I was trying to reread the entire series before the releast of TGS, but....

[Olorin]

...real life has reared it's ugly head and I'm woefully behind. I'm only barely into the Fires of Heaven, and it's now less than a month 'till the release, so I have a few choices....

 

1)Continue reading as I have, read TGS when it comes out, then reread it again when I get to it in the series

 

or

 

2)Stop reading now, read Leigh Butler's reread before the release, read TGS, then read everything again

 

or

 

3)Continue reading as I am, listen to the audiobook when it comes out (I'm an audible.com member, and I'm saving a credit for the release), then read the actual book when it comes out.

 

 

Perhaps it's lack of sleep, but I'm having trouble deciding. Any suggestions?

[OncetheHeron]

You might as well just continue as you are and maybe by the time you get to tGS, Towers of Midnight will be out and you won't have to wait so long.

 

I had previously read up to book 9 as the books came out so I did a reread and included 10 and 11 but now I learn that the series won't end for another three years! I might as well wait a year then reread again and hope it times out right!

[DarkSideoftheMoon]

I guess not reading/otherwise absorbing TGS the second it comes out isn't an option? ;)

 

I've got the opposite problem, in fact - I finished my own reread of the series yesterday, leaving me with nearly a month to fill in before TGS!  But I was on about Fires of Heaven or Lord of Chaos when the first chapter of TGS was made available, and I couldn't resist, I had to go look at it... I didn't make it much past the wind blowing, though, as I found it too jarring to jump six books ahead like that.  It's not the end of the world if it takes a few chapters to get into the book, but we only get the pleasure of a shiny new unread WoT book very rarely so it's important to squeeze as much enjoyment out of it as possible!

 

So if you want to read TGS when it comes out, I'd go with option 2.

[Balefire to da face!]

You might as well just continue as you are and maybe by the time you get to tGS, Towers of Midnight will be out and you won't have to wait so long.

 

I had previously read up to book 9 as the books came out so I did a reread and included 10 and 11 but now I learn that the series won't end for another three years! I might as well wait a year then reread again and hope it times out right!

 

That was one of the real "oh good frickin grief" moments for me when I heard it was going to be three more books. I remember visiting this site when the question was still up in there air, "Will the series still end in one book, or will it take two?". I came back here a few months later and saw the headline plastered, "Series to take three more books" and I just kind of laughed....but not in a good way.

 

It's become a tradition for me now to reread the series before every release(got into the series when PoD was out, so I am on my fourth reread right now) and it's not just about refreshing my memory....it's a tradition. But damn if that wasn't a kick in the stomach to hear I was going to need not one....not two....but three more rereads! I know, I know....then just don't read them. But....it's a tradition :P

 

ANYWHO....to the onto the original question. Dunno what you should do, but if it helps any I'll tell you what I am going to do. I am only on the beginning of The Dragon Reborn(call me crazy, but out of the first 6 books I've always found the Great Hunt to be a real hump to get over on the rereads) and I plan on completely my reread before cracking into TGS. Finished or not, the reread will be complete before I touch TGS. But I'll tell you....I heard about the Prologue and Chapter 1 coming out before time....so I was only a bit antsy when they came out....but when Chapter 2 came out I was just like, "Oh come on! Ya gonna release the whole damn book ahead of time to tease me?!". Sooo tempting :p

[Mashiara Sedai]

Leigh Butler's reread won't be finished by the realease of the Gathering Storm.  She said so in the 4th Age Podcast where they interviewed her.  So I don't think that option will work.

 

I've reread the series a few times.  But a couple years back (it might have been before KoD) I Skimmed the books.  It's not the best way to do a reread, but I got through the books quickly.  You just kinda read the first few paragraphs of a new chapter/POV change and then remember what that particular plotline is about and then scan the dialogue.  It's not complete, but you get the most important parts (and are able to pass over sections you know well enough).

 

~Mashiara

[Damon]

Yep, same friggin problem. I'm stuck on TGH right now, about 2/3 the way done with it. I'm going to finish my reread before I read the last book though. Being in the Marine Corps and working anywhere from a 12-14 hour day, I understand how hard it is to read, I also am addicted to video games and of course the wife needs attention too. I guess just stick it out.

[Olorin]

I actually think what I might do is to stop reading now. I will give myself plenty of time before Towers of Midnight comes up to do a reread, probably starting in December or January; maybe sooner. What I'm going to do is to go through what Leigh Butler has on Tor.com so far, then go to wowwiki and read the chapter summaries for the rest of the books, then go through the recap document on this sight around the 22nd or 23rd. In the meantime, I have downloaded the free copy of "Warbreaker" that Brandon Sanderson has on his website, converted it for use on my kindle, and I'm gonna read that so I can get a feel for his writing. I attempted to read Mistborn awhile back, but I didn't finish it due to some "issues" that had nothing to do with his book (outside real life stuff- I'm a single dad with no job, 2 kids that I have custody of, one of whom has just received a diagnosis of autism). His writing was actually very good and I could see how he would be a good choice to write AMoL just from what I read there. Now that my life is a bit more stable, I think I can read Warbreaker by the time TGS comes out.

[mb]

You might let 'chance' (dice, cards, etc) do the deciding for you.

 

Or maybe create a poll and let the majority be your choice.

 

Or your decision could be based on what you think you would have enough time for.

 

[Ashaman DeRouge]

I'm up to Fires of Heaven also. Curious. Seem's to be a popular time for starting re-reads two months prior to a new release haha.

 

I was planning on reading absolutely every scrap of every page, however after reading the prologue, and both chapters released, I feel very confident that I've retained at least 95% of what is going on in the world. I can assume also that as old plots are re-introduced into the novel, they will have a brief summation paragraph of two, to jog the memory anyway. It's how it's been for 11 books now, and if anything Brandon will recognise the fact that it's been years, and endevour to make sure the reader is completely up to speed on events.

 

So I'll finish Fires of Heaven, maybe finish the next one, maybe not. I've got Halo ODST, Fifa 10, new Muse, new Mars Volta, and old Whitest Boy Alive, so I'm pretty set up for time wasting. Firefight on Lost platoon while rockin out to Rules, oh yeah! *hem*

 

Also, having a Wife is a good way to pass the time. It's amazing how much needs to be done around the house! What is this 'dusting' you speak of? :P

 

My advice? If you feel TRULY lost, quickly scan the wiki pages for the books, then if something REALLY dosn't click, look it up. The opening sequences from the new books, whilst not holding your hand, give you a good enough recap to plough straight back into it. IMO, of course :P

[WWWwombat]

I'm almost done with TSR; no way I'm getting done in time.

[Al Thor93]

I feel for ya. I'm only on TDR. It'll be awhile yet especially with my schedule. Oh Well.

[Blackhoof]

I'm up to Crossroads of Twilight, and if i stagger my reading out a bit, then i will definetaly be done in time. (that is, if my mum doesn't insist on reading TGS when it comes out before me!  ;) )

[The Dragon Reborn]

I'm up at A Crown of Swords myself, with a bit of effort I should be close enough to Knife of Dreams as to make no difference.

 

I'm combining the books and the audiobooks, I listen to the audiobooks when I drive anywhere, helps to get you through them pretty quick.

 

Also, Amazon say they'll take 2 weeks to deliver the book, so there is some more time on my side.

[wite wo1f]

I would personally recomend reading faster if that is a possibility. I can usually get through a book in 5 hours or so. At that rate you should have more than enough time to for TGS to come out. It really does not take that long to read books if you skip most of the descriptions of objects and such. That is how I read every book because I find the descriptions boring in any case. Also I would at least recomend finishing FoH because I thought that was the second best book in the series.

[Al Thor93]

I would personally recomend reading faster if that is a possibility. I can usually get through a book in 5 hours or so. At that rate you should have more than enough time to for TGS to come out. It really does not take that long to read books if you skip most of the descriptions of objects and such. That is how I read every book because I find the descriptions boring in any case. Also I would at least recomend finishing FoH because I thought that was the second best book in the series.

While that is a good way to read the books if you've already read them, Whitewolf, it is not smart to read them that way if you haven't. There are too many descriptions that relate characters to do that.

[Red2111]

bubba and i started doing my 2nd re-read (his 4th re-read) of the entire series in Aug.  we're currently on LoC, he started his re-read when i got to GH, and caught me up by the 4th book so we've been sharing books since.

 

both of use are goign to go ahead and get TGS when it comes out, but we're goign to finish the re-read before picking it up.  he'll finish a book ahead of me, cause he's a faster reader.

 

i plan on re-reading the series again once towers of midnight is released. 

[Delvoire]

ANYWHO....to the onto the original question. Dunno what you should do, but if it helps any I'll tell you what I am going to do. I am only on the beginning of The Dragon Reborn(call me crazy, but out of the first 6 books I've always found the Great Hunt to be a real hump to get over on the rereads) and I plan on completely my reread before cracking into TGS. Finished or not, the reread will be complete before I touch TGS. But I'll tell you....I heard about the Prologue and Chapter 1 coming out before time....so I was only a bit antsy when they came out....but when Chapter 2 came out I was just like, "Oh come on! Ya gonna release the whole damn book ahead of time to tease me?!". Sooo tempting :p

 

Wow really.. I love the great hunt.  It's a great beginning to the main characters growth.

[Red2111]

the great hunt was certaintly more enjoyable the 2nd time around.  but DR remains my fav. :)

 

FoH was the worst for me so far, i had to push through it, until they got to Salidar.

[wite wo1f]

You make a point there Al Thor but I actually take the opposite approach. I read it quickly the first time through, then on subsequent reads pick up the details.

 

Edit: besides this is for a reread.

 

I was also not a huge fan of TGH but that could be because I read that book before I read EOTS (library did not have it).

[Al Thor93]

Sounds good Whitewolf. I think my favorite on the reread so far is actually TEOTW because there is such a stark difference between Rand the shepard and Rand the Dragon.

I'm almost done with DR and will be TSR by next week(I hope)

[WWWwombat]

Damn schoolwork and RL are messing up my reread! :(