Lord of the Readalong 2020 discussion

You've made it just past half way! As always, answer any of these or just share your thoughts up to this point. Remember, no spoilers if you've read farther


How are you liking this so far?
What has surprised you?
Have you connected with one or more characters?
What do you think of Middle Earth?
Any quotes stand out to you?
Which characters have the most depth or arc?
Any difficult passages?
How have you felt while reading thus far?

Happy reading!

Just started chapter 7. I want to live in the house of Tom Bombadil forever!! Who’s with me? ;)
I forgot how much I loved this part of the story. Tom fascinates me.

Take a shot every time something is described as queer. Just be sure to already be booked in for a stomach pump.

Also... The more I read of these books the more I'm left to wonder how there wasn't more public outcry for J.K Rowling basically ripping off as much of Tolkien's work as possible. So much appears in Harry Potter. And yet if seen it reported that she's said any similarities are "Fairly superficial"

I'm not sure she knows the definition of superficial

It has been too long since I have read these last. I am loving it.

One thing I have been thinking a lot more about this time around is how much this is a book of its time. Remember this was written in the early fifties. The Korean War had just ended in a stalemate. The USSR had just detonated its first hydrogen bomb. Cuba's revolution is kicking off. China had fallen to communism. Just months after the book is released the Warsaw Pact will become official.

And here Tolkien is writing about a growing evil in East and and how many of those who could have stood up against it have fled to the Western lands beyond the sea. Does anybody else feel that sounds suspiciously like Russia and America at a point in history when everyone thought Russia was winning the Cold War?

Well I am still enjoying this so much more than I expected! Is Tom Bombadill in the movie? Because if so I totally forgot about him.

I guess I'm taking it at surface level because I don't see as many HP similarities, except maybe with the dementors and the black riders. And I'm not thinking about the world at the time of Tolkein's writing. BUT I love those two perspectives and think it adds to the story to think about the possible connections. Thanks, guys!

Krista wrote: "Well I am still enjoying this so much more than I expected! Is Tom Bombadill in the movie? Because if so I totally forgot about him.

I guess I'm taking it at surface level because I don't see as ..."

It's been years since I have watched "The Fellowship of the Ring" but I seem to remember at the time that it missed a great opportunity for not including Tom in the storyline. I always felt the movies had more emphasis on the conflicts and less emphasis on the journey itself, Amazon is delivering the trilogy today and I will have an opportunity to re-watch them all.

j e n n a wrote: "Just started chapter 7. I want to live in the house of Tom Bombadil forever!! Who’s with me? ;)
I forgot how much I loved this part of the story. Tom fascinates me."
It was one of my favorite parts of this book for sure!

You guys need to read this as a read along with the audiobook!!!

I was just finishing the 12th chapter and the sound effects were going and the urgency in the narrators voice was spot on and my emotions started running high I had to keep reading the first couple of paragraphs from the 13th chapter just to calm down a little!!! ‍The experience of the audiobook and and reading along at the same time is awesome!!!!

"You guys need to read this as a read along with the audiobook!!!"

That sounds like a really great idea except I don't have the patience for that. I tend to read at about 2.5 times the normal speaking rate. I would either have to slow myself down, speed up the audio, or both to the point I would lose out on the experience.

"There is a seed of courage hidden (often deeply, it is true) in the heart of the fattest and most timid hobbit, waiting for some final and desperate danger to make it grow." (ch.8)

I loved the introduction of Strider. Things are really starting to pick up - danger is mounting; tension is rising - and yet there are still moments of quiet and fellowship.

For all the descriptions, Tolkien is good at show not tell. For example, the Black Riders and the Black Breath in chapter 10. Tolkien slowly reveals information, making them more menacing and building tension. Rather than explaining what the Black Breath is, we see Merry's experience.

I'm surprised by how good I think this book is. I like the narrator style and how Tolkien describes the black riders and suspense. I really liked the introduction of Strider.

I'm looking forward to read the next part.

j e n n a wrote: "Just started chapter 7. I want to live in the house of Tom Bombadil forever!! Who’s with me? ;)
I forgot how much I loved this part of the story. Tom fascinates me."

I was so disappointed when I first watched the movie and they left out the character of Tom.

Krista wrote: "You've made it just past half way! As always, answer any of these or just share your thoughts up to this point. Remember, no spoilers if you've read farther


How are you liking this so far?
I'm more convinced than ever that I have Hobbit blood in me. I'm short, I like my tea and snacks, in fact I like all my food, a lot. I like my cozy apartment with all it's little comforts, yep, I must have a least a little Hobbit blood in me.

I love the story so far. There’s a lot of growth in his writing since the Hobbit.

B.J. wrote: "It has been too long since I have read these last. I am loving it.

One thing I have been thinking a lot more about this time around is how much this is a book of its time. Remember this was writt..."

I see what you mean. I know Tolkien used aspects of his real life to inspire his work (for example, there's a setting later in the series that was based on something very specific he saw when he was fighting WWI). He did insist the series wasn't allegorical, but he may have been inspired by the environment around him.

Krista wrote: "Well I am still enjoying this so much more than I expected! Is Tom Bombadill in the movie? Because if so I totally forgot about him.

I guess I'm taking it at surface level because I don't see as ..."

Tom isn't in the movies, but the screen writer said in the extras that "we don't know they didn't meet Tom." (Her interviews are really interesting. She's a Tolkien mega-fan.) They basically just left that space in the story open enough to fit him, but didn't have the time to actually include him.

Zulma wrote: "You guys need to read this as a read along with the audiobook!!!

I was just finishing the 12th chapter and the sound effects were going and the urgency in the narrators voice was spot on and my em..."

Which audiobook is this?

Janelle wrote: ""There is a seed of courage hidden (often deeply, it is true) in the heart of the fattest and most timid hobbit, waiting for some final and desperate danger to make it grow." (ch.8)

I loved the in..."

Agreed! Tolkien's writing is really atmospheric. Also, meeting Strider is one of my favourite parts of the book! Such a great character!

Hi Sarah. The audiobook version is so good. The narrator is Rob Inglis. He brings this story to life, animates it. Very enjoyable.