How often do you read Lord of the Rings?

{{ I said above Holm's made a good Frodo and Bilbo. But film Bilbo is a bottled distillation of Bilbo, the radio play unfolds much closer to the pace of the book, such a reading there would just come off as ridiculously over the top and indulgent as a result. All the drama in PJ's is dialled up to the maximum possible in every scene and scenes that might contain dialogue spoken over several days in the book have cherry picked lines from it all crammed into one dramatic moment.
Its a bit like theatre and tv acting- in the theatre you need big gestures the back of the room can read, on tv you can convey a mood with a single subtle glance. If the radio play had 'drama' like PJ it would be very silly indeed. To keep in feeling and pacing with the book it has to be dialled back to something more everyday.
There are certainly performances I am not a fan of in the radio version, Legolas, Aragorn among them, but Bilbo has never been one of them as Le Meseiur, being the consummate professional he is I think brings quite a subtle and detailed performance to Bilbo through the dialogue, which Holm's had to strive to add and convey solely through performance because the dialogue didn't support it and its all shoved into so much shorter a time frame.}}

I find Le Meseiur's technical performance to be fine, it just doesn't feel like Bilbo to me.

{{ I can see why they would have thought of him for the role-he has a history of playing characters that either are a little gentile, or upper middle to upper class. Which in Shire terms Bilbo is upper middle class - so for a UK audience who would know the voice (he was very famous here) there would be that subconscious association. Though he was best known for playing comedy roles, such as in the classic sitcom Dad's Army, where again he played a character who was supposed to be from a higher class than the Captain who is in charge of him played by the brilliant Arthur Lowe, causing much British comedy angst about class-



Out of the radio cast Ian Holm as Frodo, Sir Michael Hordern as Gandalf, Bill Nighy as Sam, Douglas Livingston as Gimli, Michael Cox as Boromir, Peter Woodthorpe as Smeagol, Andrew Sear as Faramir and Peter Vaugan as Denethor are all stand out performances and really nail the parts for me- with a bunch of honourable mentions - all the hobbits are good, including the Gaffer, and Eomer, Wormtongue Eowyn are all excellent too. On a technical level there are very few, if any, performances that are outright bad (what happens when you cats a bunch of professional stage actors from the BBC's back catalogue of great actors under contract!).
For me the one main casting I really dont like is Aragorn, played by Robert Stephens, another big name British actor of film and stage of his day, and he does the long lived, noble, and the almost arrogant side to Aragorn well, but for me he lacks the warmth and the common touch Aragorn displays. Not that it isn't there, but the voice just doesn't convey it enough for me   }}

I was considering going for my holiday re-read of LotR again this year but I think I might re-read A Song of Ice and Fire.

Feeling positive about Winds of Winter not being far off.

Yeah, I'm thinking somewhat same-ish. But it's a bigger undertaking than LotR.

Forest Shepherd wrote:

Fair warning, they may contain some crabbit! Ever since a certain author self-inserted my opinion of the series has been decreasing rapidly.

No worries, that particular part was rather crabbit-inducing indeed

I've started the SoIaF reread. I don't think I'm finding it as compelling as during the first read when GRRM was willing to go where others wouldn't. But it's early yet - I remember I didn't truly get caught up in the story until maybe 100 pages in; it was the occasional shocks that kept me going until I finally came to care for the characters.

I'm saving that for book six Have you tried reading books 4 and 5 "chronologically"? I highly recommend it if not, changed my whole experience and opinion of the boring one (can't remember which it is, 4 maybe).

yeah I remember that, but that will take organization. I usually read in bed before falling asleep, and following directions does not seem attractive at that time.

I will most certainly do the chronological read, whatever they call it, if and when book 6 comes out.

Halfy, for most of the alternate read-through, you'll still be reading the chapters in the order you find them. You just have to switch between the two as you go. You can find the suggested reading order here: https://boiledleather.com/post/25902554148/a-new-readerfriendly-combined-reading-order-for-a

Yeah, you just read chapter X in book 4 and pick up book 5 and continue with chapter Y - I was skeptical too at first, but it really is no hassle and the reading experience is entirely different (and improved). Each to his own of course, but I still recommend it

Ive been reading this today. Its been engrossing, enjoying it. It contains what Humphrey Carpenter thinks is the most informative of the 100's of letters Tolkien kept over the years, with the help of Christopher Tolkien, I found it in a shop of second hand books

Nice! Does it have a typed-out version next to each letter? So as to help the reader understand the hand-writing, that is.

The whole book is typed but it its a great insight to Tolkien. Just by reading the things he puts down on paper makes you feel you know him, that hes in the room with you. Apparently there were so many letters that Tolkien kept and it was difficult to choose which to use for the book. I think I could have read the lot

oh that looks great, might try to find a copy somewhere.

(I found a copy for myself as well.

I've just started my long-awaited reread of LotR (the Aubrey/Maturin book went by in a flash), and although the prologue felt like a bit of a chore, I'm now chuckling at how cute the preparations for the Party are (G for Grand! The Hobbit children cried, at the sight of Gandalf's engraved fireworks.) and feeling the old familiar coziness.

Don't read it anymore. Listen to the audio cd. I got it on YouTube as well, so when I'm in bed I just say. Hey google play chapter 10 or whatever and it takes me straight there. The new ones are real good. Got music, background sounds and the like. As a real ambiance to it.

Reading the prologue was a chore?! Do you mean his Forward or Concerning Hobbits?

Either way, surely you blaspheme. Compared to wending your way through Morder those two sections are quite delightful.

I am just in the middle of a read through.... just finished the chapter 'Treebeard' so about half way through.

Every time I read it there is something I have forgotten about, I think mostly because I am also very familiar with the films.

Lancebloke wrote:I am just in the middle of a read through.... just finished the chapter 'Treebeard' so about half way through.

Every time I read it there is something I have forgotten about, I think mostly because I am also very familiar with the films.

Yeah I'm overly familiar with the movies, by comparison. I find that my memory of the movies intrudes into my reading. The delivery of famous movie lines steps on the toes of the text.

(I tried to use the multi-quote feature, but have forgotten the trick to it.)

Halfwise wrote:...Either way, surely you blaspheme...

Yes, but it is only a little blasphemy. You see I had read a portion of it only last week when talking about Harfoots, and as, of course, I already know the story of The Hobbit backwards and forwards I did not need to read a summary. On top of that, the talk of whose descendants kept the Red Book and for what purpose and so-on smacked of an epilogue more than anything else and was putting me into quite a crabbit mood: spoiling my anticipation and making me feel put upon as a reader.

Once into the story proper all was well, and I read up to the Barrow Downs that same evening.

Thin ice, my lad.

I've finished The Two Towers, and I am now on Chapter 3 of RotK.
This is probably the longest I'll ever go between rereads, now that I've come to RotK. I haven't read this part of the book since... it's been a long time!
The most delightful portions to me are those we never see in the movies: the arrival of the grey company from the north, Pippin and Bergil watching the troops riding in from the various principalities of Gondor, the actually good version of Denethor speaking with Gandalf and the part where Pippin's offer of fealty is met with a proper response and not Gandalf's churlish knocking of him aside...

Many delightful moments! And, ahh, room in which to breathe and imagine.

I think I'm more familiar with Return of the King than any of the other books, simply because there's more worth revisiting time and again. I get churlish when I think of how the film stamped over some of my favorite parts.

The scenes I enjoy most are the ones they fabricated so don't suffer by comparison: Pippen's song, Gandalf's description of the Witch King, Gandalf and Pippen discussing death.

I don't know. Fellowship is the best book for me. The coziness of the hobbits as they struggle to get to Bree...
It's the best fairytale portions of the story.