Birthday, New Year, Tolkien Book Stuffs
I am going to punch this out real quick before I forget about it and go to bed. My new laptop fan is buzzing angrily at me, I think I've had the laptop on for too long for it :P
Ok, 25th was Christmas, and it was lovely, though my mum was recovering from a surgery so we kept it low key. She wanted to do somehthing bigger and we ended up having another later one on the 29th when she felt better. She got me this amazing custom-made chain bracelet with a charm of the Tree of Gondor that our neighbor made, who is a jeweler. It's absolutely gorgeous, real silver too.
Today (well, at least in Hawaii it is still today) was my birthday. 24. omg o.o I'm getting oldddd haha. I took it easy today, a couple friends took me to brunch and then I basically just relaxed the rest of the day. And had apple pie, which is my favorite and it was delicious. I haven't had many pies, but I reallly love apple pie.
Then 2013 is done in 24 hours! Wow! This year has basically been a good one, especially the second half, and in some days I can make an announcement about my beginning of 2014... but until then, I did read a couple more Tolkien books!
Tolkien's Authorized Biography by Humphrey Carpenter
Definitely worth a read. It really gives new insight into Tolkien, though there are a couple incorrect statements in there that C. Tolkien corrects in HoME, one of the more notable ones being that Tolkien did not take into account any of his friend CS Lewis' criticisms or suggestions. Not true, he took a ton of them and used a few of his recommendations. But, overall, very much worth a read. It really gives new insight into Tolkien's life and writings and how he procrastinated much to all of our woe haha, and how he worked was definitely very interesting.
It has been over a month since I finished it so I sadly do not have much else, other than my recommendation to go and take a look at it.
Lays of Beleriand, Vol 3 of HoME
I remember picking this up when I was 14 or 15 and ultimately with this book giving up on the HoMe series then, and now I remember why. It is definitely very detailed, but it can be so detailed to the point that it is too repetitive and rather dry... and this comes from one who enjoys details, generally speaking. But when you read three versions of the same scene, well, it just can get a bit dull after a while, especially since it was in poetry and not prose, which, while he was strong at it, is still not my preferred way to read Tolkien's works. They were fascinating but I'd rather he have written all of Luthien and Beren's tale in prose form instead with the same amount of detail he put into the poem.
Of course, his development on these poems did lead to some important things, such as name changes to ones we are familiar with, and the development of plots that got rid of some really strange early stuff (like the Prince of Cats) to more familiar ones, (good ol' Were-wolves). And the last line of the book was great, when it was a letter quoted from Tolkien about his attempt to make a mix between the Hobbit and the Silmarillion, and the result being LOTR. Awww Tolkien.
But this book in particular is one I would only recommend to those who like epic poetry, and like the tales of Beren and Luthien and the Children of Hurin. It can be at some places very dry, and it was definitely the book out of the four I've reviewed here thus far that took me the longest to read... and that was not just because I got my laptop back midway through it either :P
I hope to post again in a few days with some news. I will see you all in the New Year!
Ok, 25th was Christmas, and it was lovely, though my mum was recovering from a surgery so we kept it low key. She wanted to do somehthing bigger and we ended up having another later one on the 29th when she felt better. She got me this amazing custom-made chain bracelet with a charm of the Tree of Gondor that our neighbor made, who is a jeweler. It's absolutely gorgeous, real silver too.
Today (well, at least in Hawaii it is still today) was my birthday. 24. omg o.o I'm getting oldddd haha. I took it easy today, a couple friends took me to brunch and then I basically just relaxed the rest of the day. And had apple pie, which is my favorite and it was delicious. I haven't had many pies, but I reallly love apple pie.
Then 2013 is done in 24 hours! Wow! This year has basically been a good one, especially the second half, and in some days I can make an announcement about my beginning of 2014... but until then, I did read a couple more Tolkien books!
Tolkien's Authorized Biography by Humphrey Carpenter
Definitely worth a read. It really gives new insight into Tolkien, though there are a couple incorrect statements in there that C. Tolkien corrects in HoME, one of the more notable ones being that Tolkien did not take into account any of his friend CS Lewis' criticisms or suggestions. Not true, he took a ton of them and used a few of his recommendations. But, overall, very much worth a read. It really gives new insight into Tolkien's life and writings and how he procrastinated much to all of our woe haha, and how he worked was definitely very interesting.
It has been over a month since I finished it so I sadly do not have much else, other than my recommendation to go and take a look at it.
Lays of Beleriand, Vol 3 of HoME
I remember picking this up when I was 14 or 15 and ultimately with this book giving up on the HoMe series then, and now I remember why. It is definitely very detailed, but it can be so detailed to the point that it is too repetitive and rather dry... and this comes from one who enjoys details, generally speaking. But when you read three versions of the same scene, well, it just can get a bit dull after a while, especially since it was in poetry and not prose, which, while he was strong at it, is still not my preferred way to read Tolkien's works. They were fascinating but I'd rather he have written all of Luthien and Beren's tale in prose form instead with the same amount of detail he put into the poem.
Of course, his development on these poems did lead to some important things, such as name changes to ones we are familiar with, and the development of plots that got rid of some really strange early stuff (like the Prince of Cats) to more familiar ones, (good ol' Were-wolves). And the last line of the book was great, when it was a letter quoted from Tolkien about his attempt to make a mix between the Hobbit and the Silmarillion, and the result being LOTR. Awww Tolkien.
But this book in particular is one I would only recommend to those who like epic poetry, and like the tales of Beren and Luthien and the Children of Hurin. It can be at some places very dry, and it was definitely the book out of the four I've reviewed here thus far that took me the longest to read... and that was not just because I got my laptop back midway through it either :P
I hope to post again in a few days with some news. I will see you all in the New Year!