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viper333555
Registered User
Feb 9 2015, 4:02pm
Post #1 of 15
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Tolkien's Book of Lost Tales
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I am new to TORn, and am looking forward to diving in to a new community, and hopefully I won't get in trouble for posting.
I am just starting to read through Tolkien's The Book of Lost Tales, Part II in preparation for the Mythgard Acaemy's free online course, and I was wondering if anyone else here had read it and if they had some advice or thoughts on the book?
Looking forward to some good discussion!
Thanks!
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entmaiden
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Feb 9 2015, 5:22pm
Post #2 of 15
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Oh, yes - many of us have read it.
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It's one of my favorite works because it gives me a lot more history of Middle-earth, and it's not quite as intimidating as The Silmarillion.
You might be interested in The Reading Room. We are currently doing a chapter-by-chapter discussion of The Lord of the Rings, but BOLT could be part of a future discussion! I did a quick search of the Reading Room and there are several posts about Book of Lost Tales.
Welcome! 
(This post was edited by entmaiden on Feb 9 2015, 5:22pm)
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Voronwë_the_Faithful
Valinor
Feb 9 2015, 7:05pm
Post #3 of 15
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Hopefully you read Part I first! //
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'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'
The Hall of Fire
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Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal
Feb 9 2015, 8:17pm
Post #4 of 15
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And I think we discussed in the Reading Room a very long time ago, but I might not be remembering that right.
My reaction was that it was charming. Those early drafts of stories like Beren and Tinuviel were more like fairy tales than the more serious mythological things they became later. I loved it when Beren was working as a kitchen slave in the house of the King of the Cats, and he heard Tinuviel singing and dropped and broke a whole stack of plates. <3 I can't remember whether that was in part 1 or part 2; I read them one after the other.
Now I'm in the mood to go give them another look.
And welcome! You certainly won't get in trouble for posting. My first post was really awkward: I jumped right into the middle of an argument without even introducing myself first :-D
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"For DORA BAGGINS in memory of a LONG correspondence, with love from Bilbo; on a large wastebasket. Dora was Drogo's sister, and the eldest surviving female relative of Bilbo and Frodo; she was ninety-nine, and had written reams of good advice for more than half a century."
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"A Chance Meeting at Rivendell" and other stories
leleni at hotmail dot com
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(This post was edited by Aunt Dora Baggins on Feb 9 2015, 8:20pm)
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viper333555
Registered User
Feb 9 2015, 8:49pm
Post #5 of 15
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Entmaiden:
Thank you for being welcoming and steering me in the right direction! I agree that these books are much more approachable, and I am quite enjoying visiting this part of the legendarium that I had never delved into before! Did you have a favorite part?
Thanks again!
Voronwe the Faithful:
I have read the first book! I will have to admit, though, that I skipped to the History of the Lord of the Rings books of the HoME series first (I am a very impatient person!). Now I am going back through from the beginning with these free courses, and it is really helping me put it into perspective a bit more!
Thanks for replying!
Aunt Dora Baggins:
Great post! Yes, I will have to dig deeper into the Reading Room, sounds like a fun quest! Thank you for your insights! You can always join with me and my fellow students on the red-through if you like! I will keep posting questions/comments/observations if I can get away with it, hah!
Many thanks!
(This post was edited by viper333555 on Feb 9 2015, 8:55pm)
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Voronwë_the_Faithful
Valinor
Feb 9 2015, 8:59pm
Post #6 of 15
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There certainly is no reason not to have skipped to the History of LOTR books; they are really completely separate from the rest of HoMe. But it is definitely worth reading through the rest of HoMe from the beginning, tracing the history of the first age stories from their beginnings with the Book of Lost Tales, through the sketch of the mythology, the Qenta Noldorinwa, the earliest Quenta Silmarillion (and associated early annals and other related writings, and then the post-LOTR later Quenta, and again associated annals and other writings.
And then after that you pick up my own Arda Reconstructed: The Creation of the Published Silmarillion!
'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside.'
The Hall of Fire
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Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal
Feb 9 2015, 9:28pm
Post #7 of 15
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I recently read "The Lost Road" for the first time, and it ties in with the very early conceptions from BoLT. In it, you see England as Middle Earth, which is fascinating.
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"For DORA BAGGINS in memory of a LONG correspondence, with love from Bilbo; on a large wastebasket. Dora was Drogo's sister, and the eldest surviving female relative of Bilbo and Frodo; she was ninety-nine, and had written reams of good advice for more than half a century."
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"A Chance Meeting at Rivendell" and other stories
leleni at hotmail dot com
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Loresilme
Valinor
Feb 9 2015, 11:41pm
Post #8 of 15
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You are ahead of me, as I have not yet read BOLT. I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts both on it and on the Mythgard Academy's online course!
Welcome !
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viper333555
Registered User
Feb 10 2015, 12:04am
Post #9 of 15
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Thanks, and opinion on the Academy
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Many thanks for the welcoming! While I will hold off for a couple days yet on giving too many book opinions, I can go ahead and let you know from previous experience that I really enjoy the Mythgard Academy classes. Not to sound too much like an infomercial, but I could not have made it this far into the legendarium without a supportive group, which I happened to find over at Mythgard about a year ago.
So I have attended both the Unfinished Tales and Book of Lost Tales, Part I classes, and a couple of the Science Fiction courses as well (because: free!)
So I may even post an observation or two that I learn from over there, with proper credit given, if it is interesting enough!
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viper333555
Registered User
Feb 10 2015, 12:05am
Post #10 of 15
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The Lost Road needs to be explored!
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The Lost Road really is a very interesting bedrock for Tolkien Scholarship. I really think that a lot more investigation into The Lost Road (and The Treason of Isengard) could reveal some very interesting things!
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entmaiden
Forum Admin
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Feb 10 2015, 1:14am
Post #11 of 15
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and the story of Tuor. I know it's a sad story, but the idea of a hidden city is very appealing. When I watch the first Hobbit movie, I am reminded of Gondolin when the dwarves and Bilbo first get to Rivendell - walking along the path with walls of stone on either side.
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Gianna
Rohan
Feb 10 2015, 2:24am
Post #12 of 15
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That Beren thing makes me want to read BOLT again.
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I read both Books of Lost Tales ages ago, but not too closely. I think it was not long after I first got into LOTR, and I was looking for another LOTR-type thing when I read BOLT. Obviously, I didn't find what I was expecting, and that put me off a little. I think it's definitely time I read them again -- and properly this time!
I do think I remember something of Beren in the house of the King of Cats though, now that you mention it! It sounds more and more familiar as I think about it. And I do still like fairy tales (every now and then I reread the Andrew Lang collections of fairy tales ) so this draft sounds attractive to me. 
Thanks for reminding me of that!
~There's some good left in this world. And it's worth fighting for.~
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Elizabeth
Half-elven
Feb 10 2015, 8:16am
Post #13 of 15
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Yes, do check out the Reading Room!
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Anyone who is seriously interested in Tolkien's books, as you clearly are, will fit right in.
Although we are doing a chapter-a-week read-through of LotR (which is great fun, however many times you've been through it, because there are always fascinating new discoveries to be made), we also welcome questions or thoughts on any topic concerning any of Tolkien's writings, and most generate interesting discussions.
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a.s.
Valinor
Feb 12 2015, 12:54am
Post #14 of 15
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You might try "A Question of Time" by Verlyn Flieger
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If you haven't read it, I'd recommend A Question of Time. Flieger examines Tolkien's use of time travel within dreams and without, in/out, to-from our primary world to the world of Faerie, and bases much of the analysis on The Lost Road as well as Notion Club Papers.
a.s.
"an seileachan"
"A safe fairyland is untrue to all worlds." JRR Tolkien, Letters.
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