Jordan, Robert

Approximately once per month, I get a note, either by itself or as part of a larger letter, that says I really ought to check out the "Wheel of Time" series by Robert Jordan in spite of the fact that I very clearly state in the introduction on my Library's welcome page:

If an author I like has written something, I generally buy it as soon as it comes out in paperback. I never buy a series until the whole thing is out in paperback...I got nailed several years ago by Donaldson, who made me wait about a year between all the books of the Second Chronicles, which I had to buy in hardback 'cause I couldn't wait! This means I won't touch Jordan until it's all out. No need to recommend it to me. I WILL read it all, but not until it is all out in paperback.

I used to wonder why Robert Jordan fans got such a bad name in rec.arts.sf.written (in the hierarchy of SF, the general opinion of them is somewhere just below ardent Trekkies, if the posts I read are any indication). Now I know. I'm sure this generalization to ALL Robert Jordan fans is patently unfair, but I understand the bad reputation caused by the fervent few.

Allow me to offer you this word of advice, which comes from my years of trying to recommend Stephen R. Donaldson to people. The more you recommend a book to someone, the less likely they are to actually read it, and the chances that they'll actually like it fall at an even greater rate. Human beings have a natural resistance to being told what is good for them ("dittoheads" being the only exception, as evolution has not yet had time to systematically select against their reproduction), and this extends to books.

So don't PREACH at people. Just ask politely whether or not they are aware of your very favorite author in the whole world, and if they are, say nothing else except PERHAPS that you think he writes fairly decently and might be worth reading someday in the distant future. If your goal is to get that person to read and enjoy the book, this is truly the best approach.

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