Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit

Which other authors do you enjoy? Discuss them here.
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Re: Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit

Post by Lucky Star »

The card looks great Ming. I'm sure Aarham will love his party. :D
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Re: Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit

Post by Ming »

Thank you Anita, and John. I used the picture I posted as a rough template and made a new one, much better than this, but since it took me over 1.5 hours I decided to cheat a little bit and ignore the bricks around the door. It still looks lovely but was much easier to get done. :D I shall post photos later! :)
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Re: Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit

Post by floragord »

Francis wrote:All my sister's generation seemed to have read the LOTR and I was determined not to, but in the 1970s I gave in and loved it! For some reason it sucked me in and I have not emerged since. Must be time for me to read the books again. I do understand those who didn't like it as it is a very long fantasy. The films were also amazing - I didn't believe they could ever be filmed successfully.
I came late in life to LOTR, Gordon had discovered them in the 60's and highly recommended the series, but it took an enforced flu break to get me started with THE HOBBIT before launching into the trilogy - and was I hooked! We love the movies too, salute to Pete Jackson for undertaking the enormity of the project on film; can't wait for the next instalment of Hobbit/2!
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Re: Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit

Post by floragord »

Ming wrote:Aarham's school showed the children The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey last week which they all enjoyed very much. He had of course seen it with me much earlier. Since then I've been jokingly calling him Bilbo because he's just three feet tall and has the cutest Hobbit hair. At first he found it mildly annoying but in time has come to love the nickname.

It is his birthday on Friday, and for the second time in his life we're going to have a party just for him (for the past 4 years he, my best friend and I celebrated triple birthdays at our place because they have the same birthday and mine is just a week afterwards). He requested a Hobbit themed party...

Sounds just great, Ming, hope you all had a fabulous time!
"Its a magic wood!" said Fanny suddenly.
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Re: Lord of the Rings?

Post by floragord »

Jen-Jen wrote:I tried reading the books about five years ago, but was never able to finish them as I found the descriptions too lengthy. I really enjoyed the films though.
E for effort, but we didn't make it right through THE SILMARILLION!!... one day :?: :?:
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Re: Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit

Post by floragord »

We have to spend quite a lot of time in Headington (north Oxford) and discovered that what was up to quite recent times a village was home to both J R R Tolkien and his close friend C S Lewis (both with a shared interest in Norse legends and myths) and the meeting place of "The Inklings" a poets club with which their contemporary Charles Williams was also involved. It would have been intriguing to "listen in" to their debates in the local pub, their friend H G Wells must likewise have been an interesting participant.
"Its a magic wood!" said Fanny suddenly.
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Re: Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit

Post by Courtenay »

Just came across this quite fascinating photo gallery of real-life places (mostly in England) that inspired Tolkien's Middle-earth: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-29787528" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit

Post by Deej »

Talking about The Hobbit, I'll be watching the third and final instalment of its film version on Friday. Can't wait!
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What other author are you reading at the moment?

Post by Deej »

Split from another thread.

Watching the Hobbit has made me want to read the book, so that's what I'm doing. Truly is a magical book :)
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?

Post by Courtenay »

Have you read it before, Ben, or is this the first time? It's always been a favourite of mine as well. (My Precioussssssss! :mrgreen: )

Some editions have Tolkien's own illustrations, which are quite striking - it's interesting to see how he imagined the landscapes and scenes. This is one of my favourites! :D

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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?

Post by walter raleigh »

That's the front cover of my childhood edition Courtenay! Never realised the illustrations were by Tolkien himself. It is a wonderful book, although quite different in tone to the "Lords Of The RIngs" trilogy, which of course is a sort of sequel to "The Hobbit". I actually prefer "The Hobbit's" more fairytale-like style over the grandiloquent bombast of "Lord Of The Rings", but I seem to be in the minority there.
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?

Post by Courtenay »

Well, I guess I love them both (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings) in different ways, for what they are. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit for his children, I'm pretty sure (or as a children's book in general), but the ideas in it were ones already simmering in his mind as part of the whole huge fantasy-world saga he spent decades imagining and refining, much of which gradually evolved into LOTR.

It's clear, for example, that he didn't have the evil powers of the One Ring in mind originally when he first thought up the simple ring-of-invisibility that Bilbo obtains during the journey - he later went back and rewrote that part of the story to make it fit in with the deadly obsession the Ring needed to become in order for the sequel to work. The first edition had Gollum giving the Ring to Bilbo as a "present" for winning the riddle contest; Tolkien explained this away a little messily by claiming afterwards that this was how Bilbo originally told the story to Gandalf, but Gandalf suspected something was amiss and eventually got the true story out of him, which was the first indication Gandalf had that the Ring was not a harmless artefact after all.

I still enjoy the relative simplicity and adventurous fun of The Hobbit compared to its sequel; LOTR is a lot more thrilling in its grandeur and complexity, but I agree it can be a bit too much. I've always felt that the first book, The Fellowship of the Ring, is the strongest and most exciting - The Two Towers drags terribly in a lot of places, and by The Return of the King one is more than a little exhausted. :wink: I don't think Tolkien ever quite manages to recapture the freshness of the first book in the later two, though they have their strong points as well. Perhaps he simply got carried away and tried to fit too much in! :lol:
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?

Post by walter raleigh »

Oh don't get me wrong, I love "Lord Of The Rings" now too, but as you say, in a different way to "The Hobbit". After first reading "The Hobbit" as little boy, and adoring it I was steered towards "Lord Of The Rings", but just found it impenetrable. I was probably a little too young, and anyway hated having books foisted on me. I liked to pick and choose what I read rather than having to read what was 'appropriate' for me. I had the same issue with "Watership Down".

I tried the trilogy again a few years later, as a teenager, mainly because many of my friends were raving about it and I was heavily into "Dungeons & Dragons" and similar games which were hugely influenced by Tolkien's work. I still struggled with it though. It seemed like every character had ten different names, and all the twee stuff with the hobbits and Tom Bombadil put me off. I think I gave up about halfway through.

Just before the first Peter Jackson movie came out though I resolved to give the books another go, and this time they caught. I read all three in a couple of nights and was spellbound. I re-read them before each subsequent film, and although I don't think they have quite the same magic as "The Hobbit", I'm still captivated each time I go through them. Still can't get into "The Silmarillion" mind you!
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?

Post by Courtenay »

I've always rather enjoyed "all the twee stuff with the hobbits and Tom Bombadil", but then, maybe it's just a girls' tastes vs guys' tastes thing! :lol: I've never been able to get into The Silmarillion either, mind you.
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Re: What other author are you reading at the moment?

Post by rosy_posy »

The Silmarillion does take a bit of getting into, but it's totally worth it when you do - there are some absolutely glorious stories in there and you learn so much more about Middle-Earth lore. It's fascinating.
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