Cosmere reading order!

[YAOES]

“There really is no right or wrong way to read the Cosmere”

Me: Start with Oathbringer, then read The Final Empire, followed by Malazan Book of the Fallen. Next, you’ll need to read the Gutenberg Bible, the complete works of Plato, and 1776 by David McCollough. Read the odd numbered pages of Tress and the Emerald Sea and the even numbered pages of Warbreaker, while watching The Wizard of Oz backwards. Dip your left big toe into a vat of molasses, while reading Mistborn era 2, then read the back half of Elantris, and you should be all caught up.

[rosalindsmith]

Thanks just finished Mistborn Era 1. Was wondering what to read next!!

[kermitus]

Warbreaker is one of my all time favorite books

[sono_chi_no_sodium_chlorid]

I... believe you should read parts of Arcanum unbounded in between the other works

[gregorio]

I agree with starting with mistborn. I started with Stormlight. 😂 I loved it but I’m a bit weird. And yes start with way of kings. Cuz that’s the first book. It takes a bit to understand the world building.

[henryyt]

starting my cosmere journey. I’ve finished the OG mistborn trilogy (loved it), reading elantris right now, then going warbreaker -> all of stormlight -> secret projects -> era 2. Arcanum Unbounded and all the novellas and short stories i’m just basing off Captured in Words’ reading order. If anyone has any other suggestions, let me know :D

[thebookwitch]

I'm almost following this order!! I did the same up to Warbreaker but I needed a break from the Stormilight Archive (mostly because I'm reading it in English, which is not my first language) so I chose to continue with some shorter books and I'm now reading Mistborn Era 2.

[aishahahmad]

ive seen so many reading order suggestions for some reason i think im just going to follow yours and get on with it 😂

[georgeconnett]

I completely agree with this! I started with SLA and i feel Shallans story wouldn't have been quite as good if I knew who the ghost bloods were

[mohitdhuppad]

I exactly had this order. Started MB era 2 yesterday

[mtverv]

Yeah I basically did this when I did my first run through of the Cosmere last year. I differentiated from this by breaking up Mistborn Era 2 and reading them and the short stories mixed in with Stormlight so that I only had the relevant information at any one time. Definitely read Hope of Elantris and The Emperors Soul before Way of Kings though. I read Lost Metal before Rhythm of War but that was only because of availability issues with the Audiobooks of each one another not a personal choice. It also didn’t effect my enjoyment of either one since by this point I had already read the WoB that stated that MBE2 takes place in the timeline in between Stormlight Arc 1 and Arc 2…

[alexmart]

This is very similar how I read it, I just couldn't get through Elantris, but I tried it after oathbringer.

[ellanorevannin]

The first book I read was The Stormlight Archive. And boy was I hooked. I enjoy reading a book where I am thrown into a world that I have no idea how it works. I then have to figure it out as I go!

[snapgab]

I started with Stormlight 1-3 (including the novella), then Mistborn era 1, then Elantris & Warbreaker.

It worked out great for me, I LOVED the Stormlight books, and didn't feel like I missed anything even though I realized in hindsight, upon reading Warbreaker, that there was a tie-in.

Plus, Warbreaker ended up being my least favorite Cosmere novel, so reading that in-between the Stormlight novels, all of which I adored, would've been a shame.

I'd recommend this order if you're confident that you or the person you're suggesting it to will like Sanderson. If you're not sure then yeah, start with Mistborn, since that's an easier read. I'd go from Mistborn to Stormlight though, skip Elantris & Warbreaker, come back to those after Oathbringer.

[bainayt]

Just finished The Way of Kings, now going to read Elantris

[monxk]

I haven’t seen many reading orders who are okay with reading stormlight all the way through. I kinda want to do mistborn trilogy, war breaker and then stormlight. Would that be okay? I’d be willing to do elantris as well but once I start SA I don’t wanna stop

[erikabenson]

This was very similar to my order. I read Stormlight one after another, though. Other than that, it was right on.

[DarthIzu]

For Arcanum Unbound, I personally would not read the entire thing in one sitting. I would read select novella's within it in between certain books.

For example:

Eleventh Metal after Mistborn Era 1
The Hope of Elantris & Emperor's Soul after Elantris
Mistborn A Secret History after reading The Bands of Mourning
Allomancer Jack & The pits of Elantris after The Lost Metal
Edgdancer after Words of Radiance

[connorshepler]

I think the only order that really matters is reading secret history before the lost metal. That being said, going in blind the ending for the bands of mourning was one of the coolest reading experiences I’ve ever had!!

[Buphido]

When someone asks me for a starting point, I have 4 different recommendations, depending on personal preference of the person in question:

Don’t care about catching every easter egg? Start with Tress, as recommended by Brandon Sanderson.

Want to get to the codmere’s crown jewel as quickly as possible? Start with Way of Kings (I started there and it was perfectly fine, don’t roast me).

Want a primer to tickle your taste buds before hopping into Stormlight? Start with Warbreaker.

Want to experience the Cosmere more or less in order but with a strong start? Start with Final Empire.

After the first book, the rest follows more or less from common sense if you keep an eye on the 3 stages of the Cosmere.