Hello, everyone. Welcome to the final post of the Wheel of Time Reread.
Today’s entry covers the Wheel of Time Reread, in which we have an ending… but not the ending. As is right and proper, all things considered.
Previous reread entries are here. The Wheel of Time Master Index is here, which has links to news, reviews, interviews, and all manner of information about the Wheel of Time in general. The index for all things specifically related to the final novel in the series, A Memory of Light, is here.
Also, for maximum coolness, the Wheel of Time reread is also now available as an ebook series, from your preferred ebook retailer!
And now, the post!
A MOSTLY BRIEF AND TOTALLY ACCURATE HISTORY OF THE WHEEL OF TIME REREAD
ONCE UPON A TIME, there was a WOTFAQueen named Leigh Butler (the First of her Name). She was a young and rather hapless queen, never having meant to become the guardian of Frequently Asked Questions about the Wheel of Time, but the previous FAQueen had come to her one day and emailed solemnly, “Look, I really have to finish my PhD, help a girl out?” And Leigh, who was of tender heart (and also a sucker), felt she could only agree. And thus the mantle was passed on.
FAQueen Leigh held her rank for some years, battling valiantly to chronicle and preserve the myriad and conflicting theories spewed forth of the cold heart of winter and twilit crossroads and all the other WOT mysteries that crossed her path of daggers, and for a while it was good. But then came the great and terrible storm men called Katrina, laying waste to so much of what the good queen held dear and throwing all into disarray, and soon thereafter came the shocking and untimely death of the Creator of WOT himself, and all was darkness for a while.
The FAQueen, despairing of there ever being a resolution to her mandated quest for Frequently Requested Answers, abdicated her throne, allowed the WOTFAQ to fall into disrepair, and went her own way, supposing that the great fanKingdom of WOT would never recover.
But lo, the FAQueen was a dum-dum, because all was not lost! The Creator’s widow, she of strong heart and uncanny editorial sorcery, arose from her grief and declared that nay, the Kingdom of WOT shall not die! I shall find one to carry on my beloved’s story, she said, and all the land shall finally know the Answers to the Questions they have so long sought! And she totally did so, vanquishing all those who would oppose her, because she is badass, and it was good.
And then the administrators of the kingdom murmured among themselves, and said, what can we do to bring the news of this wonderful development to the people, and revitalize their interest in What Happens Next?
And thus it was that they came to the former FAQueen, and said to her, here is your chance to redeem yourself, yo. Come to our Tor, they said, and Reread the Wheel of Time from the beginning, telling of What Happens and making Commentary upon it, and so remind the people of what they could have lost and have now regained. Would that not be totally awesome, they asked?
The former queen was dubious of her worthiness for the task, but nevertheless agreed that it would, in fact, be totally awesome, and so consented, once again taking the burden of interpreting the vastness of WOT upon her shoulders. Because, as we have mentioned, she is kind of a sucker.
And Leigh supposed, in the beginning, that perhaps a few would come and see, but that not much moment would be made of the enterprise overall. So it was to her considerable and happy surprise to see that the people did come and see, in numbers that she could scarcely have imagined, to comment and debate and snark and sometimes fight, but mostly to delight in each other’s company, and to delight in WOT.
And the former queen was well pleased, for she knew that it was not for herself that these people came and stayed, but for their love for WOT—and over time, for love of the community the people had built there, beneath her words. As is right and proper, for fandom is not love of a thing, but rather love of a thing shared, and thus transformed. Her words were not the source, but merely the frame upon which a whole new iteration of WOT fandom grew, and knowing this, Leigh was right humbled by the honor. And so things have gone for many happy years.
The above was (most of) the intro I wrote for the booklet of letters that was part of the Rereaders’ gift to Harriet at this year’s JordanCon. And maybe it’s cheating a little to reuse it here, but I had been sitting and racking my brains over how to try and write anything that would come even close to summing up this experience, realized that I had already written it, and was like why not.
Because the tone of my “history” is really only partly tongue in cheek. Fairy tales don’t happen in real life… except when they kind of do.
The introductory post for the Wheel of Time Reread was on January 19, 2009. Or, to put it another way, 5 years, 3 months, and 25 days ago. At the time, hilariously, I thought the Reread was going to be a fairly brief blip in my life, something I would pound out in a few months, something that no one would really notice, and then I would be done with it and move on.
Oh, Leigh. So silly.
Really, my previous experience with Wheel of Time fandom should have taught me better even then: there is nothing, ever, that is brief about the Wheel of Time. One does not simply BLIP through a Wheel of Time Reread—or the Wheel of Time itself, as Team Jordan soon discovered. Which is why the Reread happened the way it did. IT’S ALL INTERCONNECTED. oooooooh
Not that this is a complaint, mind you—in fact, it is about as far from a complaint as can possibly be imagined. My involvement with the Wheel of Time Reread has, quite literally, changed my life—just as my involvement with the fandom previous to it had, but in an even more profound way. The Reread has led me to go places and do things and meet people that I otherwise never would have, and I honestly would not change a moment of it, even those days when I was almost crying with frustration or half-dead of sleep deprivation, trying to figure out how the hell to say what I wanted to say about this or that chapter, this or that character, this or that concept I needed to explain just how I felt about. As with all labors of love, the angst and the drama were all more than worth the result—or, at least, so I profoundly hope.
But I think it was, if for no other reason than for the absolutely amazing community of people the Reread has drawn together over the years. As I said in my “history” above, I continue to be humbled and delighted by the folks that have come together in the comment section and beyond as a result of the Reread, and created a whole new microcosm of fandom all their own. Some of you I have been pleased to meet, and many of you I hope to meet in the future, but to all of you, from newcomers to those who have been here since the beginning, I have one thing to say:
Thank you.
Thank you, all of you, because you are the reason the Reread was created, the reason it was so much fun to do, and the reason it is still here after all these years, through to the end. Without your enthusiasm and participation and support throughout, the Reread would not exist, and that’s the damn truth.
Y’all are awesome, and I salute you. I am amazed by you. For real.
And you are why, even though the Reread proper is now completed, that this is not the actual end. By popular demand (which is the best kind of demand), the Powers That Be at Tor.com and I have arranged in the near future to conduct, also hilariously, a Reread of the Reread of the Wheel of Time.
Because, after all, I began this thing without actually knowing how it would all end. So it seems only reasonable that, now that I do know the end, I should go back and review those parts of the Reread that I wrote before I had that knowledge (which is, actually, quite a large part of it), and also to expand upon those parts that I originally perhaps zoomed through more quickly than they deserved, owing to the belief that I was going to have a great deal less time to get through the series than I eventually did. I’m sure it will all be extraordinarily meta, but that’s part of the fun.
As far as timing goes, though, well. I hope you will understand that your Auntie Leigh will need to take a little bit of a break before she dives back in again. Because I love this thing, y’all, but I don’t mind admitting that I am more than a little tie-tie at this point, and in dire need of a sabbatical from things WOT before I dive in again.
Therefore, the exact date of resumption is not for sure as of this moment, but I can tell you that it will be at least a month, possibly more, before the Reread of the Reread begins. This is for me to recoup my WOT brain, as well as for me to work on my own projects, which I hope will be coming to fruition soon. We will keep you posted as things develop, I totally promise.
HOWEVER, you shall not be totally deprived in that time! For one, also going up today on Tor.com is a lovely Q&A post for any of y’all who might want to ask me questions about the Reread or the Wheel of Time in general, which I will be answering in a post next week, so I certainly encourage you to hop over there once you’re done here, and ask whatever questions you may or may not have been dying to ask me about Stuff. [ETA: And here is the post answering your questions!]
ALSO, as you know, the Wheel of Time as a series has been nominated for the Best Novel Hugo Award for 2014, which is all kinds of wonderful, and even more wonderful is Tor’s incredibly generous decision to include all fourteen of the Wheel of Time novels in the voter packet going out to Hugo voters in the next few weeks. Because, dude. That is hella cool.
That said, fourteen Wheel of Time novels is kind of a hefty amount of reading to get through for even the most avid speedreader, and so the good folks at Tor.com have asked me to put together a kind of cheat sheet, if you will, of the Wheel of Time, summarizing the bullet points of the events of the novels for those of you who want to refresh your memories of just what went on in case you don’t have time to read through the entire thing before the voting deadline occurs. That post should be going up within the next week or so, so spread the word!
And also, of course, I will be continuing to pursue my Read of Ice and Fire here on Tor.com, which I encourage everyone to come check out if they haven’t already. In addition to that, I will also be trying my hand at posting on Tor.com about things that aren’t Giant Doorstop Epic Fantasy-related things, for once, so if you want to keep up with all of that, feel free to follow me on Tor.com so you don’t miss anything!
(Also, go back to the last post in the Reread if you want my review of AMOL’s artwork, which I totally forgot to include last week, so I fixed that now.)
The point being, this is not the end, my friends. The Wheel of Time Reread proper may be over, but me and the Wheel of Time in general—and me and Tor.com in general—are far from done. Therefore, I hope all of y’all who have followed the Reread so assiduously these past years will continue to stick around. Because as I said, this whole thing is nothing without y’all.
Again, thank you all so much for coming along with me on this amazing fabulous crazy ride. You all, without doubt, constitute your own Crowning Moment of Awesome. So therefore, as is proper, there is only one way I can end, and that is to say:
And that’s all for now, my dears, but I love you and I will see you soon! Cheers!
I never got the Hunny,
But now I’ve got the One-y,
It used to be,
As you can read,
A fabled grab indeed.
ETA
And now that I’ve actually read Leigh’s post…awesomelicious (which, I don’t believe, was a real word until today).
A reread of the reread–fabulous! Now I can get in on the comments from the beginning, instead spending a year or so lurking while catching up. Kuhl, as ChaplainChris would say.
THANK YOU (yes, I was shouting) Leigh for seeing this expedition through to the end, and then some. I have met scads of new friends, discovered many new authors to read, and just had a spanking good time as a result. Who knew, when I was surfing the web several years ago to find out when TGS would be released, and discovered this reread instead, that this would be the outcome?
Ross–what’s dirty about that? ;-)
AhoyMatey–thanks!
M-o-M–thanks and “a gay male” *chuckles hysterically*
And now I can say with certainty…It may be over, but Leigh is still our commander.
ETA 2
Sam will cry,
May gash his eye,
Others weep,
Some call me creep,
But I’ve still got the One-y.
I’m definitely not manic today, my other self told me so.
No, thank you Leigh. It was a most wonderful journey!
A Reread of the Reread! YES!
Ways, you dirty, dirty man!
Leigh, you’re a treasure.
Nice job, Leigh! *Bow to the Queen*
And nicely done, Glen.
A wonderful job, thank you Leigh for bringing me together with a great bunch of people (yourself included)
Thank you Leigh! Hard to believe I’ve been reading the re-read for nearly 1/4 the time I’ve been reading the, er, read. Looking forward to reading the re-read of the re-read.
It’s been a marvelous journey, thank you for spending so much of your time and energy on this tribute/review/discussion of a series that will forever hold an important place in our hearts.
Thanks Leigh.
I don’t know how you managed to find something interesting to write in every post. It dosn’t seem like over five years since you started.
It’s been a fantastic journey. Thanks for all the hard work you have put in (and will continue to put in) over the years. You rock!
Thanks Leigh. The WOT reread was the catalyst for me discovering rereads in general. And that my friends, has been life changing.
To the queen.
I look forward to looking back.
I have eagerly followed the reread since day one and am so grateful for you, Leigh, and everyone else who has made this such an integral part of my life. I remember the day I went to the FAQ and saw your post about starting a re-read here at Tor and how excited I was. And I remember the day of the first post and how happy I felt that there were so many other people that were just as into WoT as I was. It has been so great, thanks to everyone!
Long time lurker, rare commenter, but I too feel compelled to say THANK YOU! This reread has been so fantastic, and for me at least, it really came down to your humor and style. Kind of sad to see something end after all this time, but the Wheel turns. Looking forward to your next project!
Woohoo! A Reread of the Reread!! I am thrilled!
Thank You, Ms Butler.
Ive enjoyed the reread immensely, even when I disagreed.
What a long strange trip it has been…
I remember a time before the reread.
I remember coming to Tor-dot-com before it was Tor-dot-com, eagerly checking “future releases” see if the next book had been announced.
Heck I think I still have the copy of the WOTFAQ (circa 1996 – somewhere around there) that I printed out in a binder somewhere…
Here’s a testament to Leigh’s legacy, I had absolutely no intention of reading the Game of Thrones series since I am watching the show, knowing that Leigh is doing the re-read, I will now definitely read them just so I can experience the pleasure that is a Leigh Butler re-read. Thanks for a job well done and best of luck with future stuff!
Thanks Leigh. It’s been a great ride, spankings and all!
I look forward to the Reread of the Reread. Also, it seems that Tor.com’s April 1 2011 joke post is coming true, kinda. We just need Brandon to pop in every now and then!
Thank you, Leigh, Oh Great and Powerful FAQueen!
I first discovered the Reread in August of 2009. I quickly devoured the previous posts and comments until catching up at Lord of Chaos. At that point I still hadn’t discovered your gender, but the way you wrote never failed to made me laugh. I think I finally decided that you were a gay male by the skill with which you could dish. It was months (or more) before I discovered the truth. Well, truth, heh. You are a true Queen by all measures and definitions. Thank you, thank you, thank you for delivering up uncountable laughs and in doing so, encouraging us to add our comments in a fun and frequently funny way.
Thanks to my fellow Loonies, too, for all the laughs.
I’m so glad to hear that this is not over. I figured there would be some reviewing of the Encyclopedia when it is published, but a Re-Re-Re-Re-Reread is awesome. Sock it to me!
And I’m sure you will let us know when the next Reread eBook is available, no?
Ways: sweet!
Thank you for your effort. It was a long, but fun, ride.
Did you have any comments on the AMoL cover? I beleive in the comments to last weeks post you would have thoughts on it.
(FWIIW, I still cannot fathom how Rand could hold his sword in the manner he is and possibly fight. It seems quite an akward pose. I liked everything else about the cover.)
Thanks for reading my musings,
AndrewB
Thank you, Leigh for your insights, effort, and love for the words and their readers !
And also thanks to all the commenters on the re-read – you’ve all enriched the WOT experience so much with your comments and insights and camraderie. Indeed it’s something I wish could be found more often around in the physical world than it is…
and like the wind touched everything…
However WoT fares at the Hugos, we’ll have to nominate Leigh’s re-read for Best Related Work next year—right, folks?
Thanks Leigh for the years of WoT reread posts. I first found this reread 3 years ago and have been following ever since. The commentary and posts from all the long time contributors have allowed me to read and appreciate the series at a much deeper level, so thank you all for the hours of fun!
Dear Leigh,
Many, many thanks for all these posts. It was amazing, it was funny, it was so YAY cool!
I’ve been reading the reread for years now (seems like only days, did I really start this when I was still in college?!) and it seems crazy that it’s over.
Thanks for taking us through this, Leigh, and I look forward to both your Reread of the Reread and anything else you take on; I’m excited to hear your thoughts on other works on tor.com!
Leigh,
Thank you.
I dont remember how i discovered Tor.com exactly. All i know is that i was bored at work and had recently bought an Iphone so the internet was mine to explore again.
I stumbled upon this place and suddenly had something to look forward to on tuesdays and thursdays.
I joined when the re read was at the beginning of Book 11.
But decided it would be worth it to start with the first book. By the time i caught up, you were halfway through book 11.
I didnt comment alot as most of the time you succinctly summed up my thoughts.
However, i enjoyed every post. And will never forget your idea to write a parody song on “how do you solve a problem with damane.”
Qa’plaH, Queen of WOTFAQ.
Well, it has been a huge undertaking, and thanks. I’ve read the whole reread multiple times now, and have the ebook version for future times when…I guess I don’t have the internet?
I look forward to seeing what you do next, so far you have been totally on course with things I also found interesting, but as with all relationships I expect we will soon veer away from each other, alas.
Thank you does not seem enough of a statement for all you have contributed. Beyond summarizing (in often hilarious fashion) each amazing chapter of each bank vault door-stopping novel, I honestly believe you have also opened some minds (certainly mine). It was reading your point of view on many difficult subjects (spanking, compulsion, chivalry vs. equality, spanking, slavery, female-on-male coerced seduction, anatomically correct armor, spanking, etc) within the series that made me think a little differently about certain issues. Until your re-read I always thought chivalry was honorable and never really considered the partial trap that lay there.
So thank you so much for everything you have done. Enjoy your well deserved hiatus and I look forward to your return and the re-read of the re-read.
jcsalomon @21: I think that’s a big thumbs-up from me.
Thanks again, Leigh, and especially for agreeing to lead us through the Re-Read again, this time with fore-knowledge of outcome. I think it will be even MORE fascinating to examine all the foreshadowings and prophecies, proclaim some fulfilled, some not, some teasers that were perhaps deliberate lies by “players” in WOTland, and etc.
REALLY looking forward to the Re-Re-Read.
Oh Leigh, you make me laugh and cry like very few can.
Thank you!
And seeing my artwork on this final post is a thrill I will never be able to put into words.
As for a Reread of the Re-Read! Looking forward to that starting.
And you are the best choice to create the WoT Cheat sheet for the Hugos.
Congratulations!
Results of Kid Poll from Part 59 @123:
In the last 5 years*: 41 children have been blessed to the Re-Readers
38 of them since posters started reading the Re-Read.
*Based on responses, guessing total numbers are higher.
Alphaleonis wins “Most” with 13 Grandchildren in the last 5 years
Followed by BillinHi with 7: 3 step grandchildren & 4 step great-grandkids
(hence blessed, rather than born)
Only one child, Elayne was named after WoT characters, by Ames.
Reported genders^:
4 – Girls
11 – Boys
26 – Not reported
^I didn’t ask, so info was freely given, not necessary.
You know, I think this was a wonderful examples of “A Beginning” that have started since the Re-read started.
Thank you to everyone who replied to my poll.
If I see more responses in Post 60, I will add them and post a new total on May 20th, when Post 61 would have started.
Not ready for this “Ending.”
Let me chime in with my fellow commentators, to thank you for your comments. Your posts let me understand and appreciate the WoT much more than I could ever had on my own. And amazingly I gained friend in the process.
** YAY **
Funny that you announce the Re-Read of the Reread at “the final post”, but of course it is correct. The Wheel turned on the ReRead to start a new Age of the ReReRead aera. Let’s light an imagined pipe and reflect upon its implications…
Thank you.
Rereading the Reread? YES!!
It’s a bit echo-y in here… I, too, have to express again my gratitude to Leigh (and tordotcom) for the reread. I’d never before connected with Fandom as such – I’d been a fan of many books, and enjoyed the occasions when I could talk with others who were also fans, but it wasn’t a Thing in my life.
In January 2009, that all changed. First I just read along, thinking I could have nothing to contribute to this group of people who clearly knew more than I did. Then I finally had to say something, so on a very WET February afternoon, I worked out a username and entered my first comment. And here we are.
Y’all have gone from fellow fans, to friends, to family. Thanks. I love it here.
A re-read of the re-read???? I t is the biggest, sparkliest YAY in the history of big sparkly yays. :-D
This is actually my first post, not just here on this re-read, but anywhere. It is a bit strange to post first when the re-read is over, but I had to say thank you!
Many thanks to you Leigh! Your observations and comments have brought so much more depth to (and understanding of) the books for me. I think I have laughed out loud more often from your summaries and comments, than from the books themselves. And reading the summaries I have actually figured out mysteries on my own!
I discovered this re-read after finishing AMOL and needed some expert insight and a softer farewell to WoT. Waiting a week between each post was impossible, and so I ended up reading the whole blog. Even though I have never made a post before, I have felt like a part of the re-read community. I have always loved to read fantasy, but I don’t know anybody who likes the same books as me. Thank you to all off you, who have commented and have impressed me with your knowledge/understanding of WoT and all kinds of other subjects that have come up too.
Maybe I will now overcome my shyness and post on other blogs here on tor.com in the future.
@@@@@ 21 & 28: Yes, Let’s try!
I nominated her for this year too, with the release of the Re-Read eBooks, but the shout wasn’t loud enough.
If Team Jordan gets the Encyclopedia finished in 2014, let’s all vote loudly for Harriet McDougal for Best Editor Long Form too!
That vote wasn’t loud enough either this year.
Thank you, Leigh, for all that you have done. Words cannot express the admiration I have for the steadfastness and purity of purpose in this reread.
Tai’Shar Wansho!
And thank you Wetlandernw, KiManiak, Randalator, anotherfan, AnthonyPero, Cirenaes, RobMRobM, and all of you others who have made this community and this reread the special place that it is.
The Re-Re-read will be Awesomeness squared on a bed of Awesome, drenched in Awesome sauce.
Aesdaishar, Aesdaishar, Aesdaishar!
Thank you, Leigh. Long live the FAQueen! So glad there will be a reread of the Reread!! I discovered you, and this marvelous site sometime in the summer of 2009, and read all the posts and comments before I finally worked up the nerve to join the party in Sept or November, I think. Everyone was so erudite and polite….it was very intimidating.
But, I’m so glad I joined. The community here is truly special. I’ve made so many new friends, and gotten to share my love of Fantasy with all of you. I had been feeling very alone in my love of this genre, having been plopped down in SoFla, a total Fantasy wasteland, as far as I can tell.
I’m so glad the Reread will live on! And the Community here will continue in my life! Thank you Leigh, and thank you Tor.com!!
Leigh,
A big, big THANK YOU for all the work you’ve put into this over the past few years. I’ve really enjoyed reading the Re-read.
I have laughed, cried, disagreed, expanded my mind, and wished I had posted a lot more. But I always came back to read the next entry.
Definitely wasn’t expecting this particular ending to also be a beginning to a Reread of the Reread. But I’ll probably back to read along as well. I’ll try to post more!
Thanks again! You are appreciated!
Ron
RonRicoRum @@@@@ 29:
Fitting though, huh?
Leigh, thank you for your awesome work in re-reading The Wheel of Time. I don’t have read your first post because I’m italian, and I was reading the italian books so I was afraid to the spoiler because five years ago not all the books published in english was yet translated. From The Gathering Storm I’ve started reading in english, and I’ve started reading your posts.
Your writing is so funny, but also make me see a lot of things I’ve never seen before…
Really, you’ve done a great work. Thank you.
I like the new sparkly YAY
So when do the Re-Read audiobooks come out?
Leigh, thanks for your hard work and insights during the WoT reread. I never would have noticed all of the spankings without your rereads, and I have to admit that I was unfamiliar with the term headdesk until you introduced it to me a few years ago. I have followed the reread from the beginning and look forward to the reread of the reread. It is funny to me how the internet has changed the way I read and think about book series. Pre-1995 ish, I basically existed in a vacuum… maybe I would have talked about a book with one or two friends. Now we have these huge fan communities built around discussing/speculating… especially between books. So much fun, thanks Leigh for being one of the engines that drives the WoT fan community.
Thank you for all your efforts. You never let me down…except for the complaints on spanking….and changing to the once a week post. :-)
The last chapter of WoT, for me, was written by you last week.
Sleep well and wake Leigh Butler.
Thank you for blogging the reread.
Looking forward to the reread of the reread.
Maybe we can even get another iteration. Don’t we all want to see a reread of the reread of the reread? :-)
Thank you.
Thank you Leigh! This reread always made me laugh. I usually think if something isn’t funny it isn’t worth reading (naturally there are exceptions which prove the rule).
Thank you for the reread of the reread.
Here I was wondering what next in the Wheel of Time. The books were done, WOTFAQ – check, reread – finished.
At least, I have your read of ice and fire until the reread of the reread.
I must mention though that reading WoT and ASoIaF at the same time does some weird things to your mind. Geography for one, becomes really confusing. My mind insists on mashing together randland and westeros together, and middle earth pops up (in the middle of course) now and then.
I think I should lay off fantasy for some time.
I was late to the party, and started reading the reread in November 2011 at the recommendation of my son…who was desperate for someone to discuss his looney throries with! He had read TGS and was impressed with Brandon’s writing, and he wanted me to be able to finish the series (which I had orignially recommended to him in 1999) with him.
At his insistance, I began reading the reread and was impressed by the exceptional caliber of Leigh’s thinking and writing. Then I realized what a discerning and respectful group had become regular posters. As I read personal information in the early posts, I would enter it into a spreadsheet, because I wanted to connect with those who had similar interests and backgrounds. Soon I realized that I was never going to catch up by re-reading, but only by reading the re-read.
In any case, I felt like I’d found a new circle of friends, and was enjoying myself immensely until I lost my son in 2012. I’ve continued on because there was a 3-way connection established: me – WOT – my son.
Anyway. I haven’t posted much lately, but I’ve been here, lurking! I am glad to hear that TOR will allow what is surely the first time ever of a re-read of a reread!
Looking forward to seeing you all there, as well.
Thank you, Leigh. Please take a well-deserved RandR.
Thank you Leigh for the huge effort you undertook and the quality of your re-read!
Also a big thank you to the posters who enriched the re-read to a degree I never imagined. Indeed, despite discovering the re-read from the very beginning, because of the quality of the comments I never felt I could add anything more. Then I thought I’ll join in anyway.
A huge YAY for the re-read of the re-read… I can’t help but to chuckle as I write this- it’s so preposterous! But right too. Can’t wait. I often advocated this in the past but more in hope than expectation. The early books and events deserve more attention that they got originally.
So it sounds like the re-read of the re-read ( :D ) will begin about the same time as the World Cup. Might be moving home about that time too. It’ll be a fun month…
Leigh, I too am a long time lurker, very rare poster that has eagerly checked tor.com weekly for 5 years now mostly just to follow this reread. I just wanted to sincerely thank you for all the effort you put into this and tell you how much I truly enjoyed reading your chapter reviews and commentaries each week. I can’t wait for the reread of the reread which I’m sure will be very entertaining to say the least! Thanks again.
Another well earned thank you!!
You guys are making me tear up!!
I did not comment much but I read every post since I found Tor.com in 2009 while the re-read was in the middle of The Fires Of Heaven. I have read posts during lunch breaks, vactions, and now sadly unemployment. Everyone’s post and comments have giving me greater insight into WOT and thinking about written materialin general.
THANKS EVERYONE!!!
Thank you, thank you, and thank you!
You have been such a big part of Tor.com’s foundation. Thank you.
I made the pictures! (I’m the good looking dude standing behind Harriet in the Tower Guard photo).
Thanks so much again Leigh, and all of you!
I am looking forward to the reread of the reread. I might just start an epic personal reread and follow along with the reread of the reread. (ok, too many rereads) but there it is.
Bravo, Ms. Butler. Well done and well done.
And lo! before Leigh there appeared a giant sparkly YAY.
And the folk of the Bunker were glad.
Best I’ve got for now. I may have something more profound later on. (Still got a lot of catching up to do…) Thanks, Leigh, for all the memories, and looking forward to many more!
Bzzz™.
I’d heard and read a lot of praise for this series, but hadn’t gotten around to reading it. The start of the Reread (along with my son owning the books, thus their being in the house already) inspired me to finally read them.
I didn’t like them. I got through the first book and couldn’t believe that this was what people raved about, but continued on with the hope that they’d get better. I don’t think they did, and I did read them all. Some were better than others, of course, and there are parts that I think are good-to-excellent — Verin is Awesome — but overall, for me, meh. Perhaps I’d have enjoyed them if I’d started to read them as they came out. They aren’t my thing, but that’s okay. There are many things in the world for everyone.
Anyway, I still followed your Reread, obviously not as a fan of the books, but as someone trying to understand why people — or one person, at any rate, since there have been too many comments to keep up with the opinions of others — like/love/adore them. I think you’ve succeeded at doing that.
I’m glad that you and other fans have this thing, and I truly appreciate the effort you’ve put into this. I look forward to reading more of your posts in the future.
Oooh… a reread of the reread… meta!
How can we not be excited about the prospect of spending more time with our Tor.com family? :)
And while I recognize that it’s going to be focused on analysis of predictions for the series outcome, can I just say how excited I am for when you read (IIRC) The Shadow Rising Part 10?! What can I say: I’m a sucker for schadaenfreude. Hahahahaha! ::snort::
Also? I love the spanking paddle pic–we look like we can’t stop laughing… Love you, Leigh! :D
Not much to say except thanks again for all the fun times, Leigh. You did a marvelous job with this whole project. I truly enjoyed reading each of your posts and will look forward to the new projects still to come (as well as continue enjoying your ASoIaF posts).
Enjoy your rest, when you finally get a chance to take it.
Thank you, Leigh, and I’m looking forward to the Reread Reread!
Thank you for all your work.
Dear Leigh-
Thank you so much for this re-read. A couple of years ago I stumbled upon it and decided to read the whole series from scratch. I had read WOT from the beginning but over the years I lost some of the books, lent them or otherwise left them in various places. I also quit at “Winter’s Heart”
My friend and I went on a used bookstore odyssey through various metro Detroit bookstores and I managed to get all of the missing books to complete the collection- all used which was my whole idea!
I really loved all the comments and depth; it added a lot of fun to a series that I think might be the last true high fantasy series before George RR Martin came along.
One of my favorite quotes was something like “what if someone tapped you on the shoulder and said you get to be the savior of the world… and you get to go crazy…)
So thank you very much!
It has been a while since I posted, but I never stopped reading. So thank you Leigh for many hours of snarky entertainment and some serious discussions as well. Now where do I get the bumper sticker so that I can put it next to my “I killed Asmodean” one!
@63
zazzleDOTcom/braidtug
Can’t find the stuff from last year (better bumper sticker)
Braid, help.
To add to the echo…Thank you so much for all of your hard work and enthusiasm. We appreciate the energy and talent it took for you to provide us with a wonderful post every week. While my posting has dropped off severly since the birth of the second child last year, I have read each new installment every Tuesday with enjoyment. The end of the re-read seems a more final ending than finishing AMoL, for me anyway. It is a sad and poignant time…
I am struggling with how to convey the importance of this work in my life. These characters were some of my best friends in high school, and they have gotten me through some tough times in the past 18 years. I’m pretty sure most people here would agree that you have shown this work a deep respect and abiding love that has only increased my enjoyment of the books.
Thank you, for all that you have done :)
Good stuff. I picked up a free copy of the first half of TEotW when I was in eighth or ninth grade in the mid 90s. Found the Reread a few posts into TGH. Went through some rough times a couple years ago, and the only books (or anything) that could actually hold my attention were ToM and AMoL. I’ve really enjoyed following along with the reread. Thanks.
SrEdit@49:
So sorry to hear about your son. Is there anything worse? No.
I’m glad you stopped by here again, and hope to see more of you in the Re-reread.
Thank you very much for what you have done Leigh! COMPLETELY AMAZIN’!
It is nice to hear there will be a re-reread.
Thanks again Leigh. I hope you enjoy your brain vacation.
Thanks Tor for this venue to enjoy some of my favorite books.
Thank you to all the readers who post here. I’ve read them all and enjoyed a good deal of your thoughts, feelings, life experiences, and gut reactions.
I’ll see you all at the next turning…
A reread of the Reread? You’re a glutton for punishment but I’m going to enjoy it. By the time I discovered this thing you were on AMOL so I never got a chance to comment on any of the other books so this should be fun. Hopefully for your sake this one’s a little shorter.
Many thanks for the Reread. Great job.
As it once was so it shall be again. Reread without end…
Thanks Leigh
Finally got caught up on reading the comments. I’ve been around, lurking intermittently, eternally behind on posts, but I am happy that I have been able to follow thia Reread almost since it’s beginning (albeit sporadically). Having done some blogging myself, I have nothing but praise for our Fearless Leader and her dedication to THIS THING.
It’s heartwarming for me to see so many Rereaders un-lurk to heap their gratitude on Leigh and the Rereader Community in general. I don’t think I have much I could add. Whether you followed every week and posted insightful commentary or checked in occasionally to catch up without commenting (like me, most of the time) – you’re all part of the community that this has become. And that’s pretty amazing.
Hats off also to Tor.com for letting us get away with this nonsense! Onward to the reread of the ReRead!
Thank you, Leigh, and all the commenters, for helping me to understand more than I ever would have on my own, and for entertaining me during the (seemingly) interminable lulls between the last few books. I will probably still come back to the reread page every Tuesday, at least for a while – good habits are hard to break.
I love it. Pick a familiar term to use to refer to the new Re-Read Re-Read. Re-Read Inception. The Re-Re-Read. Eye of the Re-Read. The Great Re-Read Hunt. The Re-Read Reborn. The Re-Read Rises. The Fires of Re-Read. Lady of Chaos (or Choss, if you prefer). The Path of Re-Reads. Re-Read Heart…. A Memory of Re-Reads. A Game of Re-Reads. A Clash of Re-Reads. A Storm of Re-Reads. Feast for Re-Read. A Dance of Re-Reads. Re-Read’s Apprentice. Liveship Re-Reads. Shards of Re-Reads. The Re-Read’s Apprentice. Fellowship of the Re-Reads. The Two Re-Reads. Return of the Re-Reads. The Silmare-readion. Among Other Re-Reads. Old Woman’s Re-Read. Re-Readshirts. The Shadow War of the Night Re-Reads. Wise Men Fear Re-Reads. To Say Nothing But the Re-Read. This Immortal Re-Read. Lord of Light Re-Reads. Lord Foul’s Re-Read. Re-Read Player One.
OK, that’s enough for now. Feel free to pick among them or to suggest your own.
Thanks for all Leigh, and to all of the most excellent re-readers who have made this a special place since January 2009.
Rob
Thank you once again, Leigh. My Tuesdays will never be the same.
The Re-Read(squared) sounds interesting. I would love you to give some more heft (read: snark) to your summaries of the first three books.
Speaking of FAQueens, whatever did happen to Pam Korda? I was on rec.arts.sf.written.robert-jordan a lot in the early 90s, but drifted way after LOC.
a Reread of the Reread of the Wheel of Time.
I have only one word to say to this: OMFGWhatIsThisIDon’tEvenIWasOnlyJokingWhenIWroteAboutThatBut-ActuallyReallyWasn’tJokingAtAllYayAWESOMECAKES!
Yes, that is a word. A most cromulent word to embiggen you all. Edit: And apparently a layout-breaky kinda word. Which means I should probably hyphenate it somewhere. But it’s still one word!
Thanks for the huge effort of re-read-y-ness, Leigh, and if I might add, the Mistborn series isn’t all that doorstoppery. Yet. *hint* *nudge* *wink*
Leigh, our dearest FAQueen!!! Thank you, just doesn’t seem like enough. But having met you at JordanCon…I know you feel the Bunker’s love!!!
I’m not a big commenter, but always love to read and see the different (cough!! snort!! cough!!) opinions. The friendly bantor is priceless. No one in my day to day life gets my interest in an internet group or the fact that I consider them dear friends!! I don’t try to explain…it’s kind of like trying to teach a pig to dance!
A re-read of the re-read….YES! And with Brandon’s Stormlight series at book 2…we might need a re-read of those in a few years!
The release of AMOL was bitter sweet to me and this ending has released emotions I wasn’t expecting. As RJ said..it is an ending but not THE ending!
See all of you on the internet!! XO Deb
Leigh- – I know I’m an echo, but thank you so much. This has been the greatest roller coaster of fun ever.
I found this reread at a sad point for me, and while 100% interested (duh) in WoT, I was instantly captivated by charm, wit, and sheer fun. It took me a long time to comment (meh, introvert here) but every word has been happily devoured & names have become friends and friends have become family.
Loonies, love you all.
I, like many these past few weeks, never managed to post any comments during the actual reread, but I just wanted to quickly share a bit of my WoT story to express my thanks.
I started WoT when I was in sixth grade and my idea of the perfect afternoon was going with my friend to the bookstore, picking out the longest book possible, and trying to see who could finish it first. This strategy frequently led us to the SciFi/Fantasy section, and while it also led us to purchase a lot of forgettable material, it most importantly led me to The Eye of the World.
Twelve years passed between that first night when I distinctly remember having to put the book down and force myself to go to sleep because every creak in my house was most definitely a trolloc coming to kill me, and the afternoon I finished AMoL on minimal sleep in lieu of working on my graduate thesis. I discovered this reread two summers ago now, and I can say without a doubt that it enhanced my reading experience of the final books, inspired me to complete my own reread (also in lieu of working on my thesis… oops.), and has given me a much stronger connection to the series as a whole. I’ve absolutely loved reading Leigh’s fantastic analysis and all of the comments as well. The friend I started reading the books with has long since moved on to other things, and having this reread gave me an opportunity to feel like I had people to discuss these books with even if I never managed to comment until now.
A giant thank you to all!
Oh, I don’t even know what to say. I apparently commented on the first post (before I took the black) on March 28, 2009 – so, a little bit after it started. But I distinctly remember how excited I was to find it – I was still in FAQ withdrawal, so I was pretty stoked to see that Leigh was doing other WOT things. In fact, this is what led me to Tor.com, I never imagined I’d end up posting on so many other things. In fact, in the past few years, I’ve come to view this place as a sort of community, not just a place I go to read about sci-fi/fantasy stuff. I really wished I lived closer or had more freedom to travel and could meet people in person. If any of you are ever in the Madison, WI area…. (you should all come to OddCon, heh ;) )
As for a re-read re-read – that is so circular and fitting. Hah :) LOVE IT. And in fact, you have truly delighted me. I’m a bit detail oriented and it always bugged me that the bulk of it was not technically a true re-read, because they were read before we knew the true end of the series so could not be analyzed in full. I always thought it would be kind of cool for somebody to do a true re-read now that we know how the whole thing ended. I am so happy you are doing it!
Anyway, Leigh, thank you for all your words and thoughts and not shying away from giving us your honest reactions and perspectives – I have loved having a new way to think about the books and the world in general. I know that, of all the Tor.com threads I follow, I probably comment on this one the least (I just can’t keep up with the discussion and theorizing on this one) but I have never missed a post!
The news of a re-read of the re-read makes me indescribably happy.
moondivatx @78 – Re: Stormlight Archive reread… We’re just finishing the reread of The Way of Kings; it will probably wrap up yet this month. I would expect a reread of Words of Radiance to commence in the not-too-distant future; it’s a true doorstop, and it might take us all the way up the next book comes out.
(Hey, y’all come on over. We’re building a Storm Cellar to emulate the Bunker…)
Thank you Leigh, your insights and critical opinions were more than I think any of us deserved. I always looked forward to your re-caps and now that some 5 years have passed I am surprised and even more thankoful that you stayed the course. While the Wheel of time has been a part of my life for 15 odd years you managed to keep it going even longer than I had hoped. Again I thank you. I would also like to thank all those who helped me better understand and appreciate the stories I loved so much, from the commenters here to the wonderful if now defunct community of wotmania. Lastly, I want to stretch my warmest thanks to all of those that commented here, knowing that there were others who cared and loved the same books as much as I did was incredibly comforting. Until the next age, ???????. Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.
Delighted to hear of the reread of the reread. I love reading the posts, and even if I don’t comment that much, to get the chance to continue to look forward to posts, especially Leigh reading Leigh, will be glorious.
Well it seems this thread doesnt support Hangul text. oh well Dovie’andi se tovya sagain
@83 Thanks Wetlandernw…about the time I hit post, I remember the re-read was reality. Just waiting for Free to correct me! ;D
Have not read either Storm book, but have listened to them way too many times. Add me to the Cellar!
xoxo Deb
Hey Leigh,
As a frequent reader and very, very occassional commenter of the WoT re-read, I just wanted to say a big thank you for all the time and effort you put into doing this. Throughout the course of the re-read, I have been continually entertained, occassionally challenged in my thinking, and made aware of numerous connections I wouldn’t have seen on my own. I can honestly say that my reading experience of these books has changed for the better as a result of being involved, even to the small extent that I have been, in the re-read. Once again, thank you very much for doing this and seeing it through to the end.
Thanks so much, Leigh! Your writing style is wonderful, hilarious, and unmistakable – and it has been a huge enjoyment for the last 5 years (and will be well on into the future!). I THINK I was here from the start, or at least within a few months of the start, although I’m usually lurking somewhere in a dark corner of the bunker, piping up only rarely (hey, I just checked and I’ve made all of TWO comments on the re-read, the first in Dec 2009, so… yeah).
Just felt the need to chime in; the job you have done here is fantastic, the community that has grown here is a wonderful group of people. To all of you, and most importantly to you, Leigh, a great, big THANK YOU again!
Oh dear I am late, but I have no doubt that this will be seen.
Leigh,
Thank you eversomuch for all of this. There were times where you had me laughing so hard I thought that my neighbors were going to call the Funny Farm on me. There were times when you made me so angry I wanted to shout at you. What more can be expected from someone you have grown to care about enough to call friend or family. I have never met you in person, but I am hoping to rectify that by getting to a JordanCon and sharing a drink (maybe a lot of drinks) with you. I really am awed by this undertaking that you have done. And I cannot find adequate words to express my gratitude.
So Thank You Leigh for the new friends and family that I have and Thank You for giving us a place to gather and read your funny words.
Dragon
Thanks so much Leigh for an amazing job! I can’t even recall when I started following the reread anymore. I believe it was around when you were on LOC, so it’s been a while. This is only my second post, so while I may not count towards the reread count for each post please know there are a number of us out there that even though we don’t post often still follow your reread religiously. You gave me something to look forward too during my lunch break at work, entertained me to no end each week, and gave me away to experience all over again the series that made me fall in love with Fantasy. I discovered new details about the story I missed on my own read through that has given me an even greater appreciation for it.
Thank you to all of you, who unlike me, do post. Leigh’s posts are awesome, but the commentary of the community is awesome as well and added so much to the experience.
I am sad to see it over, but so glad it will continue in the re-read to the re-read. I will be there lurking like always.
Thanks so much!!
I stumbled upon this reread by accident a couple of weeks after you started in 2009 and have followed it ever since. I can’t thank you enough for the time you put in to it, and the time I wasted at work. It’s funny, I only posted a couple of times, but I feel like I know you, Leigh, and a lot of the posters just from reading all of the comments. Hopefully, I will get to JordanCon one of these years to meet some of you. Thanks to Leigh, and the rest of you for all of your insights.
Nate
Well, I am not just a very latecomer to the Re-read, but a latecomer to the entire Wheel of Time. I picked up the Eye of the World in December of last year (having had it on my list of things-I-must-read for quite a time) and by about three quarters of the way through I was completely sucked in. I devoured the series, attempting to savour it whilst also unable to put it down, and finished it at the end of February. And one of the main things I loved about it was that it wasn’t just an engaging plot and beautifully-created characters, but also had great themes that I could really identify with.
It really became my life for those few months. I’m doing a postgraduate course far away from my friends and the Wheel of Time helped me to power through (although may have rather hindered my completion of assignments…). I read it in a vacuum – I knew absolutely nothing about the series before I began (except that it was fantasy, long, and completed by a different author) and nobody I knew had read them either, so the first thing I wanted to do on completion was find out everything extra I could about the series, see what other people thought about it, and basically never let it go.
And after a bit of web-trawling, I was surprised and delight to find this wonderful reread going on. I told myself, don’t be silly, you can’t read all of it, you need to get back to the real world – but, of course, my self-control quickly snapped and from March to mid-April, I read the reread and many of the comments until I finally caught up. I’m amazed (and thankful) that I could actually catch up to current discussion about a series that began the year before I was born!
It’s been a fantastic experience, reading this reread. Thank you so much (inadequate, I know) to Leigh for the immense amount of work and effort that has clearly gone into this – it’s produced something both truly enjoyable and very thought-provoking. This kind of analysis of fiction is just exactly the kind of thing I love – finding the deeper meanings, finding how fantasy reflects us, using fiction to learn more about reality – and exactly the kind of thing that no one around me likes quite so much. It’s wonderful that online communities such as this can exist and thrive and provide a home for all such discussion, and a way for staying in touch with the characters and that world.
Even though I’m so new to the Wheel of Time, I feel like it’s been with me much longer. Both the series and this reread have made a deep and lasting impression, and I know it’s one of the series that has shaped how I view not just fiction but my own world.
So, thank you, Leigh, and thank you to everyone who’s ever contributed an opinion, and thank you into the ether to Robert Jordan and everyone involved with this remarkable story. And I’m really looking forward to the reread of the reread and being able to get involved from the beginning!
Good job on finishing the re-read Leigh! I didn’t always agree with your takes on things, but I admired you sticking with the giant mass of story that RJ and Co. created. I used the posts a lot as a handy guide to find certain scenes/moments on re-reads of my own.
Good luck on your next projects, and I look forward to the Re-Read Re-Read of the Re-Read in 20 years time.
RobMRobM:
“A Memory of Re-Reads” — FTW!!!
Or maybe “The Return of the Re-Read”!
@76, re: Pam Korda, she has replied here once or twice. So I like to think she’s still out there keeping an eye on things. RASFW-RJ here too (back when my username was april_h_o and an annoying guy named Brandon kept asking questions we’d already answered).
Thanks Leigh!
We love you too, Leigh. Thank you for all of the hard work that you put into the Reread. It was a job very well done. Thank you for giving me my fix all of these years and for getting me through times of struggle. I looked forward to reading what you had to say every single week for years. So, just- thank you.
First off–I’m glad you chose to start this entry the way you did. Not only because I have no way of getting to JordanCon anytime soon and thus no real way to obtain that booklet (was it only for Harriet, or also for certain esteemed congoers who contributed more and thus received extra goodies?), but because it was hilarious, cute, insightful, and informative to an extreme degree about how and why the re-read began, what all went into it, and what it was like for you to do it, both the good and the bad.
I am not sure what year I discovered it or what book you were in–I think it was either WH or COT–but by the time I got caught up (on your posts, not all the comments) and decided to post myself, you were on KOD. Fitting I guess, since this meant I came in just before you got to Sanderson’s entries in the series. But I enjoyed every entry, and found you to be one of the most charming, witty, and insightful people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing without actually meeting. (You also have wonderful taste in literature, movies, and pop culture, and you’ve given me so many wonderful turns of phrase, laugh-out-loud moments, and memorable in-jokes that are permanently in my vocabulary now.) And while yes, we didn’t always agree (in fact there were times I strongly disagreed with you), the vast majority of the time we not only agreed, but emphatically so. So getting to experience that, on top of the books I loved, was awesome…and seeing the insights, intelligence, humor, and camaraderie which came from all the commenters was yet another awesome layer.
The only thing which could have made the re-read better for me is what I was starting to think, based on your ambiguous and cryptic references last week, was actually going to happen and has now been announced to be the case–namely, that you do the re-read over again. Because while I completely understand that the original intention of completing the re-read before AMoL came out (when it was still thought to be one volume and all written by Jordan) necessitated the large chunks of text and the rather rushed commentary, I too wished heartily to know what more might have been teased out of the text, what else you might have commented on, had you the time and space. And now you will!
Though that does make me wonder…obviously you’re going to focus on the early books, doing less chapters per week (I assume still just two apiece, unless they’re really short) so you can describe them in more detail and do more commentary, specifically focusing on foreshadowing and prophecies which only now do we understand and see the deeper meaning of. But what happens when you catch up to the books where you started slowing the re-read down, devoting more time and commentary to the chapters? Will you, for example, use the same chapter summaries, but just provide new commentary? Or will you re-write the summaries too?
Regardless, either way it will be wonderful to see even more insights and commentary from you, and this time to be able to read everyone’s comments as they happen (or at all!). And you’ll all get more walls of text from me, rapture! ;-) You definitely deserve the time off, I can’t thank you enough for all your hard work and for bringing us all together like this. But I look forward to the new re-read when it comes, too! “All will be well, all will be well, and all manner of things will be well.”
Side note: I wonder when the Encyclopaedia-WOT will get fully caught up on AMoL?
@29 Faculty Guy: This. Short of the Encyclopedia (if it covers everything in that amount of detail) and whenever the various sites (Dragonmount, 13th Depository, Encyclopaedia-WOT) update to the end of the series, a more in-depth and detailed re-reading of the earlier books is the only way to catch all that foreshadowing and the prophecies that were or weren’t fulfilled. I look forward to it immensely.
@49 srEDIT: I still can’t express my sympathy for your loss enough…but I am so glad that by continuing on with us, the series, and the re-read you still feel connected to your son, and that you found such connections with so many here as well.
A heartfelt thank you Leigh.
Indeed, an end of an era (or an Age).
Hard to believe this project has been going on for 5 years.
I’ve rarely commented on this blog, but felt it appropriate to share my own WoT re-read summary feelings. It’s going to be a bit long :-)
First of all, I want to deeply thank Leigh for an amazing job well done. This was a huge project to undertake, and it grew considerably over time (remember: initially this was supposed to take one year, and conclude when Sanderson’s final WoT book was to be released – before it was split into 3 separate books).
When the re-read started, it’s been a long time since I’ve last cared much about WoT. I was introduced to it by a friend (hi, Jonathan Levy :-)) a long long time ago and worked my way slowly through it. English isn’t my first language so it took some time. And back then I couldn’t just order the next book by a single click on Amazon – I had to wait until I, or a friend, was on a vacation abroad in the US or Europe before I could buy the next one. So it took a few years to work my way through the books available at the time (PoD was the last one out at that time).
About that time, I’ve found the rasfwr-j usenet group and the WoT FAQ and that was an eye opener. I’ve never before considered that so many different theories and analysis were out there, so eloquently written and collected. In rasfwr-j I’ve also found an impressive collection og very intelligent, funny and articulate people. While I was mostly a lurker there, I’ve come to enjoy and follow the non-WoT (TAN) discussions much more.
When WH came out, I’ve bought it immediately (the only WoT book I have in hardcover). But I’ve already felt less engaged by WoT – both because of the slowing down in those later books and because I’ve joined the rest of the fandom in waiting 2 years from book to book. Since I read slower in English, I’ve never re-read any of the books – it would have taken me too long.
So, I’ve lost interest in WoT. I’ve stopped following the WoT threads and when CoT came out I didn’t need it – I simply wasn’t engaged anymore (and reviews I’ve heard about CoT and its relative lack of plot movement confirmed my feeling). Eventually rasfwr-j declined as most regulars moved on to other mediums and interests.
I don’t know why, but about 5 years ago I found myself wondering what happened to all the interesting regulars on rasfwr-j. I knew a few moved to Live Journal or other blogging platforms and I decided to do a quick search. It was probably in Leigh’s or Kate’s LJ that I saw mention of the recently started WoT re-read and this got me excited. Despite leaving WoT behind for years (not reading anything past WH), I still cared much about the earlier books, and I knew that if Leigh was writing this re-read it will certainly be well written, funny and engaging. So I’ve been closely following the re-read since then (and many other such re-read and re-watch blogs on Tor, such as Kate’s Tolkien reviews).
I came a full circle (as the Wheel turns) and repaid an old favor by introducing Jonathan Levy (who originally introduced me to the books) to this re-read :-)
Most interesting for me, the re-read has re-kindled my interest in the WoT books. When the re-read has reached those books I haven’t read before, I’ve borrowed them and read them for the first time (still skipped CoT, though, and didn’t feel anything was missing between WH and KoD :-)).
So, thanks again, Leigh for all your hard work, for being interesting and for making me care again about WoT. I hope to read more of your writing in whatever new projects you’ll be engaged in.
And after the reread of the reread, there will be a reread of the reread of the reread, and a reread of the reread of the reread of the reread, and eventually you will be summing up whole chapters with succinct sentences….
Thankyou for spending so much time on this, it’s amazing what you’ve done Leigh. I am a huge fan, not just of WoT, but of you. Thankyou for being an inspiration.
@97-98. Even though I’m fond of the GRRM-influenced “A Storm of Re-Reads,” probably the best is “A Memory of Re-Reads.”
I also offer for the group’s consideration “Fourth Age Re-Read” – perhaps the most appropriate title for the new re-read in context.
It was nice to see that Team Spanking swag made the picture review ;) Good times.
For those that have asked about Leigh’s “I Survived” bumper sticker, the links below take you to our versions of the sticker.
Sorry, the “I Survived Writing the WoT Re-Read” is a One of a Kind sticker, made only for Leigh. :-)
I can’t stop you from modifying your bumper sticker any way you want, but that one I made just for her.
Commentors:
http://www.zazzle.com/re_read_bumper_sticker-128226580743189397
Lurkers:
http://www.zazzle.com/lurkers_bumper_sticker-128706873180134260
Fun item:
http://www.zazzle.com/re_read_ornament-175697098889563178
Note: New as of May 15, 2014 – to order today, you must click on the link provided. It’s not showing up in the store yet.
Click on the link below for the general store:
http://www.zazzle.com/BraidTug?rt=238881050850119255
Check out the other cool products on the BraidTug store. The store has generated about $240.00 for the Mayo Clinic since we started it in 2013. Let’s see what “A Memory of Re-Reads” creates.
@109: AP, send me the digital file for Team Spanking and I can add it to the store. ;-)
As a longtime Lurker I have loved and appreciated this reread in ways I haven’t tried to understand until now. I believe that it stems from two parts: first I wanted to feel connected to a community that felt the same love for WOT as I do (I have read them an embarrassing amount of times) and secondly I think it was a way to keep the world alive between books, a certain heartbreaking death, and finally a way for the end to not be the end (for there are neither beginnings nor endings in…). No matter the reasons, I thank you most deeply for your time and dedication and the same goes for the other Re-Readers.
On another note, my vote for the title is:
The Re-Read Reborn
Wow! This is incredible. What an epic journey. I totally wish I could’ve been a part of this. I’m just starting my journey with Robert Jordan’s amazing Wheel of Time series. So exciting! I’m so happy I came across this post. I’ll definitely be looking back at your posts and discussions you made. I’m truly inspired.
LIke a lot of people above, I made only a handful of comments on the Re-read ( I think I found it somewhere around FOH, since I remember I had to read a few books’ worth of commentary to catch up), but reading it was always very entertaining. It lured me back into being a fan, after I’d been a lurker on the old rasfw-j in college, so thank you for that, And all your work writing these out.
I’m so glad you’ll be going back to the start! maybe this time I can actually re-read along with you.
@Braid_Tug
I have no idea if I even have that file somewhere. That whole thing literally happened over the course of two hours on a group FB post. Then it was up in a CafePress store. Anyone still have the link to that?
Tony
Like so many others, I discovered Leigh’s site well after she started – in my case, Fall 2010, almost two years in. And, given her fast early pace, she was in CoT, the next-to-final RJ book. I had read the books, of course, and had discovered Encyclopedia-WOT in summer 2009 and found it (especially the incredible number of cross-links) useful for names, geography, and to refresh memory. The re-read, though, brought commentary and debate, plus pointing out the many connections I had missed.
Now, with an upcoming fresh start, I wonder what the WoT fan nation could do to publicize the reread – and the books – to new readers. I mean both WoT readers who have never visited internet fan sites AND, especially, those who have never read the series.
I’m wondering if bookstores and on-line sites like Amazon could use this occasion to publicize the books anew, along with the re-reread. It would be cool to have a big group of first-time readers going through the entire series with us old-timers. I’m going to try to interest my twenty -something youngest son . . .
e-Hoarder to the rescue:
http://www.cafepress.com/wotfbrereaders
It,s been a Great Ride!!!
Thanks Leigh!!!
Underbelly @@@@@ 112
I like your suggestion for title. Though, it’s all for fun, I doubt The Powers That Be, or her Majesty herself will take heed of the little people’s ideas ;)
Wet@117:
Now I just need to remember the log in, and I should be able to get my original files.
Uh…. can’t help with that part….
@113 MsBookHangovers
But for the love of the Creator, please don’t read anything in the re-read until you’ve finished the complete series. Anything and everything in the re-read is spoilerific beyond belief…
Wet@121:
Yeah… I tried for an hour last night. No luck. I think Team Spanking is gone forever.
OK, so we have some serious contenders for the peoples’ title for the new re-read:
– Re-Read Reborn
– A Memory of Re-Reads
– Return of the Re-Read (with thanks to JRRT)
– Fourth Age Re-Read (with thanks to Loaial).
What say you all (and Leigh too)?
How about The Wheel of Re-reads?
@125 Samadai . . . let’s save that one for the re-read of the reread-reread!
I think a Reread of the Reread is just perfect.
NB: In computer science (my field) a program gets extra style points for being able to perform it’s function on itself. For example, a compiler should be able to compile itself, an editor should be able to edit itself, and so forth. The slang for this has always been “disappearing up your own asshole”. (I am not kidding.)
So yes, let’s re-read the Re-Read!
With that said, I think the early parts of the RRotRR should also expand upon TEoTW to a much greater depth than the original reread. We all understand why the first parts of the original were compressed (schedule/charter change).
Leigh – I hope you take advantage of the “second chance” to go ahead and dig a bit deeper into The Eye of the World this time — It should be especially interesting now that we know the ending.
My .02 – now appearing on the proper post :-)
@123: if Customer service can’t get you loged back in to reset your password, I guess it is.
But it looks like the items can still be ordered, so there is that. :-)
Might have to grab the button while I can.
I’m looking forward to sending my friend who is now 5 books into the story here. But that can wait. Glad Tor.com keeps everything!
My vote is for “Return of the Re-read”, both descriptive and a witty homage to Tolkien. Though I do like a lot The Re-read Reborn, for very similar reasons.
I like The Re-Read Reborn, myself :)
I posted part of this the week of JordanCon (AMoL Reread, Part 56, @61. Lensman) in hopes that someone would pose my questions to Team Jordan at JC & that the reread fans would respond to a question that I asked Brandon at one of the AMoL signings. I got only 2 responses, so I’ll try again.
This will be a long post so please bear with me.
Back on 02/18/13 at the AMoL book signing at Books-A-Million in Hanover, MD, I got in the last question during the “questions from audience” part of the program. I asked Brandon (as he was MCing) what about splitting AMoL into 3 books did he most dislike/regret. His answer was basically Perrin’s out-of-sync timeline. I didn’t get to pose the question to Harriet as Brandon then went into how the signing process was going to proceed.
My questions to Brandon & Harriet on my first pass through the
signing line have already been reported & commented on in AMoL
Reread Part 36, @45 NSmith (I wasn’t logged in that day so now my secret identity is out).
On my second pass through I got to pose this final question only to
Brandon as Harriet was off busily signing the T-shirts of the store
staff and the helper Ashaman (or whatever their title was last year).
I identified myself to Brandon as the one who asked him the question
about what did he dislike/regret about splitting AMoL into 3 books. I
then asked him if — after a suitable period of time to think about what
did & did not work with splitting AMoL into 3 volumes that were
written & released sequentially — would he consider doing a rewrite
from start to finish that would not have any individual volumes
released until the entire rewrite was completed.
I said that I thought TWoT was the only series where the fans would
gladly line up again to buy a completely new AMoL set, and that maybe
the rewritten AMoL version could be released as a slip-cased set.
Brandon said that he would be willing to consider doing a complete
rewrite at some point, but that he thought maybe the best venue would be to just release it as an eBook.
I know a lot of fans have commented here in the rereads, especially in
this AMoL reread, that they wished that 4 volumes had been written. What do you all think about Brandon’s reply to my question?
Do you think that TGS, TToM & AMoL could be considered as the “first complete draft” of what RJ conceived of as AMoL, and that there really needs to be completely new “second draft”?
The original re-read was a towering work that exploded into a huge ball of fire and created Tor.com (I mean, Dragonmount). And several thousand years later (I mean, a month later), a small re-read appears unnoticed in an out of the way area called the Two Rivers, filled with stubborn, strongwilled people who tug their braids and cross their arms under their bosoms (male or female). A regal looking woman wearing blue and going by the name of Leigh appears with her stone-faced warder called Freelancer’al’ Mandoragan seeking the re-born re-read among several other likely candidates, including Matrim Rothfuss and Perrin R. Martin. The correct subject is later discovered to be Re-Read al Thor. Eventually, 15 books worth of adventures are re-read to the joy of the assembled multitudes – and it is henceforth referred to as The Re-Read Reborn.
@131 Lensman2
I for one would love to buy a rewrite in ebook form. Maybe we could even prevail upon Brandon to include the scene with Perrin in the Ways . . . what do you think?
Given that the “Perrin in the Ways” scenes were explicitly taken out, and do not mesh with the story as eventually written (unlike the River of Souls stuff) – no, I don’t think they should be published.
If Brandon ever works again on WOT-related stuff, I would much prefer it if he would tackle the “Tam” prequel – the one dealing with how Tam left the Two Rivers, advanced to high rank in the Illian army, became a blademaster, came back out of retirement for the Aiel War, and then finally found baby Rand.
My understanding is that (unlike the Outriggers), there is some amount of this backstory in RJ’s notes – so Brandon would have some guidelines.
With that said, I would also understand it if he didn’t want play in someone else’s universe any more. He did a wonderful job finishing the series. For us to ask more would be a bit presumptuous.
Rewriting the final books – the only way I can see it would really make sense is to do it as a single ebook. There’s a reason they split it the way they did; putting it all in chronological order would totally screw up any sort of book division in hardcopy. If Brandon felt that he’d really like to do that, I’d probably buy it, but I honestly don’t have a problem with the way it is now.
Doing an actual rewrite, anything more than rearranging the pieces for chronology… absolutely not. (Well, okay, if Brandon wrote it I’d buy it, but I really don’t think he should even be asked to do so, and I’m pretty confident that Harriet wouldn’t ask him.) I think it’s enough, that he put so much of his creative energies into someone else’s world/series. I’m profoundly grateful to him for doing it, and for doing it well, but it’s time for him to be free to play in his own worlds again. He has so many stories yet to write, and I want to read as many as possible before I die; I’d far rather he went ahead and wrote those rather than rewriting an already-completed project.
I really like The Re-read Reborn, but to avoid confusion with volume 3 of the series (and to acknowledge the debt owed to Papa Tolkien particularly in TEotW) Return of the Re-read might be better.
And while there were a number of things I’d enjoy seeing rewritten or delved into in greater depth in AMoL (particularly more dwelling on and reacting to big events, character deaths, and so on, and referencing character and event details that got seemingly forgotten or trivialized) I agree that a full rewrite of AMoL is not needed. The one thing I’d like to see, the scene with Perrin and Loial in the Ways, will never work in the narrative now, but I would very much like to see it in some form, perhaps in the way DVDs include deleted scenes from movies or TV shows. If such a thing could be made available, I’d gladly read it–though if it were an e-book, I’d never be able to short of reading it on a site online somewhere (or can such a thing be saved to one’s computer?) because I don’t have an e-reader and probably never will. :(
I think BTW I may re-read TEotW myself again soon. I had stopped my re-read in the middle of TFoH so as to focus on AMoL, and then the re-read here, and while I will go back to it, I think TEotW deserves my focus just for all the foreshadowing and prophecies and its connections to AMoL.
macster – there are a number of free ereaders out there that you can download to your computer. Even though I actually own a Nook, I mostly use the free Nook app I downloaded to my computer and my iPad.
Thank you very much for doing this. I’m pretty sure we all thought this would end in oblivion after we heard about the untimely passing of Robert Jordan. But as much as Brandon Sanderson did to revitalize the series and give us an ending, I can’t help but say your part in this was almost as important. You were like the unimportant side character who surprisingly grew to be integral to the entirety of the story. Without you this entire experience would not have been what it was( at very least to this reader). So a thousand thanks again and I hope to lurk on the “Reread of the Reread.”
P.S. Whether you say it out loud or in your head, it’s funny either way
Thank you Leigh ! you are the most clever and funny commentator I’ve ever read.
macster @136: As Wetlandernw @137 said, go ahead and download a free e-reader to your computer. I use my Kindle for reading, but whenever I want to search in the e-books (usually to find a particular quote to refute someone’s argument on this re-read, although I concede there could be alternate uses for such a function), I use the Kindle app on my computer.
And, since this is the group of my peers that will most appreciate this news, I have to get in a brag: my sister won the Nebula for Best Novella! I live a 15-minute drive from the San Jose Marriott, so I was able to go after the banquet and sit in the back and watch the awards ceremony. It was pretty awesome. I’m not sure she’s stopped hugging her trophy yet. :-)
bad_platypus @140 – Woot!!! Congratulations! (To her, to you, whatever… :D ) About that trophy-hugging… give her a coupledaysuhmonthsuh years…. ;)Very, very cool.
Things end and people move on, that’s life… except in this community where things end and then oddly start again a bit later.
There’s been a remarkable consistency to the reread. All of us have had so many changes in our lives. It has been very, very nice to have this here with very few breaks over the last 5 years. Thank you.
WoT reread posting statistics (up to comment 141)
– different spellings of usernames are counted separately
– punctuation is counted as words
top 50 posters by number of comments
username;comments;words;average words per comment
1: Wetlandernw;2840;774004;272.0
2: subwoofer;2299;396469;172.0
3: Freelancer;1745;422788;242.0
4: RobMRobM;1577;161010;102.0
5: forkroot;1362;213104;156.0
6: Tektonica;1263;188764;149.0
7: alreadymad… (all);1246;152732;122.0
8: thewindrose;1053;148906;141.0
9: insectoid;1008;139579;138.0
10: ValMar;898;108618;120.0
11: Man-0-Manetheran;823;83525;101.0
12: Samadai;808;60318;74.0
13: jamesedjones;806;65872;81.0
14: toryx;797;151970;190.0
15: Randalator;772;137836;178.0
16: anthonypero;723;74063;102.0
17: birgit;692;112825;163.0
18: MasterAlThor;657;84688;128.0
19: HArai;650;88499;136.0
20: JonathanLevy;614;211381;344.0
21: Isilel;613;225302;367.0
22: R.Fife;609;83264;136.0
23: blindillusion;602;95474;158.0
24: J.Dauro;594;87864;147.0
25: ZEXXES;577;128590;222.0
26: Terez27;450;114037;253.0
27: misfortuona;437;48039;109.0
28: Lannis;434;63249;145.0
29: sps49;432;37867;87.0
30: Caveatar;432;74113;171.0
31: Wolfmage;430;172724;401.0
32: KiManiak;414;225369;544.0
33: Fiddler;388;51872;133.0
34: Bergmaniac;380;63313;166.0
35: Lsana;367;74455;202.0
36: CireNaes;365;62320;170.0
37: macster;348;479022;1376.0
38: gagecreedlives;345;39919;115.0
39: AndrewB;332;67609;203.0
40: Shimrod;326;36889;113.0
41: UncrownedKing;304;25931;85.0
42: tonka;304;40776;134.0
43: thepupxpert;291;22115;75.0
44: Sonofthunder;284;40744;143.0
45: travyl;279;49940;178.0
46: Longtimefan;273;86920;318.0
47: SteelBlaidd;271;68405;252.0
48: wcarter;270;41202;152.0
49: sinfulcashew;268;26563;99.0
50: bad_platypus;260;39300;151.0
top 50 posters by number of words
username;words;comments;average words per comment
1: Wetlandernw;774004;2840;272.0
2: macster;479022;348;1376.0
3: Freelancer;422788;1745;242.0
4: subwoofer;396469;2299;172.0
5: KiManiak;225369;414;544.0
6: Isilel;225302;613;367.0
7: forkroot;213104;1362;156.0
8: JonathanLevy;211381;614;344.0
9: Tektonica;188764;1263;149.0
10: Wolfmage;172724;430;401.0
11: RobMRobM;161010;1577;102.0
12: alreadymad… (all);152732;1246;122.0
13: toryx;151970;797;190.0
14: thewindrose;148906;1053;141.0
15: insectoid;139579;1008;138.0
16: Randalator;137836;772;178.0
17: ZEXXES;128590;577;222.0
18: Terez27;114037;450;253.0
19: birgit;112825;692;163.0
20: ValMar;108618;898;120.0
21: chaplainchris1;102485;244;420.0
22: Wortmauer;95681;254;376.0
23: blindillusion;95474;602;158.0
24: HArai;88499;650;136.0
25: J.Dauro;87864;594;147.0
26: Longtimefan;86920;273;318.0
27: MasterAlThor;84688;657;128.0
28: Man-0-Manetheran;83525;823;101.0
29: R.Fife;83264;609;136.0
30: Ouroboros;78803;187;421.0
31: Lsana;74455;367;202.0
32: Caveatar;74113;432;171.0
33: anthonypero;74063;723;102.0
34: SteelBlaidd;68405;271;252.0
35: AndrewB;67609;332;203.0
36: jamesedjones;65872;806;81.0
37: Bergmaniac;63313;380;166.0
38: Lannis;63249;434;145.0
39: CireNaes;62320;365;170.0
40: Samadai;60318;808;74.0
41: willmcd;56340;124;454.0
42: Looking Glass;53339;112;476.0
43: Fiddler;51872;388;133.0
44: travyl;49940;279;178.0
45: Amalisa;49311;177;278.0
46: misfortuona;48039;437;109.0
47: Alisonwonderland;45910;219;209.0
48: Braid_Tug;42101;248;169.0
49: wcarter;41202;270;152.0
50: tonka;40776;304;134.0
There were 4967 different usernames; 2900 appeared only once (including many alreadymad…).
WoT reread posting statistics AMoL only
top 50 posters by number of comments
username;comments;words;average words per comment
1: Wetlandernw;335;86090;256.0
2: ValMar;203;24709;121.0
3: Freelancer;199;46238;232.0
4: Ways;162;25955;160.0
5: forkroot;156;28300;181.0
6: Braid_Tug;133;24136;181.0
7: wcarter;126;17797;141.0
8: insectoid;122;30992;254.0
9: Man-0-Manetheran;121;11359;93.0
10: Randalator;110;18770;170.0
11: Faculty Guy;105;18161;172.0
12: KadesSwordElanor;101;10320;102.0
13: macster;93;169490;1822.0
14: Tektonica;91;14032;154.0
15: travyl;85;11632;136.0
16: RobMRobM;83;5229;63.0
17: Samadai;78;4832;61.0
18: thepupxpert;76;7207;94.0
19: AndrewHB;74;17035;230.0
20: birgit;72;6577;91.0
21: rhandric;70;8242;117.0
22: CireNaes;70;12074;172.0
23: alreadymad… (all);69;8522;123.0
24: chaplainchris1;66;29460;446.0
25: bad_platypus;63;8228;130.0
26: s’rEDIT;62;3501;56.0
27: anthonypero;58;8881;153.0
28: Bergmaniac;57;5444;95.0
29: AndrewB;54;9699;179.0
30: BankstownBoy;52;5302;101.0
31: KiManiak;47;21622;460.0
32: Lisamarie;47;10699;227.0
33: qbe_64;46;6452;140.0
34: neverspeakawordagain;43;9413;218.0
35: JeffS.;41;6763;164.0
36: Isilel;41;23016;561.0
37: eep;39;7756;198.0
38: Alphaleonis;38;6586;173.0
39: MDNY;37;5123;138.0
40: Erdrick;34;6227;183.0
41: DougL;31;2121;68.0
42: Farstrider;30;2904;96.0
43: BillinHI;28;4172;149.0
44: J.Dauro;27;4842;179.0
45: Neuralnet;26;3376;129.0
46: KakitaOCU;26;5043;193.0
47: Evermore;26;3735;143.0
48: Ryamano;26;7111;273.0
49: JimF;25;5283;211.0
50: Greyshade;25;8127;325.0
top 50 posters by number of words
username;words;comments;average words per comment
1: macster;169490;93;1822.0
2: Wetlandernw;86090;335;256.0
3: Freelancer;46238;199;232.0
4: insectoid;30992;122;254.0
5: chaplainchris1;29460;66;446.0
6: forkroot;28300;156;181.0
7: Ways;25955;162;160.0
8: ValMar;24709;203;121.0
9: Braid_Tug;24136;133;181.0
10: Isilel;23016;41;561.0
11: KiManiak;21622;47;460.0
12: Randalator;18770;110;170.0
13: Faculty Guy;18161;105;172.0
14: wcarter;17797;126;141.0
15: AndrewHB;17035;74;230.0
16: Tektonica;14032;91;154.0
17: CireNaes;12074;70;172.0
18: travyl;11632;85;136.0
19: Man-0-Manetheran;11359;121;93.0
20: Lisamarie;10699;47;227.0
21: KadesSwordElanor;10320;101;102.0
22: AndrewB;9699;54;179.0
23: neverspeakawordagain;9413;43;218.0
24: anthonypero;8881;58;153.0
25: alreadymad… (all);8522;69;123.0
26: rhandric;8242;70;117.0
27: bad_platypus;8228;63;130.0
28: Greyshade;8127;25;325.0
29: eep;7756;39;198.0
30: WOTman;7611;24;317.0
31: thepupxpert;7207;76;94.0
32: Ryamano;7111;26;273.0
33: Darkdoug;7022;7;1003.0
34: JeffS.;6763;41;164.0
35: Howdy;6752;22;306.0
36: Alphaleonis;6586;38;173.0
37: birgit;6577;72;91.0
38: qbe_64;6452;46;140.0
39: Erdrick;6227;34;183.0
40: gadget;5526;22;251.0
41: James Spangler;5519;13;424.0
42: Teddroe;5498;18;305.0
43: Bergmaniac;5444;57;95.0
44: BankstownBoy;5302;52;101.0
45: JimF;5283;25;211.0
46: RobMRobM;5229;83;63.0
47: MDNY;5123;37;138.0
48: KakitaOCU;5043;26;193.0
49: J.Dauro;4842;27;179.0
50: Samadai;4832;78;61.0
There were 832 different usernames; 448 appeared only once (including many alreadymad…).
Wow, awesome! I love statistics and nerdy things like that. Thanks for doing that!
I was actually totally shocked and thrilled to see my name in the AMOL portion of the statistics; I’ve always been a tad intimdiated by this thread and haven’t always posted much, despite following from the beginning. But, it made me feel kind of warm and fuzzy to realize I recognized pretty much every name from the overall top posters :) Thanks to all for making this such a fascinating community :)
Big thanks to Birgit for her (as usual) awesome work at compiling the statistics. I’m honored to be no. 4 in number of comments (and no. 11 in word count – I guess I’m not that prolix compared to other long time posters).
Bad platypus – wow. That is tremendous news. Congratulate your sister for us.
It’s Tuesday, and by reflex I opened my browser to the reread!
Even though I found/joined/started commenting very late in the game, this has been a part of my Tuesdays for months now, and I miss it already!
But, the reread of the reread sounds fabulous, since I would love to reread the series (again) and I would love to experience going through the whole series with Leigh and all the commenters on these posts!
So, until the Return of the Re-read, adieu friends (by which I mean, you’ll find me over on the Read of ASOIAF or the Harry Potter Reread posts)!
@143, Birgit: Once again – Thank you for the amazing statistics.
First, I can’t believe I made the Top 50 for the whole WoT Re-Read, since I joined 3 years into it. Guess I’m wordy. :-D
And I’m happy dancing at a 6th & 9th place finishes for AMoL. Those are lucky numbers for me.
Thank you to all the others who made the list (or not) that made this a great place, and a fabulous introduction to on-line fandom.
@140, Bad Platypus: Congratulations! To you and her. Will have to check her story out.
@131, Lensman2:
Yes, I would love to see a release of the books into one eBook that line things up. It drove me nuts when Tam was talking to Rand in one chapter, then to Perrin in another that was obvious taking place before Tam and Rand spoke.
It would also be interesting to see Perrin’s and Rand’s POV at Dragonmount quick cut together.
Does anyone have a “Suggested Joint Read” list of the three books? Like the Joint Reading of GRRM’s book 4&5? (Do not spoil for Leigh, but she knows that is out there.)
But like a few others, I do not think Brandon or Team Jordan should ever rework the whole set of books. We have an ending, that ending is not going to change. Let’s not set off a canon war.
We also do not want them to become George Lucas who can’t leave Star Wars alone. Yes, some changes were cool. Others just piss off people.
I’m excited to see what is included in the Encyclopedia. Maybe that will give us more of the hoped for reunions. I would love to see the 3 wives making their bridal wreaths scene that Brandon wrote. It then hit the floor because it was too light hearted and comical at the end of the world. It’s tone did not fit the rest of the book. The same logic may be why we didn’t get more on screen reunions. Thinking that was stated at JordanCon IV, but can’t remember 100%.
Lisamarie @114
Tell me about it. I hadn’t been as active in the latter part of AMOL as in previous chapters, and yet I still find myself in the top 25 all around.
Well this is it guys. It is not the end, but it is an end. It’s been an honor and a pleasure meeting and interacting with the lot of you, despite the levels of insanity that have occasionally caused me to wonder whether the Taint is truly exclusive to the male half.. but I digress.
Bottomline, I had fun, you had fun. And I fully expect for the Wheel to turn once more on another re-read or some other section somewhere.
Alreadymadtherereadisn’tendingormorecorrectlyarereadoftherereadwillbecommencingsoon-ish
bad_platypus @140
Awesome. What a cool achievement.
birgit@143
Thanks. I have always have enjoyed descriptive/comparative stats.
Thanks all, for the congratulations. I’ll pass them on.
And macster @136, one additional thing about e-readers that’s really nice is that I have the Kindle app on my iPhone, so anywhere I go I have access to my e-library. This has been a sanity-saver on several occasions recently when I got dragged to events and would have been bored out of my mind if I hadn’t had something to read.
Wetlandernw FTW!! Not a surprise. Congrats to macster for surpassing Wet at being the wordiest rereader for AMoL. ;-)
TY birgit!
And congrats to bad_platy‘s sister!
TTFN
Well Leigh, good times. My experience here has been awesome. Good people abound and gratefully the folks here are genuine and have come together to share a common passion. Miles may separate us all but the common ground of WoT bridges that distance.
For myself, my personal life has evolved and gone were my posts in the dead of night and early morning because my pack has grown and as the er… alpha of my pack( don’t tell my wife), my duties have conflicted with being able to type at a keyboard without the dreaded “what you doing daddy?” or “hey daddy watch this” or the all important, “get off the damn computer and come do something”. Having a litter has its drawbacks. I digress, family is a good thing.
My WoT family is awesome, and although this chapter is over, those folks that know me, know I’ll be around, barking at cars that drive by and peeing on the neighbor’s lawn just to say “hi”.
Woof™.
Leigh,
Thank you for this reread. I happened to be at point in my life when I could reread and comment (or atleast think about commenting while I was lurking, lol) when this great experiment started. Now I don’t get to do so very often.
But I wanted to say Thank You.
I wish I had the writing skills to express how much the Wheel of Time is important to me, and how your reread has been not only been enjoyable, but educational, helpful and supportive to me, but writing is not my strong point, so I offer you this simple post as a tribute to your awesomness!
Thanks again!
Leigh,
Thank you for this reread. I happened to be at point in my life when I could reread and comment (or atleast think about commenting while I was lurking, lol) when this great experiment started. Now I don’t get to do so very often.
But I wanted to say Thank You.
I wish I had the writing skills to express how much the Wheel of Time is important to me, and how your reread has been not only been enjoyable, but educational, helpful and supportive to me, but writing is not my strong point, so I offer you this simple post as a tribute to your awesomness!
Thanks again!
Interesting stats, as always, Birgit. Wetlander, you used 10 times as many words as me :D. This has been fun! I will probably not be participating in the re-read of the re-read, but I’ll be around the site, folks, expecially on Game of Thronels or Cosmere related posts, or feel free to find me on facebook!
Signing out.
@157 anthonypero
Why not? It will be hilarious. Why do you hate hilarity?
Signing in.
I stick my tongue in your general direction, Randalator. :P
Signing out.
I was still in Korea when this Final Re-Read post came out. I don’t know why I didn’t comment on it. Too busy preparing to come back Stateside, I suppose. While it may be a bit late, I wanted to say thank you Leigh, for doing this (and continuing to bring amusing content, though I have zero time to read it). I met so many great people through this Re-Read…some I’m still friends with to this day.
I’ve been reading through some of the old comments. Damn guys, but we had some good times. Some good conversations. Some great laughs. I hope anyone who happens to see this is doing well.
Oh. It’s somewhat amusing. Even though I didn’t come into this until LoC, I managed to hit 23 in both number of comments and number of words. Just think if I’d been here since the beginning. =)
Hi Leigh!
::waves::
So. It has come to this…
I’ma just gonna point out that this is about the Wheel of Time. It turns. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time.
Our hero – erm, me- is going to take a walk down memory lane; okay, with my memory it will be a drunken stumble, but still. I am barking at the odd post and reminding folks about the awesomeness that is sitting right here for all to enjoy.
And maybe some lurkers can help get to a proper 2 hunny. Honestly, the 1 hunny was just a blip that was barely acknowledged.
Tordot. RJ never meant for this to end. Ever. Hence Winter’s Heart. Something about thumping nails in a coffin.
Lan told me once that Malkier lives so long as one man wears the hadori in pledge that he will fight the Shadow, so long as one woman wears the ki’sain in pledge that she will send her sons to fight the Shadow. I wear the ki’sain, Master Aldragoran. My husband wears the hadori. So do you. Will Lan Mandrogoran ride to the Last Battle alone?
I still breath and I’m not letting the WoT die on Tor.
Not on my watch.
Oh look…
https://goo.gl/images/Th0EK2
Woof™.
Hi Leigh,
I wanted to let you know that people are still reading and loving your amazing re-read posts. I found the re-read in 2011 when I was reading WOT for the first time. I was dying to read along, but forced myself to stay away because spoilers. Over the last few months I’ve been doing my second re-through of the series, and have taken the opportunity to read every one of your posts along with most of the comments (though I admit to not making it through some of the monster multi-hundred comment threads, holy cow).
Your wonderful sense of humor and the insightful discussion of the commenters has added so much to my enjoyment of the series. I love WOT with all my heart, but it can get heavy at times, with lots of drama and angst and hair-pulling, so having the reread to lighten it up a bit has been tons of fun.
I’m sorry you did not continue the re-read of the re-read, as I probably would have followed along and commented. Though the people and responsibilities of my daily life are quite relieved that I have completed my WOT re-read and there are no further posts to suck hours of my life away.
I also would like to give a huge thanks to all the commenters. You guys rock. It makes me happy that I am posting after subwoofer’s drunken ramble. It is a fitting end to my re-read. Sparkly YAY. :-)
Lanfear is still alive!!! Perrin didn’t kill her, she just faked her death.
And indeed people are *still* reading and loving the re-read posts. I was an original reader of the Usenet group, then found this back in 2011. Life happened, I lost track, and then found it again this year. Read from the beginning, and read every single comment for every single post.
The reread was/has been/still is every bit as enjoyable as reading the books themselves. Thank you, very late, Leigh, for this gift!