this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2024

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Nerdforge makes absurdly large Stormlight leatherbounds and delivers them to Brandon Sanderson (youtu.be)

submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by [email protected] to c/books

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I'm not a big YouTube guy, but this is interesting, and I know a lot of people in here are reading/looking forward to reading Wind and Truth. Her end result is some beautiful (obviously impractical) books that make the regular giant hardcovers look like little baby books.

If you ignore the handful of YouTube-isms it's a pretty cool video.

edit: adding screenshot of the books compared to the regular ones.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I struggle to enjoy what YouTube has become and as a result don't follow much anything anymore... But I do want to thank you for sharing this video!

The amount of skill and creativity and love that went into these books was absolutely incredible to watch. I'm going to show my family. Seriously, this was such a pleasure.

And while I have read Brandon Sanderson books (introduced to him through the WoT), I haven't actually read the Stormlight Archive. My partner has though and they are really excited about the latest book. I think I know what my next series will be.

Incredible! 💜

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

It's weird, because they're absurdly long, but the moment to moment and scene to scene writing never makes it feel that way.

But they are for sure seriously long. (The audiobooks are 45, 48, 55, 57, 63 hours.) And by the end there are probably at least a dozen characters that I really care about, and many more that played crucial roles. Some of them feel like just names early, but a lot get built out into people that feel real.

It was already my favorite series once I powered through the first 4, but Wind and Truth went above and beyond and re-defined what I consider epic fantasy to be with the paths it opened up.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago (2 children)

So I have to correct my previous statement about my partner reading through the series. Apparently they read through Oathbringer but it dragged on so long that by the time book 4 came out they felt burnt out. "Remember how you felt with WoT 10? That's how I felt with Oathbringer." With the fifth book out though, they're interested in perhaps restarting the series.

I like Sanderson. I really enjoyed Mistborn, for instance. I really don't want to get into another situation where I'm hundreds of hours into something and only continuing out of stubbornness. I don't like to leave things unfinished, but pressing forward can sometimes make me no longer like an author. Truth is, some series pick up after a slog and could even become my very favorite (as was the case with WoT). Ah, how epics can go so very right or so very wrong. Haha.

Sounds like your opinion is that book 5 makes it all worth it though.

With all that said, I think I might actually read Mistborn era 2 books first. I only just realized that they were out. I've been reading so many other authors that I haven't paid much attention to Sanderson for a while. I only heard the occasional, "My god this book is never going to end" from my partner. 😁

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

For me thats actually a big plus because its like, I'll be on page 300 and loving it, and I look and I still have 900 to go! Often I'm saddened by being at an awesome part of a book, looking and seeing its only got like 50 pages left

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

Oh I'm absolutely with you on this. It isn't so much the amount of writing as much as the content. There's a book series I just finished that was 10 books and I really feel it could have been 2/3 the size. Don't get me wrong, I love the author and the stories, but some authors wander away on lengthy tangents or verbose/unnecessary content. It can wear on me.

I mentioned book 10 earlier of the Wheel of Time because so much of its content was actually taking place at the same time as what went on with book of 9. I wanted to move on with the story, but the 10th book was just the 9th book from different character perspectives. Having to wait until book 11 to find out what happens next huuuurrrt. I would have preferred it to be a single story.

To be honest though, when I reread books, I'm reading them at a different point in my life while having very different things going on. Being in a different mental space might change how I feel. I keenly remember how book 10 was just the worst slog. Haha.

The fact is, while I often long for more, I prefer well written books that do a great job of building up and then cleanly bringing things back together for a fulfilling close.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I thought each book was better than the last. I like the length, because almost every scene is at least one meaningful character being developed, and there are very few scenes I would cut if given the chance. After finishing (as an audiobook), I pretty much immediately started Way of Kings over as a physical read to see what extra details I can pick up knowing where the first half finishes.

Mistborn is significantly shorter, but I felt more (not awful, but there) slog in The Well of Ascension than I did anywhere in Stormlight. I thought he was stuck moving from the Final Empire into a trilogy for a bit.

Everyone is going to experience things differently, so I can't say if you'll be as hooked on Stormlight as I was. I'd say there are probably close to double digit characters as fleshed out as Vin (with very different struggles and very different emotional paths) by the end of the first arc, though. That's what really captures me more than the big picture arc (though that's also spectacular).

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

World building and character development will always draw me in. And Sanderson is a good writer. I wonder if audiobooks are something I should try. Now that I'm forced to commute for work again, it might be fun to give it a try.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Micheal Kramer and Kate Reading do an excellent job for most Sanderson stuff. I'm not super picky about quality of narration (outside of "full cast" and "sound effects" being a dealbreaker), but there are some who do a particularly good job and enhance the experience, and those two are really good.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

You know, when you say sound effects, I now remember listening to a few Star wars books perhaps 15 years ago that included sound effects. In that case, I actually kind of liked it. It had a radio drama quality to it. Kind of fun actually.

[–] mesamunefire 1 points 2 days ago

I'm listening to the wandering inn and feel something similar. It's a huge series, one of the biggest. I love certain parts of it but I have to take a break sometimes. And certain characters can take it or leave it.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Nerdforge is one of those creators that I stumbled upon years ago, even though their stuff normally falls outside of my niche interests. They are definitely worth the sub.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

It looks like some of the other stuff is also cool, but mostly not my thing.

I actually dislike YouTube enough that I couldn't see my own post because their domains are blocked, lol. It's not that video is never the right medium, but the vast majority of it is stuff that would be better as a short-medium article. I had someone who knew I'm currently obsessed with Sanderson and really like the aesthetic of leather bound books specifically send me a link, or I wouldn't have seen it.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago

Leaving the hyphen in would've made a huge difference in the meaning of what you wrote.

[–] Th3D3k0y 6 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

If you like bookbinding you might also enjoy. Creator does some crazy detailed videos on "old school"ish binding

https://youtube.com/@fourkeysbookarts?si=K5Deh9U1t5cvcRT-

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

And now I need to make a journal I won't use.

Thanks.

[–] Th3D3k0y 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Just need some leatherwork, threadwork, and a month of patience

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

I'm not good at it. But I do have a lot of leather.

[–] mesamunefire 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)

They did a good job on the wheel of time as well.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I need to take another shot at reading those at some point. I was into it for a while, but fell away from it when it got kind of bogged down in the middle.

I thought the process here was really interesting, though. I can barely resist spending a stupid amount of money I can't justify on all his regular leatherbounds and am a big fan of leatherworking in general (though my "projects" are super basic). The stress of trying to perfectly bind my singular licensed printing of a book like this would kill me lol, but it was cool to see how they set it all up.

[–] tuck182 2 points 2 days ago

I need to take another shot at reading those at some point. I was into it for a while, but fell away from it when it got kind of bogged down in the middle.

I had that experience. I tried reading it again (starting over because it had been so long), but fell away from it again when it got kind of bogged down near the beginning.

I may try again soon (without starting over). Wish me luck.