J.R.R. Tolkien (Author of The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings) | Why You Should Read
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- Опубліковано 7 лип 2024
- Mike is going on an adventure to Middle-Earth to discuss what makes J.R.R. Tolkien's stories so special and why you should read it.
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0:00 Introduction & Reading Excerpt
3:28 Background Info
5:12 Why You Should Read Tolkien
20:04 Final Thoughts
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Reading excerpt music provided by:
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/ musicbyscottb
Music promoted by BreakingCopyright: bit.ly/freedom-song
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#MikesBookReviews #LordOfTheRings #Tolkien - Розваги
Hi guys! My apologies about more cuts than usual in this video. In case you missed the post, I was lucky enough to get poison oak on our camping trip and I had to take breaks because of itching haha. Enjoy!
I do hope you weren't acting like a bear in the woods when you caught poison oak?
P. S. Epic intro and hugely enjoyable video..
I think this was a good video. I love the artwork, I have seen a lot of Lord of the Rings artwork in my time and all of it was fresh to me. Great job!
Great job despite the poison ivy. I am highly allergic and you have my sympathies. Have you tried Cortaid Poison Ivy Care? It's a fat blue tube that stands on its lid. Its a great scrub to help remove the itch-causing toxins.
Reading JRR Tolkien's works make me appreciate the trees each time.
Big vibe. Walk through a forest while listening to the audiobooks. Highly recommend 10/10 experience
I love Tolkien! He gave us one of the greatest stories ever told!
Indeed.
The greatest story is the story of the Bible - the story of restoration. Although Tolkien writes beautifully, he didn’t give us one of the greatest stories ever told, but he has reinstated the hope God gave us in his sons’ atonement
So awesome to see the works of J.R.R. Tolkien getting the epic treatment they deserve here on BookTube! Beautiful job with this video, Mike! And of course I’d loooove to chat about The Lord of the Rings with you - name the time!
I have consulted The Precious...we will be in touch, yes we will...
One of the most influential writers, one that we might never see again in our lifetime. Thank you, Tolkien.
I really don't think he will ever be topped. His work was just too incredible.
Hello Mike. I’m a homeschool mom and we just read The Hobbit and are starting The Lord of the Rings trilogy. My high schoolers are loving it. We would love a spoiler talk or discussion about these books. My kids have loved discussing the books so far and looking deeply into their themes. And thank you for keeping most of your content PG, my household appreciates it. Thanks for another fabulous video.
I first read Lord of the Rings after my dad passed away and its become a comfort since then. A reminder that as dark as things can get there is hope and good things can still come after that.
"There's some good in this world, and it's worth fighting for, Mr Frodo".
Thank you for making this video. I hope everyone reads Tolkien. My dad read it in the 60’s, then introduced my mom to it when they met. He read the Hobbit to me as a kid then I read the LOTR in middle school in the 90’s. I introduced my wife to it while we were dating and the movies were coming out. Now I’m reading them with my son. They are not perfect books but they are as close as any novel I’ve read and they are a great door to talking about things that really matter in real life.
I would personally like to watch a review of any or all of the Lord of The Rings books that you do, you offer a unique perspective. I have read them all but would still watch.
Back in 2008 I was 10 years old looking through my moms books. I came across a book called The Hobbit. I started reading it and fell in love with the characters and the world and thus my journey into fantasy reading started. JRR Tolkien will always be my favorite author for introducing me to a whole new world.
I found the Hobbit on a random bookshelf in a holiday guesthouse in Africa in around 1970. I was heartbroken when it ended. A week or two later imagine my joy when someone told me the story continued with three more books. Thus began a lifelong love affair with Tolkien and Middle Earth. I can't imagine how much poorer my life would have been without them. And then the movies were made, I absolutely love them. And I now live in Birmingham where Tolkien grew up and can explore the areas that inspired the stories. As I write this, newshas just landed of the passing of Bernard Hill, who did am excellent job bringing Theoden King to life. RIP Bernard Hill.
My teory is that Tolkien's work endures because it in a way is readen like a saga/the old myths, which have endured in one way or the other for ages. And he did create a whole mythology fir his world too.
Sometimes you need to step away from the computer or pause the silly super hero movie and go for a walk in the park. That is what Tolkein offers.
Hopefully people who haven't read the Hobbit won't be disappointed there isn't a love story, covering a dragon in molten gold or the other nonsensical things from those movies.
These were almost require reading by the age of 10 growing up. Several friends had read it multiple times by then. But it was reading the Sil when you realize the depth of the world and and loving care that went into it.
But love them, hate them or somewhere in between, they are the elephant in the room and should be read as their influence on modern books and authors in undeniable.
I reread Tolkien this year starting with Silmarillion and I found it enriched the experience exponentially. It lends context to so many situations and makes many conversations flow easier.
Yes please,I would love to see more Tolkien content on the channel.🙂
Coincidentally, it just so happens that I’m reading LoTR for the first time. It is much better than I expected it to be, but definitely not for everyone. I’m still early in, but I think I prefer the book over the movies. It’s just so rich in lore and it explains many of the inconsistencies of the films.
However, the movies are still excellent and I think they made some changes that were better than the book. I honestly don’t believe the book can be faithfully adapted and have it be watchable.
I'm in a similar boat. I'm reading them for the first time since high school and I started fellowship last week.
The book is far superior to the movie adaptations.
@@folksurvival - The movies are pretty great though. I love them both.
They edited the films correctly imo....same with the Shining. print and film are just different.
Thank you for this! I never get tired of hearing people talk about Tolkien’s work. I highly doubt any other work will surpass it. Such fond memories of reading The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings for the first time as a teenager. It’s difficult to relate when I hear complaints about his prose. I find his prose some of the best I’ve ever read. So beautiful! The downside is that that it takes longer to read because I find myself re-reading passages. Sort of like taking a leisurely walk through the countryside.
I am looking forward to your Hobbit review!
Lord of the Rings is responsible for a lot. The first real novel I ever read as well as the first book that made me experience the feeling of actually being there in that world and seeing and hearing everything instead of just reading words on the page. I would've been in the first grade at the time. Eventually the same magic would've come through some other book, but this was the one that got to me first. So thanks, Tolkien. It would take an essay to properly convey how much Lord of the Rings has meant to me. A love of nature, delight in language and the sublime effect of fantasy on the human spirit are the big takeaways here.
Sublime is a good word for describing Tolkien's work.
Great video Mike, love the epic intros. Tolkien was a genius and I have him to thank for my love of high fantasy literature. He is the definition of a legend.
My favorite author. Lord of the RIngs is the greatest fantasy book and one of the best books ever written. I feel like Tolkien stays relevant because his story resonates within for those that can understand the emotional content. I remember reading Tolkien as a child and being bored by the size of the book and the complexity of the prose. Then I read it again as an adult and understand the content and intent better and found it a deeply meaningful book about sacrificing everything to save that which you love with the power of friendship carrying you through when you think cannot carry on. So few fantasy books truly do this well in the way Tolkien did it where it felt like a very natural part of the story. It's like Blade Runner when I watched it as a child and didn't get it. But I watched Bladerunner as an adult and you understand what Roy was seeking and what the story was exploring using science fiction as the setting. Some stories you read, are entertained, and you have a good time. But books like Lord of the Rings carry with you after you are done.
One thing about Tolkien is that he was very good at describing things so that they seemed real. Part of this is just that when he's describing the landscape he does some impressive prose that describes the heck out of it. But he has a lot of tricks that most people don't use, maybe begrudge the space needed. One thing he definitely pioneered I think was the use of food to make the situation feel real; sometimes good food, sometimes bad food, but the food makes the place hit you in your gut. I think a fair number of fantasy writers have actually picked up on that and it has worked well for them. Another thing is that Tolkien was an outdoorsman himself, hiked a lot, knew his trees and plants. So when he describes places as having this and that sort of tree it doesn't feel affected, it's the kind of thing he would notice if he were walking there, and even if I don't know one tree from another it still makes it feel real to me--like, those are real facts about that place and SOMEONE knows them. Another technique that pretty much nobody else has the guts to use is, Tolkien would use a sort of historical voice, where he talks about some event and then says something like "And it was said there in after days that X". It's weirdly powerful--on one hand, he's not even telling you for sure what happened--but that's what makes it so real. It was said . . . by some people, other than the narrator, people who live there and heard by word of mouth; we may never know the truth, but there IS a truth, that people have some but imperfect knowledge of, just like in real history. He implies all that reality with a little turn of phrase. Writers don't like writing like that--too formal, too archaic, they feel like it breaks immersion, but I think it's a move that makes people feel in their gut the reality of the place without ever realizing why. Tolkien had moves.
Loved the video, I appreciate the time you took to make the intro, and I agree with your reason, he is the best!
I read the Lord of the Rings series while I was in 7th grade using the same set of books my dad read from when he was younger. The story blew me away then and still has the same effect on me today. Classics will never die - especially when they are this epic!
The intro gave me goosebumps, beautiful!
Beautiful intro 🥲! You nailed this why you should read video, Mike. This is the most universal recommendation you can give a fantasy lover, and I think you'll inspire many to read it and find out why.
Great video as always, Mike! Looking forward to more Tolkien content on the channel!
Great job, Mike! Loved the intro. Your passion for Tolkien and his world shine throughout this video.
Phenomenal introduction! A true labor of love.
I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy around 1965-1968, when I was in high school.
Great stuff!
i love some good LotR talk. i always love to hear your spoiler talks. i like the format of a spoiler section at the end of videos. i also cant wait for some more Red Rising talk
Love this intro! I’m looking forward to the review. I just ordered my copy of the annotated Hobbit.
Mike love the videos brother. Hope you feel better soon.
Another fantastic intro Mike, you knocked this one out of the park. Tolkien would be proud. I last read LotR 20 years ago, I think you've inspired me to do a reread.
Nearly made me cry! That was so powerful.
Just got to say that intro Mike goosflesh best intro you've done imo and I like all ur intros. I'm struggling in life now so good to have ur channel and for a time all seems well! Thank you for your channel Mike love from sweden ❤
Awesome video and a great opening 👍
Fantastic!!. I love Tolkien and I would love you to get into the other books as well. I want to read Unfinished Tales and the Children of Hurin, etc. I would love some read-a-longs with those books. More Tolkien!
I reread these books about every 2 years and I love them.I've been doing this since 1969.My English teacher gave a copy and I still have it today. Love your channel.
Well done Mike Intro looks great.
I love these intros!! They'll never get old!
Awesome video! That opening was fantastic! I've always loved the works of Tolkien. Watched The Two Towers at the cinema when I was two days old. Well, I was there, even if I was not watching aha! In some ways I even prefer The Silmarillion. But the characters and journey in The Lord of the Rings is almost unbeatable.
Will
Got new editions for this reread! Looking forward to it.
Loved the intro! A wonderful tribute, Mike! Looking forward to reading beyond The Hobbit and LoTR, though I could reread those books on repeat!
They are books that a person can re-read over and over.
This video made me so happy!
Nice video Mike. I enjoyed the length of this video!
I know this one was hard for you, but I think you nailed it! Can't wait for this upcoming series of videos. For me, when your Talk About Nothing with AP touched on LOTR, I knew I was going to be a constant watcher. Personally would like to see spoiler talks about this series as its universally influential and paramount to the genre as a whole.
I read The Hobbit when I was 11 or 12 but haven't read the LOTR in its entirety. My new years resolution was to finally do it this year at 30 years old. Looking forward to getting into these for the first time, it's long overdue!
You're in for a treat i promise. Yes it's long, yes the language is kinda old-fashioned, but once you get sucked into it you'll love it.
@@draug7966 Not long enough.
I read the series for the first time a couple years ago (also early 30s). Beautiful writing, though yes it can be slow at times. The formatting can also be confusing at first, especially in the Two Towers. Personally I enjoyed Fellowship the most, but the entire series is fantastic and a true joy to read.
Love the music in that intro!
awesome video mike , ❤❤❤❤.
Amazing video Mike! I really got eager to reread some Lotr once again
I was never a reader growing up then I got a copy of the hobbit from my moms friend around 16 and was blown away. I had never read for enjoyment ,and I chewed through over 100 pages.which now doesn’t seem all that achieving but then that was a feat it took me a while to finally jump in to LOTR but when I did I cried I didn’t know I could love words this way he makes you feel for things and see things in a different light and growing up with out much of a father these books showed me who I wanted to be
My 6th-grade teacher read The Hobbit to us, and I really enjoyed it. I didn't discover LOTR until several years later, and loved it. My favorite character is Eowyn.
For such a big title I think it would make sense to have content for all levels of interest, that way people could keep coming back as they progress. I'm looking forward to what you put out. Those quotes in the intro are really whetting my appetite for a reread.
Great intro!!!
I just read them for the first time in 2020-2021, so I would absolutely love to see more LOTR content on the channel!
Loved this video and i love tolkien! hope you get the support to do more videos as id love to hear more
Hi, Mike, new suscriber here, definitley going to check more recommendations. Thank you.
Now I'm convinced on reading Tolkien. Wish me luck.
With that music, that was one hell of an intro!
I literally finished The Hobbit this week and I'm starting Fellowship in 2 weeks. Great timing Mike!
I still have The Hobbit/LOTR box set my mom gave me when I was about 11. I loved it then and I love it now.
Treasure island is awesome. I read a version that was illustrated and abridged, I had a wonderful time reading it!
I've read the Hobbit multiple times and LOTR twice, in German. This summer I will for the first time read it in English during our sommer vacation to the Canadian wilderness. I am excited, especially given the fitting surroundings.
Like so many, I was a kid when the movies came out and had only been reading Harry Potter. Those films changed my life and have made me not only a lifelong fantasy fan, but a reader in general. That said, I've never gotten around to reading the books. It needs to change soon. Thanks as always for the content Mike
As I love history, I loved the appendices and The Silmarillion is one of my favourites ever. 😊
My first Tolkien book was The Children of Hurin. I was sold from then on.
Man.. that intro was epic!
Man I'm telling his intros just get better and better
The Hobbit and LOTR: pure magic!! 😍
New hair cut looks good mate 👍
haha I love the Mandela Effect reference just before the 6 minute mark. I definitely remember Berenstein Bears.
I bought a box set of The Hobbit and LOTR last winter and am finally starting on this series now.
I love Tolkien ❤️ I read his books many times and I never get bored. My favorite author ❤️
Nail on the head Mike, he is ‘the best’.
Hi, there. I'm 17 and you know what, you convinced me to read it.❤❤
Hey Mike, lovely video as always. Would like to see your take on the books as a spoiler-packed video, but I guess I'll watch it either way. Greetings from Germany
🍻
I first read Tolkien when I was 10 and it's he's one of my all time favorite authors. I've been meaning to reread Tolkien but my list is quite large.
I'm used to long books and even difficult books. But I will admit, it took me until about halfway through Return of the King before the language really "clicked" for me and it didn't feel so hard going. Now I have no problem with it. It's my favorite story of all time. I'm re-reading Fellowship currently. I never want to leave that world!
4:02 "unless you live in a hole in the ground," I was expecting a hobbit joke here.
Marked spoiler review would be nice!
Wonderful video! Absolutely agree on all these points. Not only is Tolkien my Favorite, but he is indeed the Best. I haven’t read everything out there, but even with the many big series that I have read, nothing has been able to compare to what Tolkien did. I’ve heard people say that WoT is better or bigger, or more impressive or whatever, but I haven’t seen it yet (only 3 books in though). When you take the approximately 1300 pages between The Hobbit and LOTR and see what was built and developed in just that (excluding The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales and all the rest of his works), there is no other series that has created as much in that few pages. Each Stormlight book is nearly that in length, and even with the 4, and all of the rest of the Cosmere included, it still isn’t quite there. Maybe it will be someday, but it isn’t yet.
Great video. I could go on for a while more still, but your video speaks for itself, and I definitely don’t need to add anything to it. Well done.
-T
My gateway into fantasy. The word is overused, but truly a classic.
I have a problem with this video...
I see a thumbs up button, and I clicked it, but where is that damn love button, I want to smash it!
Great job Mike! Thank you.
Need audiobooks just like that with light background music!
I’m all pumped to do a re-read now! I’d love to hear a spoiler review on the books.
I honestly can't get into the books. But the fact that it inspired so many stories I do like makes it special. Plus the movies were awesome when I was a kid!
You should read Tolkien just for the man, the myth, the legend... Tom Bombadil.
RIP Bernard Hill Theoden King.
Reading Tolkien is such a huge part of my life that it never occured to me that this video would ever have to be made.
I’d love to hear a spoilery discussion!
Owned a collection with The Hobbit and LOTR since I was about 8 (I’m 31 now) but didn’t read the Hobbit until about 2 years ago for the first time. My first experience of the world was the movies as a kid and never seen them since. Would love some spoiler talk, The Hobbit is a short book so I’ll read it next month and then likely go into my first read of LOTR
Awesome video Mike! I remember you mentioning a few months back that you would be doing a spoiler talk for The Hobbit! Is that still in the plans? I'm currently on a re-read!
If you love audiobooks I strongly recommend that you listen to Andy Serkis' reading of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings." Yes, Gollum himself has narrations of both.
My gosh, I went years thinking I had never read the Hobbit until recently I remembered that I did, for school, waaaaay back in my earlier grade school days. But, having said that, I got it on my Kindle and I would love to read it again and be almost like a first time, and then watch a discussion video on the channel. I plan to do my own JRR Tolkien revival soon, because I purchased a new paperback set for Lord of the Rings and Silmarillion
Planning a re-read leading up to Rings of Power as well and I'm going to try and finally get through the Silmarillion! I haven't read the trilogy in five or six years, and I never read the appendices so it will be great to revisit Middle Earth! I do read The Hobbit pretty much every year because it's probably the first book that I was really in love with as a kid, and The Hobbit trilogy are the first movie adaptations I remember being really excited to go see with my dad (which is probably part of why I still like them more than most people 😂)
I'm doing my first read of the Silmarillion right now, about 2/3rds through; it's totally worth it, it's amazing how my understanding and apreciation is deepening - it's going to make going back to the Hobbit and LotR much more nuanced. Don't sweat it too much (unless you want to) if you can't keep track of every Elf name or geographic description, the story still works when it flows. If you have any trouble, there's many read along guide podcasts like "talking tolkien" to help make connections and orientate you. And though it's not past chapter 17 yet, Voice of Geekdom has a great youtube series guide with fantastic art and music to help after you read a chapter. Bon Voyage!
@@MagusMarquillin thanks for the advice! I'll definitely check out some podcasts/videos
@@sammie9088 I just realized I gave you the wrong podcast name - they _were_ called "Talking Tolkien", but someone else had that name so they had to change to "the Tolkien Road". My Bad. Course they're all sorts of podcasts on this topic, I don't claim to have the best - though that might well be "the Tolkien Professor" as he's a legit expert (if you like long academic explorations that is).
I read the hobbit when I was 20 and I'm almost done the lord of rings trilogy and I love it kinda want to continue on with the silmarilion and the other books
I reread The Hobbit almost every year right after New Year. Still need to get to the last two books in the LOTR trilogy but when I read The Fellowship of the RIng a couple years back the prose didn't seem too hard to me. I had some issues with pacing at times but I loved it nonetheless :)
Am more than fine adding spoilers to the reviews. The LOTR movies already highlighted the major plot points in the series so there’s not much the mainstream audience doesn’t know.
Read once that James Joyce wrote Ulysses so book snobs would leave his friend alone (Tolkien).
I remember the first time I read Lord of the Rings and I couldn't believe the amount of times Aragorn says "Alas!".
It's true. He's the best. And you know, just because the books occupy this sort of . . . historical position in fantasy, doesn't mean they'd be the best. Often you go back and look at early stuff in a genre and it's not very good, or maybe you can find the good in it if you work but it still doesn't really measure up to modern stuff that has really established sort of the best moves and has standards to measure up to. Really, early science fiction is not mostly as good as more recent science fiction. But The Lord of the Rings just happens to still be the best. All worldbuilding aside, Tolkien is just a really amazing writer, with incredible prose that packs masses of meaning into his words and makes the world come almost literally alive (often talking about the landscape as if it were alive, with feelings of its own). And he was a man of great and deep moral insight. Between that and his abilities as a wordsmith, Lord of the Rings is packed with great lines, classic aphorisms that people remember all their lives. As to the characters, Tolkien is from an older but still IMO very accessible school--you get a bit of insight into their thoughts, but much of the characterization is shown in what people do, and this is in my opinion still very powerful, the epitome of "show, don't tell".
I could go on forever. He's the best.
it is about time for me to reread the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. Maybe I should dust off my Hobbit book in May. 😄
I would love to hear your reviews on them! I don't mind spoilers. I totally respect others that want spoiler free..
😁 thanks for sharing your thoughts and opinions!
I teach high school and it amazes and saddens me how many of my students haven't seen the LotR movies. It's crazy to think that they weren't even born when the movies came out
I was lucky enough to have been exposed to the Hobbit in 3rd grade. It was part of the cirruculum back then in our school. looking forward to my middle-earth content!
Soooo ..... First of all great video! I want to inject that he was building the world of Middle Earth back around or before World War I.
Another brilliant video Mike. I enjoy the Silmarillion for the info inside but I feel it reads as dry as The Bible so I wouldn't start there. LOTR isn't even on the Mount Rushmore of fantasy because its larger than that. If the best works of fantasy make a mountain, LOTR is the entire state of South Dakota. It's influence and staying power is unmatched. It will no more "age out" than Frankenstein or any other legendary story in literature. Funny that it was Beowulf that inspired him because, like Beowulf, people will know LOTR hundreds of years from now.