Mat is my favorite and has some seriously badass moments in combat.

I also agree about Verin. There's badassery there that I hadn't expected.

There's lots of trade copies around that are first print/first edition. They're not terribly rare unless they're signed but you'll still pay several hundred dollars depending on the condition.

I got one for a one year wedding anniversary gift for my wife. Signed first edition/first print of TEotW in excellent condition.

I looked for for hardcovers but couldn't find any currently up for sale. They are quite expensive if you can find them.

In the beginning, I thought that RJ made men look like simple-minded fools. Women seemed to be more intelligent, patient, and capable. As the story progressed, there was more complexity and internal struggle for the women characters. I think the same happened for the male characters but that as the story went along the men seemed to gain more depth and intelligence (in general). 

As a whole, when the series is done, I think that both the men and female are very similar in how they are portrayed. I think the ancient AS symbol is a great way to think about the sexes in the series. I don't think they are all that dissimilar and that they ultimately complement one another. I started the series thinking the men were being portrayed as simpletons. I think ultimately the sexes were equalized despite the differences. 

This is my take, though. I'm sure many others interpret this very differently. 

New to the forum.

After a year or so listening to the audiobook version of WoT I have finally finished. Depression has officially set in because I no longer have anything else in the series to listen to. I guess I'll listen to New Spring since I haven't checked it out yet. 

I really enjoyed it. The ending was better than I thought it would be. I guess I was expecting something different but I'm happy with the way it turned out. I would have enjoyed a flash forward in the future to see how some of the characters and other events had panned out but I still really enjoyed the ending. Brandon Sanderson did a fantastic job of wrapping up the series. I was surprised at how well he did as I was expecting something missing since the passing of RJ. I'm not disappointed at all. I think he did great.

Mat is my favorite character. His character development throughout the series was awesome. I actually started out not liking him at all and being annoyed with his character. 

Lan is another favorite even if his character stayed relatively unchanged throughout the series. 

Egwene is another character that developed a lot throughout the series. I enjoyed her development and progression through the series. 

Those are just a few. I don't have the time to start getting into all the characteristics of the WoT characters. As we know, there's just far too many.

My wife insisted for years that I read/listen to the series. It's her favorite and now it's clear why it's her favorite. I'm glad I finally listened to her and committed to the entire series. 

It's always sad when a good book is over. It's even sadder when a great series is over. This sadness is on a completely different level. The length and complexity of the series and all the characters that move it along make it that much more difficult when it's over.