We were bullshitting about LOTR here at work and the question arose:
Now that the final installment is upon us, how many of you out there still haven’t read the books, have seen the first two movies, and have no clue as to how the story ends?
And do you plan on reading the books after words?
Ugh! that’s
do you plan on reading the books afterwards?
I have read the books but not to the very end. I feel that I know “how the story ends” and also that the story ended about 100 pages before the book does. Where does that put me?
I’ve read the book a couple times, but my youngest sister isn’t finished yet. I’ve told her that I won’t take her to see the last movie though until she’s done reading The Return of the King. This shouldn’t be a problem at all for her though because she only has about 4 or 5 chapters left.
I haven’t read the books, but I have seen the first two movies. No idea how it ends.
Is Elrond in it? That’s really the most important thing. 
Never read the books, love the movies. I think I can probably speculate about what’s going happen in the end, but I don’t actually know.
Yes, the “action” part of the book (in the sense of things getting blown up and massive armies on the march) ends 100 pages before the end of the book. The last 100 pages, however, is crucial to the overall understanding of the story. Please go back and finish it.
I have no clue how the story ends. I only read FOTR and a little bit of The Two Towers. I did see both movies, and I’ve tried to avoid any spoilers for ROTK. I will probably finish reading the trilogy, because I truly enjoyed what I read so far, but I’m not so taken with the books that I must read them before seeing the movies. (Sorry…I know that last statement is akin to blasphemy for many Tolkien readers.) So count me as one of the few who (hopefully) won’t know the ending until Dec. 17th.
I love the films but haven’t read the books yet. I probably will after watching ROTK.
I know a lot of people who can’t be bothered to read the story and are so far in the dark as to how it ends. Not me, though I’m just as eager to see it played out.
Lots of people who’ve read the books are at a distinct disadvantage over those who are going in “fresh” (so to speak). They have too much baggage.
Many (not all or even most, I know that) are so hung up on what’s not in the movie (or has been changed) that they can’t see the glorious cinematic achievement that’s right in front of their freaking faces.
lilbtagna, I wish you’d leave your sister alone and let her finish the book after seeing the movie. You’re not doing her any favors.
I had not read the books before seeing the first movie. I read the books after seeing the first movie because I had to know how it ended. However, I skimmed and skipped and read fast, and then vowed not to read them again until after the 3rd movie. I didn’t stick to that completely. I re-read The Hobbit and The Fellowsip of the Ring before seeing The Two Towers. I intended to re-read TTT after that movie, but the reactions from book purists put me off and I haven’t picked it up again. To this day, the words “Es at Hs D**p” make me want to put my fist through the monitor.
The movies have been a great commercial for the books. The purists have been a great deterrent. The movies, and ultimately the books, will win out. Thank goodness.
I think I read one of the books in junior high . . . Never saw the movies. Just not my cuppa tea.
The boat hits an iceberg and sinks.
Oops. Wrong movie.
I haven’t read the books. Well, I read the first 30 pages of FOTR, but that was after I saw the movie. The problem with that was that I said to myself, “oh, I recognize this part,” and then I would skip ahead. But I know that many parts of the book are different from/elaborate more than the movies, so hopefully I can avoid the skipping.
I plan on reading the books, or at least getting a good start, during Winter Break. As it goes now, I have too much work. But after finals I should be fine.
I do have a pretty elaborate guess as to how the movie ends, and it’ll be interesting to see if I’m right.
I don’t know the ending yet. I’ve tried to read the books and hated them (the problem is prose, not plot), so I don’t see myself ever reading them all the way through. The movies are great, though, and I look forward to the last one.
I have no clue how it ends, and I like it that way. I’ll know when the final credits roll.
I knew nothing of the story until last year. I mean, I’d heard of the book, of course, and had actually bought it back in the 60’s, but I never read it.
I read that “Lord of the Rings in 1000 Words” after seeing the first movie. There was no way I was going to wait 3 years to see how the story turned out.
Now I’m reading the books, finally.
I haven’t seen any of the movies or read any of the books. I am going to watch them when they are all out on DVD though. Not sure about reading the books though. Not my genre of fiction reading.
I read the Hobbit and the first 80,000 pages (or so it seemed) of Fellowship before I threw in the towell, so I have no idea and am really looking foreward to the film.
I was one of the nerds into LOTR way before it became fashionable. I don’t look at others who didn’t with disdain, unless they are insulting me.
The movies are as close as Hollywood will allow them; no major story survives the transition from book to movie unscathed. I think Jackson did a wonderful job with his material. The story comes alive; no longer are the hard-to-pronounce names a distraction to the narrative, the personalities of the characters are much more apparent, and the breathtaking scenery…
I know the ending, and the epilogue. One could argue that losing the last 100 or so pages changes the meaning of the whole work; it’s important if you want to keep the author’s message intact. Losing it to the limits of movie storytelling won’t cause the whole work to be invalid.
I’m just as interested in the way there as I am interested in the destination.