Substack suggestions work in mysterious ways - I've been looking for an excuse to dive back into the Lord of the Rings, and suddenly, this post appeared on my homepage! Excited to join this journey in community with fellow readers.
I am a HUGE LOTR fan, I re read the books every so often and am also a HUGE fan of the Peter Jackson movies. (Ok, ok...I will admit that Orlando Bloom dressed up as Legolas is my seekrit Elf boyfriend.)
Funny - that boxed set you showed a picture of... my daughter came home for spring break with a surprise for me. She had found one of those boxed sets at a local thrift store and knowing my love for Tolkien she got it for me. Cool find and looks nice on my shelf too. The boxed set we had growing up is at my brother's house so now I have my own.
Coincidentally, I also was nine in the late summer of '79 and found Lewis and Tolkien around then. Also coincidentally, just reread Fellowship in February and am onto Two Towers. And yes, yes, does it hold up. There are books I've loved at different periods in my life and then tried to go back to them and found them unreadable now. Others, like The Sun Also Rises, I can read once a decade and find something entirely new. The Lord of the Rings is like that, too. In this rereading, in my 50s I'm finding myself paying more attention to the poetry (I used to skip the poems, I wanted plot and character), and also the sheer poetry of the language. Brings me tears, often.
Thank you for doing this! I have always wanted to read this story and have always been overwhelmed by its length and honestly, the fear I will be disappointed after having the books so hyped throughout my childhood. Looking forward to it.
I have also lost count of how many times I've read the story over the years. Never on any kind of.. scholarly basis. Looking forward to it, though I will need to catch up a bit!
I just restacked this post with a photo of the old cover of the copy I’ll be reading, John - and I will be upgrading to a paid subscription - what fun!
My experience is similar, although I am old so I read Hobbit long before the animated version. I struggled with the confusingly named (to an elementary school kid) Sauron and Saruman in LoTR. And I reread both. I’m currently listening to LoTR which is quite different.
Substack suggestions work in mysterious ways - I've been looking for an excuse to dive back into the Lord of the Rings, and suddenly, this post appeared on my homepage! Excited to join this journey in community with fellow readers.
Me too!
Ive been hoping to dive in for the very first after recently finishing The Hobbit for the first time. Now I need to buy them ASAP.
Huzzah!
I am a HUGE LOTR fan, I re read the books every so often and am also a HUGE fan of the Peter Jackson movies. (Ok, ok...I will admit that Orlando Bloom dressed up as Legolas is my seekrit Elf boyfriend.)
Guess I need to hit that subscribe button!
Funny - that boxed set you showed a picture of... my daughter came home for spring break with a surprise for me. She had found one of those boxed sets at a local thrift store and knowing my love for Tolkien she got it for me. Cool find and looks nice on my shelf too. The boxed set we had growing up is at my brother's house so now I have my own.
Tempting but I can’t interrupt my reading of the Silmarillion.
Coincidentally, I also was nine in the late summer of '79 and found Lewis and Tolkien around then. Also coincidentally, just reread Fellowship in February and am onto Two Towers. And yes, yes, does it hold up. There are books I've loved at different periods in my life and then tried to go back to them and found them unreadable now. Others, like The Sun Also Rises, I can read once a decade and find something entirely new. The Lord of the Rings is like that, too. In this rereading, in my 50s I'm finding myself paying more attention to the poetry (I used to skip the poems, I wanted plot and character), and also the sheer poetry of the language. Brings me tears, often.
Thank you for doing this! I have always wanted to read this story and have always been overwhelmed by its length and honestly, the fear I will be disappointed after having the books so hyped throughout my childhood. Looking forward to it.
So glad you're joining in, Shaina!
This is going to be great! I think I've read LotR 40+ times by now, and it's always so interesting to see other people's perspectives.
Excellent! I’ve lost count of my re-reads, but I think we’re about on par. I look forward to your insights!
I have also lost count of how many times I've read the story over the years. Never on any kind of.. scholarly basis. Looking forward to it, though I will need to catch up a bit!
You sparked my imagination with your early reference to "young Halbrooks." Imaginary Tales of . . . ?
Ha! Mostly tales of me in my room with books and records.
Did I miss it? How many weeks will we take to cover the fellowship?
Hi, Josh. We will take three weeks on each of the three volumes.
I just restacked this post with a photo of the old cover of the copy I’ll be reading, John - and I will be upgrading to a paid subscription - what fun!
Thank you, Martha—I’ll be glad to have you joining the conversation!
This sounds wonderful. Can I clarify… do we stop reading after Chapter VII, “In the House of Tom Bombadil” ?
Yes, though if you would like to read ahead, then be my guest!
Looking forward to this John. One of my all time favorite stories.
My experience is similar, although I am old so I read Hobbit long before the animated version. I struggled with the confusingly named (to an elementary school kid) Sauron and Saruman in LoTR. And I reread both. I’m currently listening to LoTR which is quite different.
Found a new translation of Beowulf: https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/gen-z-beowulf