Tolkien Books

[IcelandicWarriors]

I'm re reading the Tolkien books to see how I find them 20 years on. Anyone else planning to re-read?

Also finishing off the WarLord Chronicles but they arnt holding my attention like they previously did.

I re-read LotR about a year ago. My first reaction was surprise at how much of it I remembered literally, word for word. My second reaction was that now that I'm older I can truly appreciate what a monumental work it is.

I used to read it annually as a girl. I might revisit this year though. I do have 12 (I think it is 12, includes War of the Jewels) of those thick bound, posthumously published, History of Middle earth books, mostly unread! I might have another look at those...possibly

War Lord Chronicles, those I haven't read! Are they worth a try? I've read other Cornwell books but not those.

I've just listened to the Hobbit and the whole of LotR on Audible.
Narrated by Peter Inglis, bloody brilliant, and yes, I remember certain parts very well.
Also listened to Cornwell's Warlord Trilogy recently (in the last year), enjoyed that too.

I read and re-read them 40 years ago in my late teens and 20s. To this day TLOR is the only book I have read more than once. I know they are much disparaged by literary types, made worse since the films attracted a whole new audience of teenage boy fans who never read the books.
I don't think I'll read them again, I fear I would be disappointed. My tastes have changed and they belong in the time when I first read them.
And yet... to this day I can't walk through a woodland path (especially at night) without feeling all hobbity.

I am on the third book in The Warlord Chronicles and have fallen in love with them again. Have been googling dark ages and very interesting.

So now I'm debating whether to delay The Hobbit and move onto Stonehenge.

I read Stonehenge recently - really enjoyed it.

I read Lord of the Rings to DS1 last year and really enjoyed reading it aloud as I usually skip swathes when reading to myself. I don't think I ever properly read the bits about Rohan and Minas Tirith before although I have read the books many times. As a child I was mainly interested in what the hobbits were up to, now I am a bit more interested in Aragorn

It did however bring to light just how detailed/ boring some of the journeying sections were. "They travelled through grassy countryside. They passed some rocky countryside. Then grassy again. Then there was a river, which they crossed. That night they camped in rocky countryside. The next day the rocks in front of them looked slightly bigger while those behind them looked a bit smaller, but not much."

When I read them to DC I skipped a lot of the description and all the songs. I still re read them myself every few years and love them deeply.