I've read books 1-11 twice, and books 12 and 13 once.

I've averaged about 2 read-throughs per year for almost 15 years now... My wife made the mistake of buying me a paperback copy of EotW from a library sale and needless to say, I was hooked! I just finished the series again but will have to re-read right before AMoL comes out...

 

"That's what she said." - Mark Twain

Hahaha! My mother did the same for me when I was in HS, and bought a used paperback of EotW for me. When I was in college, she'd sometime's only-half jokingly say she regretted ever buying me that first WoT book. While I've found the hardcovers tend to hold up OK over time, my paperbacks never lasted very long. I used to duck-tape the binding of them together, and make my own hand-written covers when they started to fall apart. Now I just own the digital editions, and don't have to worry about how to carry my books around with me (in HS I used to always wear cargo pants, so I could have whatever book of WoT I was on for easy access when class grew boring.)

I voted 6-9 times. Not really quite sure but I know it's not less then that. I've re-read the series before every new release since CoS and had a 2x re-read before GS.

 

Presently doing another one and I'm also at the same spot Thorum is in my reading in TSR where Min has just returned to the tower.

Read the whole series three times - listened to it once - revisiting favourite scenes many times.

 

Why? RJ created a world and story that I can easily imagine myself as a character being totally immersed in.

 

The Cycle is closing, but one feels that the story HAS to go on.....

I read the whole series for the first time last year. But in Dutch.

Have now bought the series in English and just started with The Eye of the World. The ambition is to time my re-read with the release of the final book.

My first readthrough was before PoD came out, then I did a re-read before each subsequent book, starting with WH, more than once after KoD, so that's at least 7 or 8 re-reads.

Then also I like to just read scenes I like, one example everyone here probably agrees with is TSR's Perrin POVs.

The why isn't that straightforward. I got started on them due to someone I worked with, I said I wanted a fantasy series, so she gave me the first two to read. I was hooked. i love it due to the complex nature of the series. The main reason I read them is escapism. My health isn't that great, so reading the WoT allows me to leave my ailing body, and sit with old friends, and revel in their adventures. It's the best thing that has happened to me.

I was in Nashville, TN in the mid 90s and randomly got that free EotW handout (just the first half of the book I think) when I purchased another book (can't remember which bookstore it was). I started reading it but couldn't get past the prologue because it didn't make sense at the time and lost track of it. Then, I found it again during a move 10 or so years ago - skipped the prologue because I remembered not understanding it and went straight to chapter 1 and got hooked. Definitely read through the books (except the newest) at least 10 times - voted 6-9 to average the fact that I've read the newer ones fewer times (so far).

i started reading them a year and a half before The Gathering Storm came out, and then I started re-reading the series when Towers of Midnight came out, and wasn't fast enough, so i read up till the end of book 9, and skipped ahead to book 13. I am now doing a re-read with the goal to finish in time for book 14's release in Jan. i'm on aCoS (7) currently. college life makes spare time for reading not that abundant. ok so that looks like:

1-7 = x3

8-9 = x2

10-13 = x1

 

my problem is that there's so many books i want to read. I want to read the hobbit again before december too :P

I'm not really sure how many times I've re-read the series, at least 10. I started the series around the time WH was released, and did my first reread before CoT. Since then I've done a reread almost every year, and sometimes twice in a year. I re-read it because I still catch something new with every read, and I enjoy being able to so easily imagine the world RJ created.

I read the whole series for the first time last year. But in Dutch.

Have now bought the series in English and just started with The Eye of the World. The ambition is to time my re-read with the release of the final book.

They're MUCH better in English. The translators chosen weren't the best.

I just finished my second reading. Being a very slow reader, this is quite a feat for me. I've been reading WoT exclusively since 2003! I guess I need to savor each and every words. Nevermind, it just makes the story larger and more epic than it actually is. (If this can be possible) ;)

I'm on my second read now. I find myself saying "Oh you have no idea!!" to a lot of the characters, who as of TGH, are clueless about the wild ride they are in for!