The two types of LotR fans

[Thinlómien]

I've noticed that there are two different kinds of LotR-fans; those who love the story and those who love the world.
This actually is also for those who have become fans because of the movies; what in the movies fascinated them most?

My aunt is a perfect example of a story-lover LotR-fan. She reads it always again and again (as she does with a few other books). Once I asked her, has she read The Silmarillion. "I started it, but it was so boring, that I couldn't read it any further", she answered.
So story-lovers love just the story, and the characters maybe. They usually don't read The Sil, or HoMEs.

The others, world-lovers, love Middle-Earth. Its places, cultures, peoples and languages. They may end up with playing RPGs in ME.

Of course people can't be divided so roughly; I don't say that the story-lovers wouldn't love Middle-Earth as a place, or the world-lovers wouldn't love LotR as a story.

Have you ever noticed this distinction? Which group do you belong in?
I myself belong to the world-lovers, I suppose, though I love the story too...
I'm interested to hear your answers...

[mark12_30]

World.

Although, when it all began, I was Story.

Perhaps my interest is further clarified when I say, 'holiness'; it is the holiness that intrigues me and draws me in, and I was drawn first by the virtue in LOTR. It took a different way of looking, to find that virtue in the Sil.

[Lalwendë]

For me I'd have to be contrary and say both. ;) But sometimes I think the thrill of the story wears off after many readings, as it doesn't necessarily surprise as much - though with Tolkien I always notice something new each time I read his work. If the World did not have the story then I don't think I could have enjoyed it in the first place, as its story which draws in the majority of people. Without story then it might just be a gazeteer or a travel book with some wonderful descriptions. But then because the World is so immersive, it keeps me reading even long after I have learned the plot. And sometimes, when I have 'lost the plot'. ;)

[Sophia the Thunder Mistress]

I'll have to agree with what Lalwende said about not being introduced to the world without first knowing the story, but after that point, I'm certainly in the "World" camp.

I think it's the complexity of Tolkien's world that makes it able to stand up to so much analysis without losing the joy of the story. Some stories, even great literature, wear out under too much scrutiny (is it just me, or has Jane Eyre been analyzed to death?), Tolkien's world doesn't wear out like that, at least for me. And I suspect that this is because of the great detail he included and the vast amount of background material we have to put the story in context.

I've thought about this often, actually, and although I can't say why, I've definitely made the distinction between Story-lovers and World-lovers. It reminds me of the distinction CS Lewis made between two types of readers in his book "An Experiment in Criticism"--only I suspect that both kinds of readers of Tolkien would probably fit his "literary" category.

Sophia

[Eruanna]

I would have to say that in the beginning it was The Story.
When I first read The Hobbit, I was entranced. These were not the pale representations of Elves and Dwarves in the children's stories I was used to and I delighted in the difference.
On reading the trilogy a few years later, as well as appreciating the epic, I fell headlong into the world, its people and its history; and there I have remained, devouring The Silm and Unfinished Tales and of late, HoME.
I find my fascination difficult to explain sometimes. My family are used to finding me with my nose perpetually in a book and yet they can't understand why I would wish to read and re-read the same stories. I know that each time I 'visit' I will find something new.
To cut a long explanation short. I would say that for me, the world is the story.

[Milord Aldagrim]

I'll have to say both. When I first read the story, I loved it, and after the second time, I started noticing the subtleties of the symbolism, but I've always liked to think about what it would be like to live there. In fact, Tolkien has inspired me to try to create my own world.

[Soronumë]

I'd say both.... I can choose between the world and the story!!!! But there's one thing that make story good: characters.

[Lolidir]

the World is the Story and the Story is the World. one must first fall in love with the story to fully appreciate and love the world. I read the Hobbit and loved it as a story. then i read the Trilogy and loved it as both. Tolkien understands that you must first love the story by making it exhilerating and exciting and he understands that one can love the world by having such detailed discriptions of the world. its all great and I love it all as i am sure so many of you others do too.

[Nimrodel_9]

Oh, which one am I? I would have to say both. I fell in love with the story at first and still love it. As I read the trilogy and the Silm I began to love the world. I can't decide which I love more.

[Celebuial]

I agree with most of you guys: you love the story first but then you love both the world and the story. There is no story without the world, but without the story the world wouldn't be 'in context'. You wouldn't really understand the way it works, how it's people live, what happened to make everything the way it is.

I think I'm both. How could you be one without the other. Ok, I can maybe see how you could love the story without loving the world( I now realise that some of my friends are story lovers), but could you truly love the world without loving the story?

[Thinlómien]

Well maybe some Middle-Earth roleplayers don't love the story, only the world...? I don't know; I've never met anybody who doesn't love the story, but loves the world.
Maybe we should only say that there are world-and-story-lovers and story-lovers. Does that sound better?

[Lolidir]

Maybe we should only say that there are world-and-story-lovers and story-lovers. Does that sound better?i would have to agree with what you said there. i dont see how any one could love the world without loving the story, because how would they come to understand and appreciate the world if they dont even like the story. i must say that as you read it over again you find new things and fall in love with it all over again.

[Thinlómien]

That's true...
And it's weird how you find whole new, small happenings and details everytime you read it.... I love that book. :)

[Guinevere]

I can't decide, really! ;)
I think everybody gets to love the Tolkien's World through the Story first. But I can see what you mean, Thinlómien.
I know several people who love Middle-earth and are fond of Elves and Hobbits in a general way, without caring (or even remembering) too much about Tolkien's actual characters. (Those are mainly people who came to know Tolkien via the movies)
For me, there are many things I love in Tolkien's works. The world, the story and (very much) the characters who are kind of real and alive for me. (That's why I can't enjoy the changed movie-characters...).
One thing that affects me very much , and which is quite unique, is Tolkien's beautiful language - his different styles that make the different races and characters feel real and historical. (Or does that belong to "world"?)
And the more I read, the more I become entranced by Tolkien's worldview, by the timeless truths in his works and this special mixture of humour,melancholy and hope .

[Ruoutorin]

For myself, I'm a world lover or a History of Middle Earth lover. The Sil is my favorite book ever and I can't stop reading it. Every time I pick up another book to read I get board and re-read the Sil. The Sil establishes everything that the LotR is based on. All of the cities have a rich history and it's hard to appreciate the LotR until you know what Elves and Men had been through to get to that point. In order to appreciate Sauron's evil you have to meet his mentor, Melkor. :eek:

[Sett]

I would have to say that i am a world fanboy. I just love the epic scale in which tolkien has produced. The lush greens hills of Hobbiton to the mirky caves of moria. The gargantuan Minis Tirith to the River Anduin. I am mesmerised by the depth tolkien went into creating this fantasy world of such richness and beauty. It contains all the areas we have in our own world but tolkien gives it the spark of a true fantasy setting.

[bookworm]

i started out by loving the story, but i love the world now. its so pretty! and all the creatures! i want to move there!

[Kath]

Hi bookworm, enjoying being dead?
I think I'm a world lover but like everyone else through the story to begin with. I read it when I was quite young and in my mind I made the setting of Lord of the Rings into such a real place that I see it as just as realistic as the one we live in. It is so intense and detailed, and later when I read the Silmarillion I was amazed at the way Tolkien had created an entire world with histories and languages. I love the world but it is the genius behind it that truly enthralls me.

[Lathriel]

The first time I read the book I was so upset that Frodo had to leave ME. I was really angry at Tolkien.So needless to say I fell in love with the world at first. However the second time I read LOTR I fell in love with the story as well. So now I would say that I love both.

[bookworm]

i am enjoying being dead v. much, thanx, Kath

i love all the differant languages too, its so interesting to see wut some of the names mean! and they all tell something about the person/thing that they name, not like our names

[mark12_30]

So okay, now I want to know how we determine this. How do we 'profile' a downer to determine whether they favor world over story, or story over world? Is there a way? Is there one of those quizzes that would work?

1. When asked where you most want to live, you answer:
--any one of ten places in Middle-Earth
--Nowhere, I would be tracking the Fellowship
--my reading-chair at home is fine, thanks

2. Your favorite culture is:
--Elves. No, Dwarves. No, Numenoreans. Nah- Hobbits!
--I'll live in Rivendell where they all live together anyway.
--Yogurt.

3. Your favorite age is:
--Third age, with the Hobbits.
--Age of the Trees-- elves, baby, give me elves.
--Twenty-one.

4. You wish Tolkien had written more about:
--Languages.
--Food and clothing.
--Whether Frodo got healed.

5. If you could have anyone visit you:
--Bombadil, for the World History lesson.
--Elrond, for the prose version.
--The pizza delivery guy.

[Evisse the Blue]

World-lovers and story-lovers...hmmm, interesting.
This sounds a little like the distinction I used to make between people who get completely immersed in a book and those that can enjoy the book in a more detached manner. Am I right in saying that those who value the story more are the more detached readers, those who can step back and analyse characters and situations? And the world-lovers are completely swept away and all they want is to learn more and more about this world? Based on this, you can say you'are likely to find the story-lovers lurking more in the Books and Novices sections of the forum and the world-lovers more in the Quiz Room and Quotes section, not to mention of course the RPG section, like Thinlómien already suggested.
But of course, since most of us are mixtures of both, this theory can't really be tested.

Nice quiz, mark12_30! Maybe you could post it on quizilla! Then we'll see which each of us is. :D

[Thinlómien]

Well, making a distinction always creates opposition and critic :D People cannot be so roughly into two categories, but sometimes the distinction is easy to see. And sometimes not.
Based on this, you can say you'are likely to find the story-lovers lurking more in the Books and Novices sections of the forum and the world-lovers more in the Quiz Room and Quotes section, not to mention of course the RPG section, like Thinlómien already suggested.
That doesn't work, really. :) I'm a-world-oriented-both-story-and-world-fan (a lovely new wordmonster, what may describe many fans), but I still "lurk" more in here novices&newcomers and books -sections. Never even visited the RPG-sections...
And really, this is not so serious... Capable probably to the Middle-Earth Mirth -section... ;)

P.S. mark 12_30 - the quiz was great!

[Halbarad]

I think the best way to identify a world fan would be to ask in what world they would rather have been born in: the real one or the "real" one. Myself? Edain in the First Age.:)

Story fans are ones that love the characters, and the ones that don't wonder how long Bilbo lived for on Tol Eressea.

[Bêthberry]

Had I but World enough and time, this Story, Thinlómien, would then be mine. ;)

Cute quizz, Helen. :cool:

[Rimbaud]

We would write down and script which way
To tell, and pass our long day's tale;

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

Quoting mark12_30’s quiz

--my reading-chair at home is fine, thanks

I suppose that I am a proper puddle…a mix of both, really. As it been mentioned already, it seems that if you love the world, it is hard not to love the story/stories as well. All that being said, I am a hobbit and do prefer to sit in my reading chair mulling over ME than going out in the rain and battling Morgoth’s creatures du jour (as much as I love the First Age). :D

After many years, I too have found that the value placed nobility and virtue as well as the stunning examples of true “civilized” behavior are what appeal to me and keep me hooked. I’m not sure where this fits in here, but I suggest that Tolkien has a bit of a philosophical draw as well! Whether that is a subcatagory of story vs story/world vs world I will leave up to those with more subtle brains than I.

Ooh...and as for RPG’s…I vividly recall the days when I was mainly in Books or on the Walk to Rivendell…it lasted for about a year. After that I broke down and heeded the call of Bird and disappeared to the RPGs hardly ever to show myself outside that forum! ;) So I suppose that though I love a good inspiring tale by the fireside, I have had a furry foot on the path outside my front door for some time!

[Bêthberry]

Some by the roaring Anduin's tide
Should simarils find; others by the side
of Brandywine devise Hobbit plaints.

[Makar]

For me it started with the story. It took me a long time to realize the massive scope of the world, which will never be rivaled again by any author, I think. My final conclusion about Tolkien, however, is that I love most the word. The language of Tolkien (not necessarily the languages, which are themselves a work of unfathomable genius) is what really gets me. Word order, use of words, descriptions, etc.

[Celebuial]

Nice point Makar. I totally agree. That makes me a lover of the World and the Word. There are so many different ways to enjoy Tolkien that we could probabily talk about trying to classify fans for years. People probabily have. I think that it doesn't really matter if you love the Story, the World, the Word, or the Languages; we all love Tolkien, or part of what he created and I don't think we need to group ourselves any more than that. I'm happy just being a plain old Tolkien fan (if such a thing exists), even if it is interesting talking about the different ways that everybody loves and interprets Tolkien.

[~Lady Of The Wood~]

When I started out, I loved the story, but, as time went on, I began to wonder about the world, and my wondering lead me to research. Now, I can't say that I am a lover of the world or of the story more. I am equally both. I love everything about LOTR, the characters, the place, the languages, the weaponry. I don't fit completley into either category. I am both.

[Amrod the Hunter]

Actualy,the story and the world go together.You can't enjoy the story if you don't love the world where it happens,and vice versa.
There are many who love LOTR just because of the movies,but I think there are not many of them there,altough there are some....
I love LOTR because of the magic Tolkien created by mixing a great storx,excelent characters,and the great world where it all happens.
BTW:I also think that the characters play an impornant role in loving this book because they're so good.

[Linwe]

I have to say that I fit more in the world category. At first I was all about the story, but then I satrted to read the Sil and The Unfinished Tales and after re-reading every book(alot of times), learining the history and a bit of Sindarin, I started to be more world type. I can tell my mom's story type, though. She read the books and all and loved them but if I ask her some history of ME questions she goes all confused about the ages and stuff. To her(unlike me)it,s more about the characters than the events.

[eowyntje]

Very very hard to decide, I think I'm 60% story, 40% world.
I started the Sil, took notes and made timelines to remmember everything, but never finished it because I was to busy with school. I love the story on how middle earth came to exist, but I lost interest when I came to all the different elf-races. Most lord of the rings fans disagree with me, but I don't find elves that interesting. Its the stories of other races that interest me, humans, drawfs, hobbits, elves often seem so... perfect.

You forgot one type of lotr of the rings fans: the hate-the-story, hate-the-world, movie-with-cute-actors-lovers. :rolleyes:

[Celebuial]

elves often seem so... perfect.

I'm afraid I have to disagree: If Elve's were perfect then they wouldn't have statred to kill each other over the silmarils. They can still be corrupted and used by evil.

You forgot one type of lotr of the rings fans: the hate-the-story, hate-the-world, movie-with-cute-actors-lovers.

Well, good point, but can you really class them as LotR fans? If they only like the movie for the cute actors surely we shouldn't call them LotR fans?

[eowyntje]

You have a good point that elves can be corrupted, that's one thing that's interetsing about them. but most of their actions and motions are, shall I say, 'better then human'. I like races with lots of weaknesses to fight. Dwarfs interest me because of their greed, stubbornness etc, Humans because of their weakness to lust, power, etc, and hobbits... well, they're just adorable :)

I think its debatable wether the film-lovers and cute-actors lovers are lord of the rings fans, they do call theirself lotr-fans. They seach the internet for pictures and snapshots of the films, collect the posters and objects from the movie, and so on, ut they have no connection with the book. Its hard to say if they are fans of the Lord of the rings since the book and the movie have the same title.

[Celebuial]

I s'pose movie fans would have to be classed as LotR fans as they must love the story even if it's the somewhat watered down version in the films. They still appreiciate the basic parts of the narrative.

However I don't think you can class the actor-fans as LotR fans. They will go and watch every other film with that actor/actress and buy all of the merchandise to go with it. Although there's no deniying that some of the actors are cleary very attractive you can't be a fan of something like LotR just because you think someone looks good in elven robes or with hairy hobbit feet(?).

I like all the characters from LotR. However, I do feel a certain attachment to the Elves. I think this is becuse of all the sadness they endure and all the knowledge that burdens them at times. I understand where you're comming from though, Eowyntje. I s'pose each race has it's lovable little quirks and that their different characteristics and idiosyncrasies appeal to, and touch different people.

[Este of Lorien]

I love the world, especially the characters and languages. I always loved the world more than the story.

[Holbytlass]

For me , I lean more towards the story. However, I have read Silm and most of the HoME's because I love history. Where my heart truly lies is with the hobbits. I am so a kindred spirit in looks, personality, and eating habits it's not even funny! That's who I relate to the most. And since there are no history of hobbits in Silm and HoME's I'm not into them as much. I like to read The Lost Tales and the Appendices in LOTR for more hobbit lore.
Then again, it is traveling with the Fellowship throughout Middle-Earth that I have come to love the different lands, peoples and cultures.

[Arwen Imladris]

I'm definatly a World, at least by that definition. I love reading the Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales (although, it took me a while to get through them the first time!) The story is good, but really, it's just your basic good-vs-evil epic story. For me, it's the way that the story has so much depth to it. That the world is so real. It's the same thing that appeals to me about Star Wars and Harry Potter. The world is carefully drawn out, you can peel back the layers and find more layers. You can read the story again and again and each time pick up something new.

[Mad Baggins]

I'm a story-lover. I've read the Sil and part of UT but it just didn't catch me as the books did. I was first fascinated with the movies, and then afterward I read the books and I was hooked.

[Bungo Baggins]

For me, it is a combination of the story and the world. I first was intrigued by this whole world that Tolkien created of Middle Earth, but I would not have not continued my fascination had the story been poorly constructed. I think I would have not continued my love affair with the people and places of middle earth.

[Elentari_Elbereth]

I could not designate myself as either. I'd have to say I love every ounce of tolkien's works, whether it be the awe-inspiring story, characterization, the actualy writing itself (grammar, wording, vocabulary, etc..) or every little bit of the world itself- the races,( their uniqueness), the geography, the languages, the culture and history.... I can't decide one aspect or another as a favorite! :D

My younger sister is a story-lover by far...

[Thinlómien]

Maybe we all should do like eowyntje does: Very very hard to decide, I think I'm 60% story, 40% world.
So I'm 65% world 35% story... :)

[ohtatyaro]

Can not separate, somehow. Alltogether - characters, language, story, world, (alphabetical order, see?)

[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

Don't think I'm not onto your game, Bêthberry and Rimbaud. Those are fine verses for a family-friendly barrow.

Now let us read them while we may,
And now, like literate birds of prey,
Swiftly at first these tales devour
Then languish in their slow-chapt power.

Although each story has its own appeal for me, I follow Tolkien in seeing the whole history of Middle-earth, even extending to its author's life, as a single narrative and part of a greater whole. It was the stories that first attracted me, and for me each separate piece, from The Hobbit to the unpublished fragments, has its own unique appeal as a complete story, an episode, a variation or an illustration. Then again, without the world and its details, the stories would have no foundation, and as for the history and details themselves, well, therein lies a tale. Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Tolkien for me is best illustrated by the fact that the alphabet and language of the Noldor is bound up with the sad tale of Fëanor, which is then preserved and retold in the same language. That's the sort of detail that most of us only dream of creating: to know the whole story you have to know the world and vice-versa. I agree with ohtatyaro: the various elements are inseparable.

[fairychick101]

i am a fan of lotr. my favorite caracter is bilbo and then sammy and i also like pippin a lot but i don't know his real name so i think i shall ask someone.

bye

[Lush]

There are three types of fans! Those who can count, and those who can't!

Hardy har har.

I think the line between the 'world' and the 'story' can easily be blurred. They don't exist as two separate entities in my mind. Although it does happen that a thought along the lines of, "boy, it sure would be nice to live in Rivendell, as long as I'm not an Arwen," does pop into my head. I suppose based on that I can say that I somehow am drawn to the 'world' more. (?)

[Frodo Baggins]

I'm a both fan myself Lush. I love the stories and the World of Middle-Earth as well, and usually at the same time. Though I do sometimes wish elves and hobbits were in this world. *sigh*

[Thinlómien]

Though I do sometimes wish elves and hobbits were in this world. *sigh* I sometimes find myself thinking "What if I popped into Rivendell; what would happen to me? Would I be killed as an orc or as a spy? Or would they let me stay there? Or how much I could explain to them with my few words quenya vocabulary?" After thinking about that for a while, I usually realize that it can never happen... *sigh*

[ohtatyaro]

I would like to land in Rivendell (I hope be spared I hope), learn proper elvish in time and then teach them concept of a piano :) It seems all other kind of musical insturments are know there already. Imagine what elven made piano would sound like?

[Thinlómien]

I would like to land in Rivendell (I hope be spared I hope), learn proper elvish in time and then teach them concept of a piano :) It seems all other kind of musical insturments are know there already. Imagine what elven made piano would sound like? I suppose they'd do things with it that we humans don't even think of. And I mean just playing tricks, nothing else!!!!

[Morsul the Dark]

well all start as a story afterall you cant learn about the world with out the story im more of a world however my scope is more on the world during lotr while other worldies can recite all history names and what not of all ages

[Valier]

I personally like all of it. I've watched the movies,read the trilogy more than twice,read the Sillmirillion,and the unfinished tales. I like the whole world I guess J.R R was brilliant! :p

[Elu Ancalime]

For me i started on the story. I first got into lotr by seeing the two towers with a friend. I didnt understand anything that was going on, so i read the books. But then after reading the silmarillion, the hobbits, and others like unfinished tales, the world Tolkien created was overwhelming. I dont really refer to the books as lotr, because the lord of the rings is juust a part of the Ea created. I would refer to it as Ea or Arda, but few nonreaders understand that. I just think of it as Tolkiens works.
________
Fusion (europe) (http://www.ford-wiki.com/wiki/Ford_Fusion_(Europe))

[Thinlómien]

I dont really refer to the books as lotr, because the lord of the rings is juust a part of the Ea created. I would refer to it as Ea or Arda, but few nonreaders understand that. I just think of it as Tolkiens works. I agree! It's impossible to say that you're a Arda-fan, or you'd like to play an Arda-quiz, because no one understands what are you talking about. But saying LotR or Middle-Earth isn't just the same thing.

[ArathorofBarahir]

To be brutally honest with you, I couldn't choose, and you can't make me. I love the story and the world just the same.

[Ari Rainstar]

I'm both.. I first loved the story, and when the movies came out, I became attached to Middle Earth itself. all I remember saying when I first saw FotR was: It's sooooo pretty!!!! :p

[Oroaranion]

First thoughts after many readings of the books is that I am a story man. I have read the Hobbit and the Silm, and enjoyed both, although initially the Silm was quite hard to get into. I have a hard time imagining teh world and places inside my head, the images in there ae supplied by the movies, and this is only one person's view of the world.
Also, reading the appendices is very interesting, as it helps develop characters and give the story more of a history.

[Calan]

Like so many, I began with the story - read The Hobbit in elementary school, and subsequently lost interest for a few years. When the movies were initially announced, I found the thread again, and went headlong into the trilogy; aided in no small part by the interest in Dungeons & Dragons that I had developed in between times. These days, I read the trilogy in full once or twice a year, and just odd chapters at a whim.

I suppose that makes it fairly recently that I've dug deeper into the rest of the milieu. I'd never really much paid attention to the appendices in Return of the King before, much less the other books; now that I actually have the patience to churn through the weightier volumes, so much the better! The real joy is in the details as well as the vast view, and years of tabletop roleplaying have made me very aware of both views.

In short: though the story came first, the two ideas are far too intertwined now for me to decide between them - and why would I want to?

PS: Q#5 - b) Elrond, for the prose version.

[Eowyn Skywalker]

How can you possibly put it into words? The story is incredible. You have to fall in love with the story to ever love the world. I read the story, and I loved it, but the world contained so much depth... I wanted to fanfic, I wanted to learn the language, I wanted to know more and so much more! It's what drove me to love Star Wars just as much. They both had these worlds. And with both fandoms effecting me, I have to say with both it's the worlds, the races, the languages, the possibilities for so much more!

I love the stories. The worlds wouldn't be the same without the "canon". But after I read/watched/etc, I found myself thinking fanfictions up in my head. I built on to the worlds and made characters, immediately became a role-player of sorts. I loved RPs on sites like these because they allowed further exploration.

You can't love the world without loving at least one of the stories. But the world offers so much more than the plot does. It allows for room to run, to play, to let your fingers do the speaking over text rather than merely read it once, get the story, that's it.

I love worlds that offer the emmensity of Middle-earth, the sorts of worlds that let you make forums and fictions and RPGs. I'm not entirely a world lover. I'll never be able to read all of HoME and like it better than the LotR books. But it's probably a 60:40 in favor of the world.

[elfearz1]

I am definately a lover of the world of Middle Earth. From the moment I found Lord of the rings (since I found it before the hobbit,the Silm. etc) I was captivated. It's so rich in culture and creatures I had never heard of. It has got a deep history like no other fantasy. It was a place my imagination could get lost in and my heart could roam free leaving my problems and the real world behind. I wasted time in math class daydreaming I was off in Mirkwood singing or riding horses. Pretending I was on a journey with the fellowship made walking home everyday bearable. I was seriously stunned with it and found I loved the Hobbit even more than Lotr. Since then I try to soak up as much knowledge about ME and it's history as possible.

[Gil-Galad]

hmmm... heres a comic that deals with different LOTR fans

LinkY!!! (http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comics/20031217.jpg)

[Thinlómien]

Nice comic. And I've certainly seen that somewhere before. I'm the yellow. :)

[JennyHallu]

I love the story, but it's dependent on the world for its existence. You can't separate the two...the story without the world would nver have had the depth and mystery and epic feeling, the ability to remind us that our lives are just chapters in a larger story that began before our earliest ancestors were born and will never end. But the world without the story wouldn't have the same power to hypnotize and capture. Those that love Middle-Earth want to go there...

[Salacia Deloresista]

I am a world lover, completely and totally. I was never drawn into the plot. For me, the apeal lies in the cultures, the land descriptions, the fact that the books illustrate not just a plot line but a living history as well...

The characters, for me, are only important as far as they show the cultures of their own races, the plot line simply a way to travel through and experience first-hand as many aspects of Middle Earth as possible. That's why the differences between the movies and the books don't bother me so much. I'd have paid just as much to see 3 hours worth of screen shots, or paintings. It's all about the artistry, bringing the world so much to life. *sighs happily and walks off to write more RPG entries*

[Essex]

but the plot is the most tightly bound, superbly worked out one I've ever read. Just try and change one small part of the story and it has a domino effect right across the rest of the book.

for example

- hobbits fall asleep by the barrow - merry doesn't get the sword from the barrow. Witch King doesn't die. Minas Tirith may therefore fall - and most importantly the two orcs (one of them a tracker) near sam and frodo wouldn't argue and would no doubt find the two hobbits and the Quest would be over.

just becasue the hobbits fell asleep by the barrow Middle Earth is saved!!!!


But then to add to this, the Characters of the hobbits, the little people, the 'ordinary' guys are close to my heart. I live and breath middle earth through their eyes. I cry and laugh and feel pride and heartache with them every time I read the book.

[Legolas in spandex]

I found the world to be very captivating and at times I find myself wishing to be exploring the lands of Middle-Earth in person . It gives me such a sense of adventure and wonder. 'Tis way cool. :cool:

[Glaurung]

I suppose I myself am a world-lover, though I love the story too... :eek: Maybe I am a 35% story 65% world LotR fan. I think at first I was a story fan (might be because I was very little when LotR was read aloud to me...I suppose nearly all children who read LotR are story-lovers rather than world-lovers, at least in the beginning..)

[Mithalwen]

World, totally and overwhelmingly. When I read the hobbit I wanted to know more about Rivendell and the elves and the history. When I came to the LoTR I ground to a halt at the end of the two towers.Partly perhaps because the world was rather horrible at that point and partly I didn't care enough about Frodo and Sam to persist (and clearly it would be ages before theere was any more Legolas!) The story didn't have enough hold to get me to the end at that time. Although I got through the story a year or so later and moved on to the Silmarillion, UT and the early volumes of HoME, LOTR was really a resource book for my fascination with elves and their languages. I really must read LotR properly again but the long haul to Bree is a bit off putting.

[deal_with_it]

I love the entire Middle Earth world and have dreamed of travelling in it and seeing it for real. I have played the role playing games and taken the descriptions of places in those games as a sort of supplement to the world of Tolkein even though the places are never described in the books.

Silmarillion has always been a tough read for me. I've never gotten into it, but everything else Middle Earth I love.

[Taralphiel]

I have a feeling my post will be more a record of my indecisiveness than anything! :P

When I read the first post I though 'Ha! I'm a (newly returned) roleplayer. I must be more of a world fan!' So 60-40.

I began to read all of the posts discussing reasons for why people are more world or story fans (or both), and it began to make me wonder. I love Tokien's writing. I love his creation of a unique, delicate, and extremely detailed culture of an entire planet. I love his characters interation, and their cultural beliefs mixing in with one another. I can't really say that I don't love the stories in LOTR. So I change to 50-50.

But the world, the scenery (both built up in my mind, and on the screen in the movies) is wonderful, and the history beyond that of The Lord of the Rings is what has kept me a fan so long. So now, smoke begins to come out of my ears.....;)

I think in the end I state myself as a Tolkien fan - through and through. Every part of his writing, and the wonderful way his mind wove a world of its own. That world, and every story in it, will always have me in wonder.

Am I just dodging the question? *giggles*

[Goldberry101]

There isn't really one or the other...world or story fans I mean. The silmarillion, while a history, is also a collection of stories. It is all told in story form. If I had to make a distinction, I would say that there is those who love the story of the characters, and those who love the story of all of middle earth, or if you want to call it something more historcaly accurate, like Arda :-)

[Rhod the Red]

I'm both. I love the world of Middle-Earth and the stories.

[Texadan]

I've noticed that there are two different kinds of LotR-fans; those who love the story and those who love the world.
This actually is also for those who have become fans because of the movies; what in the movies fascinated them most?

My aunt is a perfect example of a story-lover LotR-fan. She reads it always again and again (as she does with a few other books). Once I asked her, has she read The Silmarillion. "I started it, but it was so boring, that I couldn't read it any further", she answered.
So story-lovers love just the story, and the characters maybe. They usually don't read The Sil, or HoMEs.

The others, world-lovers, love Middle-Earth. Its places, cultures, peoples and languages. They may end up with playing RPGs in ME.

Of course people can't be divided so roughly; I don't say that the story-lovers wouldn't love Middle-Earth as a place, or the world-lovers wouldn't love LotR as a story.

Have you ever noticed this distinction? Which group do you belong in?
I myself belong to the world-lovers, I suppose, though I love the story too...
I'm interested to hear your answers...

I'm a little of both. Now. The first time I picked up The Silmarillion my reaction was the same as your Aunt's. I didn't touch it again for years. Then I tried it again and found myself enjoying it, though not as much as the story. I'm still a story person but I now enjoy the history and culture of Middle-Earth as well.

[Laitoste]

It alternates. Sometimes, I just want to wander the eaves of Doriath, or those of Lorien, or even the plains of Rohan, and discover their secrets for myself. Others, like right now, I am simply struck by how much I love the story of The Lord of the Rings, and all I want to do is curl up and relive the narrative. So, it depends on when you ask me, really...which is absolutely inconclusive. But there you go. ;)

[ninja91]

Both! The world itself is a beautiful creation of adventure and myth. The story is full of valiance, friendship, and integrity. Tolkien is a genious- to make the world of Arda, to build societies, create histories, and then to make an elaborate story that beats out the Bible (sorry God). I going to go play with my LOTR warhammers now! later :smokin:

[Volo]

(Don't take it too seriously)
Like the greatest Finnish philosopher said: "It's fifty-sixty."

Silm is my favourite book from Tolkien, for both world and plot. I'm really interested in Tolkien's languages and the history of Arda, but I'm too lazy to read enough about it. I rather invent my own world...

[MatthewM]

I'm in the "Story" group. I haven't read the Silm or even The Hobbit yet. I intend to one day, but I've never had the ambition to like I have with The Lord of the Rings. I'm currently re-reading TLotR, and I'm in love with all things in the story---it's characters, it's places, it's feeling, it's magic....I get so much fulfillment by reading The Lord of the Rings that right now I just don't have the ambition to read the other works.....yet.

That doesn't mean that I don't read the HoMe, though. I have a few of the volumes of it (I will get them all soon), and I also have The Letters, The Reader's Companion, amongst other analtyical Tolkien (and predacessors) on LotR.

[SarumanCymraeg]

I very much fit into the 'world' category, and I love all the 'what ifs' and all that and theorising on stuff such as what would happen if Galadriel took the Ring, if Helm's Deep was lost, if there were more Balrogs etc etc etc etc

However, I love the story, but I always wish for more (a full account of the Battle of Dale, of Saruman's devices in Dol Guldur and so forth). It's unquenchable!

[shieldmaiden4xsword]

you know, I love the stories. I really really REALLY love reading them.

But I also love the world. I read halfway through the Silmarillion but it got time to return it to the library so i couldn't finish it. Gotta borrow it again. I want to watch the movies. I really really do...... and I spend a lot of time on LOTR websites.....learning about interesting stuff......

and the language is kinda cool. It's interesting seeing what the names and stuff mean.

Namárië! ;)

me too....i always wish for more info......same with the Bible. There's a lot of what-if's in LOTR.....


;)

[sylvan leaf]

When I first read LoTR, I belonged more in the 'story' camp, and finished reading the book without any interest in the appendices. I began reading them, but did not finish.

A couple years later after my second read, I was enthralled with the appedices. I had watched the movies, and re-read the LoTR for comparision; I wanted more than the book itself or the movies offered. The appendices slightly quenced my thirst, but it was the Simillarion that satisfied me. I had crossed over to the 'world' camp.

Now, I feel more strong towards the world, and only slightly less toward the story.


~Jaime

[Snowdog]

I read the Hobbit for the story, but the world of pipeweed-smoking Hobbits who loved good food appealed to me, and so when I read Lord of the Rings the first time, I was suck into the world, with the story being the catylist that brought it to me.

[Galadriel]

Interesting thread! I would say I am a lover of both, since when I started reading Lord of the Rings, I loved it for the story, but eventually, after reading The Hobbit, The Silmarillion and other works I fell in love with the world as well. It never ceases to fascinate me. I am much of a nature lover, so naturally Tolkien's idealistic world appeals to me :)

[Galadriel55]

I'm both, like Galadriel. At first I was hooked up by the story, but after I reread LOTR a few times I fell in love with the world, and that inspired me to read other Tolkien works.

[xMellrynxMaidenx]

I'm both, like Galadriel. At first I was hooked up by the story, but after I reread LOTR a few times I fell in love with the world, and that inspired me to read other Tolkien works.

Same here, it's like someone mentioned earlier on in the thread, you can't really love the world without having first read the story.

I find the storyline to be entertaining and I NEVER get tired of reading it. That being said, I'm also an explorer type of person; love to travel to different locations and learn everything there is to know or do everything there is to know. So reading of something different with so many places; it's my version of heaven. ;)

[Galadriel55]

So reading of something different with so many places; it's my version of heaven. ;)

How the same for me! I practically live inside books. All my thoughts are with books. In my last life I was a character of a book, and I hope to be so in the next life. My favourite books are those that happen sometime in the past, and I don't care if it's five decades or 5 centuries ago. When I read a book I get into that world and stay there until I start another one.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

I practically live inside books... In my last life I was a character of a book... When I read a book I get into that world and stay there until I start another one.

With that kind of mindset you'd tremendously enjoy Jasper Fforde's 'Thursday Next' books! That kind of tale allows for a "both" answer to the question of this thread...

We now return to your scheduled Tolkien discussion.

[Galadriel]

How the same for me! I practically live inside books. All my thoughts are with books. In my last life I was a character of a book, and I hope to be so in the next life. My favourite books are those that happen sometime in the past, and I don't care if it's five decades or 5 centuries ago. When I read a book I get into that world and stay there until I start another one.

Really? *astonished* I live in a book even after I've finished reading it :p My mom thinks I 'have something wrong with me' because I'd rather live with my books than live with a (future) husband :p

[Galadriel55]

well, I could say the same for myself, but I just can't live in 2 books at the same moment. I live in a book until I start reading another. Most of the time I return to living in LOTR, though, no matter how many different books I read.
I literally leave this world when I read. You won't be able to get my attention unless you shout in my ear.

At least now I know I'm not the only one who lives in books, twin sister :)!

[xMellrynxMaidenx]

Really? *astonished* I live in a book even after I've finished reading it :p My mom thinks I 'have something wrong with me' because I'd rather live with my books than live with a (future) husband

Bwahaha, that's how my dad is! I have to buy J.R.R Tolkien's works again, sadly my first set was lost during the many times we moved, and it's all I talk about wanting for Christmas! :p Dad says I need to get out and be like other girls and settle down. I retorted with, "Well, if the men in THIS world was like some of the men-moreso, elves (the looks wouldn't hurt, but that's wishful thinking, right? :p kidding, I don't go for looks).- from Tolkien's world I just MIGHT get out there and find someone, but until then I'm quite content with having my many fictional boyfriends.

[Galadriel55]

Honestly, if real people were like... well, at LEAST humans from LOTR, it would be so much more interesting to live. Some elves, dwarves, hobbits, and even draggons, orcs, and trolls wouldn't do any bad either. And really any other character you can think of. Even if only the humans existed for real, it would be so much better!
PS: I mean real for everyone, not just Tolkiennutters like me :) .