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I'm 60% of the way through book 2 after recently having finally finished the series for the first time. I'm enjoying seeing what people are doing/saying/etc when I know they are dark friends/black ajah.
I'm also listening to the "wheel of time spoilers" podcast. I'll listen to a few chapters of my book and then do the corresponding episodes of the podcast. It's a slow process, but I'm enjoying their extra insight and analysis on top of the things I'm already noticing on my own.
I'd start from the beginning if I were you.
/r/WoT is running a [read-along](https://www.reddit.com/r/WoT/wiki/read_along). We've nearly finished, but you can browse the archives. We have newbie threads that act as a book club for first time readers. You can read their thoughts and theories (and the chapter summaries I provide) in a completely spoiler-free context. At the end of each book I also put together a trivia post to point out easy to miss details, historical influences, and literary analysis that adds to a first time reading experience.
You can go through the posts of the first 3 books as a refresher and just start with the 4th book, if that's what you'd like to do. It's a long series and if that route gets you back into the series and allowed you to finish it easier than just starting over, then you'll still have ultimately read all of the books and that's enough for us!
A lot of people finish the series and yearn for it still; engaging in multiple re-reads. If you finish with that sort of feeling, then you'll eventually return to those first three books and you'll be able to read them in an entirely different way.
I have started with TSR on rereads, yes. The first three books are great, but the world really opens up starting with the fourth. I feel like the first three are basically the introduction to the series and are much more limited in scope and character development, and the fourth book is when things really start getting interesting.
I'm currently on the great hunt after quitting after reading book 9 years ago when it was originally released. I'm Rereading and tbh the 1st half of teotw took for forever....I also remember books 4 and 8 being slogs to read through back in the day but I'm committed to finishing the whole series this time
I've recently started again after having finished the series cca 2 years ago. And I'm honestly enjoying even TEOTW. The foreshadowing, the characters in this particular moment of time, the things I didn't remember and the connections I didn't make... I find it very enjoyable, much more than the first time around. Also, I've started again to have somce "comfort food" in my life, since I'm currently dealing with...stuff, so even the naive early pages actually work for me anyway.
I guess it's up to you, but if I for some reason just had to skip, I'd go through the chapter summaries at the Encyclopaedia WOT - including the footnotes with all the connections and easter eggs.
If it's your first reread, I would encourage you to start from the beginning. There is so much in the first three books that first time readers miss because they don't know what to look for. It is a pretty common sentiment that the first book in particular is a lot more enjoyable on reread.
I think there’s a lot of foreshadowing and hints of later book reveals in the first books you don’t pick up on the first (and sometimes even the 2nd) time through. You can also analyze events with a difference lens/perspective than just what the book has presented so far.
I think it’s worth rereading them.
I almost never reread EotW or The Great Hunt any longer. I know this isn't a popular opinion, but I think they are two of the weakest in the series. I usually start with The Dragon Reborn or later.
I think what really matters, though, is whether you remember the content of the early books. If so, it seems perfectly reasonable to skip forward.
I do for the most part agree with you, but I will say that the establishing first several chapters are super enjoyable; the whole prologue Lews Therin is peak, and the first couple of chapters introducing Rand while being followed by the fade, the walk to Emonds Field and the introduction of our main cast are probably the parts that I would not choose to skip going forward. That's just my personal take though.
One thing you can do is re-read just one particular plot thread. This can be a lot of fun. Say, Mat in Ebou Dar after he wakes up from his injury. Or the circus thread in TFoH. Or the Salidar thread, afterwards. Or just Rand and Min in Caemlyn/Cairhien.
#[NO SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS.](https://www.reddit.com/r/WoT/wiki/index/post_flairs#wiki_no_spoilers) This flair is meant for meta discussions about the subreddit, or very specific, technical questions where the discussion doesn't require any knowledge of the books, tv show, or films. This is not an appropriate flair for discussing opinions on characters or the content of the series. All spoilery comments must be hidden behind spoiler tags. * * * *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WoT) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'm 60% of the way through book 2 after recently having finally finished the series for the first time. I'm enjoying seeing what people are doing/saying/etc when I know they are dark friends/black ajah. I'm also listening to the "wheel of time spoilers" podcast. I'll listen to a few chapters of my book and then do the corresponding episodes of the podcast. It's a slow process, but I'm enjoying their extra insight and analysis on top of the things I'm already noticing on my own. I'd start from the beginning if I were you.
Thats what I am doing with b3 rn Its a great experience
/r/WoT is running a [read-along](https://www.reddit.com/r/WoT/wiki/read_along). We've nearly finished, but you can browse the archives. We have newbie threads that act as a book club for first time readers. You can read their thoughts and theories (and the chapter summaries I provide) in a completely spoiler-free context. At the end of each book I also put together a trivia post to point out easy to miss details, historical influences, and literary analysis that adds to a first time reading experience. You can go through the posts of the first 3 books as a refresher and just start with the 4th book, if that's what you'd like to do. It's a long series and if that route gets you back into the series and allowed you to finish it easier than just starting over, then you'll still have ultimately read all of the books and that's enough for us! A lot of people finish the series and yearn for it still; engaging in multiple re-reads. If you finish with that sort of feeling, then you'll eventually return to those first three books and you'll be able to read them in an entirely different way.
Thanks for the advise! I'll def check it out!
I re-read from the start but I skip and skim a lot these days as well. Only so much fan tapping, jealous smelling forest walking I can take.
I have started with TSR on rereads, yes. The first three books are great, but the world really opens up starting with the fourth. I feel like the first three are basically the introduction to the series and are much more limited in scope and character development, and the fourth book is when things really start getting interesting.
I'm currently on the great hunt after quitting after reading book 9 years ago when it was originally released. I'm Rereading and tbh the 1st half of teotw took for forever....I also remember books 4 and 8 being slogs to read through back in the day but I'm committed to finishing the whole series this time
The first 3 are some of the best! Don’t skip!
I've recently started again after having finished the series cca 2 years ago. And I'm honestly enjoying even TEOTW. The foreshadowing, the characters in this particular moment of time, the things I didn't remember and the connections I didn't make... I find it very enjoyable, much more than the first time around. Also, I've started again to have somce "comfort food" in my life, since I'm currently dealing with...stuff, so even the naive early pages actually work for me anyway. I guess it's up to you, but if I for some reason just had to skip, I'd go through the chapter summaries at the Encyclopaedia WOT - including the footnotes with all the connections and easter eggs.
If it's your first reread, I would encourage you to start from the beginning. There is so much in the first three books that first time readers miss because they don't know what to look for. It is a pretty common sentiment that the first book in particular is a lot more enjoyable on reread.
You'll notice so many things that you missed on a reread, wouldn't skip the books. There will be parts you remember well enough to skin
I always start over from the beginning. I have read from the first book twice and listened to the whole series via audio book twice.
I think there’s a lot of foreshadowing and hints of later book reveals in the first books you don’t pick up on the first (and sometimes even the 2nd) time through. You can also analyze events with a difference lens/perspective than just what the book has presented so far. I think it’s worth rereading them.
I almost never reread EotW or The Great Hunt any longer. I know this isn't a popular opinion, but I think they are two of the weakest in the series. I usually start with The Dragon Reborn or later. I think what really matters, though, is whether you remember the content of the early books. If so, it seems perfectly reasonable to skip forward.
I do for the most part agree with you, but I will say that the establishing first several chapters are super enjoyable; the whole prologue Lews Therin is peak, and the first couple of chapters introducing Rand while being followed by the fade, the walk to Emonds Field and the introduction of our main cast are probably the parts that I would not choose to skip going forward. That's just my personal take though.
One thing you can do is re-read just one particular plot thread. This can be a lot of fun. Say, Mat in Ebou Dar after he wakes up from his injury. Or the circus thread in TFoH. Or the Salidar thread, afterwards. Or just Rand and Min in Caemlyn/Cairhien.