Who Else is Avoiding RoW Preview Chapters?

[+ILuvHats]

I’ll be honest, I cheated a little and read the prologue for RoW. I just couldn’t resist, and I figured since it was set 5 years in the past it wouldn’t spoil anything. But so far, that’s all I’ve read. I’m now 9 chapters behind what feels like the rest of the 17th shard, and it’s hard not to just binge them all at once, especially now that I’ve finished my reread of the first 3 SA books. I try not to read preview chapters because it takes away from the experience of binging the whole book all at once. Let me explain.

A week is a HUGE gap of time between chapters for me. When I watch shows that are still streaming and releasing one episode per week, I forget enough while I’m waiting that often I’ll rewatch the previous episode again right before the new one’s released. Of course I still remember the general plot so far, but I always feel like I might have forgotten about small details that will prove important. And if I already feel that way about tv series, how much worse will it be for a Stormlight book considering how dense they can be? So what I’d probably end up doing is rereading the preview chapters when the full book is out, but then the novelty will be gone from a huge portion of the book, all of part one if the pattern set by Oathbringer is followed. And that’s what’s so great about reading a new book; its all new, and you don’t know what’s going to happen next. And I’d hate for that to be taken away, even only for a section of the book.

So that’s why I’m resisting my carnal desires to devour the preview chapters. It’s the only way to keep my peace of mind. But it also sucks because I want to discuss everything on the forums, and by the time I read these chapters they’ll be old news. That’s the biggest drawback, but it’s not quite enough to justify taking away the novelty of a cohesive, first read-through. So I guess I’m making this post to see who else on these forums is also avoiding the preview chapters, and for what reasons. Also, if you are reading the preview chapters, does it not reduce the experience of the whole book? Or is it just worth it to be able to theorize and discuss ahead of time. 

[Honorless]

Not me

[Hen]

I AM! It is so hard. There will be times when my resolve dissolves and I pull up the first chapter and stare at the first line, but then I find it in myself to somehow close the tab. I'm trying to resist for the exact same reason. Its just so HARD because, not only do I want to read them, but one of my favorite parts of the stormlight board is theorizing, but right now all of the theorizing is happening in the RoW spoiler boards. Ive accepted at this point that I won't participate in a lot of the RoW theorizing, even after the book comes out, because I'm a slow reader. So in the 2-3 weeks it takes me to read it, all the big stuff will have already been discussed (I'm looking at you, all those people that read OB in a couple hours). 

I will admit, I've read the prologue. And Syls interlude. I just couldn't help it. 

[NameIess]

I was planning to avoid them, but then I finished The Way of Kings Prime, and I wanted to read more Stormlight, so...

[Halyo_Alex]

I'm too much of a theorist to be out of the loop with the rest of the forum, so I'm reading them as they come out.

[Odeem]

I was going to avoid them but that failed. I managed to wait until we were at 7 before I gave in.
I'd say you can always speed up your read using them - I dunno how quickly you read, but if you could read all of them in let's say a week, you could start reading them then. And then when the book comes out there won't really be a pause(Maybe a few days if you misjudge it, but still) Gets you a jump start on reading the entire thing without any real pause. I'm planning to start an SA reread next month, but I'm thinking it's going to be only rereading chapters I particularly enjoy.(The Battle at the Tower, among others) I already read them once this year, finished that up Mid-June. 

[Rosharan A.C.]

I'm avoiding reading them . I did read the prologue, but that doesn't count. 

[Shard of Reading]

I think I might be the only person who has avoided all of the new stuff, because that will just make waiting worse.

[+Invocation]

I started out nothing wanting to read them but just couldn't keep it going. I need my fix.

[Brgst13]

I'm holding out for release.  I like the feeling of a brand-new complete story that I can just sit down and read all the way through.

[Rushu42]

I'm holding out as well. I read whatever he puts in the newsletter, but I'm restraining myself from the chapters. I just know that when I get to the end of the released chapters the waiting will just be that much worse - and I'm a fast reader. I wouldn't expect it to last me more than a day. Still, the tantalizing snatches that I catch wind of make it difficult.

[Mat]

6 hours ago, ILuvHats said:

A week is a HUGE gap of time between chapters for me. When I watch shows that are still streaming and releasing one episode per week, I forget enough while I’m waiting that often I’ll rewatch the previous episode again right before the new one’s released. Of course I still remember the general plot so far, but I always feel like I might have forgotten about small details that will prove important. And if I already feel that way about tv series, how much worse will it be for a Stormlight book considering how dense they can be? So what I’d probably end up doing is rereading the preview chapters when the full book is out, but then the novelty will be gone from a huge portion of the book, all of part one if the pattern set by Oathbringer is followed. And that’s what’s so great about reading a new book; its all new, and you don’t know what’s going to happen next. And I’d hate for that to be taken away, even only for a section of the book.

I agree here. But I also am reading the preview chapters and fully expect- no, look forward to rereading them upon release. For me, a reread helps me catch more details I missed on the initial binge, so it's actually pretty nice.

Of course, I plan to reread RoW a week after I finish RoW for the exact same reason. Am I the only weird one who's gonna do that?  

Edited September 6, 2020 by Matrim's Dice
I typed 'fully' with 3 L's

[+ILuvHats]

23 minutes ago, Matrim's Dice said:

Of course, I plan to reread RoW a week after I finish RoW for the exact same reason. Am I the only weird one who's gonna do that?  

I... I have no words.

[Innovation]

I’m reading them so we can theorize on everything we read, then see how wrong we were when the book finally comes out. 

 

[Koloss17]

I love reading everything finished that Brandon has made, published or unpublished, but I’ve also been avoiding them. I just feel like I should wait til it comes out. 
I do think this forum is dead because of a new book coming out and it seems a good handful of sharders have gotten hold of the full thing. All I’m seeing is talk about stormlight five speculations, honestly. But there will be an explosion once stormlight 4 is released and we can talk about it.

[Use the Falchion]

I'm avoiding them! I've been spoiled a bit (some by accident, some by design) simply due to how the scrolling feature on this forum works, but that has only made me more curious about what I'm waiting for. Some days have been incredibly tempting, but I've stayed strong. 

Do I feel like I'm missing out? Absolutely. But I think the end result will be worth it. I enjoy reading all of my Stormlight books in large sittings and going in as blind as possible once the preview chapters start. It helps me get lost in the world and the book. 

Besides, there's The Original coming out next week and Dawnshard next month. After Dawnshard, the non-spoiler reviews should start to flow in, and those will tide me over until the release day. 

Will I avoid them next time too? Probably, but if Book 5 somehow happens to be over 500k words, then I might splurge.

2 hours ago, Koloss17 said:

I do think this forum is dead because of a new book coming out and it seems a good handful of sharders have gotten hold of the full thing.

I think it's also because we're not where the action is. I've seen a good deal of movement in the RoW spoiler section, especially on Tuesdays. And since all the focus is there, everything else falls to the wayside. 

The people who are really lucky this time of year are those who are reading the chapters, reading One Piece and My Hero Academia, and will watch The Mandalorian Season 2 when it comes out. They'll have something to look forward to every Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday to get them through the week. 

[Frustration]

I stand with you brother!

Read all the book in one go.

[Medium]

im resisting. its not that hard

[Bondsmith30]

I'm waiting.  No problem, really.  I've been avoiding, like, everything haha.  Focused on my Stormlight reread, and that's it.  Haven't listened to anything Shardcast or any other Cosmere related podcasts for a while.  

[Andy92]

I read the chapters as they came out for Oathbringer but the weeklong gaps and cliffhangers always got to me lol. I haven’t read any RoW material yet. I’m hoping Dawnshard does get emailed out around the end of October. I’d preferably like to read it before starting RoW. 
 

What helps me is that I started my re-read pretty late and I’m still in Oathbringer. I only read a chapter or two a day so it should take me up through to the release. 

[Yolenlightweaver]

I made the mistake and read the first chapter and was frustrated after that since I know I want it all if that was just a taste. Stay Away!!!!!!

[Hilfandor]

I'm waiting on reading any of it.  When Oathbringer was released, I took 3 days of my vacation time just to read the book.  Busy year means less vacation time, but I'll have at least 2 days of work-free reading time

[Enter a username]

On 9/6/2020 at 0:16 PM, Shard of Reading said:I think I might be the only person who has avoided all of the new stuff, because that will just make waiting worse.

Me too. I feel like I have to put something else here, but I don't know what else to put.

[BreezeCauthon]

I'm not reading any of them. 'Cause then I never know what to do with the beginning 5 chapters or whatever when I get the actual book. Do I re-read it? Or skip?

[Djerf]

For me spoilers don't spoil the book and the sample chapters are from the beginning and thus are mainly setup. Previous books I read the sample chapters and then when the book came I just reread the ones I liked and skipped the ones I didn't like. This way I get the concentrated goodness of Sanderson without interruption for the first part of the book while still having read the rest recently, then on reread whenever that is I will read it from beginning to end 

But then im the kind of guy who will Google to find out how this or that element of the story turns out when there is something that bothers me, it rarely diminishes my experience unless it turns into disappointment in which case I just drop the story.