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message 101:
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Kim
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Jan 20, 2012 05:48PM
I'm prepared to give Tolkien a go. I've put off reading him for long enough. If Hayes can do it, so can I. My husband believes I should probably read The Hobbit first and he's prepared to listen to the audiobook with me while we're away.
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Okay! That settles it for me.
The Hobbit in February.
The Fellowship of the Ring in March.
I'll start the threads on February 1. :D
The Hobbit in February.
The Fellowship of the Ring in March.
I'll start the threads on February 1. :D
I told D what you said, Tracey, about reading The Hobbit after LoTR and he agreed that that approach also makes sense. However, starting a long book in Feb is not so good for me. So as long as reading The Hobbit first is not a bad idea, I'm in.
Reading the Hobbit first is not a bad idea, because it takes place before LotR, and sets up the action of LotR.
Thanks for organizing yet another buddy read, Jeannette.
Jeannette wrote: "I hope you don't mind. :)"I love it. It adds a lot to the group.
I just wish I could participate. :-( At least I've read all 4 books and maybe I can chime in a bit this time.
Tracey wrote: "It's - mostly - quite light-hearted. LotR is the product of an astonishing amount of work and time and care - there's a whole world in there, and thousands of years of history built in: where The Hobbit was kind of a lark, LotR is ... real."
I think that's exactly why I liked the Hobbit tolerably well and why I stopped reading book one after 100 pages (and why I stopped really enjoying the Harry Potter books after the third).
I like the not-taking-too-seriously part. I hate it when things take themselves too seriously. And HP 6 and 7 definitely took themselves too seriously.
Jeannette: I'll see if I can scare up a copy of the Hobbit and I'll read it with you first. I'll go pretty slowly, however. Then we'll see how it goes from there. :-)
I think that's exactly why I liked the Hobbit tolerably well and why I stopped reading book one after 100 pages (and why I stopped really enjoying the Harry Potter books after the third).
I like the not-taking-too-seriously part. I hate it when things take themselves too seriously. And HP 6 and 7 definitely took themselves too seriously.
Jeannette: I'll see if I can scare up a copy of the Hobbit and I'll read it with you first. I'll go pretty slowly, however. Then we'll see how it goes from there. :-)
Tolkien was attempting to write an entire "mythology" rather than just a fantasy book. He was recounting the history of Middle Earth, complete with tales, and languages, so he presented it as pretty serious stuff.
But, beyond the serious parts, you have a great tale: good vs. evil, fate vs. choice; how one small act , for good or bad, can have huge consequences.
But, start with the Hobbit. :)
But, beyond the serious parts, you have a great tale: good vs. evil, fate vs. choice; how one small act , for good or bad, can have huge consequences.
But, start with the Hobbit. :)
Jeannette wrote: "I'm willing to wait until March if it means more people can participate. :)"That's fine with me, LOTR is a long book.
Jeannette wrote: "Okay! That settles it for me.The Hobbit in February.
The Fellowship of the Ring in March.
I'll start the threads on February 1. :D"
I just located my copy of The Hobbit, yay (I hate bookshelves sometimes). I have to look for my LOTR book as well, no idea of it's on a pile on the floor, or in a bookshelf, sigh.
You need Lee to drop by for some shelf-organizing! lol
Anyone up for maybe going all-out and attempting The Silmarillion (as a long-term buddy read) sometime this year??
Jeannette wrote: "You need Lee to drop by for some shelf-organizing! lol"I think she would go bananas or call someone about my lack of organisation (maybe the German embassy because I must be an impostor, someone this unorganised just could not be German).
Speaking of being German Gundula, how do you pronounce Tolkien - Tolkin or Tolkeen. My husband and I are having a Saturday morning dispute!
Shelley wrote: "Speaking of being German Gundula, how do you pronounce Tolkien - Tolkin or Tolkeen. My husband and I are having a Saturday morning dispute!"I would pronounce it Tolkeen (the ie sound in German is usually a long and drawn out "e" sound). But I am by no means a linguistics expert and phonetics (in all languages) is and always has been my weak point.
I like your answer, because that was my suggestion. Haha. I'll tell him that you are an expert.
Shelley wrote: "I like your answer, because that was my suggestion. Haha. I'll tell him that you are an expert."Sure, thanks :-)
The "official" way to pronounce Tolkien is supposed to be "tall-keen" - which I usually ignore since I've been saying "toll-kin" since I was 12. Gundula, I'm in for the Sil in a while; I'll probably never read it left to myself, so a buddy read would be perfect. Say when!
Tracey wrote: "The "official" way to pronounce Tolkien is supposed to be "tall-keen" - which I usually ignore since I've been saying "toll-kin" since I was 12. Gundula, I'm in for the Sil in a while; I'll prob..."
I'm in the same boat as you, I will never read the Silmarillion on my own. I am still hoping that the book will be chosen as a group read in the Tolkien group, but that does not or should not prevent us from doing a buddy read in the Comfort read section as well (especially if the Silmarillion is chosen for February in the Tolkien group, I am just afraid of not getting around to it then).
I'd certainly consider a Sil read, although I've read it "recently" (8 or 9 years ago probably) so there may be other books demanding my attention.
Darkpool wrote: "I'd certainly consider a Sil read, although I've read it "recently" (8 or 9 years ago probably) so there may be other books demanding my attention."I think a buddy read of The Silmarillion might take a while, the book looks quite daunting.
Agreed!! Nibbling away at it a bit at a time would be the way to go. I have this stupid long term plan to read the History of Middle Earth series but I've done nothing about it except add the first book to my 'to read' shelf. Perhaps this will give me the impetus to start.
Darkpool wrote: "Agreed!! Nibbling away at it a bit at a time would be the way to go. I have this stupid long term plan to read the History of Middle Earth series but I've done nothing about it except add the fir..."
Wow, I've thought about doing that, but it would mean ages spent reading, sigh.
Darkpool wrote: "I have this stupid long term plan to read the History of Middle Earth series ..."A few years back I read the ones pertaining directly to the writing of LotR, and they were wonderful - I love "behind-the-scenes" things like Strider was originally "Trotter", and a hobbit. I loved the look at Tolkien's writing process.
Gundula wrote: Wow, I've thought about doing that, but it would mean ages spent reading, sigh. I've read the first five books in the History of Middle Earth series (and I'll lend them to you if you really want), but I wouldn't really recommend them to most people. There are some interesting things (e.g., The Lost Road which is kind of out from left field) but the most interesting story, Children of Húrin which has several versions, was broken out into its own book.
There's a lot of different things in those books. For instance, The Lays of Beleriand. It has "The Lay of the Children of Húrin" (in two versions) and "The Lay of Leithian" (which is the source of a story from The Silmarillion). There's a commentary by C.S. Lewis on the latter. The lays are exactly what you'd think and there's some interesting discussion on them. Just be forewarned that you'll read the same story many times.
Tim wrote: "Gundula wrote: Wow, I've thought about doing that, but it would mean ages spent reading, sigh. I've read the first five books in the History of Middle Earth series (and I'll lend them to you if ..."
Thanks for the information, Tim, I have way too much to read anyhow, with teaching etc. and all, but I do want to read the Silmarillion and it's high time to reread LOTR and The Hobbit.
And welcome to the Group :-)
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We'll catch you on the next one! Have you read any of Tolkien's books, Lee?
Mod
I think I'm going to have to back out of the Hobbit read, Jeannette, I do apologize. I have a few things languishing on my list, and I must read them and send them on to new people. Next time round!
As long as I can keep Kim in...... We almost had you, Hayes!
Jeannette wrote: "As long as I can keep Kim in...... We almost had you, Hayes!"I'm in for sure, it's been a long time since I've read The Hobbit (and I want to reread the book before watching the movie).
Great, Gundula! I didn't know if you were reading the Hobbit this time or not. I'm looking forward to a re-read; it's been a long time.
Jeannette wrote: "Great, Gundula! I didn't know if you were reading the Hobbit this time or not. I'm looking forward to a re-read; it's been a long time."I had to find the book first (but I located The Hobbit, LOTR and The Silmarillion in my bookshelves).
Apropos LOTR: I don't know if anyone is interested, but one of my absolute favourite music CDs is called The Starlit Jewel by Broceliande. The whole CD features songs/poems from LOTR and The Hobbit set to music and sung by Broceliande members, wonderful, but unfortunately rather hard to get a copy of.
I won't be reading the Silmarillion with you, because I find it a bit daunting! But, I'll start the Fellowship in March. I'm glad you found the books!
You betcha, Diana! The more the merrier.
Diana S wrote: "I like The Hobbit can I read along."You don't even have to ask, as Kim says, the more the merrier.
Gundula wrote: "The Starlit Jewel by Broceliande..."I feel like I've heard of that ... I'll have to hunt for it.
I still love Rush's "Rivendell".
Can somebody explain to me how a buddy read works, please? Do we read a chapter and then discuss or.......
Jane wrote: "Can somebody explain to me how a buddy read works, please? Do we read a chapter and then discuss or......."Jane, It depends on the buddy read, who's leading the discussion, what participants want, the length of the book.
Do you have a book in mind for a buddy read?
I thought The Hobbit was going to be one.
For the Hobbit, I still have to figure out how to divide the book for discussion. I haven't read it in a while, Jane. Do you have any suggestions?
It's a "short" book, so we may just open it for discussion in a single thread, and mark spoilers as we go.
(For The Count of Monte Cristo, which was 1100 pages, I broke it into sections.)
I think I'll put up the thread and ask everyone how they want to do this one. :)
It's a "short" book, so we may just open it for discussion in a single thread, and mark spoilers as we go.
(For The Count of Monte Cristo, which was 1100 pages, I broke it into sections.)
I think I'll put up the thread and ask everyone how they want to do this one. :)
I think a general discussion for THe Hobbit would suffice. However, when we start reading LOTR, I think we do need to divide things up (by both book and specific chapters).
I have a few books in my mind that I would lie to read, and I was just wondering if anyone wanted to join me. Some of them are Honolulu by Alan Brennert and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo. Anyone interested?
Honolulu is on my list, Gabriella, but I'm not ready to read it, and probably won't be at least well into summer.
Would anyone want to read The War of the Worlds by H.G Wells orMurder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie with me? I have already started reading the War of the Worlds
Comfort Reads
Books mentioned in this topic
The Darling Buds of May (other topics)The War of the Worlds (other topics)
Murder on the Orient Express (other topics)
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (other topics)
Honolulu (other topics)
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