mariapapadia she/her Posted September 27, 2017 Report Share Posted September 27, 2017 Hej ! I recently joined the forum and reading the OB chapters every week and following the disscusions got me thinking of something. How being part of this forum, either posting or lurking, has influenced your reading experience ? I am more of a lurker, but rereading WoK and being up to date with OB, I realised that my perception of the characters and the events has changed a lot and I am not sure it's for the best. I caught myself being biased towards some characters or being more aware of what I am reading, thinking how will the forum rip that apart instead of just enjoying the read. By no means I am saying that disscusing and theorizing is bad, but do you ever feel like it takes away from the joy of reading or experiencing something through your own filter? Much along the lines of "ignorance is bliss", I am afraid that I won't be surprised anymore or if I am it will be in a way I don't enjoy it, because I have other ideas in my head about what I would like to happen and so on. I don't have friends around me that read any BS (god knows how many times I tried to pay my sister to read it, only to have someone to theorize with ), but I like to share opinions with others, which is why I'm on this forum. But seeing how much people here know or talking about things that I would never have picked up, affects the way I am going into these books. What do you think ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Forgetful Archivist he/him Posted September 27, 2017 Report Share Posted September 27, 2017 This is how I felt while reading Brandon Sanderson books before and after discovering the shard. Spoiler 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steeldancer he/him Posted September 27, 2017 Report Share Posted September 27, 2017 I read with a lot of suspension of disbelief before I started really figuring things out. Now, when reading Sanderson, i take nothing for granted. EVERYTHING is important (except for the stick) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farnsworth Posted September 28, 2017 Report Share Posted September 28, 2017 2 hours ago, Steeldancer said: I read with a lot of suspension of disbelief before I started really figuring things out. Now, when reading Sanderson, i take nothing for granted. EVERYTHING is important (except for the stick) How DARE you insult the awesomeness of the Stick! Adonalsium will smite you will the sticky death of the stick enimies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taliax she/her Posted September 28, 2017 Report Share Posted September 28, 2017 I think the big specific one for me was Adolin, I thought he was okay before but I didn't really care about him until I read everyone's interpretations of his character on the Shard. I like how the Shard has helped me be more likely to pick out Cosmere-relevant themes and hints, but it is also nice going into a book with no theories or expectations. (Though with Brandon, it'll always surpass expectations and blow theories out of the water anyway.) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathrangking he/him Posted September 28, 2017 Report Share Posted September 28, 2017 The Shard made me aware of certain things that one might miss if they are not doing a deep reading of the book. This opened my eyes and created a far deeper appreciation for the complexity of the cosmere as a whole. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunbird she/her Posted September 28, 2017 Report Share Posted September 28, 2017 Personally I love the experience of reading and rereading Brandon's books with Cosmere knowledge. Even if I'm not nearly as hardcore with theorizing as many Sharders, I thoroughly enjoy finding the Easter eggs like Hoid's cameos and so on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yezrien Posted September 28, 2017 Report Share Posted September 28, 2017 For me, being part of this community has only enriched the reading experience, because it extends that experience beyond the books. Whether it's theorizing to explore the mysteries of the cosmere, or just participating in this weird and wonderful fandom, being part of the Shard means getting a lot more from the books than just a great story. It's like the books are the physical realm, and the Shard is the cognitive realm. It's a crazy, chaotic world made up of our thoughts about the cosmere. And like the cognitive realm, it's full of connections, revelations, and encounters with strange people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mariapapadia she/her Posted September 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2017 6 hours ago, Nathrangking said: The Shard made me aware of certain things that one might miss if they are not doing a deep reading of the book. This opened my eyes and created a far deeper appreciation for the complexity of the cosmere as a whole. Yes! This definitely happened for me too. When it comes to easter egg, connections and world building I love how the Shard opened my eyes to some stuff. 7 hours ago, Taliax said: I think the big specific one for me was Adolin, I thought he was okay before but I didn't really care about him until I read everyone's interpretations of his character on the Shard. I like how the Shard has helped me be more likely to pick out Cosmere-relevant themes and hints, but it is also nice going into a book with no theories or expectations. (Though with Brandon, it'll always surpass expectations and blow theories out of the water anyway.) I agree. My view of the characters is what has been influenced the most by reading posts here. I think Adolin, Lift and Elhokar are my top 3 characters that I have a skewed views on now. The first time I read about Lift & her awesomeness, I didn't have any strong feelings about her,but while reading Edgedanger I would get constantly annoyed. The same goes for Adolin, I really liked him as a character and I enjoyed his story arc, but I constantly come across theories about him on threads with another topic and that put me off a bit, because I feel like I will have no surprise when it comes to him now. It's like I have read every possible scenario and I am just waiting to see which one is going to happen. When it comes to Elhokar, I didn't care much about him. He was kind of annoying for me in 2 first 2 books, but now reading everything about him, I have such big hopes about I want to happen that I will get really upset if it doesn't. 6 hours ago, Sunchicken said: Personally I love the experience of reading and rereading Brandon's books with Cosmere knowledge. Even if I'm not nearly as hardcore with theorizing as many Sharders, I thoroughly enjoy finding the Easter eggs like Hoid's cameos and so on. 7 hours ago, Nathrangking said: The Shard made me aware of certain things that one might miss if they are not doing a deep reading of the book. This opened my eyes and created a far deeper appreciation for the complexity of the cosmere as a whole. I agree. I feel like rereading and paying attentions to all the things that are happening enriches my experience when it comes to Cosmere stuff. I think for me the best way to go about it is to skip the character arcs analisys and focus more on the worldbuilding and the magic and let myself be surprised when it comes to characters. Nice analogy @Belzedar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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