Strategies on re-reading

[LunarFire]

Hello!

I just completed WoR and was blown away (of course). I'm feeling very fortunate that this place exists; I'm finding it impossible to get this world out of my head. I'm currently in school and I work full time so obviously it is the best time for me to immediately jump back in and begin my first re-read of WoK! 

This may sound like a weird question, but is there a strategy you employ while re-reading to get the most out of the books? It is clear from browsing different forums that there are so many details I have missed, and before the next book comes out I am hoping to feel more 'prepared' so to speak. 

Any sort of advice would be appreciated

[Ammanas]

You could use the Tor reread as a resource for both books. In depth analysis and summary for every chapter. 

http://www.tor.com/features/series/the-way-of-kings-reread-on-torcom/

[LunarFire]

1 minute ago, Ammanas said:

You could use the Tor reread as a resource for both books. In depth analysis and summary for every chapter. 

http://www.tor.com/features/series/the-way-of-kings-reread-on-torcom/

Wow thank you, this looks perfect. 

[Elithanathile]

What I try to do (and often fail) is just make sure to read everything super slowly. I tend to get really excited on the first run, and miss things. And on the second, and third, etc. There's things that I missed that were completely obvious and I only noticed from the fourth or fifth re-read. So just take it slow and think over everything.

[LunarFire]

Just now, Elithanathile said:

What I try to do (and often fail) is just make sure to read everything super slowly. I tend to get really excited on the first run, and miss things. And on the second, and third, etc. There's things that I missed that were completely obvious and I only noticed from the fourth or fifth re-read. So just take it slow and think over everything.

I absolutely get too excited as well, and as much as I try I end up skipping important details. I didn't like WoK as much as WoR, but I think that was mostly because I felt like I was getting a ton of information without much context. Having completed the second book I imagine many of the details that went over my head  in the first one will make much more sense and make it for a better read. 

[Toaster Retribution]

Read the book upside-down for extra fun (note: this is probably not helpful for uncovering hidden foreshadowing).

[The One Who Connects]

38 minutes ago, LunarFire said:

is there a strategy you employ while re-reading to get the most out of the books?

It's not something I did(unless mental notes count), but you can always mark down a chapter/page/passage down for later to reread through. Something struck you as odd while reading, but you've got no clue why? Mark it down and read it again. Backstory filler scene? Probably had something worth checking out.

I think the biggest thing to getting the most out of his stories is to accept that you aren't gonna get all the references the first time through. That paranoia of "did I miss something important?" and "Is this guy a worldhopper/herald/etc..?" will detract tremendously from the experience. Save it for the rereads.

Also, check out the scenes that were dull/uninteresting the first time around. You might accidentally miss some details here and there, but you'll intentionally miss things if you always skip the slow scenes.

Lastly, do what you're doing now: Talking about stuff on here. We all learn something new from time to time, and it gives scenes new depth that they didn't have before. if you don't mind the spoiler about a certain character being a Herald, this bit is the definitive example:

Spoiler

Quote

A light flickering through nearby bookcases startled her, and she tucked away her folio. It turned out to be just an old, berobed female ardent, shuffling with a lantern and followed by a parshman servant. She didn’t look in Shallan’s direction as she turned between two rows of shelves, her lantern’s light shining out through the spaces between the books. Lit that way—with her figure hidden but the light streaming between the shelves—it looked as if one of the Heralds themselves were walking through the stacks.

We later learned that this elderly Ardent actually was the Herald Paliah, walking down the shelves of the Palanaeum, which is named after her.

[LunarFire]

Just now, The One Who Connects said:

It's not something I did(unless mental notes count), but you can always mark down a chapter/page/passage down for later to reread through. Something struck you as odd while reading, but you've got no clue why? Mark it down and read it again. Backstory filler scene? Probably had something worth checking out.

I think the biggest thing to getting the most out of his stories is to accept that you aren't gonna get all the references the first time through. That paranoia of "did I miss something important?" and "Is this guy a worldhopper/herald/etc..?" will detract tremendously from the experience. Save it for the rereads.

Also, check out the scenes that were dull/uninteresting the first time around. You might accidentally miss some details here and there, but you'll intentionally miss things if you always skip the slow scenes.

Lastly, do what you're doing now: Talking about stuff on here. We all learn something new from time to time, and it gives scenes new depth that they didn't have before. if you don't mind the spoiler about a certain character being a Herald, this bit is the definitive example:

  Hide contents

We later learned that this elderly Ardent actually was the Herald Paliah, walking down the shelves of the Palanaeum, which is named after her.

 

Thank you so much, that is very helpful. I did read the spoiler, my question is: how did you later find out who that was? Was it mentioned in the books, or is it something that was mentioned elsewhere? 

[The One Who Connects]

Just now, LunarFire said:

Thank you so much, that is very helpful. I did read the spoiler, my question is: how did you later find out who that was? Was it mentioned in the books, or is it something that was mentioned elsewhere? 

We asked Brandon. It's 86% of the facts that you never knew.

Quote

The Sovereign: There is a scene in WoK where Shallan comments on seeing someone wandering the stacks of the Palanaeum, Brandon has confirmed this is indeed Paliah. WoB referencing this from 2013; Brandon confirmed this theory was actually correct in person for me last year at a signing when I brought it up to him:
The Sovereign: The inside cover of my Bands of Mourning Copy <3. A friend is borrowing my Era 2 books at the moment but I'll take a picture of it when I get it back.

[LunarFire]

18 minutes ago, The One Who Connects said:

We asked Brandon. It's 86% of the facts that you never knew.

This is a very fortunate fandom. Looking into your comment led me down the rabbit hole for a while and I was able to clear some things up for myself I had been feeling confused about, thanks

[The One Who Connects]

1 minute ago, LunarFire said:

This is a very fortunate fandom. Looking into your comment led me down the rabbit hole for a while and I was able to clear some things up for myself I had been feeling confused about, thanks

This whole site is a collection of rabbit holes disguised as coherent conversations.
Look around for a bit. You'll find answers to most anything you wanted to know, and several things you weren't aware you wanted to know.

[Calderis]

30 minutes ago, The One Who Connects said:

This whole site is a collection of rabbit holes disguised as coherent conversations.
Look around for a bit. You'll find answers to most anything you wanted to know, and several things you weren't aware you wanted to know.

And some holes that lead to places you didn't even guess existed. 

It's a rather deep warren. 

[The One Who Connects]

Just now, Calderis said:

And some holes that lead to places you didn't even guess existed. 

Must be somewhere i don't often frequent, like general discussion or the fanfic area. Having read everything in the Cosmere Subheading, nothing was really surprising

[Calderis]

Just now, The One Who Connects said:

Must be somewhere i don't often frequent, like general discussion or the fanfic area. Having read everything in the Cosmere Subheading, nothing was really surprising

I meant more on the deep scientific aspects of things. I've never seen any fandom dig this deep into the underlying mechanism is of magic. 

Sci-fi tech sure, but not magic. 

[The One Who Connects]

Just now, Calderis said:

I meant more on the deep scientific aspects of things. I've never seen any fandom dig this deep into the underlying mechanism is of magic. 

Sci-fi tech sure, but not magic. 

Oh right, my honorary Physics degree that I earned while trying to participate in Pagerunners "Chemistry of God Metals" thread and many others. Fair enough

[Toaster Retribution]

2 minutes ago, The One Who Connects said:

Must be somewhere i don't often frequent, like general discussion or the fanfic area. Having read everything in the Cosmere Subheading, nothing was really surprising

Wait you have read every single Cosmere thread on this forum? Upvote for dedication.

[The One Who Connects]

1 minute ago, Toaster Retribution said:

Wait you have read every single Cosmere thread on this forum? Upvote for dedication.

I was away for 2 full years. Catching up was kinda mandatory, though I admit I may have taken it a bit far.

Edited July 18, 2017 by The One Who Connects

[LunarFire]

41 minutes ago, Calderis said:

I meant more on the deep scientific aspects of things. I've never seen any fandom dig this deep into the underlying mechanism is of magic. 

Sci-fi tech sure, but not magic.

(I know you weren't talking to me but...) 

In my experience, not many authors go so deep to have something of substance to uncover this thoroughly. I'm still new to all of this but it's fairly evident considering all the people who spend so much time analyzing minute details that there is a reason for it. I've personally never been so enthralled, and it seems there is gratification coming from Sanderson for the effort. 

[The One Who Connects]

17 minutes ago, LunarFire said:

(I know you weren't talking to me but...) 

Always feel free to jump in if you have something to add. Makes discussions feel more interactive, and sometimes we all learn something new

17 minutes ago, LunarFire said:

In my experience, not many authors go so deep to have something of substance to uncover this thoroughly.

This is true. We made a joke back in the day about a wizard sitting at a bar thinking about the good old days where he just made a fireball and people were amazed.

Brandon has taken his magics a bit far, turning Investiture into a third building block alongside matter and energy, writing a fourth law of thermodynamics(which he still wont tell us about, by the way), and more. Most all of his magics operate on some level of real world physics, even if he's had to stretch the rules a bit

[Calderis]

13 minutes ago, The One Who Connects said:

Brandon has taken his magics a bit far, turning Investiture into a third building block alongside matter and energy, writing a fourth law of thermodynamics(which he still wont tell us about, by the way), and more. Most all of his magics operate on some level of real world physics, even if he's had to stretch the rules a bit

And all I can think now is "is weight mass?" 

[The One Who Connects]

5 minutes ago, Calderis said:

And all I can think now is "is weight mass?" 

Short answer, no. It's not a short answer, but deal with it.

Spoiler

On 6/30/2017 at 9:17 AM, The One Who Connects said:

Quote

Mass Vs. Weight

Mass is a measure of how much matter is in an object. It is a tally of the quantity of atoms present, and it is the same whether a person is on Earth or in space. Weight, on the other hand, measures the effect of gravity on the mass of an object. That means your weight on Earth is a combination of how much mass is in your body and how hard the Earth is pulling you down toward the ground. On the moon, there is only about one-sixth the gravity of Earth, and so the astronaut weighs much less.

Defining Density

Density and mass are related concepts. Density is the amount of matter per unit of volume. For example, an astronaut might have a volume of 65 liters and a mass of 68 kilograms. If you divide her mass into her volume, you reach a density of 1.05 kilograms per liter. Not so coincidentally, this happens to be very close to the density of water, which is 1.00 kilograms per liter. You have probably heard that humans are more than half water, so it makes sense that they have about the same density.

Short Answer ... No

Using those concepts, look at what happens to the astronaut who ventures from the Earth to the moon. Moving from the gravity of the Earth to the gravity of the moon, the astronaut’s weight certainly changes, but his mass remains the same. There is less air pressure in space, but astronauts don’t blow up like bubbles once they leave Earth’s atmosphere, so you can safely assume that the astronaut’s volume doesn’t really change either. If the mass and the volume don’t change on the moon, you can deduce that the astronaut’s density would be the same.

Edited July 18, 2017 by The One Who Connects
Gah, that post was only three weeks ago?

[Calderis]

2 minutes ago, The One Who Connects said:

Short answer, no. It's not a short answer, but deal with it.

  Hide contents

 

I meant it as a joke, but thanks anyway. 

[The One Who Connects]

Just now, Calderis said:

I meant it as a joke, but thanks anyway. 

I wanted to search how many times "is weight mass" was used on here as a joke too, and found that post of mine instead. So you got an answer(that you read last time i posted it)

[Nathrangking]

leave any ideas that you though that you had at the door approach it with a critical and open mind. Examine any passages that you think sound strange two or three times those should allow you to get a lot out of it.

[TCshard]

Maybe different format? After rereading both books several times, I decided to try out the audiobooks. They require you to focus more in order to catch the information and I find it nice for moments where you can't pick up the book but still want the story.