Treamayne

I would recommend marking the correct answer - the point of the Q&A forum is to make it easy for people to search a question they may have to see if there is already an answer to that question. Marked answers are moved to the top to make them easy to find.

Based on WoB:

Well, I was able to order it from those links during this chat (Receipt DTG boxed by red):

Why not just purchase from Dynamite directly? Softcover Hardcover We also have this thread detailing all of the different ways to enjoy White Sand currently available.

I would start with some actual combat training, rather then resting on being so much more powerful than everybody around him (remember, Rashek was a shepherd and sherpa before the Well); then add another 3000+ years of practicing the arts of war. That might get Rashek to a level to be a challenge. Or, just do a search and read some of the old ones. There are sooooo very many versus threads, and it's hard to choose something that hasn't already been debated to death. That said, Surgebinding with Stormlight is inherently biased in any situation where they have continual access to light (such as Heralds with unlimited light direct from Honor). Comparing any Rosharan Surgebinding with any non-Rosharan art is inherently unfair unless you define a situation in which light is limited as a resource.

Two points: 2008 WoB superceded by 2015 WoB Standard Brandon Sanderson misleading answers, if you read further in the Annotations you will discover: Was referring to how "The Lord Ruler could control a huge army of rampaging Koloss" which is using Hemalurgy for a dramatic effect - yet has nothing to do with a Spike in Rashek himself.

He does not have Hemalurgic Spikes - his spikes are his metalminds. WoB: This was already answered by WoB: Nobody in the Cosmere could beat Taln in his prime (1:1). That sounds fairly definitive.

I'm sorry if my post somehow implied that the Pits were relevant after Era 1. I concur - their time is done, I was just trying to Answer Ale's question about how they (presumably) functioned.

Anything is possible. But, again, this is Brandon Sanderson. Can you name any book where he makes a fake-out take-back like that? He makes choices to avoid what he feels is "lying to the reader" unless there is no other path forward (Kelsier). For example (Annotation to Warbreaker Ch 15): Is it conclusively Iriali? No. Does it imply Iriali? Yes. Is it possible that Brandon would make this big of a deal out of this blatant of a refernce, then have it be nothing important? Almost 0% I'm sorry if you don't like that; but we will not have this answer until Era 3 starts (unless Brandon gives us a WoB). Have a great day.

There's generally a influx of new people/names every book release (and all year of the Secret Projects), and it's always good to see new names and (virtually) meet new people And, while it's not specific to this batch of new Sharders, if there was one thing I would hope to pass on all new Sharders, its: I'm sorry if that sounds unsociable; but, for example, one new person posted three threads in three wrong forums in less than a week (including duplicating the exact same mistake the day after they were gently corrected by Taln (Spoilers in a Thread title)). Also, my normal request to please consider checking out the Sharder FAQ for some useful forum info and tips.

I think you are applying modern media mechanics to what is, essentially, 1800s newspaper techniques. We have no indication that the Malwish were a basin-wide news sensation. They were in the House Record in SoS - and that was years after the Hunters visited the Southern Roughs. News did not travel fast in the era of Locomotive Transport - especially before the Telegraph. Elendel didn't believe the stories until an Airship docked downtown, and who knows how long it took for that to spread to the Roughs - there was a six year gap unaccounted for by the time we see most people have heard about the Malwish. While I admit Maraga is an unreliable narrator, I also doubt that Brandon would place these things in the text for no reason.

We do not have much information yet, as they will get more depth in the back five. based on current known data: Venli uses Cohesion to make hard things (stone) malleable (like clay-RoW Ch 83) Dami uses Tension to make flexible things (cloth) rigid (WaT Ch 74) Hope that helps

It's even a bit more nuanced than that, as Rayse incited war on Ashyn to draw Tanavast out, then while Tanavast was focused there, slid over to Roshar to tell the Singers "Honor abandoned you, but I won't" and turned the Singers against Honor so that when the Ashyn survivors showed up there was already mistrust and betrayal fomenting on all sides - ensuring a war would start when otherwise they might have cohabited peacefully from the beginning.

We do have two Steelrunning PoV scenes - but lack of information is, technically, not confirmation. Niether addresses the perceived weight directly, but there are some indicators.

I know you said in your intro post, that you have read "most" of the Cosmere (please consider editing that post to specifically list what you have not yet read). Also, please consider checking out the Sharder FAQ if you are not familiar with editing posts or for some useful forum info and tips. I will spoiler tag some of this answer in case it is one that you have not yet read. This would not necessarily apply to most of the Cosmere, because Investiture resides in the spiritual realm, and the investiture cycle returns it to the Spiritual Realm when it is used. Because the Spiritual Realm has no location or time - accessing the investiture does not matter where or when you are located. On Sel, where the Dor has been placed into the Cognitive Realm (which is why Selish magic is Connected to location) they may lose access to the investiture by being in the wrong location or leaving Sel - but, as you mentioned, that's a block or a limitation, not an overused resource. When Investiture is "stored" in the physical realm (like Stormlight, you might use up the available resource until it is replenished - but highstorms come fairly often.) Kaladin experiences something like your drought idea early in Oathbringer. The other example that may fit your question is White Sand (Spoilers): Even investiture Consuming mechanisms, like Nightblood, are not removing the Investiture from the cycle, though they could, in theory, use up a local resource until it is replenished. WoB: Hope that helps

It would not transfer like that. @DrPhysics can weigh in, but the speed that an arm is moving is only one component to how a thrown weapon works. Also, specifically something like Throwing Knives - faster is not better. A skilled knife or axe thrower has to be able to judge distance to revolutions of the blade and throw at the exact speed necessary to make sure it lands at the correct attitude (yaw, pitch, and roll). In fact, I would guess the F-Zinc is much better for throwing weapons than F-Steel could ever be.

Well, we do have this Mistborn WoB: This implies that above a certain threshold, if you don't have enough to Ascend as a Vessel (Shard Vessel or Avatar Vessel), then the investiture will just kill you. Being a flavor fo Cognitive Shadow probably increased the damage from holding too large a Sliver of Honor without the protections that are gained as a Vessel. Ilkely extensive spiritweb damage at the least, and probably with Cognitive Identity damage as well. Nomad would disagree that Sliver = Good/Beneficial.

WoB:

WoB:

Here is Peter's "lesson" on Alethi letters: So, most likely IPA: sə dɛ əs (US: Să dĕ ăs) - but there are not many references on Alethi Vowels IPA Chart Brandon's Note: Nope. Consonants are largely like English (remaining consistant with the Long and Short Vowel transitions - so if a long vowel would alter the consonant next to it, that should remain true for Aonic). There is also the Elantris Glossary which gives more examples, adn shows which words use the Aonic pronunciation.

Caveat: Some of this is inductive/deductive based on WoBs and Books, but we do not have a full description from Brandon specifically about Ruin and the Pits. Normally, expended investiture returns to the Shard itself in the Spiritual Realm (Brandon likened it to a Water Cycle). What Leras did was cut off a chunk of Ruin's power, tie it to the Physical Realm at the Pits, so that expended Atium Beads only returned to the perpendicularity there to reform Geodes and make new Beads. That's why Ruin had to "find" the Atium to break that change so the power returned to the Shard as it normally should. WoBs (Cosmere minor spoilers) Hope that helps

Audiobooks do not always have the correct pronunciation either. WOB:

If you are an eBook person, then consider Smashwords and Project Gutenburg - many public domain works there are free (formatting isn't always great, but that can be fixed if it bothers you) to read either on-site or download (usually PDF, ePub and/or Mobi). For me, I have found that once I had them easily accessible, it was much easier to slide one in between books. Even if you don;t focus on the craft of the prose, discussions of "what the authors considered, why and how" or just how the workshopping analyzed the work helps to inform how, as a reader, you can begin to analyze a work for yourself and your own personal experience. Honestly, my favorite parts are the essays (Seanan McGuire's essay, for example). The submissions are hit-or-miss and some depend on being familair with the referenced work - but all of the essays are relevant, and blunt, and fascinating (especially when they make you consider your own current and past relationships/friendships).

So, to restate and verify that I am understanding; the question is less about "What gives the best student experience" and more "Which four books, possibly overlooked, deserve the 'Lit Course' treatment"? Because I think four books of forced choice (no matter how great those selections are) will never be as good an experience to the students as enabled choice for students to read four books, but gain exposure to 8+ and the discussions that can create. That said: Altered Perceptions - a for-charity Mental Health Awareness Anthology where each author not only included a deleted scene/cut scene/alternate version of a knnown story [Sanderson included excerpts of WoK Prime], but each author included an essay (sometimes very forthright) on how Mental Health affects them, their family and/or their friends (see below) Shadows Beneath - A Speculative Fiction anthology that looks at the entire writing craft. For each story, it has: Final Draft Brainstorming Podcast Transcript First Draft Workshopping Alpha-read Podcast transcript Edit Draft (at least one) Some stories also have additional material The Emperor's Soul (subverts or twists so many tropes and is still great) The Guts to Try (Non-fiction, Military History - provides military insight for civilians and allows real-world tie in discussion and how the story shows historical turning-points) Altered Perceptions excerpts: I'm not sure that "challenging classics" do push people's thoughts - at least not in a general Lit 1 or 2 class setting. Without emotional involvement, most will Cliff's Notes a book they don't like, and do the minimum to pass; though I also do not think a book needs to be modern to be enjoyable for many. Better, I think to find texts that echo modern themes, but in a time before those themes were widely known or accepted - things allow the dicsussion to go beyond just the content and craft of the book itself. Depends on the class to heavily to have any one simple answer. Short Stories and Novellas are probably better for basic Lit classes, as you can cover more variety and maybe help somebody find a genre/style they love - but would not have considered without outside prompting. Mixed-genre anthologies are great for this. Certainly. Though, again, I do not know if a Graphic Novel would be best for an early Lit class - but on-theme for a higher-level class as a way to discuss how themes morph in differing mediums. Non-fiction can also be appropriate to a course if the theme and content is consistent and provides alternate frames of reference. Translated works can be great for this type of course - because even when presented in the local Language (ostensibly English) - just the style, themes and culture references are likely to be outside the scope of normal student experience - allowing for discussion and comprehension of how culture norms are not universal. Example: Three Body Problem (Cixin Liu) - even read in English does not read like a native-western viewpoint or culture background. Similarly, something like Things Fall Apart may have been written in English (bi-lingual Author) but it is not presented from the normal Western "viewpoint." There are also many female authors that published under male nom-de-plumes (for centuries, including modern authors), simply because they may not be accepted with a feminine name on the cover.

Why only four books? In my experience (at least in College in the 90s) having multiple options for each section (related book types and themes with the class discussing the commonality, differences and implementation of themes) led to a stronger class overall. So, I would not have only four books, but I might have four "categories" with three to four books each - allowing the students to read the choice from each list that appeals more (they get more enjoyment from a choice than a forced selection) - then use that to increase discussion and analysis. Also, the type of Literature class will lean toward different possible selections. Is this Lit 1 or 2? Global Literature? Classics? Evolution of Prose? All that said, for a basic Global Literature class, I might structure it something like: