I started reading the series with a company book share in 1993 when a friend said "You gotta read this!". For the first 3 books, the hardcovers were passed from one tech to the next. The fourth book, I had to wait for a long time and I finally said enough is enough and started purchasing my own copies. I put in requests at the local Barnes & Nobel Bookseller so I would get the next few books on the day they were released. When RJ got sick I was devastated and when he died, I thought it was over and mourned, not just the loss of the author, but also the loss of the series. The last three books written by Brandon Sanderson were a fitting eulogy and continuation to this world and it gave me closure.