Tolkien Lover Book Tag


I was tagged by Jaime @ The Dancing Lawn for the Tolkien Lover Book Tag (created by Kristen). If you’ve been around my blog even just a little bit, you probably already know I’m a big Tolkien fan, so this tag was a lot of fun to do. :)

1. The Lord of the Rings is Tolkien's most famous work. But did you read the books or see the movies first? What are your opinions on each?
Technically, I watched the animated The Hobbit first, as a small child. (I do not recall this but several family members inform me this happened.)

Soooo, we’ll skip ahead to when I was nine and watched The Fellowship of the Ring for the first time. We’d borrowed my aunt’s VHS copy because my mom wanted to see it, and the next day Mom’s like, “You need to watch it because you’re going to love it.”

Mom was right. (If you think my occasional outbursts of LOTR fangirling are something, you should have known me during my tween years. EVERYTHING WAS LOTR AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.)


I didn’t read the books completely until I was...thirteen? I think I that’s right. I started them multiple times but it wasn’t until that summer that I told myself I was going to read them all. And I did.

There are so many things I like about the books and the movies. The movies really bring the world to life, and even though they don’t include everything from the novels or even change some things, they are a pretty accurate adaptation. They keep the spirit of the books—love and hope and courage and friendship—and are really inspiring. The books paint an even more vivid picture of all the histories and the people.

2. Who is your favorite member of The Fellowship? Does this person differ from your favorite Lord of the Rings character in general?
Can I say all of them?

Actually, my favorite member of the Fellowship is Legolas. He’s also one of my favorite LOTR characters in general (The Hobbit!Legolas is another matter entirely though), but I pretty much love them all. In recent years, I’ve gotten quite a soft spot for Boromir though.

3. Now for some fun! If you could be any character from The Hobbit, which would you be and why?
Honestly, I feel like Bilbo Baggins really is a lot like me. But it would be kind of cool to be Smaug. Y’know, minus the dying and stuff.


4. Tolkien's work goes beyond The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Have you ever read any of his other books? How about books about Tolkien?
Yes to both. I’ve also read The Silmarillion, The Children of Hurin, Unfinished Tales, The Shaping of Middle-earth, and The Book of Lost Tales I and II. I’ve also read a couple of books about Tolkien, but I can’t remember which they were at the moment.

5. Let's talk romance! Pooling from all of Tolkien's work, which two characters do you ship together most?
My favorite is Eowyn and Faramir (even more so after reading the books). All of the couples are adorable, but I like them best.


6. Alright, alright. We all have at least one thing from Tolkien's work that makes us waaaay too giddy and excited. Something that we could talk about for days. What's yours?
The humor. There are so many funny moments in his work that contrast so sharply against the darkness around the characters. I love it!

And just the amount of work that went into building Middle-earth and its stories, the amount of work still being put into them. From a writer’s standpoint, it’s incredible dedication to a single universe. From a reader’s standpoint, it offers so many opportunities to spend time in the world and get to know the people who inhabit it.

I’m leaving this tag open for whoever would like to participate!


Comments

  1. Yay! I love your answers to these, and I feel the same about a lot of them. (Definitely wish I could be Smaug also.) :D

    Eowyn and Faramir forever <3

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    1. This tag was really fun! Thanks for sending it my way. :)

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  2. TOLKIEN TAG. *gobbles up post*

    "EVERYTHING WAS LOTR AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL." <--- THIS. Literally EEEEVERYTHING LotR. I think I drove my friends absolutely insane. XD Until I dragged them into the fandom. Bwahahaha!

    I love what you said about the LotR books and movies. Sure, the movies have their flaws and cut stuff, but, just like you said, they hold the SPIRIT of LotR and I think that's what's important. The Hobbit movies...erm. Not so much... (In my humble opinion.)

    Being Smaug! HA. That is perfect! XDD

    Eowyn and Faramir are my favorites toooo. I love them so much! <3

    And just YES to everything you said in the last question!

    If you can't tell, I loved this post! ;D

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    1. I, as a tween/teen, may or may not have also driven a few people to insanity as well. ;) But it always made birthday and Christmas shopping easy for everyone, haha.

      Adaptations are tricky things, but I think capturing the spirit and key moments is a big factor in whether or not I like them. LOTR was definitely successful. As for The Hobbit trilogy, I have a lot of mixed feelings. AUJ was nearly perfect for me; DOS was disappointing in ways but perfect in others... And BOTFA. There were things I wish they had done more with, because with the actors' performances, I was brought to tears a few times. But I was also disappointed by several things. I guess I feel like LOTR as a trilogy was successful and held the charm of the books, while The Hobbit trilogy lost a lot of the charm and focus along the way? (It's a subject I have a lot to say about...) It's probably also is influenced by my having read The Hobbit before the movies, as opposed to reading LOTR after seeing the movies. Anyways...

      Feel free to use the tag on your blog if you like! :)

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  3. OOOH a Tolkien Tag! I loved reading this, Jameson, it was fun reading all your answers :D.

    ~ Savannah
    scattered-scribblings.blogspot.com

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  4. Aw yiss I love Legolas! I enjoy the LOTR movies, but Tolkien is a hard author to read, man... I am glad that you are capable of finding and enjoying his humor because some of us really struggled there, partner.

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    1. Yay! When the LOTR movies were still in theaters I didn't know a lot of Legolas fans, so it's fun now to see how many there are! :)

      Yeah...they can be a tough read. Even rereading I still get stuck in some chapters. But I think the cool thing with LOTR is that the movies do capture so much of the books so well, and that you can definitely enjoy one without the other. :)

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