definitely greener than where I'm from in the U.S. (namely Utah).  I also like the food.  Polish food is hearty, and the Belgian/French food was nice because I don't often get fish at home.  The only hard part for me is being away from my family (and my wife doesn't like to travel so she doesn't come with me!).

[Fedi]

2 hours ago, Calderis said:

@Fedi welcome to the Shard. 

I suggest starting with Elantris. I say this because it was his first published novel. You will see his strengths right from the start, and his weaknesses are most apparent there. 

He's greatly improved since, and he didn't start off bad. If you can deal with the issues in that story without an issue, everything from that point forward will be an improvement. 

That said, I hope you enjoy it, and I will gladly discuss the story (both positive and negative aspects) when you're ready. 

Starting with Elantris sounds like a good plan! And I would love to discuss the story afterwards - so that also could work as good motivation for reading. Which one of his novels would you consider his best so far? To have an idea of that improvement curve you mentioned.

Thank you for your suggestion!

[Calderis he/him]

4 minutes ago, Fedi said:

Starting with Elantris sounds like a good plan! And I would love to discuss the story afterwards - so that also could work as good motivation for reading. Which one of his novels would you consider his best so far? To have an idea of that improvement curve you mentioned.

Thank you for your suggestion!

Oh man... I love the stories themselves, writing wise though I think the biggest improvement happened when he finished WoT. 

Warbreaker and the first Mistborn trilogy are great stories, and I feel like he improved on his skills from Elantris with them both, but after those he himself said that as a huge fan of Robert Jordan he had to step up his ability to finish that series, and the books that came out after show are marked improvement.

My favorite is Stormlight Archive... But that's probably just a matter of scope. Those books are huge. 

[Fedi]

2 hours ago, Lightning said:

It was my third time in Europe.  The other two times were centered in Poland only.

I do like Europe.  Definitely greener than where I'm from in the U.S. (namely Utah).  I also like the food.  Polish food is hearty, and the Belgian/French food was nice because I don't often get fish at home.  The only hard part for me is being away from my family (and my wife doesn't like to travel so she doesn't come with me!).

I understand what you mean, being distant from your loved ones is the toughest thing.

I've driven through Poland on my way to Finland, but I didn't even stop there so I can't say I've seen much; I'm looking forward to visit it this summer! And to try the food, considering what you said

By the way, for the best fish at affordable prices, in Europe, I suggest Croatia. There's a sushi place in Split with the best fresh fish ever tasted. Really worth going if you happen to be around there.

[Sami she/her]

22 minutes ago, Calderis said:

My favorite is Stormlight Archive... But that's probably just a matter of scope. Those books are huge. 

Haha yeah, I suggest starting those after you have a bit more faith in Brandon Sanderson. I forced my older sister to read it and she grumbled that she didn't get it until like halfway through the first book - and then all of a sudden she loved it.

And for the record, I have read many of Brandon Sanderson's books and I have yet to read a book that I don't like. (thankfully)  

[Calderis he/him]

1 minute ago, Edgedancer81 said:

And for the record, I have read many of Brandon Sanderson's books and I have yet to read a book that I don't like. (thankfully)  

I didn't mean to imply I didn't like them. I haven't read a bad Brandon book either. All I meant is that has improved his skills. 

Elantris is his weakest novel in my opinion. That said, Hrathen is still my favorite character of his... So there you go. 

[Sami she/her]

I think the thing I love most about Brandon Sanderson is that all his books are so different. Some authors (eg. John Flanagan) write awesome books, but every other series they write are almost exactly the same style, humour, and character roles. You can read all his books and get a good range of genres.

[StrikerEZ he/him]

First, welcome to the Shard!

Anyway, I think Elantris is definitely a good place to start. For me, I started with Mistborn, which is still my favorite series. However, WoR (Words of Radiance) definitely beats any individual book from the entir series (both Era 1 and Era 2). I think if you're worried about not liking it, you should start with Elantris (even though it's his weakest, in my opinion) because it just goes to show you how good of an author Brandon is that, even with his weakest book, he can still be an amazing author.

Also, watch out for spoilers on the site!