(no subject)

[la_rainette]

Cross-posting to JL, IJ, GJ and LJ, take two. Because, ahahahaha, it won't cross-post unless you ask it to. *baps self*

I am, for the first time, reading Lord of the Rings. Yay?

Now, this is something I have attempted several times before, and I always got stuck at around page 80 or so, once the hobbits get wandering. Because it goes like that: the hobbits went up the hill, the weather was fine, they got hungry, they stopped and had breakfast (insert breakfast menu), they sang for a while (insert sont lyrics), then they slept for a while (insert mentions of sleeping habits and various snoring noises), then they get up and do it all over again.

The first time I attempted to read the book? I had bought myself a LORD OF THE RINGS MAP to follow the hobbits' wanderings. Which was possibly the worst idea ever, since trying to follow them blew my mind with sheer boredom.

This time, however, I am not even bothering with following their steps. I just imagine New Zealand mountains and forest and I know that they're beautiful and basta, as we say. I skip the breakfasts, second breakfasts, elevenses, luncheons, dinners and suppers and assorted snacks altogether, and I seem to be doing OK so far.

I am even starting to enjoy myself. *grins*

Right now, I am past page 100 (HOORAY! I BROKE MY RECORD!) and have just hit the point where Frodo and Sam realise that yo, their friends Pippin ad Merry know exactly what they have been planning, despite their best efforts to keep everything a secret, and this amuses me greatly. I am sure you have all experienced this at least once, haven't you? I am sure you have all, at least once, tried to keep something Really Sekrit... and then found out that everyone knew and that you could just as well have relaxed a bit, cos frankly, why bother?

Anyway. I am amused. It doesn't take that much these days to amuse me.

Also, I think I like Sam in the book even more than I like Sam in the movies. Dude, I think I may even finish the book this time.

Comments

[darthrami.livejournal.com]

I kept getting stuck when they met up with Tom Bombadill (sp?). I know the pain.


I'm glad I got through them, but I'm not sure I'd be able to do it again.

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

Tom Bombadil sings and does a lot verse and the first x times I read LoTR I couldn't stand him, but if you think of him as a generic pagan god type/archetype, he suddenly becomes very important. You can still skim the poetry bits though. Oh and chapter 11, Council of Elrond? If your brain glazes over, its just the prologue from the film, go and watch that again then skim to the end :)

[juniper200.livejournal.com]

Yeah, just skip Bombadil -- he's a worthless plot cul-de-sac. The purists will smack me around like a thing that gets smacked around a lot, but I'm not sorry I said it.

The character I found I liked more in the books than in the movies was Gandalf -- and I liked him in the movies quite a bit. But book!Gandalf has a sarcastic streak that shows up at unexpected times. (Like you ever expect sarcasm from the Wise Old Wizard.)

[genarti]

Aw, I like Tom Bombadil! But I also like the merry wanderings about the Shire, so YMMV. As a general rule for Tolkien, feel very free to skim anything you feel the need to skim. You'll get the gist. (Or, if you don't, seventeen people on your friendslist will happily recount it for you at the slightest urging.)

I really love that bit with the secret-revealing, though. *grin* And the way Merry and Pippin turn out to not, in fact, be totally oblivious, and take Frodo and the reader both by surprise in that.

I love those two; they have a lot more depth than one would initially give them credit for.

And oh, Sam. Yes. Same is awesome.

[bloodrebel333.livejournal.com]

I read it when I was - ten, I think. In Dutch. And I had to drag myself through a lot of The Two Towers, but I managed, because I refused to skip and I wanted to know what happened to the others. :)

But once I was finished, I wanted to go at it again.

[http://users.livejournal.com/eljay_/]

Oooo - have fun! :) I'm afraid I'm a rampant LOTR fan, who may just be able to recite bits of the book from memory.... :S

It all gets more exciting once they get out of the Shire, trust me. The hobbits do tend to wear a bit on some people.... My favourite character was always Aragorn. :)

[muffytaj.livejournal.com]

I think there really needs to be a severly abridged version of LotR. And I say this as someone who first read it in year 4.

Though I suppose he was trying to build a world...