All things Tolkien (obviously).
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First Lord of the Rings reading experience:
I was in high school when the first trilogy came out and it was my first exposure to the LOTR (though I had read the Hobbit when I was about 8). I picked up the Fellowship for a 9th grade English project and never looked back. I've been obsessed ever since.
Favorite Tolkien character:
Oh dear I have so many.
The Hobbit book- Beorn because he's so mysterious and we know so little about him it makes it hard to trust him. We know he had a hard life and he has little sympathy for orcs. He may seem like a loner who only thinks of himself but in the end his actions at the Battle of Five Armies saves pretty much every character in the book.
The Hobbit movies- Thorin and Bard because both characters are so much more complex and sympathetic. The actors who portray them have also poured so much talent into these roles it's hard to not enjoy their performance. Thorin's role is so much more tragic than in the book and you find yourself wanting him to succeed.
Lord of the Rings- Eomer (even though his character is seriously undervalued in the movie, but Karl Urban did a good job with what he was given). Eomer represents the next generation and his decisions change the course of history for his people. He chose to defy Wormtongue and go to the Fords and because of that defiance he saved the lives of Merry and Pippin and met Aragorn. He speaks up first when they meet Saurman and his comments give Theoden the courage to stand up to him. His personal beliefs change over the course of time from not believing in Ents and harboring a distrust of dwarves, to witnessing history as Huorns destroy orcs and becomes very good friends with Gimli. Anyway, I think he's a great character.