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uncle Iorlas
Nargothrond
Dec 15, 4:54am
Post #1 of 8
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a road, going ever on and on, as they do
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It's been a couple of months since I completed a long, unhurried read-through of Lord of the Rings with my youngest kids, aged 9 and 7 when we got through. For over a decade I've been reading that or the Hobbit out loud to some little person or other more often than not. I have read it myself more times than I can count; in my teens and twenties it was probably annual.
I am fifty-three, and I feel a little like a machine whose warranty has expired. I mean, in many ways I really don't feel old at all, I feel palpably the same clueless git I ever was, but maybe that dissonance is just the new normal. Certainly I do see myself changing my choices somewhat to accomodate the process of aging, and one standout sign of this is, I try not to reread things any more. I only have so much time and reading lists always tend to grow faster than one can keep pace. Even favorite movies, at this point, I will only watch over again if I have someone new I want to show them to.
Am I done? It took a few days for the question to cross my mind. I am not the greatest Tolkien scholar around, by any stretch, as a casual perusal of this site never fails to show. By the same token, I never would be, not unless I started devoting my days to the task. I know the material pretty well, better than most. I harbor an enormous fondness for this somewhat fustian professor who would plainly never have approved of me if we'd had occasion to meet; also I harbor a whole bouquet of critiques for him, in the way one can hold warm loyalty and profound opposition at once for an old family member. Seldom do forty-eight hours go by without my thinking over some part of his legendarium or constructing some Tolkienian analogy for other matters in my life and times. It's pretty well baked in at this point. But am I done reading him?
I realize that, per se, is not a question for the membership here, but I do wonder if this is an experience that has come for others.
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sevilodorf
Dor-Lomin
Dec 15, 5:47pm
Post #2 of 8
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From the 70s to the 1990's I pretty much reread Tolkien yearly. Then two or three read throughs with the movies and some in depth "scholarship" inspired by the Reading Room.
Then from 2001 to 2015 I was "heavily" into a fan inspired writing group that relied on Tolkien as a base so lots of rereading of specific sections and expansion into some of the HOME volumes and Unfinished Tales. Also Fonstad's Atlas
Then life and cancer hit and the group faded-- I reread LOTR and the Hobbit in that time.
Then 2023 and cancer hit again -- and again I reread Tolkien.
I find comfort in rereading -- and as I grew older (grew up??) I actually read the poetry and lengthy descriptions rather than skimming through them.
And find enjoyable rewatchings of the movies (all umpteen minutes as my granddaughter says) --- though the places the movie and books deviate become more irritable over time --
Exploring Tolkien's life and seeing how that is reflected in his writing and how Middle Earth is so well crafted in numerous areas but sort of iffy in others continues to intrigue me.
Fourth Age Adventures at the Inn of the Burping Troll http://burpingtroll.com
Home of TheOneRing.net Best FanFic stories of 2005 and 2006 "The Last Grey Ship" and "Ashes, East Wind, Hope That Rises" by Erin Rua
(Found in Mathoms, LOTR Tales Untold)
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Silvered-glass
Nargothrond
Dec 18, 2:12am
Post #4 of 8
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In the past when I had become overly familiar with Tolkien to the point that I found myself reading and knowing exactly what was going to happen next, and so I came to a realization that I needed a Tolkien break. The break turned out to be a long one. During that time I read non-Tolkien books (including the entire Malazan Book of the Fallen), played some videogames, watched a whole lot of anime (including the entire Legend of the Galactic Heroes), and experienced life events. I also read the Bible and converted to Christianity, having been an atheist through my early Tolkien reading.
Then I finally returned to Tolkien after well over a decade away. This time I found that I could see much in the story that I hadn't before. (This is a sign of an excellent book.) My earlier Tolkien ideas hadn't really been any weirder than "Denethor is severely underrated and did a good job ruling Gondor" or "King Eärnur might not have died properly but ended up undead, making it unclear if he still would have counted as the rightful king", but now I somehow could see the story on a deeper level. Clearly some sort of mental development had been happening. This turned out to affect other works too, and consequently some old favorites that I tried rereading (such as Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny) felt much too shallow now. I had already considered myself an adult back then, but clearly I had had still some maturing to do.
I've been wondering if yearly LotR readings can get someone stuck on an old interpretation from childhood or if it's more about the culture in general that makes people not look beyond the surface, especially into possibilities that seem unpleasant or disturbing. One particular thing that probably mattered a lot was reading the Bible and exercising those mental muscles with something truly complex. There is also non-Western media like my all-time favorite anime Casshern Sins (a very dark anime about post-apocalyptic robots trying to cope with despair) that may have contributed to new ways of seeing things with how everything isn't tied neatly together or explained but there is an alternate way or two of interpreting what happens in the end, with big implications for the story, and I think there is good reason to think that the simplest surface interpretation is misleading. But I'm being self-indulgent again.
But anyway, to wander even more off the main topic, I think it's important to be exposed to different types of influences. For example, I've mentioned before that I got the idea about vampires in Tolkien (which won't be ready to post any time soon) from reading a translated Japanese webnovel titled The Undead King of the Palace of Darkness, which made me think about Tolkien and vampire traits. (Webnovels may not have the biggest reputation for quality, but I liked that one a lot. End is such an entertaining main character.) There are also interesting things to be found in works by older authors. I just recently posted that thread comparing Tolkien to William Hope Hodgson, but as I feared it seems that people here just aren't readers of old horror literature (particularly something as difficult as The Night Land) and don't have anything to comment.
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noWizardme
Gondolin
Dec 18, 11:34am
Post #5 of 8
(110 views)
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So true: some time in 'Done-land' can refresh one's perspective
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And also true for complex works that when you return you find there's more than you first realised. Or for some works you see deeper, rather than seeing through them, as it were. Others are no longer so impressive. Or, perhaps, they no longer meet the need they once met.
Exposure to other people's ideas (on this site for example) is also often stimulating, I find. And that's so whether it's a matter of "what a great idea, I'll add that to my own personal interpretation of the work". Or whether it is "no, I don't agree with that". The latter extending, hopefully, to some thought about why that idea or interpretation doesn't fit within my personal interpretation - for example, what alternative explanations do I see that I prefer, or think more likely on balance of probabilities.
And this leads me to a point that Voronwe has recently put so well:
One of the reasons why Tolkien's work is so great is that it is possible to look at it from many different perspectives, none of which are "the right one." As Verlyn Flieger says, "He is the center held in place by the two sides of his own nature. That nature hopes for the Happy Ending but expects the dragon. It can see his work as Catholic yet describe it as not Christian. ... And it is these same forces creating this same friction that invite the disagreeing and debating Tolkien scholars and critics to find in Tolkien’s work what they are looking for. I am not saying they’re wrong. I’m saying they’re right. What they see is there, even when they’re seeing contradictory things."
Voronwe on the Rings of Power Board, 2 December 2025
~~~~~~
"I am not made for querulous pests." Frodo 'Spooner' Baggins.
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Ioreth
Ossiriand
Mon, 10:45am
Post #6 of 8
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I still can re-read and re-watch things I love as deeply as the LOTR or some Jane Austen movies. Never tire of them.
Always fun to discuss with likeminded people, and on each re-reading or rewatching I catch new stuff after discussing them online (do not have many friends sharing my interests and "obsession" with this).
Since I change and my experiences change and thus my understanding too.
Am 54 and started reading LOTR at 10 ... And Jane Austen at like 17.
Other stuff I do not love as much and can tire of. But then I always have been more of a book person than any movie person so still would say I can very well do without 99.9% of all films made and VASTLY prefer the movies I make in my head when reading :)
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Ioreth
Ossiriand
Mon, 10:48am
Post #7 of 8
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The poetry bits have always been part of my favourites from Tolkien.
And is one major reason I cannot read the new translation of LOTR into swedish - they COMPLETELY and UTTERLY botched all poetry.
Cannot stand that ...
Of course I have mostly read LOTR and other Tolkien stuff in English since my teenage years, but still some of the poetry is engraved in my heart in the original swedish.
I had parts of my room decorated with maps of Middle Earth and poetry from LOTR when I was a teenager - instead of any boy or other music groups :)
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cats16
Gondolin
Wed, 8:34pm
Post #8 of 8
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It's an interesting conversation
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And I appreciate you sharing your experience, uncle Iorlas.
In the past, I've done fairly consistent read-throughs on a yearly or every-other-year basis. I've also taken extended breaks of both the books and movies, taking several years off in between. And as time has gone on, I've started to feel that the breaks have resulted in the...magic of it all coming back to life, so to speak, when I do jump back in. Is it the break itself, or the life being lived in between that's affecting me upon my return? I suppose it's not unlike the heroes of the story itself, coming to see their Shire in a much different frame of mind than they did when it was a familiar, constant thing in their lives.
I do also appreciate what Silvered-glass shared, about the value of a varied reading (and movie watching) diet. I watch a couple hundred films per year on average, a vast majority of which will always be films that are new to me, with a handful of rewatches (mostly around the holidays, like now). I bounce between new releases, silent films, arthouse international films, action movies, and everything in between. Something in my brain seems to really enjoy the variation, as if those dissonant stories and styles allow me to see each of them in a more detailed and fresh light. The same goes for books too: oftentimes I'm reading multiple at a time, and almost always they are very, very different from one another. That allows me to read each of them with more focus and clarity, as if the differences themselves are what drive a more enjoyable experience. And I suppose that also enables me, in time, to revisit the books/movies I do want to return to: because I've been on a multitude of other journeys with other stories along the road.
Coming back to Tolkien, I've noted many longtime members here spoken of returning to the text when it feels right. I've felt that before too, that sense of "it's time for it" and I'm very ready. I believe that happened for my last read-through, and it was a very, very wonderful experience. I knew the story, but the way JRRT wrote it felt very alive and new to my brain after so much time. The characters didn't feel like the versions that my memory left behind, and Middle-earth itself had a pulsing life and energy that was so enjoyable to read. For me personally, when reading Tolkien starts to feel like a tedious history refresher or something I'm almost treating like a quiz I'm studying for, then I start to get the feeling that I should take a break.
Regarding reading lists, I can definitely appreciate that feeling of "there's only so much time" for it all. What gives me some comfort is what Umberto Eco wrote about the concept of the antilibary, essentially a collection of books that will never all be read (which is a concept in Japan as well). It allows me to not feel pressure over things I haven't read and instead provides comfort in the very fact that I cannot read it all, yet here they are, brimming with stories and knowledge I can surround myself with nonetheless. Perhaps that doesn't work for everyone, but I've found a peace of mind through that concept.
Thanks for sharing your own experience, it's very interesting to read everyone's path!
Join us every weekend in the Hobbit movie forum for this week's CHOW (Chapter of the Week) discussion!
(This post was edited by cats16 on Wed, 8:36pm)
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not directly ...
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