Philotic Web

My girlfriend recently asked me to read the EnderVerse novels to her. (Part of this thing that we have started doing in which we read our favorite books aloud to each other -- lots of fun, and can be quite romantic when combined with a bottle of wine and an evening-in together.)

Anyway, I went ahead and read her Ender's Game, but now I have found myself with a dilemma. In what order should I proceed?

I have come up with three possible sequences:

Sequence 1: EG, SftD, X, CotM, ES, SotH, SP, SotG, EiE
Sequence 2: EG, ES, SotH, SP, SotG, SftD, X, CotM, EiE
Sequence 3: EG, ES, SotH, SP, SotG, EiE, SftD, X, CotM

What do you think? Is there one that I haven't included that you think works better?

You could let her decide. You could read EG and ES, then see what direction she wants to go. I would personally go with the Ender Quartet, the Shadow series then EiE, but why not let her decide.

Go chronologically.

Have her read First Meetings in the Enderverse minus the story about Jane and the EG short story.

Then read Enders game up until the final battle. Ya, Stop her at chapter 14 and make her read EiE up to when Andrew leaves Eros and have her read the rest of the ES series.

Of course you can then carry on with the rest of EiE and the EG series.

Complicated much?

I would read it like this:
1. Ender Quartet
2. First Meetings & EiE
3. Shadow Series

u definately have to read ender in exile after the shadow series because it has bean's son

Go with configuration one. This is how they were written and obviously how card wanted them read.This is the best possible way to read the books, mostly because ideas that card came up with later are interpolated into the newer books making it easier for readers to make correlations between new information and the older books. Plus, the story just flows that way. I would, however, put Ender in Exile directly after EG as it is a companion book that expands, explains and ends that book. Ender's story has to be told before Bean's because Ender is the sole basis for the entire series. Bean was a secondary character in EG and so his books come second, even though i like them better than the speaker series.

NO! you can not read ender in exile before you shadow, because u need to know about bean's condition and his son

YES! I just thought of that! Thank you, n_v! I don't remember anything in EiE that explains anything about Bean's "condition" at all. Of course, I haven't read it since Christmas, but, I do think you would have to read the Shadow series before you read EiE. EiE is a good book, but it doesn't go into lots of detail about Achilles/Randal/Arkanian. If you haven't read the Shadow series, you might get a bit lost.

You forgot "War of Gifts". Should it be read between Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow or in the middle of Ender's Game if your doing it chronologically.

The short stories in First Meetings definitely the first two before EG and the last one after EG and the Shadow series.

Of course, if they started with the first two stories in First Meetings, and they got bored, the person probly wouldn't bother reading the real work of art, Ender's Game.

I first read the books this way: EG, ES, SotH, SP, SotG, SftD, XD, CotM, First Meetings, EiE. It was partially cause of the availability of the books, and the fact that I started SftD before ES, but got bored.

If I wanted to reread them, I would read them this way: the first two stories in FM, EG, The third story in FM, The Shadow series, EiE, the last story in Fm, then the Speaker series. Then I'd probly read CotM again and again until I got tired of it. (that one's my favorite)

You could probly read the FM all together if you wanted after all the series.

I still haven't read Intergalactic Medicine show... I've been trying to find it at the library for a while.

Good point nv. I still think they should be read in publication order though. Just for sequence and storyline and also just homage to the author.

well thank you for thinking so. maybe u arent all idiots....

they should be read in the order they were published. orson scott card published them in that order for a reason.

I like the first way better. However, don't forget A War of Gifts! EG, SftD, X, CofM, then the Bean series, starting with Ender's Shadow. Then, I would do First Meetings, Ender in Exile, and finally, a War of Gifts.

Actually, perhaps option 3 would be better. It would be nice to save the best for last, and I can't help but feel that Children of the Mind is the best...

I just read everything in the order it comes to me. When I start any series I usually fall into it and have to have every edition , primmer or short story on the subject ,and then re-read it till I'm sic of it.