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

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

Here we go for the 2019 Tolkien Reading Challenge 😊📚

Real life continues to intrude, so thank you for the gentle reminders. A 2019 Challenge will be available shortly ☺

João wrote: "I am Brazilian and finally the publisher will bring new titles to the country. I'm waiting for the publication of The Fall of Gondolin and Beren and Luthien in portuguese to read them later this year."

Sounds like you've had to wait a while for Beren and Lúthien, João, but at least you'll be getting The Fall of Gondor in good time :-)

Aaron wrote: "Are there any potential writers to carry the torch within the Tolkien estate? Within Tolkien's descendants?"

I hope not - I think the law of diminishing returns applies here. Things are usually (though not always) made precious by their scarcity.

Hannu wrote: "My Tolkien challenge of this year:

- The Hobbit
- The Lord of the Rings
- The Silmarillion
- Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle Earth
- [book:..."

That's an impressive target, Hannu! Good luck ☺

Alan Lee was talking yesterday on the Today show on BBC Radio 4 about The Fall of Gondolin. The program is available on the BBC website for the next 29 days and the interview starts at 1:44:50.

Here's the link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09y...

Interestingly, the interview opens with a clip of Tolkien describing how he wrote the Ring Verse in the bath!

We are all, naturally, excited about this new publication, but please be aware that it is not (from what I can gather) new material, other than the critical apparatus and illustrations.

Like Beren and Lúthien, The Fall of Gondolin will collect together for the first time in a single volume, Tolkien's developing stories on the subject which have already been published elsewere.

I'm not intending to be a wet blanket, just ensuring that readers know what to expect :-)

Timothy wrote: "Yup! Already pre ordered!"

My local bookshop automatically orders me any new Tolkiens 😊

So, this is happening, and I'm rather excited!



Here's some links to announcements of the publication:

https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/97800...

https://www.tolkiensociety.org/2018/0...

https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...

An interesting interpretation of some dates in The Lord of the Rings timeline as they relate to Easter and the Catholic Christian cycle of birth, death and rebirth.

Tolkien’s Often Missed Reference to Good Friday in The Lord of the Rings

His landscapes and abstract designs are usually excellent. He was scathing about his ability to render people, and to be fair, he's right; they could generously be described as having naïve charm.

Tara wrote: "If you are into that kind of thing, The Art of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien The Art of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien by Wayne G. Hammond is also wonderful to pour over. "

I am into that kind of thing! :-D

I've got that to read, Tara. It does look fantastic :-)

Aaron wrote: "Is that watercolor one of Tolkien's? I knew he did some drawings, but I never really paid attention."

Tolkien painted several colour plates for The Hobbit, which are included in many editions of the book.

Hammond and Scull's The Art of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is a fantastic examination of Tolkien's influences and development as an artist, focusing, naturally, on the paintings and drawings he did for The Hobbit. The same authors look more widely at Tolkien the artist in J.R.R.Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator.

Tracey wrote: "I think I just added a book to my challenge. There's an exhibition about to open at the Bodleian Library of unpublished artwork by Tolkien, and the book will be out in July (in the US - June in the..."

I'm trying to persuade my wife that she does want to go with me to this exhibition!

Bodleian Tolkien Exhibition.

David wrote: "Perhaps it is best to wait and see the adaption before jumping to conclusions."

Ah, but half the fun is speculation! And it's what the studios depend upon to hype a show ☺

The films are their own thing; the books are their own thing. Personal preference as to which you prefer.

My preference is for the books - they are rich in character (despite what some might say), history, feeling and scene. To read The Lord of the Rings is to be immersed in a different world, but one that is recognisable and "human", notwithstanding the folk with pointy ears.

Are there long swathes of description? Yes, and you either love that, plough through it to get to the "good bits", or put the books down and watch the films.

I've watched the films numerous times (the extended versions, which make a lot more sense and give a better feel for Middle-earth than do the theatrical releases), and I thoroughly enjoy them. I can understand most of the decision that the director made in the parts that were changed for the film adaptations, and it's wonderful to see Middle-earth on screen. I'm lucky (I think) that my previous readings of the book before the films came out means that I still have my own imagery when I read LoTR, and not the film imagery.

The Hobbit films, on the other hand, are excrable (but I watch them anyway!).

Just to be super clear :-D ...

The shelf you use for the Tolkien Challenge would need to be a new, unique one that you only use for those books you read as a part of this challenge. As an example, my shelf name is:

tolkien-2018-reading-challenge

Hope this helps :-)

The books you read for the Tolkien Challenge will form part of your annual Goodreads Challenge, but not vice versa.

Easily done, Aaron 😁

I think there's been a number of requests from various Group moderators for previous challenges to be made less prominent on the home page.

Thinking about what books I might want to read this year: An "actual Tolkien"; a biography; an art book; a critique.

I've got the "actual Tolkien" covered, as I've just read a lovely 1966 edition of Farmer Giles of Ham, with Pauline Baynes's fantastic "embellishments". (It's her rendition of the dragon Chrysophylax Dives acting as the Challenge logo this year.)

I'm spoiled for biographies as I've a few yet to read, but I think I'll go with The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary by Peter Gilliver, E.S.C. Weiner and Jeremy Marshall, as the narrow focus appeals to me at the moment.

I've had The Art of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien on my TBR list for too long. It's a beautiful-looking book, and Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull are such ardent Tolkien scholars - knowledgeable, but never dry.

The last category, I'm not sure of at all yet, but perhaps The Mythology Of Tolkien's Middle Earth by Ruth S. Noel, a book I know to be flawed, but which, in a perverse way, is part of its attraction.

All of which is absolutely subject to change on a whim!