Am I too old to read LOTR?
03-21-11 | 12:09 AM
#51
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: Am I too old to read LOTR?
I read the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogy when I was a kid (10 or so, but that was more indicative of my interests and state of mind than that it was meant for kids. Several years later I built up the tolerance to read the Silmarillion too. That's not a kids book either, but it turned out to easily as good as the rest. The narrative style is different and he does get carried away with detail, but the stories are amazing. It's a good read to follow up the Hobbit and the LOTR trilogy since it gives you important background info on how and why everything goes down. And you discover a lot more about Sauron, Saruman and Gandalf.
Also, the first Harry Potter book was so poorly written I was surprised it was ever published. Thankfully she got a lot better.
Also, the first Harry Potter book was so poorly written I was surprised it was ever published. Thankfully she got a lot better.
03-23-11 | 08:55 AM
#52
Senior Member
Re: Am I too old to read LOTR?
I just started listening to The Hobbit audiobook, to be followed by LOTR, both read excellently by Rob Inglis - and it dawned on me that its been over 10 (13 or 14?!) years since I read The Hobbit and LOTR for the first (and only) time. I was in my late 20's. Damn time flies!
05-16-11 | 10:09 PM
#54
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Am I too old to read LOTR?
Okay, following up on my last post, I started reading LOTR and after 130ish pages it's...quite a slog. (I'm at the point where Frodo and the gang are leaving Tom Bombadil's house.) My cousin said that the first 200 or so pages are slow going, but it picks up considerably after that. True?
I hate not finishing a book that I started and in cases like these I'd normally power through until the end. Given the sheer length of this book, though, I don't think I'd do that here. I'm a slow reader and there are plenty of other books on my reading pile that I'd like to get to.
I really want to like this book, but it's just not happening right now. BTW, I read The Hobbit back in March and enjoyed it.
I hate not finishing a book that I started and in cases like these I'd normally power through until the end. Given the sheer length of this book, though, I don't think I'd do that here. I'm a slow reader and there are plenty of other books on my reading pile that I'd like to get to.
I really want to like this book, but it's just not happening right now. BTW, I read The Hobbit back in March and enjoyed it.
05-17-11 | 06:30 AM
#55
Re: Am I too old to read LOTR?
Okay, following up on my last post, I started reading LOTR and after 130ish pages it's...quite a slog. (I'm at the point where Frodo and the gang are leaving Tom Bombadil's house.) My cousin said that the first 200 or so pages are slow going, but it picks up considerably after that. True?
I hate not finishing a book that I started and in cases like these I'd normally power through until the end. Given the sheer length of this book, though, I don't think I'd do that here. I'm a slow reader and there are plenty of other books on my reading pile that I'd like to get to.
I really want to like this book, but it's just not happening right now. BTW, I read The Hobbit back in March and enjoyed it.
I hate not finishing a book that I started and in cases like these I'd normally power through until the end. Given the sheer length of this book, though, I don't think I'd do that here. I'm a slow reader and there are plenty of other books on my reading pile that I'd like to get to.
I really want to like this book, but it's just not happening right now. BTW, I read The Hobbit back in March and enjoyed it.
05-17-11 | 11:02 AM
#56
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Re: Am I too old to read LOTR?
When I first tried reading it, I quit around the Bombadil scene. And I very rarely quit a book. Later, was convinced to pick it up again and read all the way through. But I will say that as a story, LOTR is vastly overrated. It was innovative in its time, but it's not that great of a read.
05-17-11 | 11:19 AM
#57
Challenge Guru & Comic Nerd
Re: Am I too old to read LOTR?
Read all four in high school and loved them, deciding that they are my favorite books outside of Watership Down.
Have re-read The Hobbit every 5 years or so, but have never gotten around to reading the trilogy again. Desperately want to , but have a save-the-best-for-last quirk. With the world ending Saturday, it's too late for the trilogy, but perhaps I'll read The Hobbit again.
Have re-read The Hobbit every 5 years or so, but have never gotten around to reading the trilogy again. Desperately want to , but have a save-the-best-for-last quirk. With the world ending Saturday, it's too late for the trilogy, but perhaps I'll read The Hobbit again.
05-24-11 | 05:39 PM
#58
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Am I too old to read LOTR?
I finished reading The Hobbit (again) just before Dune (again), however the LOTR trilogy will have to wait until I finish The Chronicles Of Narnia...
-kd5-
05-24-11 | 06:29 PM
#59
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Am I too old to read LOTR?
Okay, following up on my last post, I started reading LOTR and after 130ish pages it's...quite a slog. (I'm at the point where Frodo and the gang are leaving Tom Bombadil's house.) My cousin said that the first 200 or so pages are slow going, but it picks up considerably after that. True?
The first time I read the books I had to push myself through a few sections. If you had asked for my review then I would have said it was a good trilogy, but had some slow bits, especially some of the history, songs, etc. The second time I read the trilogy it was like I had gotten the abridged version, even though it was the same physical book. Afterwards I was like "where did those slow parts go?"
05-24-11 | 06:34 PM
#60
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: Am I too old to read LOTR?
I don't understand the slog bit. I read it when I was in middle school and couldn't put it down. I read the Silmarilion in High School and, though that's considered the most tedious work he's ever published, I couldn't put that down either. However, I have learned the coveted skill of glossing over unnecessary prose, so that could be it. There is only so much I need to know about the surrounding country to set the scene and when I do it's time to skip to the action.
That said, come on! I was a kid raised at the start of the MTV generation, and by no means a well-read one. After hundreds of books since it remains the best of modern fantasy.
That said, come on! I was a kid raised at the start of the MTV generation, and by no means a well-read one. After hundreds of books since it remains the best of modern fantasy.
05-25-11 | 09:06 PM
#62
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Am I too old to read LOTR?
I like Tom Bombadil. It was a long time before I did, though. There are sneaky things going on in that chapter, like when the paragraphs are written in verse.
05-25-11 | 09:59 PM
#63
Re: Am I too old to read LOTR?
Anyone here ever read Bored of the Rings by the Harvard Lampoon? I'm not sure if it's currently in print, but there should be a fair amount of used copies of different editions floating around.
It is a parody of the trilogy in a nice compact 176-ish pages. It's maybe a little dated, but holds up nicely.
A taste:
It is a parody of the trilogy in a nice compact 176-ish pages. It's maybe a little dated, but holds up nicely.
A taste:
"Do you like what you doth see . . . ?" said the voluptuous elf-maiden as she provocatively parted the folds of her robe to reveal the rounded, shadowy glories within. Frito's throat was dry, though his head reeled with desire and ale.
She slipped off the flimsy garment and strode toward the fascinated boggie unashamed of her nakedness. She ran a perfect hand along his hairy toes, and he helplessly watched them curl with the fierce insistent wanting of her.
"Let me make thee more comfortable," she whispered hoarsely, fiddling with the clasps of his jerkin, loosening his sword belt with a laugh. "Touch me, oh _touch me_," she crooned.
Frito's hand, as though of its own will, reached out and traced the delicate swelling of her elf-breast, while the other slowly crept around her tiny, flawless waist, crushing her to his barrel chest.
"Toes, I _love_ hairy toes," she moaned, forcing him down on the silvered carpet. Her tiny, pink toes caressed the luxuriant fur of his instep while Frito's nose sought out the warmth of her precious elf-navel.
"But I'm so small and hairy, and . . . and you're so beautiful_," Frito whimpered, slipping clumsily out of his crossed garters.
The elf-maiden said nothing, but only sighed deep in her throat and held him more firmly to her faunlike body. "There is one thing you must do for me first," she whispered into one tufted ear.
"Anything," sobbed Frito, growing frantic with his need. "Anything!"
She closed her eyes and then opened them to the ceiling. "The Ring," she said. "I must have your Ring."
Frito's whole body tensed. "Oh no," he cried, "not that! Anything but ... that."
"I must have it," she said both tenderly and fiercely. "I must have the _Ring!_"
Frito's eyes blurred with tears and confusion. "I can't," he said. "I mustn't!"
But he knew resolve was no longer strong in him. Slowly, the elf-maiden's hand inched toward the chain in his vest pocket, closer and closer it came to the Ring Frito had guarded so faithfully . . .
She slipped off the flimsy garment and strode toward the fascinated boggie unashamed of her nakedness. She ran a perfect hand along his hairy toes, and he helplessly watched them curl with the fierce insistent wanting of her.
"Let me make thee more comfortable," she whispered hoarsely, fiddling with the clasps of his jerkin, loosening his sword belt with a laugh. "Touch me, oh _touch me_," she crooned.
Frito's hand, as though of its own will, reached out and traced the delicate swelling of her elf-breast, while the other slowly crept around her tiny, flawless waist, crushing her to his barrel chest.
"Toes, I _love_ hairy toes," she moaned, forcing him down on the silvered carpet. Her tiny, pink toes caressed the luxuriant fur of his instep while Frito's nose sought out the warmth of her precious elf-navel.
"But I'm so small and hairy, and . . . and you're so beautiful_," Frito whimpered, slipping clumsily out of his crossed garters.
The elf-maiden said nothing, but only sighed deep in her throat and held him more firmly to her faunlike body. "There is one thing you must do for me first," she whispered into one tufted ear.
"Anything," sobbed Frito, growing frantic with his need. "Anything!"
She closed her eyes and then opened them to the ceiling. "The Ring," she said. "I must have your Ring."
Frito's whole body tensed. "Oh no," he cried, "not that! Anything but ... that."
"I must have it," she said both tenderly and fiercely. "I must have the _Ring!_"
Frito's eyes blurred with tears and confusion. "I can't," he said. "I mustn't!"
But he knew resolve was no longer strong in him. Slowly, the elf-maiden's hand inched toward the chain in his vest pocket, closer and closer it came to the Ring Frito had guarded so faithfully . . .
05-31-11 | 02:54 PM
#64
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Am I too old to read LOTR?
That quoted section is especially funny when you read the book, and understand the context.
06-11-11 | 09:13 AM
#65
Re: Am I too old to read LOTR?
I'm glad I'm not the only one with that quirk! I have dozens of books on the shelf just waiting for their turn because of that quirk. I read the weekly comic stash the same way. I rationalize it with a "if I read the *best* first I'll be more likely to just let the other stuff sit there forever" type mentality.Do it! I forced myself to drop other stuff, even a book I was half-way through, to finally re-read LOTR. It was the first re-read since HS. While I feel that there *are* a few "dead" spots it was still a great read. I followed the re-read with a marathon one-day re-viewing of the extended versions of the films. That viewing was almost as good as re-reading the book plus I appreciated the films even more.
And to answer the OP (which was years ago...). No! You're never too old to read LOTR, or *any* book which brings you joy. Even if it's as simple as that First Grade Reader.
06-12-11 | 06:56 AM
#66
