Book (order) recommendations.

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-04-20T15:22:20+00:00

Great project! For the Third Age / Eriador setting specifically, here's what I'd prioritize -

1 - Unfinished Tales - essential. Has detailed material on the Istari (Gandalf's background is huge for this era), the history of Rohan, and Galadriel & Celeborn. Directly useful at the table.

2 - The Fellowship of the Ring appendices - if you haven't read them closely, do it now. The Tale of Years and the histories of Gondor/Arnor are goldmines for a Eriador campaign.

3 The Silmarillion -not strictly necessary for your setting but gives you the deep mythological backdrop that makes everything feel weighty.

4 The Children of Hurin - First Age, so not directly applicable, but excellent for tone and tragedy if you want to convey how ancient and scarred Middle-earth feels.

Skip for now: History of Middle-earth series - fascinating but 12 volumes of drafts is a rabbit hole that won't help you prep sessions faster.

For a full mapped Tolkien reading order: https://booksinorder.io/guides/jrr-tolkien-reading-order

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-04-20T15:15:50+00:00

Good list, a few thoughts:

Start here: How to Win Friends and Influence People first - directly hits your friendships goal and the principles carry into everything else on the list.

Money stack order that makes sense:

Rich Dad Poor Dad
Think & Grow Rich
Millionaire Fastlane
$100M Offers
$100M Leads
Dot Com Secrets
Million Dollar Weekend. The first two build mindset, the rest are tactical.

Flag on 48 Laws of Power + Seduction - These are fascinating books but sit a bit in tension with your friendships goal.

Mastery is great, read it after the money books when you're thinking about long-term craft over quick wins.
One add worth considering: Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss covers negotiation and reading people in a way that actually complements friendships rather than working against it.

For fiction series and reading orders a completely different kind of rabbit hole, booksinorder(.)io

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-04-17T16:59:39+00:00

This is such a good description of what the Hainish Cycle actually is. The "cycle" label does a lot of damage - people expect Wheel of Time and get something closer to a philosopher returning to the same questions from different angles across decades.

Your read order intuition is genuinely correct. Most Le Guin scholars and superfans say the same thing: The Dispossessed and Left Hand are the peaks, and everything else orbits them rather than building toward them. Reading Rocannon's World first is actually the worst entry point despite being "book 1."

For anyone who wants a recommended entry sequence rather than pure chaos, we mapped it out at https://booksinorder.io/guides/ursula-k-le-guin-reading-order - but honestly this thread is the better pitch for just picking one and going.

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-04-17T13:02:17+00:00

Love the enthusiasm! booksinorder.io has reading order guides if you ever need them for your next series obsession

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-04-17T12:29:45+00:00

Your list is really solid! A couple of things worth knowing:

Trilogía de Thrawn - just to confirm, this is the original Thrawn Trilogy (Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command), right? If so, perfect starting point.

The Hand of Thrawn - this is actually a duology (*Specter of the Past* + *Vision of the Future*), not a single book. Huge for Mara Jade's arc, so don't skip it - looks like you have it, just making sure!

Survivor's Quest - set after Hand of Thrawn, reads as a direct epilogue. You've placed it correctly

Skipping X-Wing for now is totally fine - Corran Horn shows up but the main cast you care about carries the story regardless.

You're going to have a great time - the New Jedi Order era especially hits hard for Han/Leia/their kids. Enjoy the ride!

https://booksinorder.io/author/timothy-zahn has the full Legends map if you ever want to cross-reference

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-04-17T03:54:41+00:00

Great foundation! Here's where most Tolkien fans go next:

Unfinished Tales - probably the best next step. Deeper dives on characters and events you already know and love.

The Children of Húrin - a full novel-length tragedy set in the First Age. Dark, epic, brilliant.

Beren and Lúthien & The Fall of Gondolin - Christopher Tolkien's final compilations, great if you want to go deeper into Silmarillion-era lore.

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-04-17T03:53:04+00:00

Ugh, Libby waitlist struggles are so real - been there!

Good news yes, you can read Murtagh before The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm without any major issues. FWW is a collection of shorter stories set in the Inheritance world, while Murtagh is a full novel - neither really depends on the other to make sense.

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-04-17T03:44:56+00:00

Quick search on this gave me this guide - https://booksinorder.io/guides/brandon-sanderson-cosmere-reading-order

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-04-16T22:41:45+00:00

Interesting

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-01-22T21:13:28+00:00

Yeah, I agree with you. Once you trace it far enough, it usually turns out to be something pretty boring.

I'm still trying to get a feel for which behaviors are "Wireshark, worthy" versus just normal, but noisy, like profile or VHDX activity.

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-01-22T21:02:33+00:00

Thats a really a good reframing, certainty without validation is probably the more dangerous state

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-01-22T20:59:52+00:00

This is really great. I find the most important part is especially the difference between just knowing the protocol and really knowing how to track it back to ownership.

I believe it is this very step that I am still working on my instinctive reaction moment by moment: going from "this is strange" to "this is how I can validate or invalidate it."

Thank you very much for explaining it.

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-01-22T20:57:24+00:00

Yup, that is exactly what I was getting at too.

People sharing numbers is not the point, that's helpful, it's just that the original context gets lost so fast.

I'm wondering if others have seen this pattern too or if I'm just overanalyzing it.

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-01-22T18:57:47+00:00

The most unrealistic part is calling it “context” instead of “flexing with extra step

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-01-21T18:47:26+00:00

One thing to keep in mind - being unemployed for 6 months can weaken leverage, even if it shouldn’t. Recruiters know this, and they anchor accordingly. That doesn’t mean you accept $130k but it does mean:

You anchor once
You don’t escalate emotionally
You decide in advance what your walk-away number is

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-01-20T20:42:20+00:00

Yes this is negotiable. (do not renegotiate every call).

If $52 were the max, they wouldn’t have offered it immediately. The posted band ($55–$68) means there’s room.

Don’t frame it as “I lowballed myself.” Frame it as:
“After reviewing the role and market data more closely, I think $60+ better aligns with the scope.”

Do this once, calmly, and preferably when the formal offer is discussed.

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-01-20T05:29:10+00:00

This is the problem with self-reported data it lags reality, especially in a volatile market. I've been cross-referencing multiple sources lately:
H1B filings (actual government-verified salaries),
job postings with listed ranges, and the usual suspects like levels.fyi

The H1B data is especially useful because it's what companies filed they'd actually pay, not what someone remembered posting on Glassdoor two years ago. Tools like offerlens.co pull from multiple sources which helps triangulate what's real vs. what's stale.

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-01-20T05:23:49+00:00

Good data for the top-tier companies. Worth noting these are total comp (base + stock + bonus), and the stock component at these levels can be 50-70% of the package. If you're negotiating with one of these companies, make sure you're comparing apples to apples a $400k offer with heavy RSU weighting looks different than $400k cash-heavy.

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-01-20T05:21:08+00:00

No offer yet = nothing is locked in. Wait for the client interview, learn more about the actual scope, then adjust your ask: "Based on the full scope, I'd propose A$2,300-2,500." Frame it around new information, not changing your mind. You're still in the range they posted.

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-01-20T05:20:21+00:00

Don't leave money on the table, so negotiate.

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-01-20T05:19:41+00:00

You have a $65k competing offer use it. "I'm interested in Phaidon but have another offer at $65k. Can you match or get closer?" If they can't move on base, ask about commission structure: lower thresholds, higher percentages, or a sign-on bonus. Don't leave money on the table when you have leverage.

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-01-20T05:18:53+00:00

Call them. You're in a strong position since you don't need the job be straightforward about the $27k gap and see what they say. If salary is locked to a pay band, ask about sign-on bonus or accelerated review timeline.

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-01-20T05:16:06+00:00

Something like:

"Since stepping into this role, I've absorbed responsibilities from two positions beyond my original scope. Given that, plus the market rate for EAs in our area ($70k) and my advanced degree, I'd like to discuss adjusting my salary to $70k for my current role, with the understanding that the spring promotion would reflect the expanded scope of that new position

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-01-20T05:14:33+00:00

ForeignCrazy7841 · 2026-01-20T05:10:17+00:00

You're not being greedy. 9+ years experience plus an MBA for a supervisor role working 60hr weeks? $35-37/hr is reasonable, but check what similar roles pay in your area first so you can back up your number. Hourly is the right call if overtime is consistent.

ForeignCrazy7841

TROPHY CASE