The worst part about re-reading LOTR is knowing that eventually you’ll get to the end. The only way to mitigate the sadness for me is to go right into the Silmarillion, a book that I love just as much, if for slightly different reasons.
The Hobbit was the first book my mom ever read to me and since then I’ve loved it and the LotR. I love the council of Elrond in fellowship and the breaking of the fellowship always makes me cry
a bit I loved in chapter The Mirror of Galadriel, quote: “She looked upon Gimli, who sat glowering and sad, and she smiled. And the dwarf, hearing the names given in his own ancient tongue, looked up and met her eyes; and it seemed to him that he looked suddenly into the heart of an enemy and saw there love and understanding.'
I have grown up watching the Lord of the Rings movies, since I was 9 years old (now I'm 19), so I was fairly familiarized with Tolkien's world. That being said, in 2017 I decided to read The Hobbit for the first time after having binge-watched all of the trilogy during a hard time in my life (Hurricane Maria really hit my island Puerto Rico hard). It was honestly one of the best experiences of my life. Being able to escape to this world with a character like Bilbo going on an adventure when everything around me was falling apart, was so therapeutic. Right as I finished The Hobbit, I picked up The Fellowship of the Ring and continued my first read of The Lord of the Rings. Last year I read the Silmarillion for the first time and loved all of Tolkien's works. This has been such an amazing journey. To be able to revisit this world that I love so much with you guys and discuss it together brings me so much joy! 💕
*Spoilers for The Fellowship of the Ring* My favorite part of this first book is definitely The Council of Elrond. Being able to hear all the different races give their opinion on the ring, bring their stories together (starting with Bilbo, getting Gandal's perspective with Saruman, Legolas speaking about Gollum, etc) fills ny heart with joy. I've always been a sucker for more monologue-y typed of scenes where we get a lot of information, if it's done right; and Tolkien definitely does it right! I also love the friendships that start to build and how they are developed (like the four main hobbits, Legolas and Gimli, etc). I also love the scene where Frodo thought he was being so secretive about the ring but Merry, Pippin and Sam had figured everything out ages ago! This books is just filled with amazing moments 💕
I read it when I was 21 and it was okay. I read it again in my late 30s and it was good. I'm reading it now in my mid-forties and it is a masterpiece. I think reading Homer and then Medieval Arthurian literature from Robert de Baron, Wolfram von Eschenbach & Sir Thomas Mallory really improved the experience. The parts in LOTR that I was annoyed with (Tom Bombadil) aren't annoying anymore. Tolkien feels like he stepped out of Medieval times. You should read Tolkien's translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
14:00 LOTR SPOILERS Hair of Galadriel scene with Gimli has a lot of meta context when you read the unfinished tales ( after the Silmarillion) which i won't spoil however that scene to me now, with the wider mythology into account even more powerful.
Revisiting Middle-Earth has been immensely comforting. Thanks for the read-along nudge! And I'd read a Bombadil book just about him skipping around the world and offering people some perspective on their lives.
1)The first meeting between Gimli and Galadriel, how kind and wise she was and how he melted! 2)All the snark during the Counsel of Elrond (Boromir, Aragorn, Gandalf, Elrond...) 3)Aragorn's first meeting with the hobbits, with the "so I look foul and feel fair, is that it" always cracks me up 4)Frodo volunteering to take the Ring out of Shire and Gandalf being very impressed, and the continuation of that scene with Sam ("don't let him turn me into anything unnatural") is hilarious, IMO.
I reread more than 10 times. It's fabulous. The last time I actually listened to dramatized version of audiobook, and that was like watching film in head.
I’m so glad you’re hosting this readalong, it was the push to reread The Fellowship that I needed. I tried to read it years ago and DNF’d it, but I love it now!
They were. They were even in the same writing group I think. Tolkien just didn’t like the narnia series. He found the allegories in the series too limiting to the reader as he believes in reader applicability. Basically, an allegory is something in litterateur that was only written in one manner by the author which allows only one possible view of what the reader can take away. On the other hand reader applicability is where the author has written the story in a manner where different readers can take away different theme. This is most obviously seen with the comparison of narnia and lord of the rings. Lord of rings was based off of nihilism and catholic values, but most readers don’t even recognize it as the story can be viewed in many different ways. However, narnia was written with the expressed intention of upholding and displaying catholic values leaving the reader with only one possible interpretation of the story.
@@BookswithBrittany yeah the nihilism stuff shocked me too. However, when I read the series I don’t attach it to anything nihilistic. It’s just good guys versus the big bad and I am sure Tolkien would be fine with that view of the story too. Or are you shocked by them being friends? That was just a quick google searchz
Great video! Thank you. The Lothlorien chapters are also my favourite part of "The fellowship of the ring". I understand why people would cry reading the conversation between Gimli and Legolas. This will always be highly relevant. I love Moria too. And I love the many very detailed descriptions of nature. Also the pages where it seems nothing happens. Nature is a very important (though silent) force in the world of Tolkien. "The ground now became damp, and in places boggy and here and there they came upon pools, and wide stretches of reeds and rushes filled with the warbling of little hidden birds."
By the way, did you read the appendices of "The lord of the rings"? Some parts of the appendices are a bit boring, but others are highly interesting. (You can always skip a few pages.) Since you are also interested in the wider world of Tolkien, I guess you will like most of them. (I am not sure whether your edition of the book contains them.)
I actually recently just read it for the 3rd time but really taking my time with it, taking a few months with it...and I actually found it EXTREMELY well paced, incredibly informative and quirky moments woven in by Tolkien that I hadn't noticed before that made it INCREDIBLY ENTERTAINING...like it never got slow or too descriptive this time...just GENIUS
I love the prologue on Hobbits, same as I absolutely love the gigantic appendix at the end of Return of the King. I'm a History major and I love fantasy so reading a fantastical imagined history? My cup of tea, I LOVE it. So glad you are loving this re-read :)
I read it for the first time im Swedish when I was 12 and then in English the year after - and I was hooked from the get go. It is a marvellous story well worth reading and rereading over and over again.
HEY DOL MERRY DOL RING A DONG DILLO! 😆 I love Tom and he adds so much to the richness of the world, but I do agree that strictly in terms of the plot he is superfluous which is why I can’t think of an adaptation with him in it. Would love to see one though.
Great to see you enjoyed your reread so much. This is still my favourite series of all time. I love how Tolkien’s prose and dialogue adapt to these different settings - from that whimsical atmosphere of the Shire to the grand magnitude of Lothlorien... I never thought it’s dry or too hard, and I’m not even a native speaker of English 😄 My favourite quote is the poem about Aragorn, of course.
I'm in the camp that sees Tom Bombadil and Goldberry as Tolkien inserting himself and his wife as characters into his own book, which I think is cheeky and fun!
I love the second chapter (I think), when Gandalf is describing the history of the ring. Most of the quotes people pull from the book are in that chapter, and it's for good reason. I also really like Bree and meeting Striker, but I also love rogues/scoundrel types, so of course. I'm interested in trying the Silmarillion! Are you going to read it with everyone after Return of the King?
I love love LOVED The Silmarillion! I definitely recommend reading it while listening to the audio book. DomMarshall72 also has a read along here on YT where he explains things that may be confusing. Good luck!
I hope to get the chance to read these sometime, maybe this year. Even though I'm only familiar with the story from the films, I think Gandalf is awesome. He reminds me of Dumbledore from Harry Potter with all the wisdom he imparts. I can only imagine a conversation between Gandalf, Dumbledore, and Master Yoda. The sheer amounts of wisdom would be mind-blowing. LOL Also, fun fact: Years before Tolkien wrote LoTR, a classical composer named Richard Wagner wrote a massive 4-opera cycle called "The Ring of the Nibelung" also about the creation of a powerful magic ring. If you google "Lord of the Rings and Wagner", there are several articles that compare and contrast the two, discussing things like weather Tolkien was influenced by Wagner. Though it seems to be that both were inspired by the same or similar mythologies. Tolkien was even quoted as saying "Both rings were round, and there the resemblance ceases." (from Wikipedia)
Wagner wrote opera. And in fact wrote THE opera. If you have not seen it please do. Other than that nerve you managed to touch. Loved your post you defiantly made me Laugh out Loud almost ROFL. ❤
I've not read much of them yet, but I researched and bought what are probably the best Tolkien biographies: you can get Tolkien's early years with "Tolkien and the Great War" by John Grath, this source was made into the movie "Tolkien" which I thought really good and mainly captured his spirit though events and characters were shifted around to suit the story, so don't see it as hard facts. Grath also recently released "the Worlds of JRR Tolkien" which is a lovely illustrated run through of Tolkien's influences in Myth and Geography that find parallels in the Story. Then there's the official biography written not long after he died "J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography" by Humphrey Carpenter. Tom Shippy gets some good credit too as Biographer. And you can get a great sense of Tolkien from his own hand by reading "the Letters of JRR Tolkien" - it's his written correspondence with friends, fans and publishers, and he talks about his work a fair bit. Hope that helps. I've loved Lord of the Rings for decades.
One Tom scene that is often overlooked is when Frodo gives him the Ring. Tom basically takes it, looks at it and hands it back saying basically 'Nah, I'd just lose it'. Who Tom is is one of the mysteries of ME. I can say he does come up briefly in the Sil. For what they meant for me, it was the sheer scale and detail that was, and is, still awe inspiring. You are completely immersed in the setting. They are just beautiful books. That opinion hasn't changed from when I first read them at 10. What has changed is that I realize what an impressive feat of writing they really are. Even more so after reading the Sil. That is a tougher read, but just as enjoyable, as it is really a bunch of stories lumped together. But the backstories are even more spectacular and bits of LotR might make more sense. Like who the Istari are and why Galadriel is a lot cooler than you might think. I might have to read them for a 3rd or 4th time. Especially post Malazan and armed with APs tools to play with.
A great review of the Fellowship. If you want to know about Tolkien, read "On fairy stories". It was an essay he wrote for a conference he was asked to speak at in, I believe 1938. It will give you a view into the mind and heart of JRR Tolkien.
Yeah, Gimli fell HARD for Galadriel. i liked that part too. I almost got the impression in the book though that Sam and Frodo weren't that good of friends in the beginning. I mean, Sam is Frodo's gardener, and he always calls him Master Frodo, and in one part when Frodo introduces his friends, he names Merry and Pippin but not Sam. They certainly grow closer as the story progresses, but i'm not sure how close they were in the beginning. I'd have to re-read it. Even Sam's main reason in the beginning to come along was so that he could see and meet Elves and maybe have a little adventure. As for Tom Bombadil, i think the character is fine, but i must say, if i knew him irl, all that bloody singing would get old real quick.
I prefer much more elves, so I really enjoy Rivendel and Lorien, but somehow the best part is Moria. Just imagining Moria is blowing my mind. I really love the beginning of Hobbit (film) where they show how beautiful dwarves make their dwellings. Ahhhh... love it
Lotr is the first book i ever start reading because i want so, i am at page 112 now. I also like hiking and mountains, maybe it is relatable in some ways ...
"The books are always better" is a rule. To every rule there are exceptions. I would hazard a guess that if polled 95% would say yes the books are better. I am from that 5% and I still think you should read at least the first book to find out. Happy reading.
I read the Hobbit for the first time when I was 10 years old and I loved it. I then read the first Lord of the rings book and wasn’t that impressed. I never read the other two lotr books. But recently I started reading the Hobbit again and then I read the rest of the series. And I gotta say that I loved it so much. It’s so much better than I remembered. Maybe it is because I’m older now 😂
Great video! Lothlorien was so fascinating, and I loved the quotes you shared! I've read The Hobbit twice before but didn't reread it before this read through. It was so wise of you to do right before this reread! 💕
I read the whole trilogy (and The Hobbit) for the first time last October and while I did enjoy the story, my reading experience was not that great tbh. I truly believe I was not prepared and went in with the wrong mindset; I just wanted to read them, fly through it and be done with it. Because of that, I ended up rating them around 3 or 3.5 stars... but I now see that maybe I should give them another shot and just take my time with them and enjoy the journey. I will probably try out reading along with the podcast as well, that is a great tip!! It was wonderful to see your love for this book, so thank you so much for making this review :)
I re-read this last month as well (audiobook with Rob Inglis). I noticed this time I enjoyed the songs a lot more. My favorite chapter is Book 2: Ch 5 - Bridge of Khazad-dûm. Love the Moria fight scenes and especially the Balrog. I'm pro-Bombadil.
I've tried to read this book so many times... just haven't been able to get into it, and usually DNF'd around 30%. I want to be a Tolkenite, but I think I'm looking too much for a modern plot structure. I love how you talked about just trying to enjoy the journey of the book, it makes me want to try this book again ♥️
My favorite chapter is the Conspiracy of the Ring. I just love how all of his friends were conspiring against Frodo for his benefit! I get why people don't enjoy Tom but I do, he's just so whimsy and fun! Moria, Lothlorien, Rivendell, and The Breaking of the Fellowship are amazing as well!
This was great!! I'm new into fantasy and have only read it for not quite a year yet, so I appreciate you telling when spoilers are coming. I plan to read The Hobbit in May or June.
I'm still stuck on the "But why" with the beginning. I am with you on the give me more of showing me the characters instead of telling me who they are. The thing I have the most difficulty with is every time the hobbits are in nature they are in danger every time they are in a cultivated place (city, town, home) they are safe. I think it is an info dump... just in the best possible way. Sometimes in my life I need an info dump in order to achieve a task. "memories are not what the heart desires." makes me weep.
she is most likely referring to the Phil Dragash' fan audiobook which the man did it all for free. mostly unabridged ( excluding that introduction section and most of the appendix) fan recording which he incorporated talented narration, sound effects, movie soundtrack etc. raby.sh/pages/misc.html you can download it here if u want it's pretty fantastic and immersive.
I love this video and i really really love this book 📖 it is amazing as is this amazing channel please stay safe lovely lady love your number one Australia fan John
The book is quite boring. 1. There is almost no humour. Even though I admit most authors of fiction rarely put humour in their books. But personally I think it is important to put at least some humour in a book, whether it is an adventure, drama, suspense, science fiction, etc. A book of fiction with absolutely no humour looks dry and sterile. 2. There is no romance. With such a plethora of characters, telling multiple stories and events, sometimes spanning decades, there is not a single shred of romance. Romance or humour are not necessary for a good story, but they can make the story a little more interesting and less boring. 3. There is very little adventure or action. You would think that action would be the main ingredient of a story of fantasy, but that does not seem to be the case, at least for this book. The main character of the book is Frodo, who is not a soldier, and pretty much cannot fight and needs to be protected at all times by other people. So he needs to flee or hide or be protected all the time, which means actually very little action. 4. For a book that is supposedly about fantasy, there is very little fantasy or magic. All the characters are surprisingly human, with human characteristics and human limitations. Frodo and the hobbits are actually smaller and weaker than normal humans. Sure the Ring of Power can make you invisible, but that seems to be the limit of any magic in the book. Gandalf the Wizard apparently can make fire with magic, but that does not seem to be very impressive. 5. So much of the story is told through dialogue. Characters meet and start talking to one another. And that is it. The narrator does not bother to actually show the events. Many events are just told and recalled by the characters. When a character tells a story, you never know if it that character is actually telling the truth or lying. The character could also be mistaken. And even when the story is genuine, it is always from the point of view of that character, which may be subjective, personal, biased or incomplete. So you should never trust the accounts of one character. And by telling the story through dialogue you completely destroy any suspense or drama that could be infused into the story. When a narrator tells a story, you have no idea how the story will end, or who is going to die. If a character tells a story we already know that at the very least that character will not die. 6. There is no social or philosophical commentary. Many authors tell a story just as an excuse to make social or political or philosophical commentary. And such commentaries can be even more interesting than the story itself. You can find that kind of commentary especially in authors like Michael Crichton. But in The Lord of The Rings, I can't find any. 7. Why is the author so obsessed with geography? Tolkien goes to great lengths to describe the geography of Middle-earth. That seems to me the least interesting aspect of the book. And yet the author is obsessed in describing with excruciating detail every single aspect of the geography of the places. 8. There are hobbits, elves, wizards, dwarves, orcs, trolls.... And yet they all seem to be indistinguishable to me. There is no interesting characteristic or feature in any of them. They all look very human... and boring. 9. "Show, don't tell" as they say in the movie industry. But such a rule is not followed in this book. It is specially disturbing when talking about Sauron. We only know that Sauron is evil simply because we are told so by the characters. But in no point in the book we see Sauron actually doing anything evil. Sauron never even appears in the book, he is just mentioned by the characters. Are we supposed to trust the characters? Or is Sauron just a misunderstood character, unfairly mistreated by everybody else? We are constantly told to be afraid of Sauron, and yet the book never tells us the reason for that. 10. The movies directed by Peter Jackson seem to be much better than the books. 11. There is no mystery. One way to grab the reader's attention is by arousing one's curiosity and offer some kind of mystery at the beginning of the book or chapter, and then offer clues throughout the story and finally present a satisfactory solution to the mystery at the end of the book or chapter. But in The Fellowship of the Ring there is no such a thing. The ring is introduced in the first chapter, but it is thoroughly explained in the second chapter. There is no mystery. As I was reading the story I was not curious at all. On the contrary I was bored, asking myself "when is this going to end?" and counting the number of remaining pages . 12. There are no revelations, no plot twists, no surprises. Many books offer plot twists, where friends are revealed to be enemies, or enemies are revealed to be actually friends, or the villain says "I am your father", among other things. Plot twists can be very entertaining, and tell the reader that appearances are deceiving, things may not be as they appear, reality can be much more complicated or interesting or mysterious than previous thought. There is I believe a plot twist concerning Gandalf in the sequels, but not in this book. 13. Some people are saying that the sequels are better. Maybe. I am not sure if I will read them.
You're probably in your twenties (if not younger) and you rely on the clichés provided by the modern writing gurus; probably you wouldn't enjoy Dumas, or Hugo, or Tolstoj, or Dostoveski, or Dickens, or any other author from before the Modernism (i.e. around 1920-30). You'r review is so stuffed of clichés of modern pop literature it's almost painful to read. Go make a culture for yourself.
The worst part about re-reading LOTR is knowing that eventually you’ll get to the end. The only way to mitigate the sadness for me is to go right into the Silmarillion, a book that I love just as much, if for slightly different reasons.
The Hobbit was the first book my mom ever read to me and since then I’ve loved it and the LotR. I love the council of Elrond in fellowship and the breaking of the fellowship always makes me cry
It’s so sad!
a bit I loved in chapter The Mirror of Galadriel, quote: “She looked upon Gimli, who sat glowering and sad, and she smiled. And the dwarf, hearing the names given in his own ancient tongue, looked up and met her eyes; and it seemed to him that he looked suddenly into the heart of an enemy and saw there love and understanding.'
I have grown up watching the Lord of the Rings movies, since I was 9 years old (now I'm 19), so I was fairly familiarized with Tolkien's world. That being said, in 2017 I decided to read The Hobbit for the first time after having binge-watched all of the trilogy during a hard time in my life (Hurricane Maria really hit my island Puerto Rico hard). It was honestly one of the best experiences of my life. Being able to escape to this world with a character like Bilbo going on an adventure when everything around me was falling apart, was so therapeutic. Right as I finished The Hobbit, I picked up The Fellowship of the Ring and continued my first read of The Lord of the Rings. Last year I read the Silmarillion for the first time and loved all of Tolkien's works. This has been such an amazing journey. To be able to revisit this world that I love so much with you guys and discuss it together brings me so much joy! 💕
*Spoilers for The Fellowship of the Ring*
My favorite part of this first book is definitely The Council of Elrond. Being able to hear all the different races give their opinion on the ring, bring their stories together (starting with Bilbo, getting Gandal's perspective with Saruman, Legolas speaking about Gollum, etc) fills ny heart with joy. I've always been a sucker for more monologue-y typed of scenes where we get a lot of information, if it's done right; and Tolkien definitely does it right! I also love the friendships that start to build and how they are developed (like the four main hobbits, Legolas and Gimli, etc). I also love the scene where Frodo thought he was being so secretive about the ring but Merry, Pippin and Sam had figured everything out ages ago! This books is just filled with amazing moments 💕
I’m so glad you love that chapter as well!
I read it when I was 21 and it was okay. I read it again in my late 30s and it was good. I'm reading it now in my mid-forties and it is a masterpiece.
I think reading Homer and then Medieval Arthurian literature from Robert de Baron, Wolfram von Eschenbach & Sir Thomas Mallory really improved the experience.
The parts in LOTR that I was annoyed with (Tom Bombadil) aren't annoying anymore. Tolkien feels like he stepped out of Medieval times.
You should read Tolkien's translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
14:00 LOTR SPOILERS
Hair of Galadriel scene with Gimli has a lot of meta context when you read the unfinished tales ( after the Silmarillion) which i won't spoil however that scene to me now, with the wider mythology into account even more powerful.
I’m looking forward to it!
Tom bombadil becomes more controversial (maybe contested is a better word) after you read the silmarillion.
Revisiting Middle-Earth has been immensely comforting. Thanks for the read-along nudge!
And I'd read a Bombadil book just about him skipping around the world and offering people some perspective on their lives.
Ah me too, that would be lovely!
1)The first meeting between Gimli and Galadriel, how kind and wise she was and how he melted!
2)All the snark during the Counsel of Elrond (Boromir, Aragorn, Gandalf, Elrond...)
3)Aragorn's first meeting with the hobbits, with the "so I look foul and feel fair, is that it" always cracks me up
4)Frodo volunteering to take the Ring out of Shire and Gandalf being very impressed, and the continuation of that scene with Sam ("don't let him turn me into anything unnatural") is hilarious, IMO.
Yes!
Was very disappointed that so much of the Gimli in Lothrorien was cut. In particular when they first enter.
@@EricMcLuen yes, Gimli was definitely treated more as a comic relief than a layered character
I reread more than 10 times. It's fabulous. The last time I actually listened to dramatized version of audiobook, and that was like watching film in head.
I’m so glad you’re hosting this readalong, it was the push to reread The Fellowship that I needed. I tried to read it years ago and DNF’d it, but I love it now!
Aw yay! ☺️
I thought I heard Tolkien was good buddy's with C. S. Lewis.
They were. They were even in the same writing group I think. Tolkien just didn’t like the narnia series. He found the allegories in the series too limiting to the reader as he believes in reader applicability. Basically, an allegory is something in litterateur that was only written in one manner by the author which allows only one possible view of what the reader can take away. On the other hand reader applicability is where the author has written the story in a manner where different readers can take away different theme. This is most obviously seen with the comparison of narnia and lord of the rings. Lord of rings was based off of nihilism and catholic values, but most readers don’t even recognize it as the story can be viewed in many different ways. However, narnia was written with the expressed intention of upholding and displaying catholic values leaving the reader with only one possible interpretation of the story.
You can see hello future me’s video on sauron’s ideology if you want to learn how lord of the rings views nihilism.
I didn’t know that!
@@BookswithBrittany yeah the nihilism stuff shocked me too. However, when I read the series I don’t attach it to anything nihilistic. It’s just good guys versus the big bad and I am sure Tolkien would be fine with that view of the story too. Or are you shocked by them being friends? That was just a quick google searchz
I believe they also would have long talks in the bomb shelter during the Blitz.
Great video! Thank you.
The Lothlorien chapters are also my favourite part of "The fellowship of the ring". I understand why people would cry reading the conversation between Gimli and Legolas. This will always be highly relevant.
I love Moria too.
And I love the many very detailed descriptions of nature. Also the pages where it seems nothing happens. Nature is a very important (though silent) force in the world of Tolkien.
"The ground now became damp, and in places boggy and here and there they came upon pools, and wide stretches of reeds and rushes filled with the warbling of little hidden birds."
By the way, did you read the appendices of "The lord of the rings"? Some parts of the appendices are a bit boring, but others are highly interesting. (You can always skip a few pages.)
Since you are also interested in the wider world of Tolkien, I guess you will like most of them.
(I am not sure whether your edition of the book contains them.)
I actually recently just read it for the 3rd time but really taking my time with it, taking a few months with it...and I actually found it EXTREMELY well paced, incredibly informative and quirky moments woven in by Tolkien that I hadn't noticed before that made it INCREDIBLY ENTERTAINING...like it never got slow or too descriptive this time...just GENIUS
I love the prologue on Hobbits, same as I absolutely love the gigantic appendix at the end of Return of the King. I'm a History major and I love fantasy so reading a fantastical imagined history? My cup of tea, I LOVE it. So glad you are loving this re-read :)
I agree! (Even not being into history 🙈)
I read it for the first time im Swedish when I was 12 and then in English the year after - and I was hooked from the get go. It is a marvellous story well worth reading and rereading over and over again.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it so much!
☺️
For me books are all about emotions. Your video just forces me to reread it again and to experience this world.
HEY DOL MERRY DOL RING A DONG DILLO! 😆
I love Tom and he adds so much to the richness of the world, but I do agree that strictly in terms of the plot he is superfluous which is why I can’t think of an adaptation with him in it. Would love to see one though.
Me too!
Great to see you enjoyed your reread so much. This is still my favourite series of all time. I love how Tolkien’s prose and dialogue adapt to these different settings - from that whimsical atmosphere of the Shire to the grand magnitude of Lothlorien... I never thought it’s dry or too hard, and I’m not even a native speaker of English 😄
My favourite quote is the poem about Aragorn, of course.
Yes, absolutely!
I'm in the camp that sees Tom Bombadil and Goldberry as Tolkien inserting himself and his wife as characters into his own book, which I think is cheeky and fun!
I loved it!
I love the second chapter (I think), when Gandalf is describing the history of the ring. Most of the quotes people pull from the book are in that chapter, and it's for good reason. I also really like Bree and meeting Striker, but I also love rogues/scoundrel types, so of course.
I'm interested in trying the Silmarillion! Are you going to read it with everyone after Return of the King?
Yes we sure are! ☺️
I love love LOVED The Silmarillion! I definitely recommend reading it while listening to the audio book. DomMarshall72 also has a read along here on YT where he explains things that may be confusing. Good luck!
I like when Elrond speaks that it is the hands of the smallest people that do the greatest things out of sheer necessity.
I hope to get the chance to read these sometime, maybe this year. Even though I'm only familiar with the story from the films, I think Gandalf is awesome. He reminds me of Dumbledore from Harry Potter with all the wisdom he imparts. I can only imagine a conversation between Gandalf, Dumbledore, and Master Yoda. The sheer amounts of wisdom would be mind-blowing. LOL
Also, fun fact: Years before Tolkien wrote LoTR, a classical composer named Richard Wagner wrote a massive 4-opera cycle called "The Ring of the Nibelung" also about the creation of a powerful magic ring. If you google "Lord of the Rings and Wagner", there are several articles that compare and contrast the two, discussing things like weather Tolkien was influenced by Wagner. Though it seems to be that both were inspired by the same or similar mythologies. Tolkien was even quoted as saying "Both rings were round, and there the resemblance ceases." (from Wikipedia)
Wagner wrote opera. And in fact wrote THE opera. If you have not seen it please do. Other than that nerve you managed to touch. Loved your post you defiantly made me Laugh out Loud almost ROFL. ❤
This is one of the first Fantasy books/series I read back in the mid 1970s and a big reason I got heavy into Fantasy and Sci-Fi
I love that!
I read it for the first time last year, and I'm looking forward to re-reading it for many years
I’m looking forward to many rereads in the future!
I've not read much of them yet, but I researched and bought what are probably the best Tolkien biographies: you can get Tolkien's early years with "Tolkien and the Great War" by John Grath, this source was made into the movie "Tolkien" which I thought really good and mainly captured his spirit though events and characters were shifted around to suit the story, so don't see it as hard facts. Grath also recently released "the Worlds of JRR Tolkien" which is a lovely illustrated run through of Tolkien's influences in Myth and Geography that find parallels in the Story. Then there's the official biography written not long after he died "J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography" by Humphrey Carpenter. Tom Shippy gets some good credit too as Biographer. And you can get a great sense of Tolkien from his own hand by reading "the Letters of JRR Tolkien" - it's his written correspondence with friends, fans and publishers, and he talks about his work a fair bit.
Hope that helps. I've loved Lord of the Rings for decades.
Oh thank you!!
One Tom scene that is often overlooked is when Frodo gives him the Ring. Tom basically takes it, looks at it and hands it back saying basically 'Nah, I'd just lose it'.
Who Tom is is one of the mysteries of ME. I can say he does come up briefly in the Sil.
For what they meant for me, it was the sheer scale and detail that was, and is, still awe inspiring. You are completely immersed in the setting. They are just beautiful books. That opinion hasn't changed from when I first read them at 10. What has changed is that I realize what an impressive feat of writing they really are.
Even more so after reading the Sil. That is a tougher read, but just as enjoyable, as it is really a bunch of stories lumped together. But the backstories are even more spectacular and bits of LotR might make more sense. Like who the Istari are and why Galadriel is a lot cooler than you might think.
I might have to read them for a 3rd or 4th time. Especially post Malazan and armed with APs tools to play with.
A great review of the Fellowship. If you want to know about Tolkien, read "On fairy stories". It was an essay he wrote for a conference he was asked to speak at in, I believe 1938. It will give you a view into the mind and heart of JRR Tolkien.
Yeah, Gimli fell HARD for Galadriel. i liked that part too. I almost got the impression in the book though that Sam and Frodo weren't that good of friends in the beginning. I mean, Sam is Frodo's gardener, and he always calls him Master Frodo, and in one part when Frodo introduces his friends, he names Merry and Pippin but not Sam. They certainly grow closer as the story progresses, but i'm not sure how close they were in the beginning. I'd have to re-read it. Even Sam's main reason in the beginning to come along was so that he could see and meet Elves and maybe have a little adventure.
As for Tom Bombadil, i think the character is fine, but i must say, if i knew him irl, all that bloody singing would get old real quick.
Hahah I can see thta
@@BookswithBrittany His singing would sound a lot better if you'd listen to The Tolkien Ensemble's rendition of his song.
I cannot wait to continue onto the two towers! I gave it 5 stars also. 😍
Awe yay! Do you have voxer!? Also, still going to rope you into that live show😉
@@BookswithBrittany I don’t have voxer! Sounds fun!! Just let me know what you’re thinking. 😊
Excellent commentary on the original classic. Spot on.
I prefer much more elves, so I really enjoy Rivendel and Lorien, but somehow the best part is Moria. Just imagining Moria is blowing my mind. I really love the beginning of Hobbit (film) where they show how beautiful dwarves make their dwellings. Ahhhh... love it
Lotr is the first book i ever start reading because i want so, i am at page 112 now. I also like hiking and mountains, maybe it is relatable in some ways ...
I’ve watched the movie lord of the rings, but not read the books.... are the books better?? Happy reading to you!! 😊📖🎬💜
"The books are always better" is a rule. To every rule there are exceptions. I would hazard a guess that if polled 95% would say yes the books are better. I am from that 5% and I still think you should read at least the first book to find out. Happy reading.
@@garricksmalley1733 thank u!! I do prefer reading the books.... 😊📖 happy reading to u!!
They’re both so worth the experience ☺️
Yes the books are much better.
I read the Hobbit for the first time when I was 10 years old and I loved it. I then read the first Lord of the rings book and wasn’t that impressed. I never read the other two lotr books. But recently I started reading the Hobbit again and then I read the rest of the series. And I gotta say that I loved it so much. It’s so much better than I remembered. Maybe it is because I’m older now 😂
Great video! Lothlorien was so fascinating, and I loved the quotes you shared! I've read The Hobbit twice before but didn't reread it before this read through. It was so wise of you to do right before this reread! 💕
It really made such a difference ☺️
it just such a great classic
Looking forward to reading fellowship this month (second time reading it)
Me too 🙌🏻
I read the whole trilogy (and The Hobbit) for the first time last October and while I did enjoy the story, my reading experience was not that great tbh. I truly believe I was not prepared and went in with the wrong mindset; I just wanted to read them, fly through it and be done with it. Because of that, I ended up rating them around 3 or 3.5 stars... but I now see that maybe I should give them another shot and just take my time with them and enjoy the journey. I will probably try out reading along with the podcast as well, that is a great tip!!
It was wonderful to see your love for this book, so thank you so much for making this review :)
Aw I hope it helps!
I re-read this last month as well (audiobook with Rob Inglis). I noticed this time I enjoyed the songs a lot more. My favorite chapter is Book 2: Ch 5 - Bridge of Khazad-dûm. Love the Moria fight scenes and especially the Balrog. I'm pro-Bombadil.
I enjoy the songs way more this way as well!
😍😍 I sense a Lord of The Rings tattoo in the future! Can’t wait to see what it is!
Hell yeah 😉
I've tried to read this book so many times... just haven't been able to get into it, and usually DNF'd around 30%. I want to be a Tolkenite, but I think I'm looking too much for a modern plot structure. I love how you talked about just trying to enjoy the journey of the book, it makes me want to try this book again ♥️
I hope you enjoy if you do!
My favorite chapter is the Conspiracy of the Ring. I just love how all of his friends were conspiring against Frodo for his benefit! I get why people don't enjoy Tom but I do, he's just so whimsy and fun! Moria, Lothlorien, Rivendell, and The Breaking of the Fellowship are amazing as well!
I enjoy his character as well!
This was great!! I'm new into fantasy and have only read it for not quite a year yet, so I appreciate you telling when spoilers are coming.
I plan to read The Hobbit in May or June.
Enjoy, it’s so great!
I'm still stuck on the "But why" with the beginning.
I am with you on the give me more of showing me the characters instead of telling me who they are.
The thing I have the most difficulty with is every time the hobbits are in nature they are in danger every time they are in a cultivated place (city, town, home) they are safe.
I think it is an info dump... just in the best possible way. Sometimes in my life I need an info dump in order to achieve a task.
"memories are not what the heart desires." makes me weep.
I like info dumps 🙈
For a change of pace, try listening to Rivendell by the band Rush.
Or battle of evermore by Zeppelin. Or most of the catalog of Blkng Guardian.
But it is odd most bands that have Tolkein names are metal.
Just subbed book reviews are tooooo goood ❤️❤️‼️
Yes, read the Silmarillion, it really helps fill in the history of Middle Earth
Can’t wait!
What's the Spotify playlist you're referring to?
No follow-up with The Two Towers and The Return of the King?
If you want to know more about tolkien watch the movie about him! The title is Tolkien
I definitely plan to!
I agree entirely about reading The Hobbit First.
The tenth reading is the best (not kidding, being serious).
I read this book 📖 in 1986 for the first time
Nice!
Who is the narrator of that audiobook you listened to if I may ask?
she is most likely referring to the Phil Dragash' fan audiobook which the man did it all for free. mostly unabridged ( excluding that introduction section and most of the appendix) fan recording which he incorporated talented narration, sound effects, movie soundtrack etc. raby.sh/pages/misc.html you can download it here if u want it's pretty fantastic and immersive.
open.spotify.com/show/6OkpF08aPvbZJ2HgGE2Fio?si=rzlwjz1gRJatFuRt_Q89LQ
@@BookswithBrittany That’s the same one I listened to! The background noises and sound-effects made it all so much more fun!
Hello.
one book to rule them all.
Yes sir!
Good video!
I love this video and i really really love this book 📖 it is amazing as is this amazing channel please stay safe lovely lady love your number one Australia fan John
Like video and like book too
I believe a lot of Tolkien's experiences in WW 1 influenced this work. Oh, your likes were at 13 so I clicked like to make it 14. You're welcome 😊.
I’ve heard that as well!
The book is quite boring.
1. There is almost no humour. Even though I admit most authors of fiction rarely put humour in their books. But personally I think it is important to put at least some humour in a book, whether it is an adventure, drama, suspense, science fiction, etc. A book of fiction with absolutely no humour looks dry and sterile.
2. There is no romance. With such a plethora of characters, telling multiple stories and events, sometimes spanning decades, there is not a single shred of romance. Romance or humour are not necessary for a good story, but they can make the story a little more interesting and less boring.
3. There is very little adventure or action. You would think that action would be the main ingredient of a story of fantasy, but that does not seem to be the case, at least for this book. The main character of the book is Frodo, who is not a soldier, and pretty much cannot fight and needs to be protected at all times by other people. So he needs to flee or hide or be protected all the time, which means actually very little action.
4. For a book that is supposedly about fantasy, there is very little fantasy or magic. All the characters are surprisingly human, with human characteristics and human limitations. Frodo and the hobbits are actually smaller and weaker than normal humans. Sure the Ring of Power can make you invisible, but that seems to be the limit of any magic in the book. Gandalf the Wizard apparently can make fire with magic, but that does not seem to be very impressive.
5. So much of the story is told through dialogue. Characters meet and start talking to one another. And that is it. The narrator does not bother to actually show the events. Many events are just told and recalled by the characters. When a character tells a story, you never know if it that character is actually telling the truth or lying. The character could also be mistaken. And even when the story is genuine, it is always from the point of view of that character, which may be subjective, personal, biased or incomplete. So you should never trust the accounts of one character. And by telling the story through dialogue you completely destroy any suspense or drama that could be infused into the story. When a narrator tells a story, you have no idea how the story will end, or who is going to die. If a character tells a story we already know that at the very least that character will not die.
6. There is no social or philosophical commentary. Many authors tell a story just as an excuse to make social or political or philosophical commentary. And such commentaries can be even more interesting than the story itself. You can find that kind of commentary especially in authors like Michael Crichton. But in The Lord of The Rings, I can't find any.
7. Why is the author so obsessed with geography? Tolkien goes to great lengths to describe the geography of Middle-earth. That seems to me the least interesting aspect of the book. And yet the author is obsessed in describing with excruciating detail every single aspect of the geography of the places.
8. There are hobbits, elves, wizards, dwarves, orcs, trolls.... And yet they all seem to be indistinguishable to me. There is no interesting characteristic or feature in any of them. They all look very human... and boring.
9. "Show, don't tell" as they say in the movie industry. But such a rule is not followed in this book. It is specially disturbing when talking about Sauron. We only know that Sauron is evil simply because we are told so by the characters. But in no point in the book we see Sauron actually doing anything evil. Sauron never even appears in the book, he is just mentioned by the characters. Are we supposed to trust the characters? Or is Sauron just a misunderstood character, unfairly mistreated by everybody else? We are constantly told to be afraid of Sauron, and yet the book never tells us the reason for that.
10. The movies directed by Peter Jackson seem to be much better than the books.
11. There is no mystery. One way to grab the reader's attention is by arousing one's curiosity and offer some kind of mystery at the beginning of the book or chapter, and then offer clues throughout the story and finally present a satisfactory solution to the mystery at the end of the book or chapter. But in The Fellowship of the Ring there is no such a thing. The ring is introduced in the first chapter, but it is thoroughly explained in the second chapter. There is no mystery. As I was reading the story I was not curious at all. On the contrary I was bored, asking myself "when is this going to end?" and counting the number of remaining pages .
12. There are no revelations, no plot twists, no surprises. Many books offer plot twists, where friends are revealed to be enemies, or enemies are revealed to be actually friends, or the villain says "I am your father", among other things. Plot twists can be very entertaining, and tell the reader that appearances are deceiving, things may not be as they appear, reality can be much more complicated or interesting or mysterious than previous thought. There is I believe a plot twist concerning Gandalf in the sequels, but not in this book.
13. Some people are saying that the sequels are better. Maybe. I am not sure if I will read them.
You're probably in your twenties (if not younger) and you rely on the clichés provided by the modern writing gurus; probably you wouldn't enjoy Dumas, or Hugo, or Tolstoj, or Dostoveski, or Dickens, or any other author from before the Modernism (i.e. around 1920-30). You'r review is so stuffed of clichés of modern pop literature it's almost painful to read. Go make a culture for yourself.