Finally, after seeing dusty copies of the Lord of the Rings books in my parents’ basement, have I decided to read them.
Not long ago, I borrowed the complete volume of all the books from a nearby library and have begun to read. For the first month, I struggled to be interested in the Prologue.
During a conversation with my husband one afternoon at the playground, where we took our children out to play, I wondered out loud why I couldn’t “make it past page two” of the Lord of the Rings. It seemed so boring, like a history lesson, I explained, and we both had a good laugh over it. Somehow, talking about not reading through it as though it was an inability of mine made me want to read it. So, I got started on seriously moving forward through the book. It is a bit dry in its mystical thoroughness but that tends to make me read on faster through the chapters. I’m now on chapter three and can’t put the book down.
It’s not very much like the movie. A lot more time goes by in between Bilbo’s 111 birthday and Frodo’s expedition to Rivendale, over fifty years in the book, than the few hours it took in the movie. There are more scenes too. Merry’s name is made clear to be a nickname of Meriadoc…something which really puzzled me when I watched the movie. (Who would name their son Merry?) All in all there are a lot of happy scenes and hobbitable moments that are not in the movie within the book. I’d say the characterization of the characters are spot on though, in comparison.
So, I wanted to talk about what I’m reading as a blog series, I guess. It’d be fun.
~Somiya
Somiya Chapman 