The Well of Lost Plots discussion

When I first started this series, I attempted to read Lost in a Good Book first. But, honestly, you'll feel a lot less confused if you start with the first one first. It might be a bit slow at the start, but it really picks up.

In short, I'd suggest reading them in order.

Yeah, there are quite a few things that will not make sense if you read them out of order. Best to stick with them in order.

I read the second book first because I wasn't aware that it was a series. It held up fine as a stand alone. When I read Jane Eyre Affair, I had quite a few "ah ha" moments and the second book made even more sense.
I agree that the first book is a bit clunky! But if you read book 3 or 4 before one and two you probably won't get the story very well. They build on one another.

I think each of the books in the series would probably stand on their own, but I'm glad that I chose to read them all in the order in which they were written.

Definitely read them in order. Fforde introduces his delightful) insanity slowly and it would be really hard to understand if you didn't start with Eyre Affair and Lost in a Good Book. The major concepts in those books, especially #2, are the backbone of Well of Lost Plots.

I read Lost In a Good Book first, and really thought it was fine. A few things where unclear, but overall that was fine.

I wouldn't try Well of Lost Plots though...way too much missing info in that one.

I agree with everybody who said to start with book one. And for heaven's sake, read the footnotes whenever you come across them. Trust me!

I would start with the first one because when the time travelling kicks in you might lose your way.

I'm only going to add to the consensus here, I'm afraid: I'm all in favour of reading these in the order in which they were published, both so they make the most sense and so that you can - ultimately! - get the maximum pleasure from them.

And let me second Elle's advice: footnotes were never so important as in these books. Not even in the Discworld books.

Let me third it! The footnotes are incredibly important. There's a whole part in Well of Lost Plots that's actually set IN the footnotes.

There are guides to the first three books on Jasper's website, they give you some good information on lots of Brit slang and references used in the books. Do read them in order unless you want a headache, they are not stand alone stories.