How did you figure out about the cosmere

[Knight of Iron]

I was just curious to know how y'all learned about the cosmere.

For me, I had finished Skyward and was reading the Way of Kings next (I was going to read Mistborn but of all the books, I couldn't figure out which was the first). I thought the Stormlight Archive was a trilogy until I googled and learned there were to be ten more books... and those Mistborn books were in the same universe. And so upon not even reading one cosmere book, I was already hooked on the cosmere.

[Karger]

Weirdly I spent a lot of time exploring the coppermind looking at various shardworld articles without getting how everyone knew so much.  In the end it did not really click for me until arcanum unbound(specifically secret history).

Edited May 31, 2020 by Karger

[Halyo_Alex]

I first heard of the cosmere from Skallagrim's video on Enchanted Swords where he then pointed out that Allomancy would be far more effective in a sword fight than "classic" sword enchantments. Then I proceeded to be an absolute brainlet and read Alloy of Law as my first ever cosmere book.

[Honorless]

It was Secret History that did it for me. 

[+Lotus]

Well my parents are big Brandon Fans and after I read Mistborn they were like ‘hey I think his other series are in the same universe’ and now I’m the Brandon Queen in the family.

[aneonfoxtribute]

I was in a conversation on Discord. We were talking about seriee about superheroes that weren't in the usual formats (mostly anime), and I brought up Steelheart. Someone else there asked if I had read any more of his works, and I said that I hadn't but was meaning to. Then he started talking about the cosmere and I got intrigued. I knew that Stormlight Archive was a thing for a few years and was planning on reading it some day, but I didn't know it was part of something that big. Then we started talking in private, he gave me a recommended reading order, and a few weeks later, I picked up Mistborn. 

[Elegy]

It was fanastic! I read the Mistborn trilogy, Warbreaker and Elantris (in that order) in 2010. I have always been kind of obsessed with the idea of shared continuity and just the thought that two characters from entirely seperate stories would experience the same reality is oddly fascinating to me. So when I noticed how similar these stories were in some ways, I started joking to myself, they could be set in the same, like, ... solar system, wouldn't that be nice? I liked that thought. But what was that Adonalsium thing mentioned in the Hero of Ages epigraphs? Kinda mysterious, but hey, I like riddles for the ages in stories! And on I went, not thinking much more about it.

Then, in 2011, I read Way of Kings, needless to say I had become a huge Sanderson fan over the year. I fell in love with the book, especially with Kaladin, well before I got the "the" scene, Hoid just casually standing there and saying "Adonalsium", and that was a bomb shell in my brain, I immediately put the book down and walked through the room for several minutes and it all fell into place - interestingly, I never doubted that Elantris and Warbreaker would be part of the same mythos while I never considered Alcatraz being in it, which I had also read. I guess you just notice from the way the stories work.

After that, I found the Coppermind, found out about Hoid being in all of the other books (another big moment - he was there all along!) and also learnt about the other Shards. In 2012, I started a chronological re-read with the books that were out (up to Alloy of Law), and took notes while reading. That's when I knew this was going to be a long-term thing. 

[NameIess]

I asked my cousin what his favorite book was, and he said The Way of Kings, so I eventually read it and was hooked. I can't remember if he told me about the Cosmere or if I figured it out through Hoid.

[Truthless of Shinovar]

About two years ago, I was reading through the Stormlight Archives for the first time. I can’t remember when I learned about it, but I recall that at some point I was talking to a fellow Sanderfan when she told me that a lot of Sanderson’s works take place in the same universe. I was shocked, and as soon as I finished SA, I hopped over to Mistborn and started reading. She told me about Hoid too, so I freaked out whenever I saw him in Mistborn.

[Frustration]

My friend told me, but he didn't get an account here, and now I know more than him. MUhahahahahahaha *Evil laughter intensifies*

[Elsecaller_17.5]

I'd only read SA and a friend let me know most of his books had a shared universe. Since then I've divided in headfirst.

[Hessi's Ward]

I read TWOK and then watched @ReadAndFindOut's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Cosmere and all of his Investiture vids

[USS bridge four]

I knew before I had read anything because my brother explained the premise of the cosmere, Hoid, and something to do with Adonalsium to my uncle and I was in the car.

[SirWolfe]

I was reading the Reckoners, and was wondering if the author had written anything else. So I picked up the only other book by Brandon Sanderson in the library at the moment. That book was Arcanum Unbounded.

Funny thing is, I didn't have a clue about what I was reading, but I thought that the systems were so cool and I liked the stories, so after I finished reading it, I went to another library to find more. The only book that library had available was Oathbringer, and I didn't realize that it was the third book in a series (it says a lot about Sanderson's skill at storytelling when you can pick up the third book in a series and still walk away with an understanding of the storyline), but still enjoyed it immensely, especially with the scenes about Lift (who I had been hoping to see more of after reading Arcanum Unbounded).

After that, I read Elantris (the 10th anniversary edition), and read the Hoid epilogue. That was when I realized that this was not an Asimov style connected worlds, where you get little easter eggs every once in a while that don't mean much for the story, but rather a wholly interconnected and interwoven series of narratives that subtly interact with one another. From that point on, I made it a mission of mine to read every single book in the Cosmere, a mission that was completed about 5 months after I had first picked up Arcanum Unbounded (I may or may not have had a minor Cosmere addiction at the time...)

[Rushu42]

My friend is a fellow Sanderfan, and she finally managed to get me to read Mistborn a few years ago. As evidenced by the fact that I have an account on this site, I was immediately hooked. At some point while we were talking about it, she mentioned that there was a character that showed up in all of his epic fantasy books. It didn't take me too long to put two and two together, and I devoted myself to reading all the Cosmere (which soon expanded into reading everything Sanderson's ever published - all I have left is Infinity Blade). Add that to my discovery of the Coppermind and this site, and the rest is history.

Edited June 8, 2020 by Rushu42
Clarifying my word choice in favor of accuracy

[+Dalinar'sCroissant]

I almost feel like mine is so lame! No big Eureka moment.

I read all of the WoT in late 2016/early 2017 based on a friend's recommendation.  He warned me that Jordan had died and the last books were by a different author. When I got to them, I was very impressed with this Brandon fellow so I googled him.

Google told me about the Cosmere, I immediately knew I was in for the ride. I picked up Mistborn and the rest is (a not-so-secret) history.

[Spren of Kindness]

I remember reading Mistborn Era One, and vaguely knowing of the second era.  I don't remember how, but I found myself on Kelsier's Coppermind page.  This was when I learned that he was 

Spoiler

'alive' in the Cognitive Realm

and I started reading links about Hoid and Shards.  And then I was in.

[Shard of Reading]

I read mistborn and SA and a whole bunch of other brandon books. I noticed that some of the books were similar, but I could not put my finger on why.

I then clicked on the "cosmere" link on the coppermind and blew my brain. I was estatic for the rest of the day.

[Gears]

Hoid showed me the way. All hail! Basically, I discovered the cosmere by realizing that Hoid, my absolute favorite character, showed up in multiple, theoretically independent book series.