Batman: Year One vs Court of Owls | Which Should You Read First?

Batman: Year One and Batman: Court of Owls are both constantly recommended as great places to start reading Batman comics, but they give you two very different versions of Batman. As a relatively new comic reader who has now read both, I wanted to compare which one actually works better as a first Batman comic, how much background knowledge each expects from you, and why my favorite isn’t necessarily the one I’d recommend first. If you’re trying to get into Batman comics, whether through Year One, the New 52 Court of Owls, or somewhere else entirely, hopefully this helps make that first choice a little easier. Which one would you recommend to a new Batman reader?