When I was getting back into reading fantasy a few years ago, someone recommended that I read Brandon Sanderson. Then, everywhere I turned, there were references to Sanderson. He's the pretty much the biggest name in fantasy right now. He's broken records with his kickstarter. He even seems like a pretty decent human. I enjoyed his lectures on writing he has posted, and they were quite helpful.

Because Sanderson is pretty much everywhere, and he's written so much, it was hard to decide where to jump in. What should be the first book of his I read? I had lots of different suggestions. I decided I would start with the first book he wrote: Elantris.

So about a year ago or so, I finally read an audiobook version of the novel, and I ended up DNF-ing it. The writing was okay, but I didn’t like how the main female character was written, and I didn’t care for the way the narrator portrayed the characters, either. It just... gave me the ick.

After that, I didn't want to read any of his other stuff, no matter how much people were lauding it. People raved about Elantris, too, and I didn't enjoy that one. How could I be sure that I would like any of his other books? 

Since then, I’ve read that Sanderson’s portrayal of women was something he was criticized for, but that he also listened and put in a lot of work to make them better. That made me happy, and I figured I should give him another chance. Besides, authors learn and grow a LOT between their first book ever and their 40^th.

It’s hard to be a fantasy writer and say I haven’t read at least one Sanderson book. So, I opted to read something that sounded a little lighter as my first real foray into the Cosmere. I hoped reading something lighter would ease me into it. I chose to read Tress of the Emerald Sea. 

I LOVED IT.

I prefer to read adult fantasy, and this was aimed at young adults. But I didn’t mind. I actually liked having the narrator tell the story, and I enjoyed his point of view, which was extremely amusing. I have found that having the narrator like this can be annoying or fall flat, and I didn’t really feel that way about this one. And I liked the naivete of Tress and how she quickly gets over her pre-conceived notions of what proper and ladylike should be and gets to the business of being a hero, instead.

I also love that this book is essentially a book about STEM pursuits. Tress experiments, tinkers, and follows the scientific method (somewhat) to build and create new things. And it’s about being helpful and caring about people. That’s a theme I often have in my own work.

I think what I enjoyed most of all were the little snippets of philosophy and wisdom peppered throughout the book. So much truth in this book, if you are paying attention. It’s the first time I’ve really wanted a physical copy of a book so that I could mark it up. I’ve never done that. I don’t write in my books. I like to keep my books pristine. But for this book, I wanted to write notes.

So, now that I’ve read one Sanderson book, I’ve decided to read some more. I wonder what my next one should be. Recommendations?