A Tolkien of appreciation!

jnimhaoileoin

Apologies for the dodgy play on words but I thought we needed a thread dedicated to this wonderful man who shared such an enormous gift with the world. I happened to finally get around to watching the extended version of the Fellowship (with all the DVD extras) over the weekend and it reminded me once again of the wonder and awe his works have inspired. I am of such an age that it was the films that ignited my passion for Tolkien, being released as they were in my mid to late teens. I became just a wee bit obsessed, delving deep into the history of Middle Earth and doing my best to get to grips with the quite challenging works his son published posthumously. I think my appreciation for him has only grown, as the extent of his imagination, dedication and knowledge has become apparent to me as I myself grow older. As a lover of languages, I think that was one of the aspects of his work that fascinated me the most, his ability to create new and wonderful languages and even scripts.

Anyway, I could go on and on but really I want to hear your own thoughts on Tolkien and his legacy. When did you first discover him and what do you love about his work?

eddiec

I first tried reading the books when I was young- probably around 10 or 11. It bored the life out of me and I stopped reading it to go back to my Louis L'amour collection. 
I never picked it up again until I saw the trailer in the theater for LOTR. That was about 20 years later. I couldn't put the book down. I think I read all three books in 2 weeks. 
I completely get what you're saying. As I've gotten older so has my appreciation for it.

F Me In The Brain

First read when I was probably 11-12.  Loved it, was already very much into Fantasy (easier to read Terry Brooks) and this was something I re-read a few times before the movies and another time after.
The great lengths that he went through to make this world is the standard.

Annafalk

The lord of the ring books and Bilbo, I read when I was about 15 yrs old. They fascinated me a lot with the interesting characters, exciting story and great painted descriptions of the different landscapes.
I also thought it was interesting with the chemistry and or friendship between the characters. I remember when Gandalf had the leave the group for some errand he had to do, I was always like oh no, how can he abandon them again..
I also liked the "Ents", the trees that talked so slowly.

rgambs

I would love to see a couple movies come out of the Silmarillion.
An entire movie on each of the five Battles would be badass.

Hobbes

I first read The Hobbit in grade school having graduated from the brilliant works of C.S. Lewis. (I later discovered the two had been great friends; makes sense.) It wasn't until high school that I could fully digest The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I treasure his work. He created a world that as a child I frolicked in. Friends and I would play as elves and wizards, hobbits and goblins. Fantastic memories of childhood. Tolkien also inspired my younger self to write -- to imagine a world where anything was possible, even dragons. My writing of fiction has since tamed, but my imagination still runs wild. Thank you, Tolkien, for all that you have given and to all that you have inspired.

jnimhaoileoin

rgambs said:

I would love to see a couple movies come out of the Silmarillion.
An entire movie on each of the five Battles would be badass.

I live in hope! 

jnimhaoileoin

eddiec said:

I first tried reading the books when I was young- probably around 10 or 11. It bored the life out of me and I stopped reading it to go back to my Louis L'amour collection. 
I never picked it up again until I saw the trailer in the theater for LOTR. That was about 20 years later. I couldn't put the book down. I think I read all three books in 2 weeks. 
I completely get what you're saying. As I've gotten older so has my appreciation for it.

Like you, I tried reading it around that age and did find the lengthy descriptive passages a struggle. Then when the first film came out I went back and flew through it! Maybe it was no more than the simple fact that I was at the right age (15) to fully understand and appreciate it then.

HesCalledDyer

When I was in high school, my bedroom walls were plastered with Tolkien posters.  Had the famous Cauty poster that almost everyone had, one of Treebeard, a map of Middle Earth, a Hobbit movie poster (the cartoon), one of Rivendell by the Hildebrandts, and one that I made in my 10th grade art class. (Wish I still had that, or at least a pic of it.  It was one of the best pieces I ever did.)

brianlux

The Hobbit and Ring Trilogy are monumental works of fantasy.  I'm not a big fantasy book fan but I loved those books.  One of my favorite characters:  Ents

camsjam

I first read the series when I was in high school and have reread it quite a few times since. It was such a well imagined world with many layers. However at the base of this epic journey is a story of friendship and different races working together to fight evil. Everyone sacrifices something for the good of Middle Earth. 

SmallestOceans

Well my first introduction to LOTR were the movies when they came out in theaters and reading the Hobbit shortly thereafter. I was only 11 and instantly loved it. Still think the FOTR is one of the best movies ever made. Having just read the the first book in the trilogy in 4-5 days, i have to say what Tolkien and Peter Jackson both accomplished is nothing short of genius. Can't wait to breeze through the next two books.

I like how you get all the detailed history in chapters like Shadow of the Past and Counsil of Elrond. And in the movies you get to see the otherside from Saruman's point of view, not just the journey. Although having seen the movies first, it's tough to get those visuals out of your mind when reading Tolkien's vivid descriptions. After having read Tolkien's first book, I have even more respect for Jackson's editing.

 I always loved the psychedelic feel to the whole thing. Beyond some of the themes of possesion, mind control, foresight, taking the common path vs path where no one goes, you could argue that the whole thing is simply about 4 hobbits tripping balls on shrooms in a farmer's backyard lol. Tolkien had said that Middle Earth was it's own world and the adventure has no connection to this planet. But I think it does in ways.

Pretty cool how Led Zeppelin incorporated some of the LOTR motifs in some of their songs.

mickeyrat

all right. I know what my next audible purchases are......