Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
ABOUT BOOKS AND READING
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What are U reading these days? (Part Five) (begun 3/12/09)
All scenes were shot on location in New Zealand. I had no idea it was a geographically diverse country until I saw LOTR.The Shire was incredible. They made those hobbit house a year before shooting, just so they could get all the grass and flowers to grow.
The really great fight scenes are yet to come. I like sword fighting, not guns. It takes guts to wield a sword. And, of course, only in the movies.
Gollum is a complicated character, My Precious is both himself and the ring. You'll get to see his story in the opening of the third film. I have much sympathy and compassion for him but Anthony doesn't like him at all. I don't think he understands the full corruption of the ring and what it does to those who bear it.
Sam, the great of friends. I love him so much, I want my own Samwise Gamgee. And I adore Aragorn!
The casting was perfect, I couldn't have chosen better myself. Everything about Jackson's vision was perfect. All the Tolkien fans were impressed and very pleased with the films. I'm disappointed that he won't be the on to direct The Hobbit.
All scenes were shot on location in New Zealand. I had no idea it was a geographically diverse country until I saw LOTR.The Shire was incredible. They made those hobbit house a year before shooting, just so they could get all the grass and flowers to grow.
The really great fight scenes are yet to come. I like sword fighting, not guns. It takes guts to wield a sword. And, of course, only in the movies.
Gollum is a complicated character, My Precious is both himself and the ring. You'll get to see his story in the opening of the third film. I have much sympathy and compassion for him but Anthony doesn't like him at all. I don't think he understands the full corruption of the ring and what it does to those who bear it.
Sam, the great of friends. I love him so much, I want my own Samwise Gamgee. And I adore Aragorn! The casting was perfect, I couldn't have chosen better myself. Everything about Jackson's vision was perfect. All the Tolkien fans were impressed and very pleased with the films. I'm disappointed that he won't be the on to direct The Hobbit.
Jackie wrote: "All scenes were shot on location in New Zealand. I had no idea it was a geographically diverse country until I saw LOTR.The Shire was incredible. They made those hobbit house a year before shoo..."
Jackie, thanks for the background info.
Yes, it would be nice to have one's own Samwise Gamgee.
Yes, I too was drawn to handsome Viggo Mortensen who played Aragorn aka Strider.
Here's a good photo of him:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ara...
There was another character with a name similar to "Aragorn", but I can't find him in the IMDb cast listing.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/f...
I think he had a "th" in his name.
Wiki says: "Jackson is collaborating with Guillermo del Toro on a two-part The Hobbit film adaptation, for release in 2011 and 2012."
FROM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord...
I'm not sure how accurate that is.
I hope it's accurate, Jackson is a great director, lots of attention to detail and I liked that he used exact dialogue.Aragorn is the son of Arathorn, but he is deceased by the time of LOTR though he is mentioned a few times.
I've seen Viggo in other movies and he never looks as good as he did as Strider/Aragorn. Maybe it's because I've been in love with the character of aragorn for decades, LOL
I have lots of book crushes.
I hope it's accurate, Jackson is a great director, lots of attention to detail and I liked that he used exact dialogue.Aragorn is the son of Arathorn, but he is deceased by the time of LOTR though he is mentioned a few times.
I've seen Viggo in other movies and he never looks as good as he did as Strider/Aragorn. Maybe it's because I've been in love with the character of Aragorn for decades, LOL
I have lots of book crushes.
Jackie wrote: "I hope it's accurate, Jackson is a great director, lots of attention to detail and I liked that he used exact dialogue.Aragorn is the son of Arathorn, but he is deceased by the time of LOTR tho..."
Thanks for solving the Arathorn mystery for me!
Yes, Viggo is very crushable. :)
Aragorn is crushable. Viggo, not so much, LOL.I take my literary characters very seriously, I know, I'm a bit looney.
Jackie wrote: "Aragorn is crushable. Viggo, not so much, LOL.I take my literary characters very seriously, I know, I'm a bit looney."
Mmmm. Aragorn is a hero. That's his allure.
"Nurture your mind with great thoughts; to believe in the heroic makes heroes."
-Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)
Perhaps all your crushes are heroes. :)
Aragorn was more than a hero. I was attracted to his traits as a person more than his deeds.
Jackie wrote: "Aragorn was more than a hero. I was attracted to his traits as a person more than his deeds."I'll think about that while I'm watching the second and third parts of the Trilogy (LOTR).
And look for Faramir too, another character I loved, for the same reason. You'll meet him in the 2nd, but just a little, it's in the 3rd that you'll really get to know him.Faramir is Boromir's brother, the one who died defending the hobbits at the end of Fellowship, he always carried the horn.
Both Aragorn and Faramir were really good men, in their essence, their core: honorable, loyal, trustworthy, you could count on them to do the right thing, always. That's my definition of a hero. The deeds were cool too, but for me, they were in the periphery, a result of their honor, loyalty etc.
Jackie wrote: "And look for Faramir too, another character I loved, for the same reason. You'll meet him in the 2nd, but just a little, it's in the 3rd that you'll really get to know him. Faramir is Boromir's b..."Well said, Jackie. Thanks for the tip re Faramir. I can see why people become engrossed in LOTR. At first the large number of characters is daunting, but after getting to know them individually, the story is easier to follow and not so overwhelming.
It wasn't the easiest book to read, but I'm sure it's much easier seing the characters than reading about them. The first time I read LOTR, I had to keep going back because I was getting confused with who's who and what relationship they had to each other.
Jackie wrote: "It wasn't the easiest book to read, but I'm sure it's much easier seing the characters than reading about them. The first time I read LOTR, I had to keep going back because I was getting confused ..."Several years ago I read about a third of LOTR and then threw in the towel. I appreciated Tolkien's writing style; I even underlined certain parts which I admired. Finally I got tired of trying to keep track of everyone and gave the book away. I'm sorry now that I didn't keep it.
Well, I started reading _This Immortal_ by Roger Zelazny. I'm on p. 33 and so far there's no real plot developing except that Conrad Nomikos (on Earth) has been chosen to guide Cort Myshtigo, a visiting Vegan journalist, on a global tour.I had trouble getting into the book. Too many names are mentioned whom I knew nothing about. There was nothing interesting to grab onto... the text just seemed to ramble. I'll keep reading to see if I'm drawn into the story. So far, I'm not engaged.
You're at the part where the plot starts to thicken, Joy, but I was already enthralled by the mystery that is Conrad, by this point. Like when he mentions "... besides, that's not the way it really happened." at the end of the story about Themocles, a well known Greek myth. How could he know? There are a lot of such mysteries scattered through out the book & a lot of references & allusions to classical literature.
I think half the fun of the book is in his rambling bits. For instance, when he talks about meeting his wife, "I met her by accident, pursued her with desperation, married her against my will. (The last partwas her idea)." I just get a chuckle out of it.
Joy,I have LOTR if you ever want to borrow it.
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown is good so far. It was advertized as the long awaited sequel of The DaVinci Code, though I see no correlation between the two. At least not yet. This is about Masonic symbology in the US capital. I find symbology and etymology highly interesting because it sheds light on the original meaning of words in an illerate society. I also find the Masonic myths interesting, same for the Illuminati.
I'm working on Shantaram! It's quite good so far, but I'm not finding much time to read right now. Life with young kids and activities means not so much time for mommy to read!
Jim wrote: "You're at the part where the plot starts to thicken, Joy, but I was already enthralled by the mystery that is Conrad, by this point. ... I think half the fun of the book is in his rambling bits..."
Yes, Jim, I like those parts too (where he rambles). As for the references, I know what you mean. I don't catch them all though.
Jackie wrote: "Joy,I have LOTR if you ever want to borrow it.
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown is good so far. It was advertized as the long awaited sequel of The DaVinci Code, th..."
Thanks, Jackie, but I don't think I want to tackle LOTR again. I feel the same about Dan Brown's books. The DaVinci Code was good up to a point, but I got sick of the twists and turns. There were too many of them for my taste.
I've heard that Anita Shreve's _Testimony_ is a page turner. I'd like to read that soon if the waiting list at the library isn't too long.
Jenni wrote: "I'm working on Shantaram! It's quite good so far, but I'm not finding much time to read right now. Life with young kids and activities means not so much time for mommy to read!"Thanks for the link, Jenni. Sounds like an unusual story.
Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote (on 9/13/09): "Several years ago I read about a third of LOTR and then threw in the towel. I appreciated Tolkien's writing style; I even underlined certain parts which I admired. Finally I got tired of trying to keep track of everyone [i.e., all the different characters... and all the different places!:] and gave the book away. I'm sorry now that I didn't keep it."I donated that soft-cover book (of _Fellowship of the Ring_) to a Glens Falls Library fund-raiser. If anyone has found it, I'd like it back. LOL The underlinings occurred in only the first half of the book. I gave up after that.
Not that I'd like to read the book again. It was too dense. But I'd like to read over the sections I underlined, the ones which were special to me.
Another book with underlinings which I regret giving away to our library fundraiser was
_I Passed This Way_ by Sylvia Ashton-Warner.
If anyone has found these particular books which I gave away to the library fundraiser, please let me know. Thank you.
Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Yes, Jim, I like those parts too (where he rambles). As for the references, I know what you mean. I don't catch them all though."Nobody does, Joy. He had a degree in literature. If you catch most of the allusions, then you have a pretty good grounding in classical lit.
One of the best things about the Collected Works of his that I read was the explanations of this sort of thing at the end of every story. "This Immortal" was based on a serial novella, "And Call Me Conrad", so was covered. I found answers for some things that have bugged me for years.
Jim wrote: "Nobody does, Joy. He had a degree in literature. If you catch most of the allusions, then you have a pretty good grounding in classical lit."I wonder if these authors who pepper their work with classical allusions realize that for some readers (who don't know what the authors are talking about), it takes away from the story. I wonder if it's a way for an author to show off his background in literature. Perhaps it's a way to elevate their writings in the eyes of the cognoscenti. Perhaps they can't help themselves. I forgive them. :)
Zelazny uses a lot of allusions on purpose, often using them to make subtle puns, but also it can be used to set a mood or describe a scene or action in a very few words. Not all are just classic, though. Take the passage, "...we willed walls of passion around our October..." which brings all the baggage of the Russian October Revolution with it. In a word (OK, two words; 'our October') he manages to convey a time of upheaval & change, supposedly for the better. We know how that turned out, as it was wrenched into the communist Russia we knew in the 60's. Will this end as badly? The whole theme for the book is set in that one sentence. Does it get any better than that?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_...
Jim wrote: "Zelazny uses a lot of allusions on purpose, often using them to make subtle puns, but also it can be used to set a mood or describe a scene or action in a very few words. Not all are just classic, though.Take the passage, '...we willed walls of passion around our October...' which brings all the baggage of the Russian October Revolution with it."
Jim, I had wondered what he meant by "our October". How many readers knew right off that it was a reference to the Russian Revolution and a time of "upheaval & change"? I didn't.
I see your point, of course, but for readers like myself, these cryptic references are an annoying ambiguity.
I'm sure I will come to appreciate Zelazny sooner or later. :)
Roger Zelazny
Hmmm... I thought that one was obvious, but I guess not everyone knows about that part of Russian history. Still, the story reads OK without really knowing exactly what he means. It adds a lot of depth to the story if you do, though.He's not always subtle, either. He has some major puns in all his books. In "Lord of Light" a Shan, a ruler, gets a new body that has epilepsy. This leads to the line, "The fit hit the Shan." which always gives me a chuckle.
Some things might be too subtle for me or else I'm looking in the wrong place. I've always wondered why Conrad named his sail boat the "Golden Vanitie". I would guess it is a reference to the ballad about Sir Walter Raleigh's boat. But as I recall that story, it is one of betrayal - at least according to the Pete Seeger song I vaguely remember. Something about the Vanity almost getting captured & a boy swims out & sinks the other ship, but when he gets back Raleigh reneges on his promise of his daughter. It doesn't make sense to me in this context, though. Do you remember that song?
Know of another reference to a ship named 'Golden Vanity'? I can't imagine such a name would simply be random. Not when so many of the others are picked with such care; Cassandra, Conrad, Konstantin, Karaghiosis, Hassan & more. Most are loaded with history & meaning. They fit in perfectly to the story, too.
Jim wrote: "Hmmm... I thought that one was obvious, but I guess not everyone knows about that part of Russian history. ..."But Jim, Zelazny didn't mention Russia when he mentioned "October". It could have been ANY October. Most people know that the Russian Revolution was in 1917, but every time they hear the word, "October", they don't think of the Russian Revolution.
Just wanted to make that point. Now I'll go on and read the rest of your post. :)
Jim wrote: "... I've always wondered why Conrad named his sail boat the 'Golden Vanitie'"Haven't heard the Pete Seeger song. But read below and below you will see that there is a connection to Walter Raleigh.
I googled and found the following webpage:
http://books.google.com/books?id=iCJc...
It's a page of a book called _Ballads and Sea Songs of Newfoundland_ By Elisabeth Bristol Greenleaf, Grace Yarrow Mansfield.
The poem (collected by Child) says:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"My father had a ship in the north counteree,
She sails by the name of the "Golden Vanitie".
I'm afraid she will be taken by some pirate ship at sea
As she sails along the lowlands low,
As she sails along the lonesome sea."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The book is sold at Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674...
Also, in an album review at:
http://rateyourmusic.com/release/albu...
it says:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I would point to Loudon Wainwright III's stunning rendition of "Turkish Revelry" (which was written back in 1635 or earlier and titled "The Sweet Trinity" when collected by Francis Child, but also known as "Sir Walter Raleigh Sailing In The Lowlands", "The Golden Vanity", "The Golden Willow Tree" and other name variants"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jim, I think you rather enjoy solving these puzzles which Zelazny presents. :)
Ah, Jim, here's a page with the ballad and more info re Walter Raleigh and the Golden Vanity:http://www.mysongbook.de/msb/songs/g/...
See the footnotes too.
Thanks, Joy. Yes, I do like the puzzles in the book. I didn't get them all the first time I read it & probably still don't have them all figured out, but that's what makes the book so re-readable. The first time through I read just an excellent adventure story. After that, it gained depth & interest as I could spend more time on the clues & put them into context. For instance, the bit about 'our October' because it only really makes sense in that context & then it makes a LOT, but you're right, it doesn't jump out on the first read. Still, it's not obscure - the Russian Revolutions of the early 20th century are well known or should be - & seems pretty obvious once you realize it & put it into context.
"This Immortal" contains more allusions than some of his others, but "Lord of Light", "Creatures of Light & Darkness", "The Dream Master" & a couple of others contain as many.
"A Night in Lonesome October" doesn't make nearly as much sense unless you figure most of them out. Most are easy; Dracula, Dr. Frankenstein, Jack the Ripper, Sherlock Holmes & such, but some, like Owen Glendower are bit more obscure & required some research to understand the book better. The hunt has led to further fascinating reading & broadened my horizons.
Thanks for the further bits about the "Golden Vanity", Joy. That's pretty much the way I remember it. The major point being the boy is betrayed by the Captain after saving the ship from certain capture. It really doesn't make sense in relation to this story - at least not as I understand it. If you figure out what I'm missing, I'd appreciate a hand.
Jim wrote: "Thanks, Joy. Yes, I do like the puzzles in the book. I didn't get them all the first time I read it & probably still don't have them all figured out, but that's what makes the book so re-readable......The hunt has led to further fascinating reading & broadened my horizons."
Yes, Jim, the hunt is an education in itself, especially on the Internet. The curiosity has to come first. Sometimes I'm curious; other times I'm just looking for a good story.
There's no doubt about the fact that Zelazny has a flair for words and writing. That's what keeps me reading. So far, no real plot. At this point Conrad is wrestling with a golem, a robot wrestler.
About "October", the first thing I always think of is October 1987 when the stock market fell. It affected me much more directly than the Russian Revolution. I had just started a 401K at work. I had put a small amount of money in a risky fund, just for fun. I lost three dollars. LOL That was the last time I ever took any risks with my money. So THAT'S what OCTOBER means to me! Not everyone thinks about the Russian Revolution these days. :)
Jim wrote: "Thanks for the further bits about the "Golden Vanity", Joy. That's pretty much the way I remember it. The major point being the boy is betrayed by the Captain after saving the ship from certain c..."I didn't read the entire poem. So I don't know the plot of the story in the poem. I doubt if I'll see a relationship to Zelazny story. I was never one for brain puzzles. I did OK in math, but that was because I was a conscientious student. On my own, I don't seek puzzles. That's why complex mystery stories don't attract me. Not my cup of tea.
PS-At least I learned that a person named Francis Child collected poems and ballads. :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_...
Jim, I found a fair synopsis of the poem, "The Golden Vanity", at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Swee...
It was linked from here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_...
See #286.
The synopsis says: "In the variant with Raleigh, Raleigh is willing to keep some of his promises, but not to marry him to his daughter, and the cabin boy scorns him.".
Perhaps the parallel to Zelazny has to do with scorn and not keeping promises?
Thanks for the links. No, that still doesn't fit, as far as I can tell.Zelazny originally wanted to be a poet & it shows in his work. Whole chapters of "Creatures of Light & Darkness" are free verse. Maybe that's the best way to read his work - not just like a book, but more like a poem. Watching the relationship of the words to each other as they form pictures & moods.
Cort, his life or death, what his purpose is, the discovery through their travels, is the plot - or as much as is obvious at this point. Relax & enjoy the scenery.
Jim wrote: "Thanks for the links...... Zelazny originally wanted to be a poet & it shows in his work. ...
... Cort, his life or death, what his purpose is, the discovery through their travels, is the plot - or as much as is obvious at this point. Relax & enjoy the scenery."
Jim, I enjoyed the metaphors in the following passage:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"...we'd all sit on blankets and watch, and bats would swoop low occasionally, like big, fast ashes, and emaciated clouds would cover the moon, veil-like, and then move on again."
-p. 61, _This Immortal_ by Roger Zelazny
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm on p. 72 and Conrad Nomikos suspects that someone may be trying to kill him. But, he thinks, who... and why?
The personality of Cort Myshtigo, The Vegan, hasn't been made too clear yet. I know that he's blueskinned. :)
I'll take your advice and "enjoy the scenery" as I read the rest of the story.
Some time ago on this thread, we had some mention of my novella Lifeblood, and I'd promised to inform this group if I ever got it back in print. Well, at last I have! A self-published edition is for sale over the Internet at Lulu; to order online, the URL is:http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback... . The list price is $9.87 (plus S & H), but this month only, if you enter the code LULUBOOK at the checkout page, they'll knock 10% off the price of your order. Anyway, if you fancy trying some vampire fiction that different from the usual (it has quite a different flavor from Anne Rice, for instance :-)), check it out!
I just finished listening to Pete Seeger sing, "Golden Vanity" just now. No resemblance to Conrad's boat that I can figure. One day I'll stumble across something that makes sense. I checked Frazer's "Golden Bough" & didn't find it there, either. (That book was a favorite & often a source for Zelazny.)
Werner wrote: "Some time ago on this thread, we had some mention of my novella Lifeblood, and I'd promised to inform this group if I ever got it back in print. Well, at last I have! A self-published edition is ..."Werner, congratulations on getting your book back into print! I enjoyed reading it and know that others will too. The reviews at Goodreads all give it four or five stars. Just now I read one of those reviews. It's a good sample (by "Janie) and can be found at: ====>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
In fact, all the Goodreads reviews are interesting to read. They can be found at: ====>
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28...
Thanks for keeping us posted, Werner.
I've started a special topic for your book at: ====>
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2...
Good luck, Werner!
Thanks, Joy --and thanks for all the links, and the special topic; that was sweet!
Jim wrote: "I just finished listening to Pete Seeger sing, "Golden Vanity" just now. No resemblance to Conrad's boat that I can figure. One day I'll stumble across something that makes sense. I checked Fraz..."Jim, it's too bad that Roger Zelazny passed away at such a young age. Otherwise it might have been possible to write to him and ask him about the relevance of the boat name to his story (_This Immortal_). Could be that he just liked the sound of the name and the fact that it came from a classic ballad.
I searched online to see if "Golden Vanity" was a common boat name, but didn't find one boat with that name! I thought that was strange. Perhaps Zelazny liked the name because it was so unique. Below are the Google hits I found:
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=bo...
Perhaps not too many literary academics are interested in boating. Literature would seem to be a great source of good boat names.
PS-Jim, about boat names, I found a search box for boat names at:http://www2.10000boatnames.com/index....
There wasn't one boat named "Golden Vanity" in all 10,000 listed!
That's wild, Joy. Maybe they consider it bad luck? Superstitious lot. Thanks for checking!
Boat names/were there any listed called Allegra or MOlly Brown? Our boat names; not golden vanity. nina
Nina wrote: "Boat names/were there any listed called Allegra or MOlly Brown? Our boat names; not golden vanity. nina"Nina, if you go to the following webpage, you can find out:
http://www2.10000boatnames.com/index....
Just put the name in the search box.
I'll try to follow up myself.
Nina - Via the search page,http://www2.10000boatnames.com/index....
I found 2 boats named Allegra and 4 named Molly Brown.
I had expected to find more.
Having finished (and reviewed) New Moon recently, I've just started reading G. K. Chesterton's The Napoleon of Notting Hill. I was looking for a short read that I figured I'll finish around the beginning of next month, in time to possibly get in on the next common read in the Supernatural Fiction Readers group. :-)Besides the books like the above, which I read by (and to) myself, I generally have a book in the process of being read out loud, at intervals, to my wife. For the last few months, we've been reading through Orson Scott Card's Tales of Alvin Maker series. We finished the third of the six books, Prentice Alvin, recently, and have started on the fourth, Alvin Journeyman.
Werner wrote: "Having finished (and reviewed) New Moon recently, I've just started reading G. K. Chesterton's The Napoleon of Notting Hill. I was looking for a short read that I figured I'll finish around the be..."Werner, below are some links to the books you mentioned (for the benefit of other readers):
New Moon
The Napoleon of Notting Hill
Prentice Alvin
Alvin Journeyman
I wish Eddie would read to me. That sounds like such a great thing for a couple to do. Sometimes I read good parts of a book to him, e.g., when I was reading _1776_ by McCollough. Now Ed's reading it himself.
Sometimes we read passages to each other at the doctor's... when we're waiting for the doctor to come into the exam room. It eases the tension of waiting.
Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group
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It gets darker the furt..."
Jackie, I enjoyed watching "The Lord of the Rings" very much.
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The_Lord...
It was easier to follow than the book. The book was too overloaded with names and episodes.
Each character was so well done in the movie. I related to each of the "good" ones.
Ian McKellen as Gandalf was terrific. Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins was adorable. Poor Frodo! Those frightened big blue eyes.
Everytime there was a fight scene, I said to myself, I bet Jackie enjoyed this part. I know how you enjoy action.
They portrayed Gollum so well. He was very well done in the animated version too. He was so pathetic.
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The_Lord...
Yes, the music was perfect. Scenery was great. I loved the peacefulness of the Hobbit village. I'd love to see that part of England where they took those scenes.
BTW, when Gollum says "My precious", the bonus material said that he was addressing himself as "My precious." They said that he was always so alone that he'd talk to himself. But in the movie, I wasn't sure what he was referring to when he said "My Precious". At times I thought he was referring to the ring itself.
The loyalty of Frodo's friend, Sam, was so precious, especially at the end of "The Fellowship of the Ring" when they took off in the boat together after Sam swam out to the boat and almost drowned. Very touching.
I'll be getting "The Two Towers" DVD next.