How has WOT changed you?

[Maera]

Hello there,

thought I would jump in and say hello, I am Maera (or April at home).  I am currently on my first read through of wot (book eight at the moment). I have not been so captivated by something since childhood, very happy to be here. I was slightly disappointed it may be released on television before I complete the series (I had no idea it was being made).So am in a battle with time to have it read in time, but what an absolutely pleasurable battle it is. Would love to hear from other new readers to see how the series has affected you (and old readers of course, as I am sure you remember the feeling!) 

 

I think I knew I was always going to read the series one day, as a child (perhaps only 6 or 7) - before I was into fantasy books (and by fantasy I mean Harry Potter & CS Lewis haha), I remember seeing the the covers on the shelves of our SMALLLL public library and was very confused as all the grown up story books looked so boring and dull, but these books looked cool, colourful and full of adventure, but I picked it up and couldn't even understand some of the words being used, but the memory stayed with me. A few years later, my Dad got a new girlfriend and on first visit to her house, I saw the books again for the first time and asked her about them. She told me a bit about them and said when I was a few years older I might like them. 

 

Well twenty years later, with very little knowledge of adult fantasy (played a bit of final fantasy RR, hearthstone, read some game of thrones), I took a risk and bought the lot in a commitment to finally do it, as though I had already known I would fall in love with it. I find myself thinking about the characters, or comparing my small problems to things they have had to face and it actually helps me. I find many of the cultures and characters have wonderful lessons to teach, and find myself spilling out some of Siuan's silly fish quotes as well as catching myself saying 'the wheel weaves as the wheel will' to my husband. One thing I was not expecting was how similar my husband is to Perrin - in stature, thinking, nature and personality and it has been like falling in love with my husband all over again (as much as I hate to admit it, I also share a few of Fiale's negative traits). 

 

All in all, in less than a year, it has completely changed my life in wonderful ways, I am also looking for suggestions for more fantasy I would enjoy that I may have missed being a late bloomer (have started Stormlight Archive however wanting to now leave it for when I have finished WOT). 

 

I am from Australia, so apologies if I do not reply promptly, as we are likely in very different time zones, and I do not have a spare portal stone.

 

Maera. 

 

 

[SinisterDeath]

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How has WOT changed you?

Oof, this is a big question.

 

I was gifted EoTW from my brother, as a going-away present.
At the time, my Mother and I went to Norfolk, VA to visit him while he was on Leave from the Navy. It just so happened, that we arrived in time to see him get off his ship, and the look on his face as he saw his daughter for the first time. 

I tried reading EoTW on the flight home, but I had gotten an ear infection, and wasn't really in the mood to read. (Thanks Norfolk, VA!)
 

About 1  year and some change later, I had to do a book report on any book of my choice.

I had EoTW at home, I had already started reading it.

2 Weeks go by, I was still only around half-way through it, but figured I could wing the book report... Afterall, I guarantee the teacher never read it! (I was also really bad at doing homework at home.)
 

I rushed all morning, during other classes, between classes, and finished that paper just in time for class.

The Teachers calling students up to present the book report. I wasn't expecting this, as I thought we'd just turn the paper in!
 

Turns out, I completely misunderstood what the project/book report was!

Apparently, not only was it an Oral report, You had to present it as if you were one of the books' characters, and explain what happened in the book!
As an Introvert, and someone who loathes public speaking, this was basically worst-case-nightmare material.

On the bright side, I don't believe I got an F on it. 

 

The above story didn't really answer the question you asked, it's just a fun little story of how I was introduced to WoT, and how I kept reading it, even after something that "traumatic". 
 

Few years after that event, I found Dragonmount. Lurked for awhile, before posting around 2002 or 2003? This community as a whole, shaped who am, my writing style, etc. 

 

For how WoT "Changed" me... Something not many people actually know about me, is that around 8 years old, I was diagnosed with Tourettes Syndrome. Not severe, and not the kind with the co-morbid coprolalia (swearing) which most people associate it with. But all-in-all rather mild comparatively. 
 

Wheel of Time gave me several years of escapism, and within that escapism, came focus.
The ability to have such complete focus on the task at h and, that I could tune out the outside world and divert all of my attention, toward reading and absorbing the contents of the Wheel of Time.

I found this ability to focus similar to the concept of Flame & Void, which really is a form of Meditation... And while I would never say that Mediation or  'Flame & Void' will help people with Tourettes with their tics, I can say that it seems to have helped with mine.

 

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 I am also looking for suggestions for more fantasy 

There is a ton of Good, Awful, and mediocre fantasy out there!

First Law Trilogy is great, if you like a gritty action fantasy novel in the vein of Wolverine.

The King Killer Chronicles is also great. Though some people absolutely loathe it. (If you liked Harry Potter, you might like this one!)

Dune Isn't fantasy, it's Sci-Fi (Which WoT is kind of a Sci-Fantasy genre), and has many parallels to WoT.

Foundation & Robots Series is a gigantic masterpiece written by the Grand Master of Science Fiction, Isaac Asimov.
I read nearly all of the Robots & Foundation series in one summer. These are very fast reads compared to WoT, in a style probably unlike any you have ever read. (Almost entirely dialogue!)
It's also very similar to Dune, or rather Dune is very similar to Foundation & Robots. Main difference is that Asimov is a much easier read then Frank Herbert!

[Cass]

Hi Maera/April,

 

Welcome to DM! I love your intro story and the question. Brave of you to buy the whole series at once,  I'm so glad you're enjoying them!

 

I started EotW in 1998, my first year of high school, at the recommendation of my best friend. We both came from a small country town (Aussies too - you're not the only one!!/ there's a few of us here ? ) but we had been sent to different schools. 

 

WoT led us to DM, and we roleplayed characters here for years and years, all through school and beyond until uni/life caught up with us and dragged us away. The series, and Dragonmount, gave us shared and common experiences (waiting for that next book to come out; buying it, omg!!!!!) even though we weren't together, and escapism into a different world. DM definitely shaped my experiences and expectations of online forums and communities and my writing. I have had breaks away here and there, but have always been drawn back to the community and roleplay. I hope you enjoy it just as much!

 

The series itself took me years to complete. I finished Book 9 and life got crazy before the release of Book 10. I only finished the series this year, by audiobook!! But it changed me mostly by giving me great characters to love, and curse-words to use ... "Oh, Light!", "blasted x!" are common utterances for me, and like you,  "The Wheel wills..." is a common thought ?.

 

@SinisterDeath I love your intro story too- can feel the horror you must've felt in that class!!!! And it's awesome to hear that the flame & the void are helpful for tics!

 

 

 

 

[Liitha]

Not sure its so much the series in itself but the fact trying to figure out more of it, and news for next book lead me to DM. And well DM has been life changing, and well made WoT more of my life then it otherwise would have been.

I read a lot of fantasy, both before and after, so honestly if not for DM, wot probably would been another series in bookshelf that would reread from time to time, but beyond that..not that life altering.

 

But with DM wot has taken a whole other place in my life then any other book series have. 

 

I not only got a lot of new friends, traveled and met people here, I developed both personally and got new skills from my time in DM some of which later been used at work and given me options to participate in projects there I wouldnt otherwise be involved in.

 

 

Edited October 19, 2019 by Liitha

[Maera]

@Cass that's an awesome story! Thankfully it did not put you off reading it hehe - and thankyou for your suggestions, I bought the name of the wind a couple of years ago and it has been sitting on the shelf looking at me since. I have read a few chapters of the book, and whilst I found the first person narrative quite taxing, I became used to it and am intending to go back to it :)

@Liitha that is amazing to hear, I am hoping the community is still the same and I am lucky enough to have those experiences. I do not have a lot of friends (I find it hard to make friends with other girls, I find myself feeling like a Aiel trying to understand a wetlander) however I yearn for those connections, so am looking forward to meeting people

 

Thanks for sharing your stories :)

 

 

[Elgee]

On 10/17/2019 at 9:49 PM, Maera said:

(as much as I hate to admit it, I also share a few of Fiale's negative traits). 

 

I get a bit mad with people who slam poor Faile. I put it down to them reading without comprehension. They either don't notice or forget that Faile is about 15 years old when she first appears. I've met many an adult who doesn't come near her level of maturity or savvy.

 

Aaanyhooo ... welcome to DM! I see you're already made your way to the WT & Warders, which is awesome!

 

I've had mostly the same experience with WoT as you have, so far. Once called an irritating client "Boy" whilst looking down my nose at him ... lol

 

 

[Maera]

Thanks @Elgee I am slowly learning my way around :) It helps that everyone is friendly!

[Cass]

9 hours ago, Maera said:

I find it hard to make friends with other girls, I find myself feeling like a Aiel trying to understand a wetlander) however I yearn for those connections, so am looking forward to meeting people

 

 

 

You've come to the right place then ^.^

 

A lot of DM is like a big ol' family, I find. Quite a few of us have traveled to meet each other IRL too, and for the super keen, there are the Jordan Con meets in the States each year too. I haven't been (?yet) but I've heard good things!

 

... Maybe there should be an Aussie version some time ? @dicetosser1 , @The Bard Babe ?

[Cass]

11 hours ago, Liitha said:

 

And well DM has been life changing, and well made WoT more of my life then it otherwise would have been.

I read a lot of fantasy, both before and after, so honestly if not for DM, wot probably would been another series in bookshelf that would reread from time to time, but beyond that..not that life altering.

 

But with DM wot has taken a whole other place in my life then any other book series have. 

 

I not only got a lot of new friends, traveled and met people here, I developed both personally and got new skills from my time in DM 

 

 

 

So. Much. This!

[dicetosser1]

1 hour ago, Cass said:

 

You've come to the right place then ^.^

 

A lot of DM is like a big ol' family, I find. Quite a few of us have traveled to meet each other IRL too, and for the super keen, there are the Jordan Con meets in the States each year too. I haven't been (?yet) but I've heard good things!

 

... Maybe there should be an Aussie version some time ? @dicetosser1 , @The Bard Babe ?

 

 

There already is one Was Land of the Madmen but I think they changed their name

 

which sucks cause  we got to read an excerpt from the dictionary especially on the Land of Madmen...

[dicetosser1]

@Maera

 

Which state in Oz??

[Maera]

I'm in Victoria, how about you?

[Maera]

On 10/20/2019 at 1:54 AM, Elgee said:

I've had mostly the same experience with WoT as you have, so far. Once called an irritating client "Boy" whilst looking down my nose at him ... lol

 

ahahaha I can picture that! i am going to try that on the prisoners I work with... (although prisoners are actually the biggest fantasy fans so they might get the reference)

[Juan Farstrider]

Very cool topic! I too am on my first read through and I understand why we say it that way because there are so many characters and things that it really is much blurrier in my mind than it is in the books. I have to reread it to see it more clearly the same way I would look at an impressionist's painting from different angles to take it all in. 

 

WoT has changed me in, so far, in small ways. I started thinking about writers in a new way in that I see Jordan as a writer of chapters. Like his complete thoughts are chapters, his paintings are the chapters. Some writers I see as writers of great sentences, like Tanith Lee is someone who either gives you a great sentence or doesn't. Some writers give you ideas and their wrestling with those ideas is either engaging or boring. Some writers have what is essential a great outline of a story, and the writing might actually be lame but the overall story is enough to keep you going, for me that's Asimov. 

 

Another, bigger, thing is because there are so many characters and so many sets of traits divide up amongst them all (the Browns, the Reds, the Two Rivers folk, the Mayeners, etc) that you can see in one place all the traits we all have and how they work together or how they inhibit our ability to function. Any book might do that, but the vast scope of these books lend themselves to it, especially when we see events play out across different points of view. 

 

I think I'm starting to become more OK with being who I really am in life and I'm kinda old. I've bounced around through many different groups of people and professions and socio-economic classes and have recently walked away from like all of them to reflect on the world (weird, yes; pointless, yes; but the world is in a kind of Flux right now and it has been in such a state in the past too, so worth stepping back and taking a longer view I think). Not that this comes from the books, but in real life I find myself asking in my own head "is this person lying to me and/or to themselves? How much of their BS should I tolerate andwhere do I draw the line?". Better, I've returned to holding myself to that standard. Somehow after my 20s I slipped in that department. 

[The Bard Babe]

Ooh Victoria, no points for blues or maroons Dicicle haha.