Forgive me, I know you are here, but I rarely see you post and I forgot you on the list. You were more active I think before I joined.
Oops, I never see you in the Heinlein threads, I also might have gotten you confused with another Tolkien fan that is not into Heinlein. Now I am wondering who I was thinking of. Has to be someone that likes Tolkien & Pratchett. That narrows it a hair.
**Chronos ** is a good addition, he is also a major Heinlein fan.
**Terrifel ** is someone I never should have forgot. Always makes me crack up.
I am intrigued by your ideas and wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
My fantasy is that I get on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and the $1M question is some Tolkien geekery, like the name of the Gandalf’s sword (and its mate) (in Sindarin, English, and orc-slang), or the relationship between Elrond and Galadriel?
Also a distant cousin on his father side as Eärendil was Idril’s son who was Turgon’s daughter who was first cousin to Galadriel via Fingolfin & Finarfin.
Hm. I read the Hobbit in the third grade I think, and was instantly a fan. The green cloth-bound book with no text on the binding, just a dark squiggly image had always fascinated me, and one day I picked it off the shelf to see what it was.
I read the Lord of the Rings not long after, though I admit that the first time or two I read it (them?) I tended to skip some parts; most of the songs, and some drawn-out bits (I think I glossed over most of the Bombodil chapter, as well as some of the journeying through Ithilien and Mordor until the third or forth time I read the books).
I read the books once a year (usually around November/December) for about 9 years, and since then it’s been a little more spotty.
I tried the Silmarillion three times before getting into it, but the last time I devoured the whole thing.
I enjoy most aspects of the story, the world, the writing style, and the themes. As others have said, I usually feel a little out classed when there are intellectual Tolkien threads here, and when there are ones I can answer I’m usually beaten to the punch.
A longtime Tolkien fan here, though as usual, there’s always a harder/better/faster/stronger fan over in the next chat room, news post or aisle
I read The Hobbit in grade school, where it was displayed in our school library. I didn’t know there was “a sequel” to it until I got to high school (well, 7th grade – my “high school” ran from grades 7-12). I was blown away by the rich detail of the world, the sense of grand history behind all the goings-on (just as Tolkien intended), and the poetic, lyrical, archaic language. The use of grammatically consistent Elven languages added even more beauty and realism to the fantasy. I read the entire LotR trilogy in two days, staying up well past my bedtime reading it with a flashlight under my pillow.
I immediately re-read it twice, including the Appendices. I am ashamed to say that I was even moved to steal the trilogy from my local library. Many years later, as an adult, I tried to make up for it by donating many books, including a hardbound set of the LotR plus The Hobbit, to that same library.
The Silmarillion took me two passes before I could finish it, but it was wonderfully worth it.
I never got in so deep as to try to learn Elvish or write using Elven or Daeron’s Runes, though I did used to have a keyboard macro to broadcast “Aurë entuluva, day shall come again!” while playing online deathmatch Quake 2 games.
I occasionally post on Tolkien topics, but I don’t do it very regularly. I know perfectly well that Qadgop the Mercotan can wipe the floor with me in questions about the Silmarillion and the History of Middle-earth. I’m also still burned out with discussions a couple of years ago where someone felt it necessary to tell me that someone like me who doesn’t like the movies very much is obviously a worthless piece of garbage.
Well that was bullshit wasn’t it. I am not much of a fan of the movies, at least where PJ added stuff for no reason. I don’t get any shit for it or at least I don’t take any. I wouldn’t let one nutjob give you a hard time. It probably wasn’t even a fan of the books but just the movies.
I am planning to rewatch all three movies in the next two week with my kids. Hopefully I enjoy them more the second time. Never let a troll keep you from expressing your opinion. (Be an Ent )
Meh. Why let someone else live rent-free in your head like that? It just keeps you out of wonderful discussions about the vital difference between cram and lembas and whether or not Balrogs have dongs (I don’t believe they do).
Try to appreciate them as a fellow fan’s vision of what LOTR was about, and look for similarities to your vision, rather than differences.
I disagree with quite a few of PJ’s takes on many things, but frankly I enjoy the movies immensely and love the depth and effort he (and many others) put into them.
I’m more annoyed with what PJ changed – like Faramir wanting to bring the Ring to his father – or what I felt were major elements that were simply left out, such as the fate of Saruman after the Ents attack Orthanc, and who I have long been a fan of. And a friend of mine does a wonderful fanboy whine: He left out the scouring of the Shire!!
I loved his vision of Middle Earth and he nailed Sméagol/Gollum so well that he will always be the standard to which a CGI character will have to be compared.
I hated the boost in Arwen’s role, especially in using a terrible actress. I hated his casting of Elrond. I did like most of the rest of the casting. I hated the Warg’s and Orcs as mud creatures. I understand the loss of Tom & Glorfindel and I will forgive him, but I will never forget. (to paraphrase a Frodo).
However, I am now prepared to watch with an open mind and not be such a pathetic nitpicking fanboy as I was for the first viewings.
Jim (Hey, come on now, no comments on my use of Ent as the opposite of a Troll, implying a wise addition to an on-line community as opposed to an evil monster? I liked that one.)
Though I admit Qadgop is a far superior Loremaster, and there are none his equal east of the Sundering Seas, nor were sve for the Wise who are gone.
Only he knows of Omar of Amarillo, Vala of the Old West, who rises up from the sands to warn Turgot son of Fronde that the King is spending too much money.
I am stunned to be included on this list. As a Tolkien fan, I’m a good reader of Rowling!(and as a Rowling reader, I’m a fan of Georgette Heyer… not a fantasy author at all).
I like the Hobbit best-the story arc is great and I enjoy that Bilbo much more than the Bilbo in the LOTR. Yeah, the Ring changed him. I know.
I confess to skimming much of the descriptive prose in LOTR. Then again, Tolkien provided us with several complex and intriguing characters. A toss up for me, but I do get impatient with all the description (and I like description).
No idea why I’m making a list here, but I started so what the hell. I can not and now will not read The Silmarillion. I am only interested in the characters Tolkien wrought for LOTR and Hobbit. I am not fascinated by the world he created. I appreciate that world for its consistencies and oddities, but I am not a myth person–too impersonal, too detached. I cannot read about whateverhername is and think that Arwen and Aragorn are the re-embodiment of that great love. Sorry.
I do like the films, even as I recognize (and in some cases, deplore) the omissions. No scouring of the Shire is huge and cannot be forgiven. What I love about the films is the attention to detail in the costumes, the settings, and even the dialogue. Film is not the same as writing so many things had to go to make a coherent tale on screen, but the scouring was not one of them. I can forgive PJ most everything else (the odd subplot tying Arwen’s fate to the sword for one), but not that. Still, I have seen the EEs several times; I own them. I suppose that makes me a LOTR geek.
I find the slash/fan fic distasteful, even when I indulged in it myself. I think it says more about our lack of understanding of Victorian/Edwardian culture than it does of Tolkien’s latent anything. (although I would not rule anything out in Tolkien’s personal life, I just don’t see Sam and Frodo as gay). But you didn’t ask about that.
Back to the films. That they were made at all, and as well made as they were is something of a miracle. Viggo Mortensen IS Aragorn, IMO. Most of them are very well cast indeed. I have no love for Liv Tyler and I did picture Arwen differently (more fire), but Eowyn was quite good. For such a testosterone soaked movie, the female leads managed to hold their own. Maybe it would help you to think of them as adaptations, which they are, instead of homages?
I never think of myself as a LOTR geek, but maybe I am? I don’t connect with them the way I read others here. I just really like the story.
Double ditto. Except for me it wasn’t the languages, but the history. The appendices were far and away my favorite part of the trilogy ( I read them over and over and over and…) and the Silmarillion eventually replaced LotR as my favorite work.
However I’ve only read a couple of non-Tolkien analyses of Tolkien, which does make me a relative lightweight in this crowd ;).
I have noticed you in Tolkien threads and I know I got a real kick out of following along with you on your last read through and helping to answer all of your questions. The criteria for my list had nothing to do with knowledge and lore, simply that I remember you from several Tolkien threads. That and I have misspelled your name several times as Elenor like Samwise’s daughter.
I’m surprised to see myself on that list, as I didn’t think I’d posted to that many LOTR threads. I’ve never even finished the trilogy (twice I got halfway through The Two Towers), though I’ve seen the movies two or three times.
As for how I started, I honestly have no feckin’ idea. I certainly prefer Pratchett and Asimov to Tolkien, though Heinlein sometimes runs a strong second.
)
