So I finally finish my J. R. R. Tolkien re read...

[dweomeroflight]

I've done it! Read The Hobbit, LOTR and The Silmarillion in a row.

Reviews (ish) under cut link (well these are re-reads):

Comments

[bardingtide]

I've read all of them.

But I've only read the Sil once. That was enough

[dweomeroflight]

But I've only read the Sil once. That was enough

Enough for me too I think.

[cianthecat]

I haven't read it yet, just the others, a long time ago. I always loved The Hobbit best.

[dweomeroflight]

CAROLLLL *IS EXCITED* GRINS AND DANCES HAPPILY

I don't blame you! The Hobbit is great fun and really much easier to read in terms of authorial style imo

[squint13]

I need to read these. I think I read the first book some years ago though not sure, but I definitely read the second. All I can remember are the trees, though, so *shrug* It was after I went to see the first movie in the cinema with a friend, which might explain why I may have read the second like that XD

Gonna have to wait til some other time though, so much to do now, ugh >.

[dweomeroflight]

It's a hard read but it's worth it imo especially if you are a fantasy reader :)

[the_silverdoe]

I have a big love for LotR, I'll probably re-read the books when I'm done with ASoIaF. Tolkien's universe and writing gave me more emotions than most of the books I've read.

But oh! how I hate Arwen's development in the movies. In fact I hate everything that they changed in the movies, but Arwen and Elrond in particular - nothing needed to be changed imo. The ending was too 'American' for me also, I prefer the ending in the books.
I love the Hobbit too, it brings me back to my childhood everytime, but I prefer the writing in LotR. I've never been able to read the Silmarillion. I could never go past the Feanor bits, I don't know why, it's a hard read indeed, probably because Tolkien died before he could finish it himself. I'll give it another try, someday.

[dweomeroflight]

Really? I loved Arwen's developement in the movies and especially in relation to Elrond. She got like three sentences in the books. I felt that the inclusion of that storyline in the movies brought home the terrible tragedy of the elves better than the actual books did.

I thought the ending was exactly the same, albeit slightly shorter as they cut out the scouring of the shire for the film :/

[the_silverdoe]

I hate Elrond in the movies, he's just so not Elrond to me! And Liv Tyler's acting is not how I picture Arwen, so... If I remember well, Elrond is not so agressive about Arwen's decision in the books, and in the movies Arwen has scenes that don't even exist in the books. I can't see the point of all that.
In my mind the tragedy of the elves is more apparent with Galadriel than with Arwen and Elrond, so I really don't see the point of them having so much screen time.

The ending is pretty much the same indeed, but I wish the 'let's hug each other and cry' sequence between the Hobbits was shorter, and it would have been nice to have a bit of the scouring of the Shire, as it's a nice sequence in the books, and it makes more sense than them coming back to an untouched Shire.

But all in all I love the movies, don't get me wrong! :)

[dweomeroflight]

I love Hugo Weaving. But I am Australian and therefore biased. Elrond is actually aggressive about Arwen's decision- it is in an appendices at the back of the book (I can't for the life of me figure out why Tolkien did it like that but I have the official book version as stamped and approved by his son so eh?) Arwen's scenes in the books are actually word for word what happens in the appendices, give or take room for film over words.

I never had a problem with Liv as Arwen was two sentences in the book and therefore a write off for me.

You can see the scouring of the shire (they did film it but it was cut to shorten the movie)- it is on the extended dvd version.

I don't know. The ending didn't bother me. The book was just as long and never ending.

[alt_universe_me]

Wow, I'm amazed that anyone can reread these! I read these all so many years ago, and while I loved them, I wound up crying so much at the end that I'm not sure I want to relive that all :) I get what you mean about the despair, but honestly I always thought it was handled well in the books. Although, since there was a big gap of time between when I read the books and when I watched the films, perhaps I'm not making a fair comparison.
Man, thinking about this is giving me some major nostalgia. LOTR is always going to have a place in my heart, I think. :)

[dweomeroflight]

It always will have a place in mine too :)

And I agree the books did it well, but for me the films enhanced that theme so I noticed it more in the book on rereads. A great achievement imo.

[moth2fic]

Yes, read LotR and The Hobbit numerous times and seen the movies. And yes, I love them, despite all the flaws that I didn't notice first or even third time around. I didn't, however, enjoy The Silmarillion, because it doesn't, as you point out, read like a novel.

[dweomeroflight]

The Silmarillion was so hard to get through :/

Did you like the films too? Some people really didn't but I felt they reflected the books well :)

[moth2fic]

I adored the films. I was sad that they had no space for Tom Bombadil and other odds and ends but am aware that films can't reproduce books exactly. I am in two minds about Arwen's story because I suspect it was put in to give a romance element for box office purposes. To that extent, whilst not objectionable in itself, it was a little intrusive and took time they could have given to other things. However, I thought the bulk of the story was faithfully adapted, and I loved the various backgrounds, graphics, etc. I adored the architecture of Rivendell, the amazing semi-3D orc mines and the way the cities and towers were depicted. The way they did Gollum was fantastic. My husband is a very keen photographer and film buff so I have been 'trained' to watch films for their technical excellence... ;) We saw them at the cinema and have bought the DVDs to rewatch on our large screen with our DVD projector. Haven't, as yet, had time but we definitely will!

[dweomeroflight]

re the Arwen romance. It wasn't. It's in an appendices at the back of Return of the King as part V of Appendix A 'Here follows a part of the tale of Arwen and Aragorn' written by Tolkien and intended to be included with every copy.