(I don’t think I’ve ever gotten as many gleeful reactions upon telling people I was reading a particular book than when reporting that I was reading The Lord of the Rings. Hubby immediately deemed me a “fantasy geek” (it’s okay, he’s one too, so that’s praise coming from him) and started trying to convince me to watch Game of Thrones with him. (It worked.) My boss high-fived me, and my brother actually cheered (and then treated me to a long dissertation on his theories about fantasy literature). People love this trilogy.
It’s not that I was resisting reading The Lord of the Rings. Fantasy’s not my usual genre, it’s true – as I’ve said here before, I’m more of a Jane Austen, comedy-of-manners kind of girl. But The Lord of the Rings is a classic, and I grew up loving the work of Tolkien’s buddy C.S. Lewis, so these have always been on my list. But I wanted to read The Hobbit first (after I ruined all kinds of surprises for myself by reading the first four Harry Potter books out of order, I was determined not to make the same mistake again) and there were so many other books I wanted to get to. These just kept getting pushed down the list.
And, well, when I did – epic. Frodo and Sam and Aragorn and Gandalf and Legolas and Gimli and all the others, and their quest, and their bravery in taking on what looks like a lost cause… I don’t know why I waited so long, because this trilogy is stirring and creative and thought-provoking and… yep… fun.
I’ve now read the books and seen all three movies, plus the first Hobbit movie (which was so much fun – I think it was my favorite). And while I wouldn’t say I’m a “fantasy geek” (although there’s no doubt hubby wishes I was), I’m very glad I read these, and I will certainly read them again; there’s so much I missed the first time around, so I think I need to revisit Middle-Earth, sooner rather than later. And I now understand why my family and friends, who have been bugging me to read this trilogy for years, love it so much.
Have you read The Lord of the Rings? Are we allowed to be friends now that I’ve finally read it?
covered in flour 
You know I love this story – Middle-earth and all its delights, and so many of its denizens. So glad you loved them too!
I really did! I wish I’d gotten to it sooner. (So many books, so little time…) But now that I finally have, I can absolutely see why you love it.
I haven’t read the trilogy since early high school years, I think, though I did just read The Hobbit last year (and loved it). I think I have to revisit sooner than later!
Definitely! I had so much fun reading them for the first time. I’m going to be revisiting these books soon, too, I think – there’s so much more that I can get out of them.
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