I've read The Hobbit a few times, and The Lord of the Rings about 8-10 times. I've attempted the Silmarillion but it's pretty hard reading!
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I've read The Hobbit a few times, and The Lord of the Rings about 8-10 times. I've attempted the Silmarillion but it's pretty hard reading!
Only the big four. One day I will amass a grand collection and shall read everything, I'm sure. :)
The main four but I only enjoyed The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings trilogy. At some point I intend to read The Hobbit and definitely The Silmarillion.
Same.Quote:
Originally Posted by blackmage_nuke
The Lord of the Rings is an amazing piece of fiction. It is pretty unrivalled in the level of story and detail. However, if there ever was a story in need of some severe editing then it's this one.
Same with the main four, enjoyed The Hobbit the most. LotR is some next-level literature, though, and written in a vastly different time from ours in terms of reader tastes and accessibility. Reading British works from before his time helped me digest it better but YMMV.
I used to think that. But THEN.Quote:
Originally Posted by BubbaSame.Quote:
Originally Posted by blackmage_nuke
The Lord of the Rings is an amazing piece of fiction. It is pretty unrivalled in the level of story and detail. However, if there ever was a story in need of some severe editing then it's this one.
They aren't books you can just sit down and devour (which was very hard for me, by the way). You have to read it in pieces and savor it. If you try to do too much too quickly, you're going to become frustrated and ruin the experience.
The Lord of the Rings is an amazing story and a rubbish piece of writing.
Would probably rank them
1. Children of Hurin
2. The Hobbit
3. Silmarillion
4. LotR
But I know nobody else anywhere likes CoH so.
What's Children of Hurin?
It's one of the stories in the Silmarillion that got greatly expanded after Tolkien's death using his notes by his son. It's depressing as smurf, but I enjoy the themes and twists and the sheer tragedy of it.
I very rarely devour any book and it can take me a while to finish them. I definitely gave myself chance to savour it but I suppose I just didn't find it particularly 'savoury'. I'm not questioning the richness of the book's detail or the story, I'm mainly questioning how he approaches telling that story.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jinx
Also, I think one of my main gripes is the fact that the Two Towers and Return of the King are both split into two stories detailing the journeys of the separate characters. It's a very unique method of storytelling which I didn't find enjoyable at all. This is probably why I much prefer The Fellowship of the Ring out of the three books.
I have only read The Hobbit, and I think that is a wonderful piece of writing.
I am trying to get through LoTR. I am trying so hard. But damn I feel like I've been at this forever and I am still in the frickin' Shire.
The big four, Unfinished Tales, the first two volumes of History of Middle-Earth (Book of Lost Tales, which are basically an earlier draft of The Silmarillion that I found easier to read than The Silmarillion itself, though that might just be due to me being weird) and a book called The Tolkien Reader are the ones I've finished. I've started some others and not gotten very far. I really, really like the story of The Silmarillion but I find the writing impenetrable, mostly due to Tolkien's habit of using a bunch of different names for each character.
Unfinished Tales is probably worth a read for people who enjoyed LotR and aren't sure where to go next. It's an easier read than The Silmarillion, anyway.
This is why I quit reading it thirteen years ago and haven't picked it back up since.Quote:
Originally Posted by Shauna;3484390
I am [I
Although I did recently re-purchase the LoTR, 50th anniversary edition. I'm going to try and read them again.
The only one I have read is the Hobbit. I loved it.
Thirteen years ago? It's definitely time to try again~
Yeah. If I can manage to get through them then I will read the other Middle Earth novels as well.
Casuals.
Hobbit, LotR, Silmarillion, Children of Hurin, Unfinished Tales, Letters of JRR Tolkien, and bits and pieces from The History of Middle-earth.
Also, omg this forum. :love:
Most of them.
Psy, Ive owned CoH forever and finally read through it last month. I enjoyed it very much.
Quote:
Originally Posted by blackmage_nuke
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bubba
Pretty much.Quote:
Originally Posted by Psychotic
The big four. I still have my old tattered copy of Fellowship of the Ring I used to keep under my pillow for comfort in place of going to sleep with a stuffed animal at night.
Reading Goosebumps and all that stuff is great stuff as a kid, but when you pick up a book like Fellowship of the Ring or The Hobbit for the first time, the magic you feel is indescribable. Fellowship is definitely the book I have reread the most out of them.
The big four. It was hard to get through the trilogy though. I kinda hated the writing. Story was good but ugh.
The Hobbit
LotR
The Shaping of Middle - earth
The Lost Road and Other Writings
The Lays of Beleriand
Books one and two of The Lost Tales
Unfinished Tales
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
The Tolkien Reader
The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún
My mom bought me a giant stack of Tolkien books for Christmas a few years ago. :shobon:
While I enjoy the mythos of Middle-earth, I think his best works were Farmer Giles of Ham, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
I read a chapter of Fellowship, got bored, put it down and never picked it up again. Not a fan.
I read the Silmarillion in addition to the big four. Beren's story is my favorite. I wish that got its own book, though it does have a good treatment in The Silmarillion.
I think I now need to give the LoTRilogy a read.
None. The poll doesn't allow me vote with 0 options checked :(