>>1210065I recommend downloading the 400 book torrent that is in the OP's first pastebin link, at the top of the pastebin. Then perusing those PDFs based on your interests. This image shows what is in that torrent.
>>1210180Brown composting materials are high in carbon. Cellulose is high in carbon. Cellulose is anything made from wood, like cardboard. Cardboard is a good brown composting material. Lasagna gardens use it as a type of barrier at the bottom, but that really doesn't matter since everything is piled so deeply. Yes, you can shred it up and compost it. Shredding is difficult, if you don't have a mechanical shredder rated for cardboard. If you are doing it by hand, soak the cardboard in water for a day then rip it apart. Yes, shredding your compost materials will help them decompose faster. Another trick for things like cardboard is to inoculate it with pearl oyster fungi (pleurotus ostreatus). Then all the shredding is done via the fungi