to finishing this series. I'm rereading the Sanderson books for the first time - on the first read, I could get lost in the plot developments, but this time I'm just struck by how painfully bad I feel some parts are written. I've become more critical since I started this series at 17, to the point of almost being curmudgeonly. I've ditched most of my fantasy roots, and maybe that's why certain stereotypes about the genre irk me (as much as I grumble to myself about Sanderson, I have a much more visceral reaction to Terry Brooks or Raymond Feist, authors I loved in my youth). WoT holds a special place in my life development, especially with the friends I made through wotmania and the time I've spent reading and rereading the series. But I'm not going to let cognitive dissonance convince me that that means I still like the series a ton. I do like the expansiveness of the universe Jordan created, and the physics of the Wheel/varying worlds/balefire/Pattern etc are interesting to me. And the cast of characters are varied enough to be interesting beyond single-dimensionality. But holy crap, the 'let's put someone in a dangerous situation AGAIN and not have anyone die' and 'love is meant to be, souls are eternal blah blah' stuff really gets old fast for me.

Anyway, that said I'm still excited to pick up the books and read the next chapter, I just don't solely derive enjoyment from it.