New Wheel of Time reading strategy

[vivdunstan]

I’m part way through a spread out read of the massive 14-book (or 15 if you count the later prequel) series of epic fantasy books by Robert Jordan. Now onto book 6, The Lord of Chaos. The current one and recent ones have been some of the very longest in the series, over 1000 pages long. And it’s been getting a bit overwhelming at times with the mass of names to remember and different points of view. However I now have a new strategy, and it’s going brilliantly. I picked up this idea from a fellow backer of a book tuber I back on Patreon. She said how she was skimming chunks. Which I initially thought sounded terrible - I have to read it all! But now I’m into book 6 I’ve found myself skimming through some of the written bits, and also focusing more on dialogue. Also not worrying about dozens of new characters being introduced in the first few hundred pages in the latest book. Reading them, but not stressing over remembering. If they’re important they’ll be back. And I’m gobbling up the book and loving it. I’m expecting to finish this book pretty quickly. I’m still rather bamboozled by the mass of different places. But not worrying about remembering everything is helping hugely.

Comments

[a_cubed]

A book read for pleasure is meant to be a pleasure. I keep having to remind myself of this. I'm in fact struggling with my current book (third book of Robert Jackson Bennett's Founders trilogy). I loved the first in this sequence. The second was OK (I liked the beginning but didn't like where the main plot headed). The third book takes the bit I didn't like from book 2 and runs with it as the main plot for a book that's almost as long as the first two put together. I hate not finishing things. I have dropped a couple of books in the last year and it bugs me more than it should.

[vivdunstan]

I DNF books quite a lot, and have done several since the New Year with no qualms. I'd happily stop WoT if I wasn't still hugely enjoying much of it. That isn't the case. There is much that I still think is superb. And I want to know what happens, and not just by eg reading a Wikipedia plot summary. But I am aware that other people often drop out about now or even before where I've got to. So I'm adapting my reading strategy to maximise the rewards. And I am a very happy reader :)