# This Book . . . Tremor . . . (Bored of the Rings) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 5, 2008, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-book-tremor-bored-of-the-rings/448079 "2008-05-05T03:10:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-book-tremor-bored-of-the-rings/448079/21 "2008-05-05T15:22:49Z")
[QUOTE=GuanoLad] I think it reads like it was written by college kids who think they’re funny, but don’t actually understand the art of parody. [/QUOTE] College kids who \*defined \* parody and satire in the 70s and beyond. Doug Kenney’s influence is everywhere (National Lampoon, Animal House, Saturday Night Live, and much more) and Henry Beard was nearly as important. They also had graduated when they wrote the book. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-book-tremor-bored-of-the-rings/448079/22 "2008-05-05T15:53:50Z")
_Toes, I just love hairy toes!_ A copy of BotR has a significant role in S.M. Stirling’s book The Protector’s War. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-book-tremor-bored-of-the-rings/448079/23 "2008-05-05T16:09:48Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] College kids who \*defined \* parody and satire in the 70s and beyond. Doug Kenney’s influence is everywhere (National Lampoon, Animal House, Saturday Night Live, and much more) and Henry Beard was nearly as important. They also had graduated when they wrote the book. [/QUOTE] You’ll feel this, **Chuck**. The original edition of BotR sold 750,000 copies. Kenney and Beard each got $4500 and a trip to the Virgin Islands. That edition was priced very high at $1.00. The standard for a 150-page paperback at the time was $0.75. Paperback authors might normally get 10% of the cover price. So they made the Harvard Lampoon $66,000. A nice return. Did they ever get past being college kids, though? ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-book-tremor-bored-of-the-rings/448079/24 "2008-05-05T16:14:17Z")
I do remember being VERY disappointed that the book didn’t match in ANY way the “liner notes.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-book-tremor-bored-of-the-rings/448079/25 "2008-05-05T16:28:34Z")
Alas, the ultimate LOTR parody film already exists and it stars Misty Mundae. Which ISN’T a BAD thing! ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-book-tremor-bored-of-the-rings/448079/26 "2008-05-05T18:25:55Z")
This book made me what I am today. I also felt that the quality peaked around page 12 and declined steadily; the authors put most of their jokes into the map and the Prologue (“Concerning Boggies”)\*, and lost interest toward the end. Nevertheless, I loved adored & venerated it, and committed big chunks to memory. \*Either Arglebargle I or somebody else. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-book-tremor-bored-of-the-rings/448079/27 "2008-05-05T18:30:31Z")
I’m still waiting for the right moment to say: _“I god guts, no more braims.”_ ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-book-tremor-bored-of-the-rings/448079/28 "2008-05-05T19:09:04Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] Did they ever get past being college kids, though? [/QUOTE] Emotionally, maybe not. But Kenney and Beard founded the National Lampoon, the seminal magazine for humor in the 70s and beyond (just like Mad was in the 50s and 60s). Kenney also cowrote the screenplay for **Animal House** before his early death. Beard has been writing best selling humor books. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-book-tremor-bored-of-the-rings/448079/29 "2008-05-05T19:20:11Z")
[QUOTE=Civil Guy] More seriously (hah!), could you find a director who’d be able to bring in the pregnant carrots without making it look too silly? [/QUOTE] 😕 What is the word “without” doing in that sentence? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-book-tremor-bored-of-the-rings/448079/30 "2008-05-05T19:23:06Z")
[QUOTE=FriarTed] Alas, the ultimate LOTR parody film already exists and it stars Misty Mundae. Which ISN’T a BAD thing! [/QUOTE] Had to do some hunting for [that one.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0323108/) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-book-tremor-bored-of-the-rings/448079/31 "2008-05-05T19:28:26Z")
[QUOTE=SmartAleq] “Tim, Tim Benzedrine! Hash, Boo, Valvoline! First, second, neutral, park, Hie thee hence, you leafy narc!” [/QUOTE] You left out, “Clean, clean, clean for Gene!” – [which](http://www.ncs.pvt.k12.va.us/ryerbury/wes/wes.htm) is **really** dated! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-book-tremor-bored-of-the-rings/448079/32 "2008-05-05T19:29:58Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] Kenney also cowrote the screenplay for **Animal House** before his early death. [/QUOTE] And [appeared in the movie as “Stork”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Kenney#Animal_House) (wisely, I suppose, giving himself only one speaking line). ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-book-tremor-bored-of-the-rings/448079/33 "2008-05-05T19:31:40Z")
[QUOTE=Baker] A copy of BotR has a significant role in S.M. Stirling’s book The Protector’s War. [/QUOTE] I remember that, and remember wondering how many of the jokes Changelings such as Matilda and Rudi (who clearly were amused by it) could possibly have understood. ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-book-tremor-bored-of-the-rings/448079/34 "2008-05-05T19:33:32Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Had to do some hunting for [that one.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0323108/) [/QUOTE] Funny story. Couple years ago I woke up a bit groggy, and, as is often my wont, turned the tv on while I fully woke up. Cycled around through the menu and saw “Lord of the Rings” on Showtime. My head didn’t quite connect the dots…I thought it was one of the Peter Jackson trilogy)…so I pressed the enter button to watch a little Middle Earth action. It took about thirty seconds to sink in, at which point I hit the Info button again to see just what the hell I was watching. Forty minutes later I got out of bed. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-book-tremor-bored-of-the-rings/448079/35 "2008-05-06T02:30:46Z")
Right. Second try. [QUOTE=Civil Guy] More seriously (hah!), could you find a director who’d be able to bring in the pregnant carrots and make them **far, far, far beyond** too silly? [/QUOTE] Brainstorming here: William Shatner as Serutan. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-book-tremor-bored-of-the-rings/448079/36 "2008-05-06T03:44:36Z")
[QUOTE=DSYoungEsq] Not to be a putz, **OttoDaFe** , but Bored of the Rings DID make an appearance in the lengthy thread on Aragorn and the Ring. 😉 Indeed, I quoted the above bit about the Thesaurus, which remains my favorite line in the whole book. Today’s kids wouldn’t understand it, sadly, since modern Thesauri don’t use the old format. ☹ And **SmartAleq** , I soooooooooo was doing the same thing!!! \ _Honi soit la vache qui rit! Honi soit la vache qui rit!_ No, never have read it, wouldn’t encourage anyone else to read it. Nope. Not me. Uh uh. 😃 [/QUOTE] Be a putz, by all means — if your location is accurate, you’re far enough away from me. The “Aragorn and the Ring” thread was the second one I linked to in the OP. In any case, what I was trying (not very successfully, it seems) to communicate was the fact that **BotR** had not had its _own_ thread. [QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] “An elven maid there was of old, a stenographer by day Her hair was fake, her teeth were gold, her scent of cheap sachet” [/QUOTE] Memorable indeed, as is the plaintive conclusion: "A silver tear rolled down her cheek As she bussed home by herself; The same thing happened twice last week, (Oh, Heaven help the Working-elf!) [QUOTE=Civil Guy] I dunno about the movie version of BOTR. I mean, the book was kinda, well, Intellectual - wasn’t it? More seriously (hah!), could you find a director who’d be able to bring in the pregnant carrots without making it look too silly? Hmm… …Paris Hilton has got to fit in there somewhere… [/QUOTE] I’m leaning toward Ms Hilton for the Lady Lavalier. Something about “gracefully sticking her finger down her throat in the ancient Elvish farewell” just seems to fit. Truth be told, after pondering long upon the suggestions by **madmonk28** and **Tuckerfan** , I agree that animation would probably be the preferred way to go (length somewhere between their suggestions). If nothing else, it would facilitate the FX: I mean, PJ only had to make 150-200 actual horsemen look like the host of the Rohirrim; but whoever takes this on\* has to create the Roi-Tanner’s fighting bull merinos from scratch. - For some reason, the phrase “raca, that is, thou fool” is running through my head as I contemplate the unfortunate who might be in this position. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-book-tremor-bored-of-the-rings/448079/37 "2008-05-06T10:37:20Z")
The \*Bored \*part works for me. Maybe it is more entertaining if you read it in your youth. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-book-tremor-bored-of-the-rings/448079/38 "2008-05-06T12:15:47Z")
“Came here to dodge draff, see? Peace, I say! No more war, I say! Also, I four-F!” Love Tim Benzedrino. ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-book-tremor-bored-of-the-rings/448079/39 "2008-05-06T13:23:04Z")
[QUOTE=Civil Guy] Right. Second try. Brainstorming here: William Shatner as Serutan. [/QUOTE] The late, lamented Peter Sellers might have made a good Goodgulf. Maybe John Cleese could do it? RR ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-book-tremor-bored-of-the-rings/448079/40 "2008-05-06T21:48:35Z")
[QUOTE=Neidhart] “Came here to dodge draff, see? Peace, I say! No more war, I say! Also, I four-F!” Love Tim Benzedrino. [/QUOTE] I’m thinking [Tommy Chong](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Chong) for that part. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-book-tremor-bored-of-the-rings/448079.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-book-tremor-bored-of-the-rings/448079.md?page=3)