Echo Posted July 23, 2009 Posted July 23, 2009 This thread is in place of the Fans of Tolkien social group. Since Tolkien is an author, we can discuss his books here and let others join in! So, let's start discussing! My favorite Tolkien book is still The Lord of the Rings, but The Silmarillion is a close second. I honestly find some parts of The Lord of the Rings to be kind of boring (like Sam and Frodo's torturous journey across Mordor), but in my opinion, nothing equals it in terms of description and outright love of nature and landscape. What's your favorite Tolkien book? Quote
Kate Posted July 24, 2009 Posted July 24, 2009 I have to agree that parts of Lord of the Rings are boring. I nearly gave up through the Two Towers because of the Sam and Frodo's long section Quote
pipread Posted July 24, 2009 Posted July 24, 2009 I think The Hobbit is my favourite, maybe because it was the first Tolkien book I read. I loved it because it set the characters and it is an exciting adventure. I think Tolkien did an amazing job with his descriptions of a totally new land and people, but do agree that some parts of, The Lord of The Rings, did go on a bit too long. I`ve still got the Silmarillion on my bookshelf, I tried but failed to get into it, maybe one day.........? Quote
Nightwish Posted July 24, 2009 Posted July 24, 2009 I have only read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit was amazing! At first I struggled to get into it because it was the first time I had read a book of that genre, but the further I got into it the more I loved it I've not completed The Lord of the Rings. I have read the first two and did enjoy them but I do agree some parts were a bit boring. I have tried to read the third but wasn't in the mood when I started it to be honest, and the beginning wasn't that exciting to really hold me. I will go back to it soon and attempt it again. Quote
Echo Posted July 24, 2009 Author Posted July 24, 2009 I did a research paper on Tolkien a few years ago, and part of what I researched was Tolkien's connection to nature. His main purpose was to create a mythology for England, a country he loved, and the natural landscape of the country is echoed in his descriptions of the Shire. All of his descriptions of nature reflect his passion for it, and once I understood that and his fear of the natural world disappearing, I was more able to sort of "bear with him". Quote
Raven Posted July 24, 2009 Posted July 24, 2009 Hello. My name is Raven, and I am a fan of Tolkien. *phew* they do say that is the hardest part . . . Quote
Echo Posted July 24, 2009 Author Posted July 24, 2009 Raven, you made me giggle! Certainly there's no shame in loving Tolkien, right? Quote
Raven Posted July 25, 2009 Posted July 25, 2009 Sticky speaking it depends on how many Hobbits you are doing a day . . . Quote
Kylie Posted July 25, 2009 Posted July 25, 2009 I've only read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit would definitely be my favourite. I did struggle with Tolkien's long-winded descriptions of the countryside. Quote
MissWhitlock Posted July 25, 2009 Posted July 25, 2009 LOTR is definitely my favourite, despite all the boring parts. I'm okay with his style of writing but what I mainly like about LOTR was the world he created. I was so fascinated by like, the elves and hobbits and the whole Sauron thing that I didn't realy mind the overly descriptive words. The Children of Hurin comes second, I would think. I just loved everything about it, especially the plot and the way it was written and stuff (even though it was edited or co-written or whatever the hell it is by his son). Loved it. The Silmarillion was boorrinngg as, but there WERE some parts of it that were very interesting. This book made me feel like maybe there WERE elves and Eldar and stuff before us. Only read it once though :S Quote
Echo Posted July 25, 2009 Author Posted July 25, 2009 The Children of Hurin is simply the final version of the Turin story, which appears in both The Silmarillion and in Unfinished Tales (another good read). Christopher Tolkien is his father's literary executor, so he has had the job of organizing and publishing all of Tolkien's unpublished and unfinished works. Not an easy job, I'd imagine. He created the mythology of Middle-earth during almost his entire lifetime, and never really finished it to his satisfaction. Quote
atticjnr Posted July 25, 2009 Posted July 25, 2009 I started reading The Hobbit years ago and never got into it as I had other things that came up and got in the way of concentrating on it and the same goes for The Lord of the Rings. However, I did really enjoy what I read and have since bought various copies of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings in really old, interesting looking versions and will definitely be reading them soon! From the bookshop I use, I managed to get The Hobbit, LOTR, The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales and The Children of Hurin all for Quote
ladymacbeth Posted July 25, 2009 Posted July 25, 2009 I enjoyed the Hobbit but have had 2-3 tries of LOTR without being able to finish The Two Towers. Quote
Timmo Posted July 25, 2009 Posted July 25, 2009 I love The Hobbit, one of my favourite books. I found The Lord of the Rings to quite a struggle in some places. Some of the chapters are really long winded and make you want to stop reading it. Quote
chesilbeach Posted July 25, 2009 Posted July 25, 2009 I've only read the LotR trilogy by Tolkein, and that was only because the films were being made, and I prefer to read the books before watching the adaptation on screen. I'm not really much of a fantasy genre reader, especially when the fantasy is so far out of the realms of reality, and although I'm glad I read LotR, I won't be reading any more Tolkein. I struggled with the made up languages, and kept getting Sauron and Saruman (are those the right names?) mixed up in my head and struggled to follow some of the characters stories because there were too many similar names. Quote
Raven Posted July 25, 2009 Posted July 25, 2009 Sauron and Saruman (are those the right names?) Yes. Waffle waffle waffle.* *There, that should take it above 7 characters . . . Quote
shnnntam Posted July 28, 2009 Posted July 28, 2009 i've only read one book of Tolkein's (The Hobbit) and i loved the world he created, i currently have The Fellowship of the ring waiting on my shelf to be read and i can't wait to tackle it Quote
atticjnr Posted July 31, 2009 Posted July 31, 2009 I am reading The Hobbit at the moment and I actually hate myself for not carrying on with it before! I love it and have barely put it down over the last few days. I'm almost at the end but at least I have the whole LOTR trilogy and 3 other Tolkien books to keep me going after! I have just read the chapter Spiders and Flies and I actually love Bilbo! Quote
BookJumper Posted July 31, 2009 Posted July 31, 2009 I am ashamed to admit I've only ever read LOTR, and over 10 years ago at that - I remember it took me ages to read but only because the school library was loaning the volumes out separately and obviously by the time I finished "The Fellowship of the Ring" someone else (a much slower reader than I then way) had borrowed "The Two Towers" and so forth. ... any suggestions as to which one I should read next? I absolutely loved LOTR. Quote
Kylie Posted July 31, 2009 Posted July 31, 2009 If you loved LOTR, then I'd definitely recommend The Hobbit next, BookJumper! It's brilliant, but not as long-winded at LOTR, as I recall. Quote
Raven Posted August 1, 2009 Posted August 1, 2009 If you loved LOTR, then I'd definitely recommend The Hobbit next, BookJumper! It's brilliant, but not as long-winded at LOTR, as I recall. Personally, I wouldn't! (after reading Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit is like reading Tolkien Lite). Basically, you are shifting from an adult book to a children's book, that is heavy on singing and fluff. It is interesting to a point - for back story - but don't expect great things as it is aimed at a completely different audience. Quote
BookJumper Posted August 1, 2009 Posted August 1, 2009 To be honest though I love (good) children's literature and as my memories of LOTR are rather hazy and more or less amount to "it was brilliant" (it was, after all, 11 long years ago), the idea of reading Tolkien Lite doesn't necessarily sound unappealing... . Quote
Raven Posted August 1, 2009 Posted August 1, 2009 Fair enough! I just found it a bit of a let-down after the detail and much broader story of Lord of the Rings (Rivendell was particularly disapointing!). I really must give The Silmarillion a go sometime . . . Quote
MissWhitlock Posted August 1, 2009 Posted August 1, 2009 Yeah you should. It WAS verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry boring at some bits and is hard to actually get into but it was very interesting know all about Middle Earth and the Eldar and stuff. Very. What other stuff did Tolkien write anyway? Apart from LOTR, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion and the Children of Hurin. Oh, and the countless children books that he did, apart from that, what else did he write? I can't quite remember. Wasn't there a series called Untold..tales...of...Middle Earth or something like that? Quote
Raven Posted August 1, 2009 Posted August 1, 2009 Yeah you should. It WAS verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry boring at some bits and is hard to actually get into but it was very interesting know all about Middle Earth and the Eldar and stuff. Very. What other stuff did Tolkien write anyway? Apart from LOTR, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion and the Children of Hurin. Oh, and the countless children books that he did, apart from that, what else did he write? I can't quite remember. Wasn't there a series called Untold..tales...of...Middle Earth or something like that? The Unfinished Tales, is probably what you are thinking of, and there is also the Tales From a Perilous Realm. Quote
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