I’m excited to be starting on the proper series of books now! I managed to get partway through Lord of Chaos during the 1990s before I finally ended up putting it down for too long and never figuring out how to pick it back up again. After all, you lose your way in a series this long, and reading it turns into a chore. So why did I put it down? Maybe I used to be more OCD. Maybe I used to be a less skilled reader. Maybe I used to think that you needed to process every fucking word that Mr. Jordan wrote.
But here’s what I realized — you can’t do that and maintain your sanity at the same time. It’s kind of like trying to open yourself to saidin — just don’t do it, because otherwise you’ll go nuts. Some of the longer description-heavy paragraphs can easily be skimmed. I don’t need to hang on every word, especially when the words are about Thom stroking his mustache, or Nynaeve tugging her fucking braid.
Which leads me to the other thing I realized: Mr. Jordan overused certain words and phrases. Whether it’s about knuckling backs, women derisively “sniffing” the air, Nynaeve tugging her braid, any female character folding her arms beneath her breasts, or probably a whole host of other common Jordanisms — these phrasing stuck in my head and gave my brain a BSOD every time I read them, seriously hampering my progress. Now? I’m prepared to have as much fun with them as possible.
That’s really what this journal is about, having fun. And note taking. If I have a forum for writing down all of the sarcastic thoughts that run through my mind when I’m reading these books, I will have something to motivate me when the action gets slow or the characters start behaving stupidly. Plus the notes can help get me back on track when I take a break to read something else.
I don’t want to make it sound like I hated the books or the story or the characters. I didn’t. But I didn’t used to have anything to keep me afloat when I got bogged down — and now I very much do. I will kick this main series reading off by saying that I am excited to get to know these characters again, especially after seeing this artist’s rendition of some of them. They are so close to how I pictured them. Especially Mat with the hat, the dice and that shit-eating grin on is face; Perrin with his curly hair and golden eyes; and Naynaeve tugging on that fucking braid.
Let’s read The Eye of the World!
