So who's actually READ Lord of The Rings?

[Johnny Swallow]

I'm reading it for the first time now, partially because I needed to and partially because I can't wait until they are all released to know how it all plays out. And as far as the movies go, I'm finding that my appreciation for FOTR is increasing by reading the book and picking up all that I didn't before reading it. I think they have done a great job with the first movie, was anyone here a longtime LOTR fan that was dissapointed by it?

I wanna be a Balrog when I grow up...

 

[~LadyLemon~]

You mean it's actually a book?? What's a book?

 

[wannabe]

I was thinking of reading the books to see if anything was considerably different betweeen the formats. Plus with the books one doesn't have to wait for Christmas '03 and '04. Johnny, you thinking of reading The Hobbit at all??

kristina - bookz is where the pictures go, hardee-har

 

[cell]

I have read Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, and Return of the King. The only book I have not read is The Hobbit. I had a hard time getting into the books but at the same time I couldnt put them down. I think I was more disappointed with the ending of Return of the King...guess I didnt want the story to end. I would definitely read all the books again.

Still waiting for December 18 to roll around very impatiently....

 

[u2popmofo]

I've read The Hobbit, Fellowship, Two Towers, and I'm reading Return of the King right now. They're great, and I loved the movie too. Books are always better though.

 

[Johnny Swallow]

Johnny, you thinking of reading The Hobbit at all??

I have read the Hobbit before as a kid but I also read it again as just to make sure I didn't miss anything. I wanted just to skip into LOTR but I made myself start at the begining.

As far as the first movie, I would say that the only thing I really was dissapointed that they left out was the part with Tom Bombadil, I loved that part of the book and thought it was a very interesting character. But I guess they didn't really have time to deal with him, but I am going to have to read the other books that tell the story of Bombadil.

 

[~LadyLemon~]

kristina - bookz is where the pictures go, hardee-har

Goolly gee...in maye, i'll bee a collige greduat.

 

[Whats The Story?]

Love the books, love the film. Two Towers is said to be an ace film so I cannot wait!!! : : : :

 

[foray]

I think Unforgettable Lemon reads it once every year.

foray

 

[pinkfloyd]

Lord of Rings and hobbit are classics of fantasy genre

fuck these damn movies , books are soo much better , i'm very disappointed , money dipshit this videos " trilogy " are , atleast Lucas is making his own stuff , what a rip off ,

 

[Basstrap]

don't be all pretentious
thinking the books are God and any movuie must therefore be a blasphemy

Don't kid yourself the first movie was great and I can't even imagine how amazing the next movies will be since they have ll the pre-story and starting plots out of the way.

I read on theonering.net today that the people who reviewed the two towers to decide what rating it was said it was not only better than the first move
BUT
it was THE BEST MOVIE HE HAS EVER SEEN!!!

this has be very very exited

oh, and yeah
I real LOTR 4 times and will be starting on the 5th reading soon
I read Hobbit a bunch
I read Christopher Tolkiens "History of Middle Earth"
I read the Silmarillion a couple times

I'm a nerd when it comes to LOTR
But I still love the movie(s)

 

[Johnny Swallow]

I read Christopher Tolkiens "History of Middle Earth"
I read the Silmarillion a couple times

What are those 2 books in particular about? I mean the 'History' is obvious but does it follow any characters or is it more of a chronology? Any other insights in to the other books linked to LOTR I'd love to hear from you.

 

[cass]

I hope you get your wish johnny...hahaha a balrog

old tale this....I should send my sons in here to discuss it with you. Their father reading it a few pages each night to them was a turning point in their love of books...well more advanced books...i can't keep them supplied with books now. Mt bro-in-law gave me Lord of The Rings when i was about 12ish.I have several editions, none in very good condition, but some old ones.
it

 

[pax]

I have read all the books twice.

I think Fellowship plods a bit, the 1st half of Two Towers DRAGS, 2nd half to Two Towers picks up the pace, and Return of the King is AMAZING.

Also: for anyone who digs both LOTR and philosophy, keep your eyes peeled for the LOTR and Philosophy book due out next year around the same time as the Return of the King film. It's from Open Court Press, the same fine folks who brought you Seinfeld and Philosophy, The Simpsons and Philosophy, and The Matrix and Philosophy. And the fact that I am working on this book has NOTHING to do with my small, shameless promotion.

 

[Popmartijn]

What are those 2 books in particular about? I mean the 'History' is obvious but does it follow any characters or is it more of a chronology? Any other insights in to the other books linked to LOTR I'd love to hear from you.

Hello,

I haven't read the 'History' but I do have the Silmarillion. To me, you can see it as some sort of 'bible (Old Testament)' for Middle Earth, a book telling the creation of Middle Earth, of the Elves, etc. It consists of some separate stories which together form the legends and myths of Middle Earth. Although the main emphasis is on the time before Men came into existance, it also has a story about what happened after LOTR (and it reveals who Gandalf really is/was). I read it for the first time this summer and I liked it.

Marty

 

[Popmartijn]

Hello,

I've read the books a couple of times (both in Dutch as in English and I currently have an English version in possession). I think the books are great, it is really a compelling story. What I find so fascinating is that Tolkien was able to create a whole world with its own language, geography, people, mythology and make everything so believable. OK, you have to accept that there are Elves and Hobbits and magic and stuff, but if you do you can emerge in an exciting world.
As for the movie(s). I've seen FOTR (only once, I have to admit) and while the movie was great, it did not live up to the book. The book is so much more elaborate, so much richer, that it is almost impossible to film. That said, I'll certainly go out to see The Two Towers, as the first movie was still very good.

C ya!

Marty

P.S. I have the same situation at the moment. I'm reading The Discovery Of Heaven (a great book by a Dutch writer) and they've also made a movie about it. The first time I saw the movie I thought it was great. Then I started reading it and recently I saw the movie again. Now I see how much was lost in transition and how much more elaborate the book is (and with 900 pages it is understandable).

 

[OzAurora]

YES!!!!!!! I love fantasy books and Tolkien is surely the master of this genre.... I am actually re-reading the LOTR at the moment and just as of last night I am up to the part where Frodo wakes up in Rivendell.........I have alsways loved the fantasy genre as my Dad is a huge fantasy and sci-fi fan and he used to read to me each night as a kid and then as I got older he used to buy me a book for my birthday and christmas each year and they would always be fantasy books- lots of C.S Lewis' Narnia books then as I got older stuff from Robert.E.Howard and then when I was about 12 he got me a copy of the Hobbit, which I loved and then gave me his very old copy of the three individual novels of LOTR to read and I was awe-inspired- I wanted to and still do, be an elf and live in Rivendell I must say that I really did like the movie of the FOTR- I think that for anyone to try and tackle to LOTR in movie format would be very hard, but I think that the director- Peter Jackson did a really good job and I can say that it is the only book to movie film that I have seen where I am not majorly despising and in disgust of the film adaptation........I really liked what Peter Jackson did with the film Heavenly Creatures so I kinda thought that the FOTR may not be that bad and really it was very good. I really liked how he used a cast of lesser known actors, I think that if he of used a main cast of mainly very well known 'Hollywood' actors that the movie would not of worked for some reason and I am happy witht he way that things turned out in the movie... I must admit that I was suprised not to have seen Tom and one of my faves (just because of his name)- 'Fatty Lumpkin' in the movie, but I understand that they could not fit everything in, but I really do think that his lovely and odd songs and ditties were a very funny part of the story in the FOTR and seeing as though I am re-reading the book at this moment I dont think that they made the ferociousness and scariness of the Black Riders made in the movie - as you read the book they feel terribly scary and ominous and I just didn't really feel this in the movie.....but anyway I love the books and I cant wait for the Twin Towers to come out at the end of this year and I love that sexy Legolas and all things LOTR

 

[zooropamanda]

ive read the hobbit and the fellowship. im reading fellowship again at the moment. once im done, i'll go onto the other 2.

 

[hiphop]

that sexy legolas

I have read the Hobbit before as a kid but I also read it again as just to make sure I didn't miss anything. I wanted just to skip into LOTR but I made myself start at the begining.

As far as the first movie, I would say that the only thing I really was dissapointed that they left out was the part with Tom Bombadil, I loved that part of the book and thought it was a very interesting character. But I guess they didn't really have time to deal with him, but I am going to have to read the other books that tell the story of Bombadil.

I?m happy to say that I haven?t seen the film, but I have read all the books, the first time about five years ago. I knew it would be mostly action in the film and I prefer my own fantasies of how f.e. Gandalf looks. And if they have skipped Tom Bombadil, well, thats bad for the film.

Hi OzAurora! If you are Arwen, I?ll be Aragorn

 

[notiti]

My father read us all the Hobbit books, starting with the Hobbit up through ROTK every fall from the time I was about five.
I read the series by myself for the first time when I was 7.
Tolkien is God.

 

[Diemen]

I've read them all and enjoyed them all immensely. Tolkein is an incredible storyteller. I can't wait to see the next movie - they really did a fantastic job with the first one.

I tried to read the Silmarillion, but it's just TOO detailed for me. It reads like a history book (or the Bible), and quite frankly it got extremely boring extremely fast for me. Not what I was looking for in a fiction/fantasy book.

 

[U2girl]

YESSSSS!!!!

Ohhh don't get me started on LOTR - i was still a kid (early primary school i guess) when i saw that famous cartoon (and loved it). Years later, i read the books and loved them - one of my all time favorite readings.

Since then, i re-read it twice and enjoyed it still. Plus i read Hobbit twice too, and i'm very interested into the rest of Tolkien's books.

Then, some more years later, i heard the news about the movie being made after the book which i thought was amazing and i was really excited to see how this legendary and famous tale would be translated onto the screen. And it was a great movie!

For my taste, Balrog was way scarier in the cartoon, and i thought the banging of the drums in the Moria mines would be more dramatic. (more slow, like i imagined it in the book) and i thought Boromir's death was better "done" in the book.

Though i must say the effects are particulary great done was Frodo's visions when he wears the ring , monsters and Black riders are scary and Gandalf is great!

In the books my favorite characters are Gandalf and Frodo, in the cartoon it was Aragorn, and in the movie it was Legolas (he was cute)!
Um my fave is probably the first book, the second part is a bit dragging on and boring with the whole Gollum part, and the third one is very good.

 

[meegannie]

I've been a big fan for a long time and love both the books and the movie. Sometimes the details in the books got a little tedious, but other times, the descriptions were beautiful. Also, I think the books helps to develop the characters a lot more. When Boromir died in the book, it was SO much more depressing than in the movie. Overall, though, I think the movie was VERY well done.

I Gollum.

 

[pinkfloyd]

well Michael Moorcock rulez forever !!!!

I like very much science fiction and fantasy genres , of course it's always a search , and in only 15 books , 1 is good , others usually are " re- makes " ( but one fantastic remake of Lord Rings is great though - Robert Jordan - Wheeel of time )
like films , but films also give your brains a reason to get lazy and dumb , books - not , only give u some new ideas , makes richer your mind ........

 

[Basstrap]

I'm almost finished book number 9 of the Wheel of Time now

How long will it go on?!?!

 

[meegannie]

I'm almost finished book number 9 of the Wheel of Time now

How long will it go on?!?!

Isn't it "until they nail [his] coffin shut"?

That's why I stopped reading it mid-"The Shadow Rising" when I was 12.

 

[U2girl]

Also i loved the intro to the movie, though Sauron's portrayal surprised me as i thought he was a magician like Gandalf and in the movie he's all armour and stuff.

 

[cass]

just in case you missed this gem...

"Bored of the Rings" by Harvard National Lampoon.
it was a looooooooooonnng time ago I read that, but i recall chuckling...."the eye of sauron falling out of the tree"

There are several documentaries around about Tolkien and lots and lots of books.I just asked son #2 which is the best Tolkien interpretive book..his usual cut and dried response..."just read it and think!" he is so cheeky that one.
I still LOVE Tolkien's "Letters to Father Christmas"...a kids book, but so full of effort and love.

I have given so much away I now realise. I had a tape of Tolkien himself reading poems in the elvish language. I was always collecting things Tolkien back then.

How many Arwen's can there be? On my first and subsequent reads, Aragorn was THE one, as far as goes...but it is sam gamgee who is my hero, so loyal, he faced his "monsters" he NEVER gave up. Sam
OK Aurora...you can be Arwen, I'm off to Rohan to rope me a horse.
Roll on TTT.

 

[meegannie]

Re: just in case you missed this gem...

but it is sam gamgee who is my hero, so loyal, he faced his "monsters" he NEVER gave up. Sam

Frodo always kinda got on my nerves.

 

[OzAurora]

Actually I think I might prefer to be a tree, instead of Arwen, from what I understand that is who or what Legolas is in love with- I'll be your tree Lego!!!!! and I cant wait to see Gollum in TTT- I love Gollum and the way he talks about 'his precious', I don't really think he is a character to despise, I think he is a character that most people end up loving and yeah Sam is probably my fave Hobbit, he really is a very innocent and devoted friend and I think that the characters of the Hobbits they really did very well in the movie