Have been rereading the books for the first time since I was a kid. There are parts that I find really moving, like when Gimli asks Galadriel for her hair. There are also parts that are really quite harrowing, like when Boromir tries to take the ring or the voice of Saruman chapter in Two Towers. But then there are parts of the books I just don’t love and find kinda hard to get through. Obviously I respect what Tolkien is doing, but sometimes it misses the mark for me.
Agreed, just about to finish the trilogy for the first time and I really really liked it, but some parts were less interesting than others. For me personally, the travelling sections have my eyes glazing over with the intricate detail of the land. Lovely stuff, just not my thing
My psycho brother in law rage quit out of Two Towers actually yelling: "They're just walking and walking on fields and nothing happens."
Thats literally how I feel about soccer. Why is the field so long?? Why have a goalie at all - those two things just result in a low scoring match! They walk and walk and something cool is about to happen but there is a whole-ass player whos job is to stop the cool thing from happening. So now we're just running our asses across this overly large field again to try to set up something cool. Only for, you guessed it, dude who's literally just standing there to block it again. Repeat until one of those dudes makes a mistake. Now half a country is sending death threats to his family.
If there was a dude who sat on top of the basketball hoop like a little goblin and his whole thing was knocking the ball away everyone would hate the ball-goblin. It would make the game more boring, lower scoring, less exciting.
It low key actually bugs me. On a meme level, not being serious. Don't send death threats to my family plz.
So I’ve never read any of the LotR books, and like a madman I decided to start with the Silmarilion, then the Hobbit, and now currently reading the LotR trilogy (currently in Two Towers).
I am definitely enjoying the LotR trilogy, and it’s really sweet and charming, and Tolkien’s description of nature and elven cities are truly captivating, buuut it has some pretty boring moments that are way too stretched out. However, the Silmarilion spoke to me on a different level.
The epic scale and history, the heart wrenching stories and absolutely perfect writing in some climactic moments (like Morgoth vs. Fingolfin, or Luthien crying to Mandos) just completely captured me. Probably my favorite book ever, I still can’t stop thinking about it and cannot wait to read it again.
I just finished reading the silmarillion again and it just makes me want to dive into beren and luthien, children of hurin and the fall of gondolin right away!
What's funny is that they managed to make a great trilogy of movies out of a mediocre trilogy of books and a mediocre trilogy of movies out of one short book.
Okay, To call the hobbit Films mediocre is one thing but to call The Lord of the Rings Books mediocre is Crazy. They have their own writing style and not everybody does enjoy it, but it is good. I would say superior but at least Good.
To be fair 2 towers has some pacing issues. I would agree Fellowship is the one I enjoyed the most. Its got the most humanity in it. The connection between the characters, not "I dont care for the elf bits" lol.
And before anyone levies an accusation of a "tiktok attention span" at me this has been my opnion for almost 20 years
I read the first three song of ice and fire books in spite of not liking them. They were interesting enough to keep my attention and I don't regret reading them. Just really not my cup of tea.
Nope what grandfather. I dont know who you are talkong about, the dead guy on the coutch yeah hes been there for the last 30 minutes. He didnt like the trilogy and well he had a heart attack. I didnt save him because I dont need his negativity in my life.
My homophobic grandfather walked out of the room when I was watching Return of the King because of Sam and Frodo. He said, “Too much man-hugging for me.”
I have a grandpa story but it involves the witcher rather than lotr. Regardless...im invested now, so.. I had just purchased blood of elves and happened to drive home just as my uncle and grandfather had arrived.
While my uncle was speaking with my father, my grandfather, in the passenger seat, saw I had just purchased a book and asked something along the lines of "oh, hey, whattya got there? A spy novel?" "No, grandpa, its about this dude who hunts monsters. He's got two swords, a steel one for" etc etc.
He just slowly looked away and faced forward and stared at my garage door. It. Was. Hilarious.
Haha I loved my grandpa but the man was basically allergic to fiction. He had 4 books on James Garfield alone, but talk about something that was made up and you lost him almost immediately
To be fair, Tolkien's writing style isn't for everyone. Bros a little odd with his structure and descriptors. And some people just aren't into medieval high fantasy either
My grandfather saw the movies on TV not long before he died. He said it was okay, but he didn't think it needed so much of "that half naked guy" in it.
Yeah the Silmarillion was never properly finished so it is not the best read it is understandably divisive. Then you have the tonal whiplash of the Hobbit, only to be followed by another long read in the form of the Lord of the Rings. That much stuff could make one sour on thew story a bit.
I just listened to it all on audiobook during my commute and while doing chores. Tolkein's writing style isn't for me. I think the audio dramas and movies tell a slightly better story.
This is off topic, but I’ve just noticed that in this meme the guy looks like a different person in the two pictures. The expression change makes a world of difference.
For publication, the work was divided into three volumes to minimize any potential financial loss due to the high cost of type-setting and modest anticipated sales: The Fellowship of the Ring (Books I and II), The Two Towers (Books III and IV), and The Return of the King (Books V and VI, and six appendices).[53]
My grandma told me she really liked Rings of Power and proceeded to tell me how to pronounce "Tolkien". Even though I'm a linguist and she went to school for to learn how to do acrylic nails. So.
Boomers are the worst generation in western history. They don't even like beauty. Everything they stood or stand for is antithetical to a good society.
EDIT: Oh man reddit makes so much more sense now, there's a bunch of Boomers here. Not one millennial or gen z is going to downvote this comment, and most of gen x thinks reddit is "gay" (it is, and we're good with that) so they aren't even here. The "red tape, bureaucracy, and performative outrage" Boomers are here and that's why it's so fucked.
It all makes sense now, the Boomers have been here the whole time larping as millennials and ruining everything. How many mods do you think are boomers? They think they're ents but let's be honest, they larped as ents in college and full switch to industrialized trolls the moment they got property.
Super weird your initial post got down voted. I cant imagine there are any boomers here. And it's pretty unanimously agreed that booms are the worst generation. So I cant explain
Nursing home it is.
It’s a retirement community!!
8 grand a month?
It's more like a hotel at Captain Teeb's.
I mean- man gave the books a fair chance if he finished them.
If he didn't like him he didn't like them. Can't force it.
He did way more than giving them a fair chance.
He read the trilogy. I wouldn't have pushed myself beyond the first book of a trilogy that I didn't liked.
The Writing of Tolkien is special, and some don't like it. That's alright. I dont like soccer, although a huge part of Hunanity does.
That resonates because I CANNOT imagine anyone not liking soccer, but clearly some don’t.
Same with Tolkien.
Have been rereading the books for the first time since I was a kid. There are parts that I find really moving, like when Gimli asks Galadriel for her hair. There are also parts that are really quite harrowing, like when Boromir tries to take the ring or the voice of Saruman chapter in Two Towers. But then there are parts of the books I just don’t love and find kinda hard to get through. Obviously I respect what Tolkien is doing, but sometimes it misses the mark for me.
Agreed, just about to finish the trilogy for the first time and I really really liked it, but some parts were less interesting than others. For me personally, the travelling sections have my eyes glazing over with the intricate detail of the land. Lovely stuff, just not my thing
My psycho brother in law rage quit out of Two Towers actually yelling: "They're just walking and walking on fields and nothing happens."
Thats literally how I feel about soccer. Why is the field so long?? Why have a goalie at all - those two things just result in a low scoring match! They walk and walk and something cool is about to happen but there is a whole-ass player whos job is to stop the cool thing from happening. So now we're just running our asses across this overly large field again to try to set up something cool. Only for, you guessed it, dude who's literally just standing there to block it again. Repeat until one of those dudes makes a mistake. Now half a country is sending death threats to his family.
If there was a dude who sat on top of the basketball hoop like a little goblin and his whole thing was knocking the ball away everyone would hate the ball-goblin. It would make the game more boring, lower scoring, less exciting.
It low key actually bugs me. On a meme level, not being serious. Don't send death threats to my family plz.
Now you mention it, a ball goblin would make some sports a lot more entertaining. I'm thinking golf, or darts.
Why specify Hunan? They like football as much as any province in China. /s
It took me way too long to realize wtf you were talking about.
Op better keep that spelling.
I have diagnosed Dyslexia 😭 Im sowyyy
Don't be sorry, it was a good chuckle! And everyone knew instantly what you meant
I read like 6 books of wheel of time because I was told it was good
I never got to the good part
Its probably just the last book
Yeah if he doesn't like them he doesn't like them. Is what it is.
He disliked them so bad that he finished al three of them
Hate reading is a thing.
Yes but he’s wrong.
Well we know that.
To be honest, I have had more fun reading the Hobbit, the Silmarillion, children of Hurin and Unfinished Tales than with LOTR.
So I’ve never read any of the LotR books, and like a madman I decided to start with the Silmarilion, then the Hobbit, and now currently reading the LotR trilogy (currently in Two Towers).
I am definitely enjoying the LotR trilogy, and it’s really sweet and charming, and Tolkien’s description of nature and elven cities are truly captivating, buuut it has some pretty boring moments that are way too stretched out. However, the Silmarilion spoke to me on a different level.
The epic scale and history, the heart wrenching stories and absolutely perfect writing in some climactic moments (like Morgoth vs. Fingolfin, or Luthien crying to Mandos) just completely captured me. Probably my favorite book ever, I still can’t stop thinking about it and cannot wait to read it again.
I just finished reading the silmarillion again and it just makes me want to dive into beren and luthien, children of hurin and the fall of gondolin right away!
What's funny is that they managed to make a great trilogy of movies out of a mediocre trilogy of books and a mediocre trilogy of movies out of one short book.
Okay, To call the hobbit Films mediocre is one thing but to call The Lord of the Rings Books mediocre is Crazy. They have their own writing style and not everybody does enjoy it, but it is good. I would say superior but at least Good.
The LOTR trilogy is an incredible set of books. Perhaps you are suffering from a tiktok attention span?
i dont like the lotr books much either. Love the hobbit, tho.I suppose you think that was terribly clever.
Calling the Hobbit movies just mediocre is shocking stuff.
"Dotard! What is the house of Jim but a thatched barn where brigands drink in the reek, and their brats roll on the floor among the dogs?"
Is this true? If so, im curious what they didnt like?
Well it’s not a trilogy so
It wasn't written as one, but it was published as one. It's stupid to pretend otherwise.
THANK YOU
Thank you. I want to pull my hair out when someone says it is three books.
Did he explain to you why he didn't like it or it was just overall "meh"
No. When I asked he just said he liked Fellowship ta bit more than the others and didn't like the second one at all
To be fair 2 towers has some pacing issues. I would agree Fellowship is the one I enjoyed the most. Its got the most humanity in it. The connection between the characters, not "I dont care for the elf bits" lol.
And before anyone levies an accusation of a "tiktok attention span" at me this has been my opnion for almost 20 years
How did he finish reading it if he didnt like it
The older a person is, the less likely they are to stop reading a book without finishing it
I read the first three song of ice and fire books in spite of not liking them. They were interesting enough to keep my attention and I don't regret reading them. Just really not my cup of tea.
I love the verse. I love the movies. I love the story. I dont like the (LOTR) Books. Sorry
This sounds like how I feel about lobster
There's a lobster universe?
Did-a-chick, Dum-a-chum, Dad-a-cham, Ded-a-check
Dud-a-chuk?
Maybe but did you read the draw of the three in 1987 when it first came out.
i feel exactly the same: i love the verse, the movies, the story and i love the books. But i hate the rest.
Me anytime a song begins in the books
Does that dampen your enjoyment of it?
Nope what grandfather. I dont know who you are talkong about, the dead guy on the coutch yeah hes been there for the last 30 minutes. He didnt like the trilogy and well he had a heart attack. I didnt save him because I dont need his negativity in my life.
He just didn’t get it, he needs to read it again.
It can be a tough read at times. The prose is quite... stiff.
So he's wrong.
I find it hard to believe someone would make it through Fellowship if they didn't like it
I feel it. I just cannot get into the books. The movies I can watch 4 times a year but something about the way Tolkien writes hurts my eyes.
"Eleventy-one"
To be fair Tolkien is a linguist and it shows. I read the books at 10 y.o. and I didn't appreciate the two pages description of a rock then.
I don't know what my grandpa thought of the trilogy, but I have an original 2nd edition box set that belonged to him. It smells quite moldy
My homophobic grandfather walked out of the room when I was watching Return of the King because of Sam and Frodo. He said, “Too much man-hugging for me.”
Imagine getting mad that a fictional guy has healthy friendships 💀
Stopping after The Treason of Isengard is kinda unusual. Make him read the second part, it only gets better!
Cause it sucks
I have a grandpa story but it involves the witcher rather than lotr. Regardless...im invested now, so.. I had just purchased blood of elves and happened to drive home just as my uncle and grandfather had arrived. While my uncle was speaking with my father, my grandfather, in the passenger seat, saw I had just purchased a book and asked something along the lines of "oh, hey, whattya got there? A spy novel?" "No, grandpa, its about this dude who hunts monsters. He's got two swords, a steel one for" etc etc. He just slowly looked away and faced forward and stared at my garage door. It. Was. Hilarious.
Haha I loved my grandpa but the man was basically allergic to fiction. He had 4 books on James Garfield alone, but talk about something that was made up and you lost him almost immediately
So funny. "I don't like this...let me read 2 more"
To be fair, Tolkien's writing style isn't for everyone. Bros a little odd with his structure and descriptors. And some people just aren't into medieval high fantasy either
My grandfather saw the movies on TV not long before he died. He said it was okay, but he didn't think it needed so much of "that half naked guy" in it.
to be fair, Tolkien's writings can linger on a scene or description for a bit too long sometimes
Yeah the Silmarillion was never properly finished so it is not the best read it is understandably divisive. Then you have the tonal whiplash of the Hobbit, only to be followed by another long read in the form of the Lord of the Rings. That much stuff could make one sour on thew story a bit.
My mom didn't likem. Says they're "a boy's day out adventure". Can't really blame her
Lord of the Rings fans when asked to read the books.
I just listened to it all on audiobook during my commute and while doing chores. Tolkein's writing style isn't for me. I think the audio dramas and movies tell a slightly better story.
Who doesn't enjoy the first book, but then goes on to read the next two?
Thats like driving from Boston to LA and realizing by New York you won't enjoy long road trips. And then still going to LA.
This is off topic, but I’ve just noticed that in this meme the guy looks like a different person in the two pictures. The expression change makes a world of difference.
Why read all three when you didn't enjoy the first?
What trilogy?
Lord of the rings is one novel in three volumes.
You consider Silmarillion — Hobbit — Lord of the Rings a trilogy , then we cool.
edit: You guys know nothing about the history of the novel. See my comment below.
Pretty sure mine says "book one, two three" etc all the way up to 6. So maybe it's a... sextology?
From the English Wikipedia.
My copies are just 3 books, and I think a lot of others have books like mine. It can be called a trilogy in this sense
My grandma told me she really liked Rings of Power and proceeded to tell me how to pronounce "Tolkien". Even though I'm a linguist and she went to school for to learn how to do acrylic nails. So.
I love the story but I will say sometimes Tolkein just needs to stfu. As beautifully indulgent as treebeard's intro is, why is it as long as it is?
Boomers are the worst generation in western history. They don't even like beauty. Everything they stood or stand for is antithetical to a good society.
EDIT: Oh man reddit makes so much more sense now, there's a bunch of Boomers here. Not one millennial or gen z is going to downvote this comment, and most of gen x thinks reddit is "gay" (it is, and we're good with that) so they aren't even here. The "red tape, bureaucracy, and performative outrage" Boomers are here and that's why it's so fucked.
Facts
It all makes sense now, the Boomers have been here the whole time larping as millennials and ruining everything. How many mods do you think are boomers? They think they're ents but let's be honest, they larped as ents in college and full switch to industrialized trolls the moment they got property.
Super weird your initial post got down voted. I cant imagine there are any boomers here. And it's pretty unanimously agreed that booms are the worst generation. So I cant explain
I'm gonna go schizomode on it and assume it's a boomer conspiracy.
Ah I recommend not having a father. Been so peaceful. My mom is happy to indulge with me and so is my brother.
I think it's a little late for that, unless patricide is your suggestion