Jared G > Recent Status Updates

Genuinely can't keep consistently reading this book. It's great though

There are many many analogies throughout each and every chapter. Sometimes it feels like fluff but other times it truly resonates.
I find the concepts of the "teller" and the "doer" interesting, and I like the section on unlearning judgement.
Lastly, as I am taking a sports psychology class right now, I can apply concepts from this book into course material.

This book just feels so unoriginal. Every plot point is something I have read before. Every single one. I'm waiting for this book to give me something original.

"'And you're Lazarus' she says." I LEARNED ABOUT THE STORY OF LAZARUS YESTERDAY THIS IS CRAZY

***Spoiler***

It was so painfully obvious that Eo was going to die. As soon as Darrow was nonstop talking about her character and beauty, I knew that he was going to witness her death. Still her death was really sad.

Some crazy fights have been happening as well as reveals.

***SPOILER***

SHALLAN KILLED HER MOTHER??? HER FATHER TOOK THE BLAME??? THATS WHY HE NEVER HURT SHALLAN. THESE ARE SOME CRAZY SHALLAN FLASHBACKS. I love how her story revolves around a dark past and how she pushes down the negative and even copes through tough times by using her sense of humor.

The showdown between Kaladin and Szeth was LEGENDARY too.

IT CLICKED
THIS BOOK IS HEAT
My expectations for this book were super high and for most of the first 1000 pages it was not clicking with me. Now every chapter is heat.

*** SPOILERS ***
A heart-to-heart between Kaladin and Shallan occurred, the two growing together through humor and empathy deep in the Shattered Plains.
tbt 1 year ago SHALLAN KILLED FATHER...BUT SHE ACTUALLY POISONED HIM THEN STRANGLED HIM???

There is a large emphasis on Vin being feminine and she struggles with being both a woman dating the “president” and an assassin. The delivery of this theme can get so repetitive and boring, but it is quite important for her character

Trying this again because if I could handle 1100 slow pages of The Way of Kings, I can handle 700 slow pages of The Well of Ascension

This book is like actually boring. Even the exciting parts are a little boring. Its like "woah, a reveal happened...okay" and I shrug it off. I have read slow pacing for 1100 pages of tWoK and the pacing has been relatively slow for 800 pages of this. When will stuff actually pick up.

ADOLIN HAS POOPED HIMSELF ON THE BATTLEFIELD

I thought this book would be fast paced all the way through, but just like the Way of Kings, I am still waiting for the plot to pick up. I'm not a fan of Shallan's story (because Jasnah carried it last book) although her flashbacks are intriguing. Kaladin and Dalinar's joint storyline is not really that interesting either. Maybe I just need to be more patient. Or maybe I just need to read something more binge-able.

There has been a large emphasis on Kaladin's story. He was back to being a hopeless bridge man. Sigzil told Kaladin about seeing "red and blue", knowing your death is awaiting yet staying hopeful. That is the approach of the bridge men. The main lines of the Knights Radiant were said, and now Kaladin is going to lead Bridge Four in an escape attempt.

The story is still moving slow, but there have been large dramatic moves in the plot. Dalinar stepped down, Shallan swapped the Soulcasters, Kaladin survived the high storm. Even in another Kaladin flashback, it was revealed that his semingly good father indeed stole the sphered from the former Brightlord. The plot is heating up and thickening, despite its regular slow pace.

The pace has barely picked up. The story is not moving forward for Dalinar nor Kaladin. Things happen in their stories, but they barely even move the overall plot. I liked Shallan's chapters to be honest, and she has not had any page time at all so far. It is really hard to keep going through with this since I am not even half way through the book. But maybe it will pick up when i'm 1,000 pages in.

The worldbuliding is intense. Large paragraphs include dense phrases of pure worldbuilding, it's hard to keep track sometimes.
Obviously, there is a strong focus on mental health with a couple characters. While I am all for integrating it into a story, sometimes the dialogue gets pretentious. The narration gets bold as well, sometimes hitting and sometimes missing. The comedy is good, there are some funny parts

This is by far the densest I've read Sanderson in terms of worldbuilding. It is difficult to understand everything that is going on in a new area, and sometimes I have to read the same sentence a few times. So far, both Kaladin and Shallan have had their introduction scene (I am not counting the one where Kaladin was a side character). The primary focus has been worldbuilding, with the secondary being the character

The plot is getting pretty good. Tiny twists are beginning to accumulate in the story, and although there heavy detail is present, the story is starting to move along more. I wish there were more scenes of Vasher and Nightblood because they have such a cool and funny dynamic

As the magic system uses the ideas of life and color, the imagery is very present in every chapter. There are large blocks of texts describing the details of every setting the POV character is in. There are a couple characters that were likable from their debut chapter. It's been relatively slow so far, but I don't have a massive problem with that.

This book feels so slow. An event has been looming for the past ~150 pages, and I'm just waiting for something to happen.
A few side characters return, but there has been little progress among them. The slowest of all is Elend. Last book he was an intellectual but now seems like an anxious fraud who got a haircut and better clothes.
I am not looking forward to the love triangle that is about to occur

This book definitely moves at a slower pace.
The action scenes so far have been more entertaining and creative
The plot is more complex than the previous book, we get to see the political climate of Luthadel now.
The edition I am reading is just so big with such tiny words that it takes forever to just turn two pages. It's become hard to come back to it frequently, although when I do, it's enjoyable.