The end of April brings ...

... the end of the LOTR readalong.

I'm not going to post any more questions, but I just wanted to say how much I've enjoyed taking the journey to Middle Earth again even though I'm still reading The Two Towers and whether it was your first reading, or your hundred-and-first reading, I hope you enjoyed taking it, too with me, Eva from http://astripedarmchair.wordpress.com/, Clare ar http://theliteraryomnivore.wordpress.com/ and Teresa at http://shelflove.wordpress.com/

Also, Clare has proposed a movie re-watch - I'm not sure if that's still on, but if it is, I'm in!

Anyway.

The road goes ever on and on ...

Lord of the Rings readalong: The Return of the King

Well here we are - it's beginning of the end of the journey. I hope you all have enjoyed taking it with us _ I know we've enjoyed the ride too! Thank you so much Eva, Teresa and Omnivore - this is so much fun!

(I slightly suck at html and linkages. If you go here: http://novelchallenges.blogspot.com/search/label/Lord%20of%20the%20Rings%20Readalong you'll see the other wonderful bloggers I've been sharing this journey with <3)

(and I know - that's horribly, horribly lazy as well. I'm writing this at 2.30am so I don't forget - lol)

I'm still on The Two Towers, but that doesn't mean I can't post my ROTK questions for those of you who are further ahead than me.

So - here goes:

1) We're coming to the end of the quest. Where are you in your reading?

2) Have you read LOTR before? If so, what are you anticipating most re-reading in ROTK? (er ... try to avoid spoilers, although I suppose that question makes that a bit tricky)

3) If you're new to Middle Earth ... how has the experience been for you so far?

4) Who's your favourite character in ROTK?

5) Favourite scene?

6) How do you feel about the overall series now that we're getting near the end?'

7) Have you seen the movies? Have they coloured your reading of ROTK?

8) Does reading the books make you want to watch the movies, or run screaming in the other direction?

Okay. Check back mid-April - there'll be more :D

The Two Towers

Where are you in the trilogy right now? I'm soooo far behind! Just about to start The Two Towers. What do you think of the books so far? Always love LOTR! :D

What’s your past experience with The Two Towers? If you’re rereading, how does it stack up against the other two books? I always tend to read LOTR in one go, so I've never really separated out the books. Having said that my favourite is always ROTK.

If you’re a first-time reader, what big questions do you have at this point? What are you hoping to see Tolkien deal with in The Two Towers? If you’re a rereader, what are you most looking forward to? Revisiting my favourite literary characters :)

What about the movie? If you’ve seen it, what did you think of it, and how much do you think it will color your experience with the book? I love the movies, but they never colour my reading. In my head they're very different things.

I MUST remember to do my ROTK post!

Fellowship of the Ring extremely late wrap-up post

I am super-late with this, and I think I missed the mid-month questions, but will forge ahead here with the last lot of FOTR questions posed by http://theliteraryomnivore.wordpress.com/

1. Since we’re dealing with a third of a novel, instead of the first novel in a series, do you find anything different? I never thought about it to be honest. The story broke in a natural place, and picks up naturally in The Two Towers.

2. Do Books One and Two have significant differences to you? None that I can think of, no.

3. Who’s your favorite character so far into the novel? Oh ... it's a tie for me, between Sam and Legolas. We named one of our cats after Sam, but Legolas was my first literary crush at the tender age of 14.

4. What surprised you the most? What always surprises me is how I always find new little gems in the re-reads. No matter how many times I revisit Middle Earth, there's always something new to discover. This time around, I'm mourning the passing of Lorien as the elves leave. And I've read it so many times before, but for some reason that's what's sticking with me.

5. What was your favorite scene? Hmmmm .... HMMMMM ... I'm not sure. Oh! Rivendell. Rivendell is always my favourite and I know it's not a scene, but the whole interlude at Rivendell, I love.

On to The Two Towers! :D

It's February. Where is your Fellowship?

My goodness I'm late starting on this one! I haven't even finished The Hobbit!

I have two weeks off in March and plan much, much reading!

Our lovely host for the February readalong of Fellowship of the Ring is Clare at The Literary Omnivore.

The post that is relevant to your interests is here:

http://theliteraryomnivore.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/challenge-the-lord-of-the-rings-readalong-part-1/#more-568

And Clare invites us to answer these questions:

1.When did you first hear of The Lord of the Rings?
Hmmm ... when I was about 12 or 13 I think?

2.Have you read The Fellowship of the Ring before?
Yes. Many, many times. I first devoured my older brother's copy when I was 14. I still remember sitting on the back doorstep and just ... inhaling it.

3.What’s your plan of attack, now that we’re dealing with more “mature” literature?
Read. Enjoy. Not stress out about the fact I still haven't finished The Hobbit. \O/

4.Have you ever seen the movies? If so, do you think they’ll influence your reading? If not, well, why haven’t you seen them?
Yes. I love the movies. No ... they don't influence my reading at all. I love the books and the movies as separate entities.

Come with us. We're going on a journey ... :)

Under the Misty Mountains ...

Time for a readalong check-in with The Hobbit, courtesy of Eva, right here:

http://astripedarmchair.wordpress.com/2010/01/18/catching-up-with-bilbo/

On to Eva's questions:

Where are you in the story?
Just past the chapter with the trolls. I'm reading very slowly at the moment.

So far, has the book lived up to your expectations (for first-timers)/memories (for rereaders)? The Hobbit always lives up to my memories :D

What’s surprising or familiar?
I re-read The Hobbit a year or so ago, so at this stage it's all wonderfully familiar. :)

Have you been bogged down anywhere in the book?
Not so far, no.

Let’s talk about the songs…are you skipping over them to get back to the prose? Why or why not? I'm skimming the songs. Probably because I've read the book so many times, I think.


What do you think of the narrator’s voice?
I love it. I feel like I'm being read a bedtime story. :D

Does your edition have illustrations or maps? Have you been ignoring them or referring back to them? Just a couple of maps, and a few pen-and-ink sketches. I'm terrible with maps, so I never look back at them.

Now it’s time to play favourites! Who’s your favourite main character?
Oh. Goodness. Gandalf. I always loved Gandalf :D

Who’s your favourite minor character (i.e.: villains, random helpers, etc.)?
Elrond, I think. Oh! The Wood Elves. Hmmm ... Might revisit this one ;)

What’s your favourite scene?
Anything in Rivendell. I love Rivendell

Do you have a favourite quote to share?
The very first line "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." :D

It's January! Do you know where your Hobbit is?

Yes, it's time!!! I'm so excited for this! It's my only challenge this year (IsweartoGod) apart from the Graphic Novel one (which I keep forgetting I signed up for), and it's going to be so much fun! :D

Here's the kick-off post from the lovely Eva -

http://astripedarmchair.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/let-the-lord-of-the-rings-read-a-long-begin/#comment-15055 - and here are my answers to her questions:


When did you first hear of The Hobbit?
In primary school. One of my teachers talked about it :D

What made you decide to join the read-a-long?
I'm an insitgator :D

Have you read it before?
Yes. Many, many times

If so tell us about that experience.
Oh, gosh! When I was a kid, it was my favourite book to read if I was off sick from school. It always made me feel better. I used to borrow my brother's very battered copy, which had a page missing.
If you’re new to The Hobbit, do you have any preconceptions going into it? N/A

J.R.R. Tolkien pretty much founded the modern fantasy genre. So let’s take a moment to think about the genre as a whole; have you always loved fantasy? Or perhaps you still feel rather skeptical towards the whole idea of wizards and dwarfs and magic? What was your introduction to the genre?
The Hobbit and LOTR were my introduction to the genre, I think, although I loved Narnia and the Dark is Rising sequence as well; and I spent the bulk of my teens avidly reading anything I could get my hands on. I love fantasy still, but I've veered away from high fantasy, I think, and I love that the genre is so broad now. :)

Do you have a certain plan for reading it? A few pages a day, spacing it out over the month? Or are you just going to race through it? Let whimsy decide?
Let whimsy (and time!!!) decide.

The road goes ever on and on ... come and take the journey with us :D