Michael’s Comments (group member since Jun 10, 2010)

Michael’s comments from the J.R.R. Tolkien group.

If we have any members who are writers (and I'm sure we have!) I thought I'd set up a topic where you can, if they wish, promote and discuss your works. There are a few rules to follow!

1. Promotions and Discussions should be for works that relate to Tolkien and/or his themes.

2. Promotion of your writing is to be confined to this topic.

3. Discussion of your writing is to be confined to this folder.

4. I will ask you to repost here any promotion of or extended discussion of your works that are posted in other threads. Persistent infraction of rules will result in deletion of non-compliant posts.

5. Don't spam!

Paolo wrote: "The Children of Húrin is on my list! ..."

That's our next Group Read, hint, hint ;-)

The commentary on the Riddles section is fascinating. Following the success of The Hobbit, a rival publisher proposed to print the riddles in a book of poems without paying JRRT any royalties, on the basis that the riddles were all well-known traditional ones, so Tolkien couldn't claim any authorial rights. Tolkien showed in a letter to his publishers that only two of the riddles were wholly traditional and, if he based had based some of the others on those found in medieval works, the particular forms were of his own devising. The other publisher didn't use the riddles, so Tolkien got no royalties, anyway!

The commentary describes the development of riddles in Tolkien's work - another interesting section - on to the lore about Rings!

Yeah, it seemed weird to think of the fall of Gondolin being so close in time to The Hobbit. It works much better for that era to be an ancient and legendary one.

As for Elrond not claiming Glamdring, while Rateliff's authorial explanation is undoubtedly the correct and rational one, I prefer to think in terms of the narrative and believe that he realised the sword would do greater work in the hands it had found itself in, rather than hanging on a wall in Rivendell.

My wife refused my suggestions of Gandalf and Bilbo for our boys!

Gollum! This is a one of the best commentaries so far. Reveals (view spoiler)[a couple of Gollum-like characters in Tolkien's pre-Hobbit works (hide spoiler)] and how originally Gollum (view spoiler)[appears not to have been of Hobbit stock, but rather an indigenous creature of the caves (hide spoiler)].

I really liked the glimpse of Tolkien's home life in the story of how (view spoiler)[the eldest of Tolkien's sons, Michael, would terrorise his younger brothers by imitating the Gollum of their bedtime stories, slinking into their bedrooms at night, torches held in front of his face to simulate Gollum's eyes shining in the dark (hide spoiler)]!

Paolo wrote: "I just remembered that I called my first geological hammer 'Gondring' which means 'stone hammer' in Sindarin. Funny the things that stay in one's head!"

That is a level of geekery beyond the call of duty and I salute you, Sir! :-D

Paolo, is the record you've got by Bo Hansson?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs0Amr...

I love that record and have it on 12" vinyl (in the loft somewhere!) and on CD (which I play frequently). According to the liner notes, this was one of the first all-electronic recordings and it's incredibly evocative and atmospheric.

It's all good, but I find The Horns and Rohan & The Battle of the Pelennor Fields particularly spine-tingling.

Impressive reading list, btw!

Hi Paolo - thanks for joining us, and I hope you find your interest in Tolkien rekindled here :-)

Sean wrote: "So I just finished reading the Hobbit for the 5th time, and I have to say it is one of my all time favorite books. The first time I read it was around 1980 when I was around 8 or 9 years old, and i..."

The Hobbit is a special book to have as a childhood memory. I hope your little cousins get to make friends with Bilbo!

Is there a particular part of the book that you especially like, Sean?

What's the resolution like on your Nook as compared to the printed page? We have a Kindle in the house, but it's monochrome and the images are fairly basic (promise to get back to The Hobbit soon!).

Pallavi wrote: "After all don't we all just LOVEEE pointing out differences :) ..."

It's what gives life meaning :-D

Stefan wrote: "Also, despite it's shorter length, there's always something going on. Each chapter is almost a mini-adventure unto itself unlike the longer books where there is quite a bit of down-time."

That's a good point, well made :-)

It is the shortest ME book, but because it's part of the larger legendarium (I hate that word, but it seems to be widely used), there's a load of background stuff that was going on elsewhere at the same time as the events in The Hobbit. Tolkien very kindly told us what those things were, so they can very easily be put into the movie(s) and, due to the general public already being aware of the events in the LotR films, there will hopefully be an appetite for MORE of the "prequel"!

I know not everybody's happy about Jackson's treatment of LotR, but I loved those films on their own terms. Providing he can fend off the studio suits and make his own film his own way, then I'm happy that The Hobbit film franchise is in safe hands.

PLEEEEASE, Peter, don't let me down!!

Pallavi wrote: "Two become three!! Now I only wish we don't have to wait until Dec 2014 for the last! Also I hope they don't call it "The Hobbit" anymore.
An unexpected journey
by Peter Jackson on Monday, July 30,..."

AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

I'm so excited!!!!

Christine wrote: "I am reading The Hobbitt Deluxe edition on my Nook Color and I am loving it =) Here is the version The Hobbit"


Hi Christine - Thanks for joining the Group read. Feel free to share your thoughts here.

I don't have a Nook, so can you explain what deluxe features you get with a Deluxe Edition?

David wrote: "Anyone else here joining along in the discussion at BookSnobbery? Whole bunch of bloggers slogging through Hobbit and LOTR this summer."

Hi David - notifications are a bit patchy, so I've only just seen your post! Well, we're reading The Hobbit here now, and we'll be breezing through LOTR starting early 2013, so as much of a Tolkienista as I am, even I won't be reading them twice so quickly! Others may have more stamina though! :-)

I'm up to the section that in the finished novel is The Last Homely House chapter.

So far, the most striking difference is the change of some major character names from this to the final version: Gandalf>Thorin; Bladorthin>Gandalf; Pryftan>Smaug. Otherwise, the basic plot is the same and the changes are mainly minor ones, like changing adjectives or tightening up internal chronology.

These things undoubtedly improved the "smoothness" of the final narrative, but I think that only a reader making an academic analysis would be truly fascinated in such editorial changes. As an amateur enthusiast, I'm interested, but could not justify the £20 of the edition I have. But, before you think I'm dismissing the book, I'm not!

What makes the book well worth its price are the extensive notes on the text and Rateliff's commentaries upon Tolkien's characters and themes (which commentaries are further annotated!). These are fascinating and provide a real insight into Tolkien's creative process, development of the legendarium and his mythological and folkloric sources.

I'll "officially" rate the book once I've finished it, but it's well on the way to being 5 stars.

Lawrence wrote: "Hello ~ My name is Larry and have have just joined Goodread. I have been a fan of Tolkien for many years. Yes, I am an old guy. I look forward to reading about your thoughts and comments on Tolk..."

Hi Larry - I'm an old guy, too! I knew that the day my barber clippered my eyebrows without asking me - and I was going for a Gandalf look!!

Hi, Sean. Welcome to the Group.

The Hobbit is our current Group Read and The Children if Húrin is our read for Autumn, si I hope you'll be able to join us on those. :-)