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Lord of the Rings

it's just me said:
I didn't think the movies were as good, either and it took me a while to figure out what it was - I missed Tolkien's omniscience. He knew what was going on anywhere in the world, what everybody in the room was thinking and what they were about to say, which you really can't do in the movies. That said, the movies were not bad, but they did not do the books justice, and I wanted to see Tom Bombadil and they cut him out entirely.
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I felt the Jackson films were amazing beyond belief and truly excellent. He created a visual Middle-earth that was beyond anything I had every imagined. The Barad-dur and Helms Deep were creations of genius from his art department. His actor selection was terrific with one or two exceptions and in a cast that large that is more than dandy.

As for Bombadil - the entire TB sequence in the books never made any sense to begin with. I am very thankful Jackson wrote hi out of the script.
 
I've never actually read the books, but I have listened to the audiobooks, several times. The series narrated by Rob Inglis are very, very good. The Hobbit is also top notch.
 
haymarket said:
I felt the Jackson films were amazing beyond belief and truly excellent. He created a visual Middle-earth that was beyond anything I had every imagined. The Barad-dur and Helms Deep were creations of genius from his art department. His actor selection was terrific with one or two exceptions and in a cast that large that is more than dandy.

As for Bombadil - the entire TB sequence in the books never made any sense to begin with. I am very thankful Jackson wrote hi out of the script.
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Lol, I was gonna say it's nice to agree with you on something for a change. Then you had to go hatin' on Bombadil. :mrgreen:

Yeah, the movies are great, I watch them all the time. But they are seriously abridged. You are right about the imagery though.
 
it's just me said:
Recently I started to re-read the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings series, I read them in high school with a bunch of other kids. We were too broke to have all of the books together so each of us had one of the volumes and we swapped them around. As a result it took me a year to read all of them while waiting for the next book to become available.

I am most of the way through "Fellowship of the Ring" and I can't believe how well it has held up for me. Most of the time when I re-read something I read as a kid it loses it's charm, not LOTR. What a great piece of literature.
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What's interesting is that I loved LOTR but absolutely hated the Hobbit. However if you get a chance, get your hands on a copy of the Silmarillion it's worth it.
 
StillBallin75 said:
What's interesting is that I loved LOTR but absolutely hated the Hobbit. However if you get a chance, get your hands on a copy of the Silmarillion it's worth it.
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Got one.
 
I would go for The Hobbit before LOTR, and Silmarillion is just a collection of junk bits that were never used. ( I hate director's cuts!) Maybe my bias stems from a very enlightened primary teacher in the 1950's reading it to us boys (doing embroidery!) while the girls were doing their weekly cookery lesson.
 
countryboy said:
I've never actually read the books, but I have listened to the audiobooks, several times. The series narrated by Rob Inglis are very, very good. The Hobbit is also top notch.
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Not an audiobook fan, I am too ADD for that. At least with print books I can concentrate.
 
it's just me said:
Not an audiobook fan, I am too ADD for that. At least with print books I can concentrate.
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I get that, I don't meet many people who are. Apparently they are out there though, since places like Audible exist. I commute a lot, so audiobooks are a Godsend for me.

I bet you would enjoy Rob Englis singing the Bombadil song. :mrgreen: I'm pretty sure Peter Jackson took much inspiration from Englis' performances as well, since many of the character's portrayals are almost identical to his. But the audiobooks were recorded by Englis over a decade before the first movie was released. Rob Inglis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
countryboy said:
I get that, I don't meet many people who are. Apparently they are out there though, since places like Audible exist. I commute a lot, so audiobooks are a Godsend for me.

I bet you would enjoy Rob Englis singing the Bombadil song. :mrgreen: I'm pretty sure Peter Jackson took much inspiration from Englis' performances as well, since many of the character's portrayals are almost identical to his. But the audiobooks were recorded by Englis over a decade before the first movie was released. Rob Inglis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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People who drive a lot love audiobooks, I used to listen to the NT on CD on one miserable commute, but I found that my attention wandered too much and I had to keep playing passages over again. I'll have to check out Inglis. Mrs. It's Just Me can probably get it from Amazon for free.
 
it's just me said:
The way Tolkien wrote was amazing. The narrative from the council of Elrond is sheer poetry, when it's not literally poetry, that is. Great stuff.
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I totally agree. I've read The Lord of the Rings probably 3 or 4 times now.

In his vein, I also like CS Lewis, who was very similar in many ways as a writer (at least I find a number of parallels between the two)

G.K. Chesterton I'd also put in their category, though his writing is altogether different - still, I think of Tolkien when I read him.
 
it's just me said:
People who drive a lot love audiobooks, I used to listen to the NT on CD on one miserable commute, but I found that my attention wandered too much and I had to keep playing passages over again. I'll have to check out Inglis. Mrs. It's Just Me can probably get it from Amazon for free.
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This is going to sound stupid, but I wish I understood how audio books worked - how to get them, play them, etc. Don't know why they seem so difficult to obtain - maybe because you need a massive data storage device to keep them? Just one of those things I guess - I'd like to listen to some, but every time I look into getting one I just lose interest in the process. :(
 
EdwinWillers said:
I totally agree. I've read The Lord of the Rings probably 3 or 4 times now.

In his vein, I also like CS Lewis, who was very similar in many ways as a writer (at least I find a number of parallels between the two)

G.K. Chesterton I'd also put in their category, though his writing is altogether different - still, I think of Tolkien when I read him.
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Chesterton and C.S. Lewis are not light reading, not that Tolkein is, but my recollection of Chesterton is that it's like work, you really have to concentrate to avoid missing something. I have read some of C.S. Lewis' non fiction stuff but not his "Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe". My wife is a fan of that.
 
EdwinWillers said:
This is going to sound stupid, but I wish I understood how audio books worked - how to get them, play them, etc. Don't know why they seem so difficult to obtain - maybe because you need a massive data storage device to keep them? Just one of those things I guess - I'd like to listen to some, but every time I look into getting one I just lose interest in the process. :(
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The audiobooks I am familiar with are on CD's, you play them on the car stereo if you are driving, although you can get talking Kindle books now. When my first generation Kindle was still working you would get a computer voice reading the story, I don't know what the latest generation of Kindles are like, I would rather read the words for myself.
 
..one of my favorite books of all time. I could hardly stand to go to school when i first read them and kept them with me to read on the bus ride home. I was obsessed. And i was surprised at how close the movies came to the books. Usually, it's terrible.
 
it's just me said:
Recently I started to re-read the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings series, I read them in high school with a bunch of other kids. We were too broke to have all of the books together so each of us had one of the volumes and we swapped them around. As a result it took me a year to read all of them while waiting for the next book to become available.

I am most of the way through "Fellowship of the Ring" and I can't believe how well it has held up for me. Most of the time when I re-read something I read as a kid it loses it's charm, not LOTR. What a great piece of literature.
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Tolkien was a genius when it came to writing.
that is one story line that you can read over and over and over again and it not get boring.
 
it's just me said:
Recently I started to re-read the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings series, I read them in high school with a bunch of other kids. We were too broke to have all of the books together so each of us had one of the volumes and we swapped them around. As a result it took me a year to read all of them while waiting for the next book to become available.

I am most of the way through "Fellowship of the Ring" and I can't believe how well it has held up for me. Most of the time when I re-read something I read as a kid it loses it's charm, not LOTR. What a great piece of literature.
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My father read it to me as a child. It went a long way to instilling the values of honor, duty, and strength.

The absolute need to do what must be done because it must be done, full stop.

Every 3-6 years since then, I've re-read it (plus The Silmarillion, sometimes also all the unfinished works). He was truly a genius among (and above?) geniuses. Part of the joy is the story. Part of the joy is the absurdly rich world he created as its backdrop, only a portion of which he published during his lifetime (and then, leaving hundreds of drafts behind). And so much of the joy is the linguistic genius behind the writing. Every word, sentence, paragraph, and chapter is shaped to the precise point in the story being described.

Even over a decade into adulthood, I must admit there are some passages I tear up upon reading.

I have read countless works. I think he is one of, if not the, greatest author in the English language.....and I think that stands even if one hates fantasy stories.






Praise him with great praise.
 
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Manc Skipper said:
Silmarillion is just a collection of junk bits that were never used. ( I hate director's cuts!).
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No!

It was all used, and it is to be assumed that any character knowledgeable of "lore" in LOTR knows of much of the history, which is The Silmarillion. It was simply written in a different way...so many are turned off by it being dry in the beginning. I find that the LOTR carries even more weight once you've read The Silmarillion, even if the prose isn't the best.
 
it's just me said:
Not an audiobook fan, I am too ADD for that. At least with print books I can concentrate.
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The only way I can listen to audio stuff is if I'm doing something else at the same time, like working out, shoveling snow, raking, cooking, etc.
 
Mr Person said:
No!

It was all used, and it is to be assumed that any character knowledgeable of "lore" in LOTR knows of much of the history, which is The Silmarillion. It was simply written in a different way...so many are turned off by it being dry in the beginning. I find that the LOTR carries even more weight once you've read The Silmarillion, even if the prose isn't the best.
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And Morgoth dwarfs Sauron in evil and evil accomplishments. And if one likes the epic quality of LOTR, the SIL is ten times that on steroids.

The story of Beren and Luthien is wonderful and so is Gondolin. Those are my two favorites in the SIL.
 
haymarket said:
And Morgoth dwarfs Sauron in evil and evil accomplishments. And if one likes the epic quality of LOTR, the SIL is ten times that on steroids.

The story of Beren and Luthien is wonderful and so is Gondolin. Those are my two favorites in the SIL.
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You know..... it's been seven or so years. I think I really ought to reread Simarillion and LOTR.
 
Mr Person said:
You know..... it's been seven or so years. I think I really ought to reread Simarillion and LOTR.
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Terrific!!!! I am sure you will fall in love it all over again.

I wonder if you do read the SILMARILLION again, if we can get a few people to read sections at the same time and maybe discuss it here?
 
it's just me said:
Recently I started to re-read the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings series, I read them in high school with a bunch of other kids. We were too broke to have all of the books together so each of us had one of the volumes and we swapped them around. As a result it took me a year to read all of them while waiting for the next book to become available.

I am most of the way through "Fellowship of the Ring" and I can't believe how well it has held up for me. Most of the time when I re-read something I read as a kid it loses it's charm, not LOTR. What a great piece of literature.
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Was given the Books on my 12th birthday and for the next year immersed myself in Tolkiens universe

Recently re-read Silmarillion, not exactly a Tolkien book ( his Son put it together after he died ) but still a favorite of mine.

Make sure you've read all of Tolkiens books thoroughly before reading the Silmarillion otherwise it won't make allot of sense
 
Have you read the Silmarillion? Some of those stories were pretty cool too, its not a novel like LOTR/hobbit, more like myth/legend compliation.

LOTR was a lot of things:

1. a labor of love
2. he built that world, language, etc, for many years, way more than most any author can afford to do and hope it all works out.
3. when he wrote it, it was really the first mainstream setting like that.

This is hard/insane for most creators/authors/writers to do. It's typically way too costly and who has interest in doing all that for a job?
When we do get such things...they really do stand the test of time, I agree.

I still love the world building he did, elves were cool in LOTR. They got fairy in D&D etc.
The dark ones in the mines...(no the balrog), who/what were they? We will never know :/
 
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