It's just past midnight in Norway, too, now.
Raspberry squash.

The Professor!

I bought the BBC Radio Tolkien Collection a few years ago. It's gotten pricier since then.

Overall, I liked it a lot. I would have preferred a different Aragorn, and the audio was occasionally soft enough that not everyone in the car could hear the dialogue, but it's a good adaptation. Still haven't gotten around to listening to The Hobbit or Tales from the Perilous Realm though.

I've heard the unabridged audio book of LotR and the BBC RotK. I enjoyed both, but I'd say the audio book was the better of the two.

Thanks everybody, for the feedback, I will keep researching. I think the cheapest option would be to get a subscription to Audible and download a free book per month. Then cancel the subscription once all desirable books are procured.

It's been interesting rereading LotR, and I shall put the rest in spoilers for Rose's sake, though it concerns Frodo's character.

I finished up The Council of Elrond last night. Made the mistake of starting that chapter too late at night and it's a LONG chapter.

That's not a bad idea, FK. If I had more pocket change, I'd probably subscribe to Audible year-round.

In response to your spoiler:

Spoiler

I agree that Frodo's character was overly weakened in the films. While Faramir is still my biggest gripe with them, Frodo winds up as you said with almost no backbone or strength of character at all. I think PJ overdid the idea of the Ring as a drug addiction in that respect. We never really saw Frodo fighting back against the Ring after Fellowship and even then one of his biggest moments (at the Fords, which I'm guessing is the one that made you think of this) they gave to another character.

It's been such fun rereading LotR again. I made it to the chapter of Treebeard last night, but that's the chapter that typically loses me. However, beings that I spend a lot of my time laying around these days, I shouldn't have too much trouble getting through it. Poor Treebeard.

I do want to say briefly, that for all the things PJ and company got wrong making the movies, they got a whole lot right! I suppose that's why LotR is the highest grossing fantasy series of all time, and very much beloved by many people. For me, almost all the things that bugged me about the movies is the changes to the characters...making them weaker and less heroic than they are in the book. Had they not done that, the movies would have been close to perfect in my eyes.

Rose, how very exciting you're reading The Hobbit, then on to The Lord of the Rings! Next? The Silmarillion much of which reads very much like the epic stories of the Old Testament. I tried reading it when I was in my university years (late teens) at my brother's recommendation, but I could not get through it then. Tried again in my early 40s and loved it! I have read it a few times since then. So, where are you now in The Hobbit?

It's been 15 years since Fellowship arrived in theaters.

Ahhh, such memories. I was determined NOT going to see this film, because I love the book so much, and I wanted nothing spoiled. Well, a friend convinced me at least to give it a try. Wise gal. We went together (she fell asleep during the Balrog scene ) and I loved it. The FotR is by far my favourite of the three films because it is the truest to the book. But grrrr for

We have the BBC radio dramas of both The Hobbit and The LotR. Both are very well done. The only character I did not care for in LotR was Bilbo. He seemed very bland and rushed at times. That was disappointing. But thankfully he is not a main character in that lengthy tome ('though still significant).

Have you made it through Treebeard yet, fantasia? Good for you for wanting to finish TTT this time. Rooting for you. And for you too, Rose!

I do want to say briefly, that for all the things PJ and company got wrong making the movies, they got a whole lot right! I suppose that's why LotR is the highest grossing fantasy series of all time, and very much beloved by many people. For me, almost all the things that bugged me about the movies is the changes to the characters...making them weaker and less heroic than they are in the book. Had they not done that, the movies would have been close to perfect in my eyes.

Yes! They did get a lot right. So much. But the thing is, what they got wrong was really wrong, imho. Still, I can fast forward those parts and revel in the true Tolkien story that comes across SO wonderfully. ♥ And totally ditto to your bit about the changes to the characters. If it were not for that, the movies would be spot-on.

Now, don't get me going on The Hobbit films, which I dislike intensely, except for the first 45 minutes or so of the first one, and a very few choice and well-done scenes in the subsequent films. My hubby leaned over to me in yet another action scene when we watched the second movie with other NarniaWebbers in Ohio and said "Pirates of the Caribbean", anyone? So disappointing.

I've finished The Hobbit, and oh, it was so good! I can easily understand why it's such a beloved story. Bilbo has handily won a seat at my "all-time favorite characters in literature" table. (I cheered when

I also loved the style of writing; Tolkien had a wonderful way with words. I suppose one should expect that from a philologist, but his work makes for very pleasant reading. In terms of overall storytelling, Lewis still comes out on top for me (at least for now), but there was more than enough story-weaving magic to go around in that Inklings club, to be sure.

I may very well give The Silmarillion a go after finishing LotR, Jo! I've heard good things about it, even though it's also said to be a more difficult read. I tend to be kind of adventurous with my reading anyway.

Oh! You guys might like this. I ran across a piece of digital artwork the other day titled Blooming Flames by an artist called Fractist, and for all the world it makes me think of Gandalf's floral fireworks lighting up the sky over Hobbiton! I made it my laptop wallpaper and it's quite dazzling when the screen's lit up in a dark room.

Lastly, does anyone know anything about Hobbit-inspired cookbooks? I keep wondering what those seed-cakes look and taste like.

Glad you enjoyed The Hobbit Rose. I can't wait to hear what you think of LotR. Have you started it yet? If so, how far along are you?

In regards to Sil, to me, it reads like an Old King James Bible. (Which for me, means difficult ) I was constantly having to reference all of the family trees in the back of the book just to keep track of the story lines. Having said that, I'm really glad I read through it once, I really, really enjoyed it.

Speaking of LotR, I'm about to dig into The Taming Smeagol. Book 4, go go go! (I had to take a break once Book 3 finished so I wouldn't skip to Book 5. )

about The Hobbit, Rose! Did you find the atmosphere of the book changed as the story progressed?

TheOneRing.net had this article back in Dec/2014 about The Unexpected Cookbook on Hobbit cookery. I don't own it, but it sure looks interesting. And it includes seed-cakes.

I was constantly having to reference all of the family trees in the back of the book just to keep track of the story lines.

That's what I meant to post about above. I knew there was something else. Years ago, I ended up making my own charts as I read through The Sil, noting family trees of Elves, Edain, Ainur (the Valar and the Maiar), because I was becoming SO confused. It was rather phenomenal and mind-boggling. Yes, there were reference charts in the back of the book, but I found it helped more if I wrote them down myself, and in my own style. Goodness, what a detailed mind Tolkien had! Unfortunately, since our move a couple of years ago, I have not been able to find those charts, grrr, although I suspect they are hiding in a volume somewhere in our Tolkien library. Anyway, laying everything out on paper really helped to clarify who's who in my mind. (Not that I remember much now, haha. )

Woohoo, yay, fantasia!

I ordered a hobbit meal clock awhile back (it was shipped the other day, so hopefully next week it'll be here). It has been difficult finding one that didn't mix up the order of Dinner and Supper, and that had "Elevenses" spelled correctly. Anyway, I'm excited to receive it (it's rare I make purchases such as this), and hope it lives up to my expectations.

Family trees are almost indispensible for reading Silmarillion. Especially for the stories about the royal family of the Noldor in Valinor, where roughly two thirds of the males are called something with Fin- (from Finwë downwards, as he's the ancestor of them all) .

I've found a family tree on a Tolkien discussion board where I was very active for many years - the thread is called Ancestry of Aragorn. Yes, Aragorn was descended from the Elves in Valinor too, thousands of years later.

What helped me most with the who's who, was role playing on that board. There were no restrictions about using Tolkien's characters, so when we RPed in the Silmarillion context (with our own fan fiction plots to fill in gaps), I have played both Fingolfin and Galadriel. (Galadriel hadn't got that name yet, she got it from her husband whom she met later. She was known as Artanis in her youth, so that's what I played as. See the mail address in my profile.)

Both the RPing itself and looking up details in Silmarillion and other source books contributed to my knowledge of the family connections

The House of Finwe is a different text I found (from a blog?). It covers a smaller part of the family tree, but has more explanations for the names.

I haven't started LotR yet, fantasia, but I'm hoping to begin The Fellowship of the Ring soon! I'm slightly dismayed because the font on my pocket editions gets a little smaller once you get into the LotR trilogy, as opposed to The Hobbit, but hopefully I'll be able to manage.

I did notice a change in the atmosphere as the book went on, Jo! I definitely liked the last quarter the best, though it is difficult for me to say exactly why. Perhaps it's because everything that the story has been building up finally comes to a head! I do know that I loved witnessing Bilbo's character growth;

*makes a mental note to have a notepad handy if/when she gets around to reading The Silmarillion*

I was wondering — did any of you see the LotR films before reading the books? I haven't seen them yet, but I know that many people saw the films first and I was wondering if there were any opinions on what the best order is for maximum enjoyment. I know the films are well-loved but I tend to believe that the book is always better, and I imagine that I'll have a more critical eye towards them if I read the books first. Knowing this, I'm still planning on reading the books beforehand, but I was curious if there was anyone who had seen the films first and wouldn't want to change that if given the choice.

I was wondering — did any of you see the LotR films before reading the books?

I distinctly remember hearing about LotR being greenlit from my friend Drew in high school. At the time he and I were about the only two of our group of friends who had even heard of them, let alone read them.
Now, most of my friends have read them at least once. That may be a bit unfair as most of my friends are on here and this is a site that is conducive to readers. I don't know what it would be like if I was back with that same group of high school friends again.

ETA: I'm a dork and totally forgot to add that I finished up LotR a couple nights ago. Everybody was like "Whoa, you flew through that!!!" Are you kidding? I was super proud of myself for drawing it out. I'm well known for burning the late night oil to finish up books. I did have the advantage that a week ago today my hubby and kiddos went to get their haircuts out of town (my sis-in-law does them) so I had several hours to myself so I read. That did help put a good dent in it.
This time through I really appreciated the character of Denethor in ways I hadn't before (note, I did not say "liked"). Perhaps because that's another character that the movie tweaked a fair bit and I don't think PJ "got him."

Yay, yay, yay, fantasia. So glad you found some good time to finish LotR. And I totally agree with you about PJ and Denethor. In this read-through, did different parts stand out to you from the previous reads, aside from Denethor?

I was wondering — did any of you see the LotR films before reading the books?

Nope. I read the book about 30 years before the films came out. And I'm thankful that when I re-read it now, I can easily recall my initial images. ♥

I know the films are well-loved but I tend to believe that the book is always better,

You betcha'! I will be very, very curious what you think of the films, Rose, when you get to see them, after having read the book. Keep us posted!

I've just about got to the part of FotR where they get to the Inn of the Prancing Pony, and I'm enjoying it very much so far.

Even better than The Hobbit, I'd say, which surprised me a bit. I think it's partly because the momentum that I picked up at the end of that book is carrying over into this one, but I'm also really liking the increased focus on the characters. One of my minor beefs with Hobbit was I felt that I didn't know the dwarves "half so well as I should like" and wouldn't have minded hearing a bit more about Bard, either. So far, I feel like I'm getting a much better sense of the personalities on this quest, and I'm liking that a lot. Even a lot of their adventures seem to be more "peopled" — so far we've met Gildor, Farmer Maggot, Tom Bombadil and Goldberry (loved them!), and I believe I'm about to meet a rather important character at the Prancing Pony, if I am not mistaken.

One other thing that I was not expecting was how wonderfully creepy some parts are... those Dark Riders are a trifle scary to read about late at night, and the Barrow-wights are equally chilling.

Spoiler

And let's not forget that moment when Bilbo of all people started talking like Gollum and wouldn't give up the ring!

I'm also enjoying a lot of the description... I have seen people complain about LotR being description-heavy, but it is one of my favorite parts.