Saturday Night Contest - One Set To Rule Them All!

[Eliyahu]

I preferred the Hobbit. I found the Lord of the Rings books to be too drawn out. Had he cut out about two hundred pages, the books would have been vastly improved.

 

[Severus77]

Couldn't disagree with you more. Every page in the Lord of the Rings is expertly crafted. In modern literature, we've been accustomed to fast-paced action adventures, but the Lord of the Rings is structured very differently and works largely because of that structure. To take out 200 pages would be to wreck the world-building, the character development, and the story itself. Admittedly, the books aren't for everyone, but I don't think that means they should have been slimmed.

 

[Van Gogh]

The original trilogy. There is no substitute for that masterpiece. Not the movies, not the games, nothing.

So true, the movies don’t do the books justice. I hate how they ruined the character of Frodo and Aragorn. I am glad they did Sam right though. The new Rings of Power series is good as a show, but it doesn’t even nearly compare with Tolkien. The original books are the greatest piece of literature ever written.

 

[Van Gogh]

Couldn't disagree with you more. Every page in the Lord of the Rings is expertly crafted. In modern literature, we've been accustomed to fast-paced action adventures, but the Lord of the Rings is structured very differently and works largely because of that structure. To take out 200 pages would be to wreck the world-building, the character development, and the story itself. Admittedly, the books aren't for everyone, but I don't think that means they should have been slimmed.

Totally agree, the original books are so full of meaning and beauty, the poetry, thoughts, and everything are completely nessasary. Here is one of my favorite lines.

“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”​

-J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

 

[TinfoilCat459]

I'm very late but just wanted to input something. I first read the Hobbit in my 7th grade English class. A very important male teacher recommended it to me and I was fascinated. It was the first novel type book I had ever read and I was instantly transported into a different world. I fell in love with the world of literature from that point on. I will always remember that teacher and what he did for my life. Not just literature wise. He taught me what it was to be a man, and to take control of my life and destiny. I hope you all have a beautiful and wonderful week.

 

[Van Gogh]

I was always very curious about the character Tom Bombadil, and there's not much information about this misterious character who claims to be the "eldest living thing in the world".
My favorite piece of content is a set of quests in the game LOTR Online where you get to visit Tom Bombadil's house and know a little bit more of him.
I still have not read the other books where he was mentioned, outside the main trilogy, but I hope to do so one day.


"Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow;
Bright blue his jacket is, and his boots are yellow"

There is actually a poem about Tom Bombadil, I found it in the book The Tolkien Reader. I’m not sure if you already know about this, I found it very fun. The poems are called The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, and Tom Bombadil goes Boating.

 

[Haschich]

Only knew about The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
That's nice to know, thanks!

 

[CaseyRudd]

"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" is my favorite movie

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