tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post8901201406951512122..comments2024-03-20T19:40:58.078-05:00Comments on The OF Blog: Reflecting on Tolkien: The Fellowship of the RingLarry Nolenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001420558511460998noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-15650438421451957582023-04-25T17:28:45.593-05:002023-04-25T17:28:45.593-05:00I'm 35, and I have had trouble reading the fel...I'm 35, and I have had trouble reading the fellowship for the past 10 years or at least until they start the trip to Bree, but if I make it past that I'm usually good for reading everything else. I'm notorious for re reading half a book and starting a different one.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-1744316437931913102009-02-25T22:28:00.000-06:002009-02-25T22:28:00.000-06:00The thing is, there's a common misconception that ...The thing is, there's a common misconception that Tolkien was the grandpappy of fantasy when he was building on the epic fantasy stories that had been printed before him.<BR/><BR/>Most of those are out of print but if you visit sacred-texts.org you can find quite a few of the precursors to Tolkien archived there.<BR/><BR/>The thing about Tolkien that still blows my mind is his world-building.<BR/><BR/>And yes ... the incredible sadness of glories past that can never be recaptured ... the sorrows of the Elves.<BR/><BR/>For anyone looking at ideas for a story, look no further than the Silmarillion, as he's got hosts of little tales there that can be borrowed and modified into something that is worth reading.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-33857858678917239212009-02-25T22:24:00.000-06:002009-02-25T22:24:00.000-06:00I wonder how much of the malaise with Tolkien stem...I wonder how much of the malaise with Tolkien stems from people having read those books so many times in youth. I read them every semester from 3rd grade (my first reading on my own, after mom and older brother read them all to me at 3-4) through at least 8th grade, possibly even into high school. Now i have no desire to go back an re-tread that story, just because i know it so well. i have no idea what i'd find in the text as an English-major university grad. i am honestly not sure i'll read them again before i'm reading them to my kids. but i do wonder how much of the "i'm bored" with him that pops up by readers/writers of SF has to do with oversaturation. <BR/><BR/>which is not to say that maybe all the issues that get brought up aren't legitimate, and maybe tolkien is best read as a young reader.<BR/><BR/>or maybe after so many times of following that journey, you do lose the sense of wonder through the familiarity, and are no longer able to look past the flaws because you're no longer swept away by the story. (shrug) <BR/><BR/>curious to see how the other books strike you, though.Elenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09285405662294874917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-89124430617083671812009-02-25T03:41:00.000-06:002009-02-25T03:41:00.000-06:00I had the opposite reaction when I picked up Tolki...I had the opposite reaction when I picked up Tolkien after a few years' hiatus (I had dreaded picking them up again for other reasons -- Viggo Mortensen kept popping up in my head when I looked at them. Thankfully he wasn't there when I actually read it). I ended up loving the bits I had expected to skim through. I got caught by the language. <BR/><BR/>I think I understand what you mean when you say that the suggestions of old history no longer grabs hold of you like it used to -- I had somewhat the same reaction. I think it is because Tolkien was my first research. By that I mean that the nascent academic in me, who likes to underline and look up stuff, figure out the history of something, was first fed by Tolkien. Now I get that fix elsewhere, and besides: I know the events referred to now, in a way I couldn't before I discovered Silmarillion. I therefore go "oh, he's referring to that incident", rather than feeling the mystery of it. <BR/><BR/>At any rate: I see what you are saying, but I disagree with your assessment of it as a dull read.Camillahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01986465848916793937noreply@blogger.com