⋆.ೃ࿔࿐ྂfaith & fantasy⋆.ೃ࿔࿐ྂ discussion

For Mary-Therese and Lily.

YAY!! I'm so excited! this will be my first ever buddy read :-D

Mary-Therese wrote: "YAY!! I'm so excited! this will be my first ever buddy read :-D"

AHH, no way! That's amazing!

Although I haven't done many, either! Maybe two or three so far, I think?

OoOh I really like this book:) ok I'll leave now

Alayna wrote: "OoOh I really like this book:) ok I'll leave now"

Hey Alayna! :D

this is a buddy read so I probably shouldn't chat in here

:/

Alayna wrote: "this is a buddy read so I probably shouldn't chat in here"

It's okay. :) Haha, if you wanna join, too, I suppose we could make it a buddy read with three people! Don't be afraid to ask if you want to join in!

well I haven't read it in like a year and I don't remember alot of stuff but I can hop in conversations sometimes if that's ok

Alayna wrote: "well I haven't read it in like a year and I don't remember alot of stuff but I can hop in conversations sometimes if that's ok"

Yeah, that's fine! I love talking about this book. ;)

yay! :D

Alayna wrote: "yay! :D"

🤗🤗🤗

I am reading this book for the first time. I honestly wasn't sure if I would enjoy it, but wow! It's so good!

Dev wrote: "I am reading this book for the first time. I honestly wasn't sure if I would enjoy it, but wow! It's so good!"

It is very good, indeed! I respected Tolkien after reading LotR and The Hobbit, but all of his tales from the First Age blew my mind. There's so much pain and beauty and all of it is so nuanced and poignant.

Alright! sorry about the delay. I'm ready whenever you are!

Mary-Therese wrote: "Alright! sorry about the delay. I'm ready whenever you are!"

Hey Mary-Therese! I'm ready! 🥰 Would you like to start tomorrow?

Yes! let's do it! and we can plan a schedule then :-D

Mary-Therese wrote: "Yes! let's do it! and we can plan a schedule then :-D"

Alright! Should we do all of the preface tomorrow?

I think we should do it today. :-)

unless. wait, how long is it?

Around 20 pages? Including Christopher's forward. It's only in the second edition, though. Which edition do you have/own?

I have the second edition (illustrated). I read the forward last night. sorry! :-(

Mary-Therese wrote: "I have the second edition (illustrated). I read the forward last night. sorry! :-("

It's okay! How about we do this?

Sunday - Foreward and Preface

Monday/Tuesday - Ainulindalë

Wednesday/Thursday - Valaquenta

Friday/Saturday - Of the Beginning of Days

I know it's not that many pages, but that leaves time for discussion and such! Also, the first sections have lots of info, so yk. Time to process and such?

Yes. that sounds wonderful!

I remember it being to much info, so I'll probably need a lot of time to process, lol

Mary-Therese wrote: "Yes. that sounds wonderful!

I remember it being to much info, so I'll probably need a lot of time to process, lol"

Okay! Let me know if you have any questions (any at all! XD). I'd love to explain lol.

I will definitely be taking you up on that. lol

XD Alright, I'm only partway through the preface right now (I forgot so much and it's fascinating to me lol), but I'll catch up. :)

Oh, my word. I'm halfway through the first chapter, and it is SO STINKING GOOD! I remember the creation being my favorite part. I love the concept, it being a Symphony. but it's a bit hard to keep track of all the names (characters, places, races) so I started a notebook with the characters, all of their different names, and a sentence of info on them, lol

Wait, is the preface include the letter from Tolkien?

Mary-Therese wrote: "Wait, is the preface include the letter from Tolkien?"

Yes.

Oh, got it. I'll need to finish that! lol

Mary-Therese wrote: "Oh, got it. I'll need to finish that! lol"

Haha, it's okay! Otherwise, where are you at?

It has JUST introduced Ulmo, Manwë, and Aulë.

Mary-Therese wrote: "It has JUST introduced Ulmo, Manwë, and Aulë."

Okay! I think you'll get to know more about them in the Valaquenta :)

Yay! I am understanding this so much better this time round! lol

Mary-Therese wrote: "Yay! I am understanding this so much better this time round! lol"

Ahh, that's great to hear! the more I read the Ainulindalë, the cooler it seems to me XD

Exactly!
all the connections to Genesis!!!!!

Mary-Therese wrote: "Exactly!
all the connections to Genesis!!!!!"

True! There's a lot of power in the spoken word, and in this case, in music.

Yes!!! it's gorgeous!
it's the first time I have had to reread paragraphs multiple times. not because I'm not paying attention, but so I can take in the sheer majesty and beauty!

Hey Mary-Therese! This is random, but I've got some Silmarillion quizzes. Don't take them yet because you probs don't know any of the characters yet, but I'm just gonna leave them here for later. :)

https://uquiz.com/quiz/DbhtVx/which-f...

https://uquiz.com/quiz/Rp2Zxz/which-n...

https://uquiz.com/quiz/6j8h2o/which-a...

oh, sweet! that sounds great! I'm loving this book!!!

so good!

are we going to continue reading a chapter every two days, or do you have a different preference now?

Hi! What would you like? I'm actually behind because I needed to finish up a few other reads. I can catch up if you're on pace, or we could do something else. What do you prefer?

Well, I think I like the pace we're going at. even though the chapters are not all that long, it's nice to be able to savor it. but I'm good with whatever. lol

Okay! How about we do this, then?

Monday - Reflection & Discussion

Tuesday/Wednesday - Of Aulë and Yavanna

Thursday/Friday - Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor

Saturday - Of Thingol and Melian

Sunday - Reflection & Discussion

Alright! that sounds good!

:) <3

You finished Of the Beginning of Days, right?

Yes. last night.

What do you think of the writing style?

I liked it. different from most books I read, but it was nice!

I found the end of the chapter fascinating, where death is described as 'the gift of Ilúvatar which as Time wears on even the Powers will envy'. I think that is a really interesting idea, that immortality can be seen as a curse to those who must witness all the evil of the ages.
it actually reminded me of another Tolkien quote, from letter 195:
'Actually I am a Christian, and indeed a Roman Catholic, so that I do not expect 'history' to be anything but a 'long defeat' - though it contains (and in a legend may contain more clearly and movingly) some samples or glimpses of final victory'.