Howdy

[Drosis]

I thought now was as good a time as any to stop lurking on the forums and actually create an account and interact.
 
I go in and out of reading. I love doing it, but it consumes me. I struggle with maintaining a sleep schedule, and new and interesting books usually turn into me being wide awake at 4am trying to get in more chapters. I have a tendency to read quickly but then re-read many times.
 
My dad introduced me to fantasy through The Hobbit when I was very young, but I couldn't get through Fellowship of the Rings. Instead, I read a ton of Star Wars and sci-fi stuff (William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, Timothy Zahn, Kevin J Anderson, Catherine Asaro, random suggestions from my dad) until a friend suggested The Sword of Truth, which had just released maybe the fifth book. I found his storytelling and action-oriented scenes an upgrade over FotR, but eventually I just wanted to tell him to shut up and stop.
 
I don't remember the exact timeline of being led to Sanderson but my friend got me to buy the paperback set of Mistborn, and I managed to squeeze in catching up on the Wheel of Time just as The Gathering Storm came out. Maybe Warbreaker and Elantris next, through A Song of Ice and Fire, back around to finish off everything else by Sanderson.
 
Probably my favorite thing about Sanderson is the way he sets up information and explains things to increase the pacing later.
 
My favorite sentence:

Kaladin breathed in.

Also:

What Vin says to Ruin at the end of Hero of Ages.

What Lan says to Demandred in their fight in Memory of Light.

When Vasher says 'My breath becomes yours' during his duel at the end of Warbreaker.

 

The way he dispenses information fits well with how I think. I collect lots of facts, verify cause-effect and dependent relationships, then I have this kind of map or chained information I can use. I like that when he increases the pacing near the end or can give more action with less words, I can fill in a lot of the pieces of how or why myself. So many instances of one simple sentence meaning so much more. Like when I read those spoilered sentence above, I stop reading for a second, maybe stretch, tell myself it's go time, and dive back in to enjoy the rest of the chapter.

 

Needless to say, I'm very excited about tomorrow and my work might be lacking today. I actually took the next two days off because if I don't dedicate the time to read it, I'll just end up reading all night and fail at work anyway.

 

I'm aware of the Cosmere, although definitely not an expert. Some of you guys have very specific information that I assume came from Brandon because I don't remember read any of that detail. I hope to learn more about that and see how much more interesting it can grow throughout the Stormlight Archive, Mistborn Trilogy of Trilogies, and sequels or new books.

 

Sorry for talking so much, but that's why I usually lurk instead of overparticipate.

 

[Shardlet he/him]

Welcome, Drosis.  Glad to have you with us.  You are right, there is a lot of info that we work from that is direct from Brandon (WoB; Word of Brandon).  The best sources to find this information is by combing through the signing reports in the Events, Signings, and Stalking forum as well as the interview database here and here (note: these databases are not complete so do not rely on them exclusively).  There is also periodic tidbits which come through Reddit (Brandon's handle is 'mistborn' there) and Twitter (@BrandSanderson).