Reading Mistborn

by Tom Johnson on Nov 27, 2011
categories: family

All my life, I've never really read fantasy novels. About two months ago, I noticed one of my basketball buddies walking down the hall. Since I was an avid podcast listener, I asked him what he was listening to. He said The Hunger Games. I decided to try it, and immediately liked it, listening to the entire Hunger Games trilogy in about a month.

The next time I saw my friend, I told him he had hooked me on the Hunger Games. He said, If you like Hunger Games, then you will love Mistborn. I immediately downloaded the first Mistborn novel, by Brandon Sanderson. It turns out my friend was right. I absolutely love Mistborn. I even let Avery listen to it.

Avery is more taken by story than me, apparently. She will listen to Mistborn for hours on end.

I'm currently near the end of the second Mistborn book, The Well of Ascension (it's a trilogy). I sometimes go out on walks at night just so I can listen to the book. I could have ordered a print copy rather than listening to the audio version, but I actually love listening to the book. I listen to it every time I drive to work, every time I drive to pick up Avery from swimming, and even when I go early to play basketball.

I really enjoy listening to stories. And I can't understand why I've treated the fantasy genre with so much unwarranted disdain over the years. Sanderson is actually a local author, LDS and living in Provo. He had a signing at the BYU bookstore earlier this month to celebrate his latest release, The Alloy of Law. I would have gone with Avery except it was at midnight, so it was too late.

I think I will be a lifelong Audible listener. I was always into podcasts, but I'm even more obsessive about audio books. I listened to non-fiction books some months earlier (especially Bart Ehrman's books), but they never hooked me as much as fiction.

I think I am definitely an audial learner. When I am partly focused on something else, such as driving, walking, or shooting hoops, my mind is able to absorb the story with perfect attention.