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I'm delighted to be participating in Tolkien Reading day. It's held on the 25th of March each year. The 25th of March is the date of the downfall of Sauron, the Lord of the Rings, and the fall of Barad-dûr. It's been organized by the Tolkien Society since 2003 to encourage fans to celebrate and promote the life and works of J.R.R. Tolkien by reading favorite passages.
When I was growing up, JRR Tolkien was one of my favorite authors. I loved The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings (I read it every summer until I graduated college), and I liked his short stories, especially Farmer Giles of Ham and Leaf by Niggle. Tolkien had a sly humor and dry wit that paired well with his vast imagination. Now, sometimes it wasn't just his wit that was dry. Some of his passages in The Lord of the Rings were drier than dust. And I'm allergic to dust. 😛 But oh, the adventures, the twists and legends and majesty. And the hobbits. The older I get, the more I identify with Bilbo Baggins, or, I should say, the Bilbo before he went adventuring and was content to stay in his home, and live a quiet, comfortable life. I'd make a decent hobbit I think. I like to stay home, I like to eat, I like to while away my time reading and puttering.
But could I cope as well as Bilbo did when Gandalf dragooned him as a thief for a party of elves? Could I have thought as quickly and as smartly as he did when he matched wits and riddles with Gollum? Or be so clever with Smaug the dragon? I like to think so but,...well, probably not. After all, Bilbo was a work of fiction, written to be brave and clever and loyal. I'm a messy, flawed human of the race of Man, and I am very much a homebody.
I sometimes think of Bilbo's grand adventure as a midlife crisis. He was mostly content, had a good life, but something niggled at him, and Gandalf gave him the needed kick in the butt to get out of his comfort zone. And wow, did Bilbo step out of his comfort zone. Stealing, traveling (a no-no among hobbits), missing meals, sleeping on the ground, stuffing elves in barrels, conversing with dragons, etc. He broke all sorts of hobbit societal mores. Rock on, Bilbo!
When I started writing this, I was having trouble choosing which Tolkien story is my favorite but reading what I've written so far, it seems to be The Hobbit. Considering I have multiple editions in multiple formats, I shouldn't be surprised.
Missing from this pic is my mass market paperback Lord of the Rings trilogy. I also have the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings in both Kindle and audiobook, as well as some other Tolkien titles. I think I might need to pull out some of my neglected titles and give them some love. I admit, I'm a little hesitant to re-read the Lord of the Rings as I really like the movie adaptations; I own the videos, because, of course I do. :D The Hobbit movies, well, I just pretend they don't exist. The Rankin/Bass animated movie is still the best adaptation of the book.
One Tolkien book I have yet to read is the book he wrote for his children, Letters from Father Christmas. It sounds absolutely delightful. I should really see if my library has it.
I've been hearing a lot about Amazon's new series, The Rings of Power, which seems to be inspired by The Silmarillion as well as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Based on what I've read, I have hesitations about the show but I'll likely give it a try. In the meantime, here's a taste of the new show.
So, which of Tolkien's many stories have you read? Is there one you really want to read? Or is he not to your liking?
Tolkien has a special place in my heart. I haven't read any of his work in ages but I still have fond memories of it. (I, too, used to re-read LOTR regularly but haven't picked up the books since the final movie came out because I like the movies so much.) I think The Hobbit is my favorite though, because it's more approachable. I must admit, though: the only thing I've seen of the Hobbit movies was the interview Stephen Colbert did with Smaug, and I intend to keep it that way.
ReplyDeleteI agree about The Hobbit being more approachable. It's written on a smaller scale and some of the humor is broader. As for The Hobbit, you're not missing anything. They're a mess.
DeleteI loved the animated Hobbit cartoon growing up. It really was such a great adaptation. I didn't read a lot of Tolkien growing up. I think the only book I've actually read completely is The Lord of the Rings, and I didn't read that until I was in my 20s. I was more into sci-fi and mysteries when I was younger. My favorite book was Dune; that's the one I reread every year. :-)
ReplyDeleteI tried to read Dune once years ago and just couldn't get into it. Have you seen any of the movie versions? Were they good adaptations?
DeleteThe 80s movie is pure David Lynch weirdness and isn't a great adaptation. I don't recall the Sci-Fy channel mini series, but my dad liked it. The current movie was good, but only half the book. To be fair, it is a long book, but I was frustrated only getting half the story.
DeleteI find it's one of the those books that I learn/realize something new each time I read it. It's so complex, and huge. lol