Rose!

Agreed, I'd like to know a lot more about Bard. He is a wonderfully mysterious character in many ways.

Yes, the personalities of the LotR gang are fleshed out much more, for sure. So, curious, how do you know you may be about to meet a rather important person at Bree?

The Barrow-wights are terrifying. I also thought if that were portrayed accurately on screen, I'd be all a-trembling. Have you seen Ted Nasmith's rendering of this? Although to me the still, cold forms don't look terribly hobbit-like. But then, I have found over the years that while Nasmith excels in landscapes and animals, people are not his strong point.

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.

Ditto, ditto!!! Over and over!!! One of the chapters upcoming in Fellowship is a section people find long and arduous. (Although it's more drawn-out conversation-related, rather than description.) But it's one of my favourite parts. Curious to know what you think when you get there. I'm not going to say which one it is, for now.

You and fantasia are really making me long to start my biennial reading of LotR!

I did end up getting my husband this copy of Fellowship of the Ring via Audible for his birthday.
He was home sick yesterday and was listening to it while resting. I had to laugh at how fast it moved because I kept having to sneak into the bedroom to get stuff and was surprised at how far along he had gotten. I believe he made it all the way to where Frodo

Next month he'll be able to get another free book and I'll snag The Two Towers for him.
I was extremely disappointed though. The Silmarillion is one of his favorites, if not THE favorite of all time, but it is not available via Audible in the USA. I don't know why that is.

My mom, Summer, and I watched FotR EE last night. It's probably been...3-5 years since I last saw it, so it was really nice to watch it again. It was also interesting to see how I picked up on different things, and to notice some things that I had never noticed before (or completely forgotten).

I think we're hoping to watch TTT in a couple of weeks and then hopefully RotK.

Rewatching the FotR EE for the first time in awhile sounds like a lot of fun, Valia. I did something similar over the weekend... a friend and I watched the first Hobbit movie.

We plan on watching the other two sometime as well, so that'll be a different experience than waiting a year between installments. I was struck this time by how different in tone it felt from the last two; there was a kinship with the book present in the storytelling and that was why I remembered being reasonably satisfied the first time I saw Unexpected Journey....

Things I really liked:

((spoilers are from the first book and movie, as well as the second book))
I reread the Fellowship of the Ring last week and started on the first book, which I've never read before. I watched FotR for the first time as well, as I was finishing up the book. We had to pause it near the end, so I could quickly finish the book.

So, my recollection of the first book (and a little into the second) was apparently rather limited, because I had several errors.

Overall, I immensely enjoyed the first book, and am enjoying the second book. I liked the movie too, but it was a bit weird, since I had just read the book, to see the differences that they did. I did like one thing they did differently in the movie.

I really liked the main characters. I think my possible favorites include Aragorn, Arwen, Legolas and Sam. I have a slight fondness for Gollum. Boromir was not my favorite, but he is growing on me. I like Faramir, Merry, Pippin, Eowyn (noted that I don't know much about her), Gandalf, Gimli, and certain minor characters who will not be named right now.

I really liked all of the friendships!

There is much more to be said, but I'll start with that, so I can go finish the second book! (except as soon as I finish that, there's only one more book - though I did pick up a copy of the Silmarillion, which will be my next read!)

Sounds fun, Mel! I remember liking most of the items you mentioned liking; there are a few I don't really remember.

Summer, if you were disappointed in the lack of singing, be glad we're watching the EEs - there's even less singing in the theatrical releases.

I'm currently reading Tolkien's The Legend of Sigurd & Gudrun. I'm still a little fuzzy on what exactly it is, but I keep hitting spots that have brought to mind The Silmarillion

Read the last chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring today! I would have finished it a lot sooner, but February was really busy and I'm finding that the small print on my pocket editions doesn't mesh so well with tired eyes.

It was really good. Not as satisfying an ending as The Hobbit, but that's to be expected given it's the beginning of a trilogy (or the first two books of six) ... that said, I have a feeling that even the end of LotR might not be as satisfying in the "contented" sense as The Hobbit. I fully expected to be satisfied with it as a breathtaking story, though.

I'm growing fond of Aragorn; he's pretty awesome. Galadriel was an interesting and powerful character; I really enjoyed the chapters in Lorien. And speaking of Elvish lands,

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I was thrilled when Bilbo showed up alive and well in Rivendell. Fingers crossed that it is not the last time Frodo meets him.

Very much looking forward to starting The Two Towers and finding out what happens next to our characters!

*carefully sidesteps Summer's interesting spoilers, since they involve the movie and the second book*

So, curious, how do you know you may be about to meet a rather important person at Bree?

I can't quite remember where, but I think it was in an article about story writing and characters not being what they initially seemed.

*shivers at Nasmith's illustration of Frodo's battle with the Barrow-wight* It's hard for me to get the image of that creepy hand walking on its fingers out of my mind, and that drawing does a wonderful job capturing the creepiness of the scene! The hobbits do look a bit stiff and cold though, yes.

One of the chapters upcoming in Fellowship is a section people find long and arduous. But it's one of my favourite parts. Curious to know what you think when you get there. I'm not going to say which one it is, for now.

I'm curious! I found the chapter with the Council at Rivendell to be long, but not arduous. The only chapter that I found to be a bit frustrating was

Spoiler

trying to conquer Caradhras. I found myself rather identifying Gandalf when he was suggesting going into the Mines of Moria early on... sometimes I'll get a sense that something isn't going to work and that it's better to just go ahead with the unpopular option, but can't get people to agree until the preferred method has been tried and failed. I don't blame any of them for not wanting to go down into that dark labyrinth, though! I would have been none too thrilled myself.

And speaking of which, I hope this isn't the last we've seen of Gandalf... he's one of my favorite characters, and I am sure that I've heard people call him Gandalf the White, but he's yet to bear that name in the books thus far. Perhaps he was the one in Frodo's vision after all, but then again, I expect Saruman to show up at some point as well. Anyway, Gandalf is a difficult one to lick and we didn't actually see him die, so I'm holding out hope. *crosses fingers*

Rose, I enjoyed reading your thoughts! Your comment

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about being upset over the lack of note-leaving is something I have noted on various stories, though I can't remember now if I thought of that when I first read FotR.

We watched TTT EE over the weekend. I always forget

Read the last chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring today!

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But oh, those two little hobbits setting out into Mordor all on their own! I'm also a little upset with them for not even leaving a note so the others wouldn't worry about their immediate safety,

I think that

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Frodo was sure that if anyone knew where he had gone, they would have followed him and joined him. And he didn't want them to join him, because it would be dangerous for them, and he felt it to be his responsibility to take all that danger upon himself. He hadn't even meant to allow Sam to join him - but he couldn't outwit Sam

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I also understood better this time Faramir taking the Hobbits (and the Ring and Gollum) to Osgiliath. It's still a departure from not picking it up as it lay by the roadside, but he was very much driven by trying to honor Boromir and fix things with Denethor, which are both rather understandable things.

I remember from the very first time I saw the TTT movie that

I sometimes read fanfiction, and some years back I came across a Norwegian writer who wrote LotR fanfiction. She is writing a story where she explores a "what if" - what if LotR had ended differently, and what would have happened later if it had? I've been reviewing her chapters, and we've been sending each other PMs too, both about her writing and a little about ourselves as well. She was studying theology.

On Monday we met for the first time! I went to a meeting in "Arthedain", the Norwegian Tolkien Society, a meeting about fanfiction. She was talking to someone else about her fanfiction, and I asked her, "Are you the writer Ragnelle then?" and when she confirmed this, I told her, "I am Wise Queen!" (my name both on the site where we met and on NaNoWriMo).

She seemed to be as pleased about meeting me as I was about meeting her, and when the whole group went out for a meal after the meeting, we talked for hours ... Unfortunately she'll be leaving the town next month (to her first job as an ordained minister), so we'll have to go back to PMs again. But it's great to have met her

Varna, good points in your spoilers. I think the first time I saw the movie, I was

Spoiler

just too upset/surprised at the departure in Faramir's character to really think about why the change was made.

We watched RotK EE over this past weekend. I don't think I have as many thoughts on this rewatch as on the others; not as much seem to have stood out to me. That said, I remember not being hugely impressed by the EE scenes in RotK when they came out and that still stands.
Hmm. Well, I suppose that's actually probably about as long as my previous posts when it's said and done.

Just a short comment, and it's so general that it doesn't need a spoiler:

It's remarkable how many times a line from one character in the book is given to a different character in the movie, and usually in a different context.
Sometimes it's thought-provoking - other times it's just weird.

Rose, I enjoyed reading your thoughts! Your comment

Spoiler

about being upset over the lack of note-leaving is something I have noted on various stories, though I can't remember now if I thought of that when I first read FotR.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on TTT and RotK! Do you think you'll start TTT pretty quickly?

Very quickly; I believe I started it the day after I finished FotR. I finished the first half/third book of TTT a few days ago. Thoughts on that will follow!

So cool that you were able to meet your fanfiction friend by chance, Varna!

I think that

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Frodo was sure that if anyone knew where he had gone, they would have followed him and joined him. And he didn't want them to join him, because it would be dangerous for them, and he felt it to be his responsibility to take all that danger upon himself. He hadn't even meant to allow Sam to join him - but he couldn't outwit Sam

That's a really good point! After starting TTT, I also realized that

Spoiler

I neglected to consider what a wonderful tracker Aragorn is... after traveling with him so long, however, Frodo would likely have not forgotten this, and I imagine he knew that the tracks he and Sam left behind would be as good as any handwritten note! So I'm not quite as miffed with them as I was. Making Aragorn spend the time finding/interpreting the tracks would also buy them some time as well.

So, thoughts on the first half TTT/book three of LotR:

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Maybe it's not a surprise, looking at my username, but I really enjoyed all of the chapters involving Treebeard and the Ents. One of my favorite characters that we've met so far, and the friendship that he developed with Pippin and Merry (and the addition he made to the old song) was really neat. I don't know if this was what Tolkien was going for, but the "ha hoom" sound he would make would always call to my mind the sound of wind tossing and rustling the leaves in a wood on a warm spring day... I don't think I'll ever hear that sound quite the same way again! (But isn't that what great literature does: baptize the imagination? )

I also really enjoyed becoming acquainted with the grasslands and golden roofs of Rohan. By chance I have recently been researching my family history a little and I discovered that some of my ancestors once lived in a land that was known for its horses. (Oh how my horse-crazy, twelve-year-old self would have loved to have known that! ) Because of this, all of the parts about Rohan felt tinged with a vague feeling that I was peering dimly into my own history. While I doubt my Gaelic ancestors enjoyed quite as much sunshine as the people of Rohan, it was still a really neat, eerie feeling!

Part of me wanted to facepalm a little when Eowyn seemed so distracted by Aragorn right before her family members are about to ride out to war (think of your brother and your uncle! They might DIE soon! ), but I can also understand how a woman in a besieged kingdom would be easily taken with a kingly stranger that she might have hope and faith in. So I've mostly given her a pass on that. I'm interested to see what else happens with her character from here on out.

And now for "The Voice of Saruman"... I loved this chapter, much as I love "The Queen of Underland" in SC. And there are indeed some fascinating parallels between the two! Saruman feels like the LotGK's more dangerous cousin in a way. His attempt to twist the narrative about war and peace felt all too familiar in our modern war-torn world. I felt like cheering when Gandalf laughed at him and said he would have been better suited to be a jester, much as I want to cheer when Puddleglum stamps out the fire and gives the Witch a piece of his mind. They are very different scenes, to be sure, with different themes and takeaways, but they are similar as well — in all the best ways, to my mind! I love psychological conflict in stories.

Very much looking forward to starting the rest of TTT soon and finding out what Frodo and Sam have been up to all this time!

Rose, I absolutely love your point about

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The Voice of Saurman being similar to The Queen of the Underworld. I can't believe I've never thought of that before, but you're absolutely right in your comparison.

Rose, I enjoyed reading your thoughts. Yay for starting TTT quickly! It's hard to stop, isn't it? Some thoughts in response to your comment follow.

I think I'm in even more danger of careening off into a LotR reread now.

Finally stopping by to share my thoughts on the rest of TTT! (I've just been so busy fending off Orcs right and left since my username turned blue.... ) I haven't started RotK yet, but planning to do so this evening or tomorrow. Thanks for the nice comments on my observation about SC and TTT, guys.

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Did you feel vindicated when Gandalf returned?

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I did! But the elation was a little short-lived, because he seemed so weary and like he had been time-traveling through grim landscapes for eons... or like a person who has suffered a long illness or a very dramatic brush with death. (Which was essentially what had happened to him!) I was glad when he started to seem more like himself, but he is both merrier and more solemn than before, as Merry said.

What other psychological conflict in stories have you encountered?

Oooh... while neither are similar to SC or TTT in any respect, things that come to mind right now are the climax in Ella Enchanted and old psychological thrillers like Dial M for Murder. (A bit odd having those two in the same sentence. ) The former was one of my favorite childhood books, so I guess psychology and I go way back.

Okay, now for thoughts on TTT. (TTThoughts? )

Needless to say, I am starting RotK very soon. What a way to end the book!