Which order do you think the books should be read in?

What order?

  • Written (LWW, PC, VoDT...)

    Votes: 87 46.0%

  • Chronological (MN, LWW, HHB...)

    Votes: 89 47.1%

  • Other (Please specify)

    Votes: 13 6.9%
  • Total voters
    189
Wow! You met Douglas Gresham. Where was this at! Sorry, I'm getting of topic :o

I read the Narnia books in Chronological order because that's how the books in my set were numbered. I didn't even know there was another way to read them. :)
 
Yeah, well, I guess I'll finish reading them in chronological order, sice I've already read MN LWW and Horse, so the damge that can be done from that is irreversable anyway.

I have this same dillema with the Redwall books, except those I started in publishing order.
 
inkspot said:
Oh, Rosy is so nice ... "it's up to you, really."

It is not up to you. It is up to Inkspot. The best way to read the books is the publication order, which is, I believe:

LWW
VDT
PC
SC
HHB
MN
TLB

This way you meet Aslan for the first time just as the children did ... if you read MN first, then you already know all about him and the creation of Narnia long before the Pevensies know, and there is no nostalgia when you finally get to MN and sigh, "So that's how it all began ..."

CS Lewis, but the time he got old and dodgy, advocated the chronological order, but he didn't realize what he was talking about as he had written the books and never had the chance to read one for the first time.

Up to you indeed!
Click to expand...

Oh my!! someone got up on the wrong side of bed today, didnt they!?
 
I dunno, I guess you can read the books in either order if you want. But if you ask me, I think that you should read the books in the way they were published because that was the way that Lewis intended fort hem to be read, at least from what I've learned about the guy. I did a report on LWW for school (because I'm a total nerd, go me!) and from what I remember researching, LWW was originally intended to be a stand alone book. The series grew out of it. So in a way, I see it as the back bone to the series and since Lewis wrote the series from it, I think it's better to read them how he wrote them.
 
I read the books in Lewis's order, like LWW. PC VDT SC HHB MN LB
I am reading a book called "The companion to narnia, the companion to lewis's magical world of narnia" something like that and there was a question in the book of which order, and it sais that by the old order, thats the way i first read it anyways.
 
I read them in the published order.
It's actually better to read them that way.
Because you read LWW, and you wonder "Why is the wardrobe so special?" and then you read TMN and everything just comes to you.
And reading TMN first, just ruins the whole thing.


but thats my opinion :rolleyes:
 
I got the big 1-volume book w/ all 7 books in them, in chronological order. I think i prefer that because it explains how things in the books ahead came to be the way they were. I like it that way personally. :D
 
You know what though? When in LWW the children first hear the name of Aslan, they get all these wonderful feelings, and CS Lewis says, "They did not know who Aslan was anymore than you do ..." but if you have already read MN, then you know all about Aslan, and some of the magic is already gone for you. If you read LWW first, you discover who Aslan is just as the Pevensie kids discover Him. It's rich.
 
oh i could go on for days, but i'd recommend publication order (lww, pc, vdt, sc, hhb, mn, lb) to anyone & everyone

the way i see it, you start with lww. you have to. there's no 2 ways about it. from there you continue with the pevensies' adventures thru pc & vdt, then follow eustace into sc. then once you're sad that none of the pevensies will be returning to narnia, you can read about an adventure that happened while they reigned & expand your knowledge of the lands surrounding narnia. once you've read all that, you have the wonder & joy of discovering there's a book (mn) that explains how all this magic came to be, which is an awesome thing (a prequel done right, that is). and of course, sadly, it all comes to an end with lb.

sorry, that was a bit of rambling
 
inkspot said:
CS Lewis, by the time he got old and dodgy, advocated the chronological order, but he didn't realize what he was talking about as he had written the books and never had the chance to read one for the first time.
Click to expand...


that was kinda funny
 
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