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
Narnia is "lighter" than Harry Potter and Lord of The Rings?
What by this do you mean?
I think of the Narnia Chronicles as much darker and heavier than those.
 
Valkerie said:
I think of the Narnia Chronicles as much darker and heavier than those.
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I've always seen Narnia being lighter, because the ending is always happy. With LotR (and maybe HP with Book 7) the ending is sadder and darker.
 
*picks old thread out of purgatory*

Well, all of them do, but the books that have the Pevensie children IN them are

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (all 4 of the kids)
Prince Caspian(all 4)
Voyage of the Dawn Treader(Edmund and Lucy)
The Last Battle(4 of them)

ANd the others either dont have them in it or have them in it, but just briefly
 
I think you can read them in any order, it doesn't really matter. I read them in this order first time round:
1.LWW
2.MN
3.THAHB
4.TLB
5.PC
6.VotD
7.SC

I read then in the order I could get them, I didn't do it on purpose.
 
read lww first
pc second
vdt 3rd
silver chair 4th
hhb 5th
mn 6th
tlb 7th

this will bring you good luck.
or at least you wil read them in the order they were published which is fortunate.
 
I like reading LWW first because you get introduced to Aslan right along with the Pevensies. Your first meeting is their first meeting with him, and the build-up to it -- when they first hear his name, the three Pevensies are strangely thrilled, while Edmund is strangely revolted. Why? Who is Aslan?!

But if you read MN first, you already know who Aslan is, and there is no great mystery or suspense about that.
 
I would read them in the order C.S Lewis would want you to read:


1. The Magician's Nephew

2. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

3. The Horse and his Boy

4. Prince Caspian

5. Voyage of the Dawn Trader

6. Silver Chair

7. The Last Battle

That was the order that I read all the Narnia books. If you read Magician's Nephew first, you'll get the entire story about the Lampost.
 
That's true, you get the whole story first in that order ... but I liked reading LWW first and being enchanted by the Lion and wondering about the lamp-post ...
 
Well, I first read the series in chronological order and then recently reread them in order of publication. While reading them in chronological order can be really enlightening, reading them in order of publication can be a little more fulfilling. It was like being introduced into the world along with Lucy and growing with Narnia as C.S. Lewis grows into Narnia.
 
Ithilien said:
Well, I first read the series in chronological order and then recently reread them in order of publication. While reading them in chronological order can be really enlightening, reading them in order of publication can be a little more fulfilling. It was like being introduced into the world along with Lucy and growing with Narnia as C.S. Lewis grows into Narnia.
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YES! That's it exactly. :)
 
What Do you THink the Best Reading order to the books is?

I would like everyones opinion on the best order to read the books, the order they were released or the one where Magicians Nephew comes first.

I watched Chronicles of narnia: LWW for the first time last night, i had no idea what the story was going to be, it was brilliant. Ever since then ive been reading up on it and there's 2 orders to read the books whcih 1 do you recommend? :confused:
 
Hello, MattRod. We've got another thread on this topic (several, actually), so I merged your thread with one of the others that takes up the same discussion. You can read back through what others have said on the topic.

My opinion is that publication order is best: Lion, Caspian, Dawn Treader, Silver Chair, Horse, Magician, and Last Battle. This is as Lewis wrote them (almost - Horse was actually penned before Silver Chair, but Lewis reversed the publication order to keep the Caspian books together), and I think if you read them that way, you can see the stories and characters developing accordingly.

By the way, I haven't seen you post before. Welcome to the forum!
 
When I first got the set of books as a kid, of course, I read the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe first. But now I just am finishing up The Magician's Nephew in a boxed set I purchased a few days ago, and it's got the number 1 on it as the book to read first.


I have to admit that while some might disagree with me I like knowing how Narnia came about and the background history of it before going into reading the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe again.
 
The first book that was read to me was The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, (plus, I also saw the live-action BBC movie and the animated movie), and I think it is the best introduction to the series.

I think that reading The Magicians Nephew first kind of ruins the mystery of "what is a lamppost doing in Narnia?" "why does the professor know so much about Narnia?", "who is this Aslan everybody keeps talking about and whats so great about him?". It's like watching Star Wars in chronological order and already knowing Darth Vader is Luke's father before watching the Empire Strikes Back.

You appreciate the Magicians Nephew more if you're already familiar with Narnia and the characters in the first books.
besides, I don't think C.S.Lewis actually meant for you to read them in chronological order. He just thought it was an interesting approach to his books by the boys mother.

It's a good idea to read them in chronological order but not if you haven't read them before.
 
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