So who's actually READ Lord of The Rings?

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foray said:
I think Unforgettable Lemon reads it once every year.

foray

Not quite that often, I have read them three or four times though. I thought the movie was quite excellent, didn't miss Bombadil at all. In fact, Tolkien regretted putting Bombadil in later on.

I haven't read the books this year though. I did read the Silmarillion, but for my requisite fantasy reading, I read all four Harry Potter books and a few more in the Wheel of Time. Still got 3 or 4 of those to go.

Anyone here ever read The Sword of Shannara? It's not the best fantasy in the world, but it stands up well. I need to read some of the others, but there's soooooo many, it's like when I started the Wheel of Time, I had no idea how into it I'd get. Jen actually read the Sword of Shannara, too.
 
Re: well Michael Moorcock rulez forever !!!!

pinkfloyd said:
one fantastic remake of Lord Rings is great though - Robert Jordan - Wheeel of time :up: :up: ]

I wouldn't quite call them remakes. Yes, they are about a band of travelers fighting an ultimate evil, but that's to me where it ends. This is a story about humans, and pretty much only humans. There are monstrous creatures, and the Ogier, but that's it. I like that Jordan shied away from Elves, Hobbits, Dwarves and Gnomes. I also like the incorporation of eastern religions and ideas, and the whole time repeating itself thing works so well. I do think Jordan tends to be a little over-descriptive though. If they ever made a movie, it might actually be better, simply because it takes so long for 2 hours of the plot to unfold in the books. They could, with substantial detail left intact, cut any of the books by about a third. But I have a feeling there will only be 3 or so more books, as Rand has cleansed the taint and now it's beginning to sway in the direction of the protagonists.

BTW, does Mat Cauthon remind you of Han Solo?
 
I enjoyed both the book and the first movie. Now if only they'll get the video game out soon.....
 
I love the books and the movie...I am really excited for The Two Towers.

I read the books *after* the movie came out. I think the book has alot of incredible detail, but I like the visuals and the pacing of the movie much better. In FOTR, the road descriptions really make me dizzy. And sometimes the books make you feel out of the loop because there is so much detail and history mentioned....
but sadly too much was cut out of the book. (Galadriel's gifts...the shards of Narsil and the sword reforged...)

It's alot like Harry Potter the movie vs the book. You are rewarded with stunning visuals if you actually read the book. And you don't need the details because supposedly you already know them. If you didn't read it, you get a bit lost.

I think they did so well on casting...but what were they ever thinking originally casting Stuart Townsend as Aragorn? Viggo Mortensen was perfect.

Elisabeth
 
Re: Re: well Michael Moorcock rulez forever !!!!

UnforgettableLemon said:


I wouldn't quite call them remakes. Yes, they are about a band of travelers fighting an ultimate evil, but that's to me where it ends. This is a now it's beginning to sway in the direction of the protagonists.

BTW, does Mat Cauthon remind you of Han Solo?

LOL !!:lol: :lol: :lol:

not a remake , but a aaaaauuhhhewww .. a story inspired by Tolkien stuff , ya know , i'm wrote a few stories too
:dance: :dance:
 
No, but I really am going to, tried once before but just couldn't find the time, so skipped loads of bits, gonna start it proper this week, coz i'm in love with Legolas.
 
Long time ago.... when I was like 12.

IMHO Two Towers the book was the most boring... Hobbit was a pleasurable read....

The others are hazy....

Anyone read Shannara series by Terry Brooks, The Dark is Rising :up: by Susan Cooper, or the Black Cauldron series by Lloyd Alexander??? ... some of those are childrens books but they're a great read!
 
theSoulfulMofo said:


Anyone read Shannara series by Terry Brooks, The Dark is Rising :up: by Susan Cooper, or the Black Cauldron series by Lloyd Alexander???


See my above posts, I have read the Sword of Shannara, but that's it. I think it's much hazier than any Tolkien work, except maybe the posthumous stuff. I still like it a lot though.

And Lloyd Alexander stuff was awesome. In fact, since I work at the library at school on the days I have class (School and library work MWF, work at home every other day, commuting back and forth 40 miles to school, ugh), I came across them the other day, and plan on checking a few out.

And I LOVE the Chronicles of Narnia. Yes, they're allegorical and parallel to the story of Christ in many ways. But I love them.
 
I've read both the Hobbit and the Trilogy twice.

I really loved the first movie, I've seen it twice in the cinema and once on dvd, and still think its probably the best film film I've ever seen, hence I'm looking forward to the Two Towers immensely, I might actually be tempted to go on opening day/night for the first time ever.
 
I have read LOTR about ten times, I think. Possibly more. Probably not less than eight. It is probably my favourite novel. The movie was by no means perfect. I thought it was too violent, for one thing. But...it is one of my favourite movies of all time. I could not believe that someone could make such a great movie from such a difficult-to-film book. Gandalf, my favourite character, really could not have been more perfect as played by Ian McKellen. And...there are two more to come!!

I adore Susan Cooper's books. In August I visited Wales and went to several places in the two Wales books in the series.
 
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I'm reading the trilogy for the first time right now. I find it a bit embarrassing to tell people that I started reading the books AFTER the movie came out.. I've always meant to read them but I'm such a lazy person. I've read The Hobbit, FOTR, TTT so far and right now I'm at the beginning of ROTK. I do like them very much, but I admit that sometimes the reading get so slow I just leave the book on my bed-table for a week or two... that's why it's taken me about half a year to get to where I am right now hehe.
I :heart: looking at the maps in the beginning of the books.
I'm so fascinated with all the work Tolkien put behind the books... it's incredible.
My favourite character has to be Gollum, he's so mysterious and unpredictable. There's so many sides to him. He's cute and disgusting at the same time...


I can recommed reading Terry Pratchett, another fantasywriter. His books are hilarious! They arent of the traditional-fantasy style, but more of comedy and satire.
 
Me has read the books. I haven't watched the movie though cos it would just destroy the pictures of all the characters in my mind - I have watched the cartoon though. :tongue:
 
I had to be dragged kicking and screaming on opening night to the LOTR movie. As a general rule, I'm not a big fan of fantasy novels, and I truly deigned having to go see the movie. But...as you all know, the movie was awesome. Now my husband has convinced me to give the books a try, and I'm half-way through The Hobbit. I figured that even if I didn't really like the books, I would at least have a better appreciation for the films. I must admit, I'm not all that keen on the book so far, but I did notice that I got into it when Bilbo and Gollum had the riddle contest. We'll see how the rest goes.

I must say, though, the last book I read was James Joyce's Ulysses. The Hobbit is quite a change!
 
I've took a undergraduate seminar in Joyce's Ulysses.

You think that book is tough... I dare you to try Finnegans Wake! :macdevil:
 
Yep, I've heard that about Finnegan's Wake. A colleague of mine with a Ph.D. in English says that he's never made it through the entire book.

I wish I'd had a class on Ulysses. I'm sure it's an entirely different experience if you have someone to discuss it with.
 
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