The Tolkien Under Age Club

[Arwen Imladris]

This is for all of us who are too young to post in the The Tolkien Coming of Age Club. That would be anyone who is under 18. Please tell us how long ago you first read the book(s); if you like, your age at that time and what prompted you to read Tolkien.

I first read The hobbit and LOTR when I was ~10ish. That would be about 6 years ago. Before that my parents had read it to me.

[*Varda*]

I can't remember my age when I first read the hobbit. I first read LOTR 3 years ago...which would make me 12 at the time. I'm 15 now. Since then I've read LOTR 4 times, Silm once, and UT. Still summoning up the courage to read Lost Tales 1.

[Alkanoonion]

Ok I am 25 yrs old; I started reading the Hobbit when I was 10 so I have been reading LOTR for 15 years. smilies/smile.gif

[gollum*elf*pup]

I read the Hobbit first when I was ten for a book report and then I read lotr after that. I don't really know if that's right, cause I have an absolutely horrible memory. I can't even remmeber what I had for lunch yesterday. smilies/wink.gif
http://www.gamers-forums.com/smilies/otn/funny/fruit.gif

[Galadrie1]

I first had The Hobbit read to me when I was 9 (the person reading it didn't read the last chapter for some reason, though, so I actually finished it when I was 10. I've read the whole book maybe 5 or 6 times since then.. I'm not too sure).
I didn't finish reading LOTR until March this year. I'm going to read the Silm as soon as I can afford to buy it (right now I'm saving my money for the Extended edition of the LOTR DVD).

[red]

This is for all of us who are too young to post in the The Tolkien Coming of Age Club. That would be anyone who is under 18.Read the first post of the "Coming of Age" thread more carefully. Estelyn meant that thread for those who have been reading Tolkien for more than 18 years. That would require the posters to be much older than 18!! I've heard of child prodigies, but reading novels straight from the womb would be quite an accomplishment. Heck, I'm 29 and still don't qualify for that thread. (by one lousy year!!) smilies/wink.gif

[Marileangorifurnimaluim]

Hey, red, how close was it to your birthday? We can make an exception for just a few months. smilies/wink.gif

red's correct. The average age in that thread is 31+, and most are in their mid-thirties to mid-forties. Sneaky way to get us to admit our ages, eh? *creeeeeak*

-Maril

[Nevfeniel]

Oh, hush, Maril, I don't think anyone here is as old as they imply smilies/wink.gif.
Anyhoo, I decided to read LotR when I saw the previews for the movie, but I waited until I had finished the book before I saw the movie. It was actually my mom's idea to buy the book in the first place. I read the Hobbit almost immediately after LotR, then I found the Silm and UT in the most unlikely place immaginable- a bookstore in an old, run-down town in Missouri, where not much had changed since my mother lived there.

[Cimmerian]

I saw the movie last December, or was it this January, and then got a hold of the book, a single volume of all three, this April. I have read it once so far, but I have read a couple of chapters three or four times. Especially the ones featuring Boromir, Eowyn and the Uruk hai. I just got my hands on the Hobbit, but my brother took it away and gave it to his girlfriend. I'll read it sometime later.

The movie is nothing like the book, and the book is nothing like the movie. I enjoyed the fight sequences in the movie better. Tolkien doesn't write battles well at all. He describes people rather well though.

[Bêthberry]

Hey, thanks, Nevfeniel. I don't think anyone here is as old as they imply

You're right. We're only as old as we feel. And besides, for the Dead in our barrows, what does age matter? smilies/wink.gif

Bethberry

[Silivren-Niphredil]

Great, I was incredibly jealous when I saw the "Tolkien Coming of Age Club"! Anyway, I first read the hobbit ummm...when I was 9. Then when I was 11 I read FotR. I realised how great Tolkien's work was...and this year I've read LotR over eight times...so I guess I know it back-to-front. I've also read The Sil. Tolkien's great...*sighs* Btw, I'm 13 now... smilies/smile.gif smilies/wink.gif

[ArwenBaggins]

My mom read the Hobbit to me when I was about 9, and I read LotR about a year later.
About May, I started (and i still haven't finished) the Sil.

And I'm 14.

[Melephelwen]

I'm 15, read LotR 2 years ago, so I started at 13... I read the Hobbit right afterwards, and this winter/spring I read the Sil. I've read 'til page 115 in UT and page 96 in BoLT I ... had to return them to the library smilies/frown.gif

[Elenna]

Well, as someone considerably under 18, I believe I am qualified here.

I have been trying to read LOTR since I was about 8, but could never get into it. You have to admit, the exposition in the first book is pretty long. Finally, about 1 month before the movie came out, I got past part 1 of FOTR, and was immediately hooked. I devoured the whole trilogy and The Hobbit before the premier.

And here I am today.

[Rimbaud]

Actions creak louder than words, Maril?

[Artilien]

I'm 13 and i first read the Hobbit about a year and a half ago... i liked it and read LotR after that (when i got the books, a few months after i read the Hobbit)

[ October 11, 2002: Message edited by: Artilien ]

[Aramacil]

I started in the first book when i was 14 and I am now 18, the fast counters already know now that it was 4 years ago. smilies/biggrin.gif

[Ithaeliel]

I read the books when I was thirteen. I am now four months away from being fifteen. I guess that qualifies me. smilies/smile.gif

[Silivren]

*glares up at the imposter*

[Rosseiliantiel]

Ok, um, I'm 13 and my first Tolkien book was an abbreviated with-illustrations version of the Hobbit, I read it in about grade 1 or 2 or so, then later (don't know how old I was, probably about 9) I read the LotR trilogy and then this summer I read the Silmarillion and Im reading the Lays of Beleriand right now. smilies/biggrin.gif

[VanimaEdhel]

I first read "The Hobbit" when I was eight and first read "The Lord of the Rings" when I was nine. That makes me a 7-year Tolkien reader (I'm 15 now). In only 11 years I will make it to the Coming of Age Club! This site had better still be around then...

[Arwen Imladris]

Galadrie1: you can get the Sil from the Library. If you ask nicely you could also get it from me. smilies/biggrin.gif If you add a cherry on top you could also get UT. But only if you ask nicely. smilies/biggrin.gif

[Isilya]

I'm 15, and my dad read me the Hobbit when I was 6, and again when I was 8. He tried to convince me to read LOTR, but to a 10 year old, I didn't really understand it. I finished reading it about half a year ago. I finished reading the Sil two days ago, and yes, I did understand it this time!! Woo Hoo!!

[Galadrie1]

The Sil's at the library?! I've never seen it.. I got out Farmer Giles of Ham and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil a couple days ago.. I didn't see the Sil with the Tolkien books. Must be in the adult section. Anywho, I knew you had it, it's just that you're so scary I haven't had the nerve to ask you for it smilies/wink.gif Actually, I'm afraid of the book... I've flipped through it at a book store and it looks like extremely heavy reading.

[ September 20, 2002: Message edited by: Galadrie1 ]

[Beren87]

We'll just say I'm a member of this group. Age brings judgement.

[ January 20, 2003: Message edited by: Beren87 ]

[Brinniel]

Ok, I believe I posted this somewhere else, so I will make this brief.

I began reading The Hobbit last Dec. 18, I believe. My friends, teacher, and the previews of FOTR encouraged me to read it and LOTR. I thought I would hate LOTR, but I ended up loving it, and here I am today.

I originally read from my mom's 1965 copy of the books, but they started to wear and tear, so my mom bought me my own set with movie pics on the covers in an attempt to save her precious books (that she never even read) from destruction.

I am currently 14 and am a freshman in high school.

[Arwen Imladris]

it's just that you're so scary I haven't had the nerve to ask you for it

Really? Wa ha ha ha ha! smilies/evil.gif

Ya, the sil is in the adult section. If you can't find it go to the computer and search for Tolkien and it is in there. They also have Sir Gyrain knight and tree and leaf and Roverandom.

[Eruwen]

Well, I'm 14 and I read the books about...8 or nine months ago. I started them in December after I heard of the movie. I didn't SEE the movie though until about April. But one of my friends got me started.

I have read all of LOTR, the Hobbit, the Silm, and I am still waiting to get my UT book. So...I'm not too far along right now. But that's ok.

[Nevfeniel]

Actually, I'm afraid of the book... I've flipped through it at a book store and it looks like extremely heavy reading. Well, it is, but you get used to it after a while.

[Elenna]

I take off my (imaginary) hat to all of you who managed to read the book before you were 10. I could handle The Hobbit, but LOTR overwhelmed me.

It's funny because I get a lot of internet dirty looks for saying I only recently got really into Tolkien. But if any of you disapprovers want to go into a head-to-head trivia competition, I can probably whup you.

Tolkien was writing for adults, so all of you who were mature enough at age 8 to follow his language amaze me.

[Arwen Imladris]

Well, I know that for me, the first time I read LOTR there is no way that I understood everything. I just sort of skimmed the basic meaning. Got to know some of the caracters. I don't think that this is necesarilly only becasue of my age, but I think that most people do not understand the whole meaning the first time they read it.

[Eärendil]

Seems like I am one of the "oldies" in this thread.... smilies/wink.gif
My first CONTACT with Tolkien was when I was 3-4 years old and saw the animated film. I saw it a few times and then one day saw LOTR in the library, and decided to read it.
I first read it about 8 years ago (so the coming of age club has to wait about 10 years for me.... smilies/biggrin.gif), and I was 9 at the time. I was hooked immediately. smilies/smile.gif Am reading it for my 8th time now (am in the very end.) Last year I read The Hobbit (read it 2 times) for the first time, and the Silmarillion (2 times), along with the Book of Lost Tales 1&2 (once).
I am also on my way to read Morgoth´s Ring, and am currently hunting every book in HoME.... smilies/biggrin.gif

There, anything else you wanna know? smilies/wink.gif

[ September 24, 2002: Message edited by: Eärendil ]

[Isilya]

Ah yes, the animated film. My dad and I rented that when I was 9, but the tapes somehow got mixed up, and we got one on windsurfing or something of the sort.

[Suldaledhel]

Going back to my humble beginnings, I was first thrown into Middle-earth (quite literally, as you shall see) during the summer before my freshman year in High School, when The Hobbit had been assigned as mandatory summer reading. I naturally indulged my inherent procrastination until the last week before the scheduled test of the aforementioned piece of literature (as I can readily admit practicing even to this day, three years later), but I immediately fell in love with Arda and read The Hobbit thrice more before the exam.

I immediately got my hands on The Lord of the Rings, and read it several times. Over the course of the next two years, I plowed through the expanses of The Silmarillion, straight into the jungles of HoME--my lowly roots eventually taking hold and, in time, yielding a virtual plethora of knowledge pertaining to Middle-earth. But alas, in terms of years reading, I am but a toddler when it comes to Tolkien.

[The-Elf-Herself]

Yes, another rare post for me(I'm mostly a lurker sort of elf smilies/wink.gif ).

I was first introduced to Tolkien at age 6, when my Aunt rented The Hobbit cartoon for us to watch. I wasn't interested, never liking cartoons and besides being more of a science-fiction kid(yes at the wee age of 6 my Mom was already steeping us in Star Wars and Star Trek). Then about eight years later, four months before the Fellowship of the Ring movie premiere(and more anti-fantasy, pro-scifi than ever), my friends coaxed me into reading the trilogy. I was immediately hooked how detailed and well-written it was. Needless to say, I finished the books, saw the movie, and have now finished the Silmarillion and The Unfinished Tales. I am one year older than I was then(I'm not technically allowed to reveal my true age, but you can figure the numbers smilies/wink.gif ). For now, Tolkien is included as one of my many interests.

P.S-I need a suggestion on what HoME book to read as I've completed reading the Unfinished Tales.

[Gorothlammothiel]

No one ever read the books to me as a child, none of my family have read them themselves.
I was 8 years old when I first found LOTR at the library, whatever possesed me to read such a book at that age I still do not know.
It took a month or two to read and my teacher complimented me for doing so, although he thought I had not understood it. I read it again at 10, then at 11 I found the Hobbit in the school libary and read that.
At 13 I read the Sil for the first time and moved on through the HoME and the others.
Eight years on from when I first picked up the books and I am still re-reading them all, and with the movies creating so many new readers it is becoming more likely that I can have the conversation about the books that I have been waiting for all this time.

[Faye Took]

When the movie first came out I bought the big fat book of the whole trilogy in it. So last year I started reading them.

[Lady_Báin]

i read the trilogy first 3 years ago (i was 13) and would have remembered the date had i know it would get so far smilies/biggrin.gif but i recently re-read it and i have read the hobbit twice even though i don't own it. i also had very humble startings, nobody in my family had heard of Tolkien save my sister who introduced me to it. i have tried to glance at the first page of the sil. but had to reach for the asprin before finishing it (the first page smilies/biggrin.gif)

[Glorfinniel the Lost]

Well, I first read LoTR last year November, was 13 at the time.
Before that my Grade 6 teacher read The Hobbit to my class, but we never really finished it due to a lack of interest.
It was more like an attraction than an interest that prompted me to read the book, I just picked it up and decided to read it. I got instantly hooked into the world of Middle Earth and soon after read the Sil, The Hobbit, UT, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and HoME.

[VanimaEdhel]

Elenna: really? I never found Tolkien's writing at all hard. He writes how I think in my head, so I felt right at home...

[vanwalossien]

I'm fifteen, and I only read The Hobbit a year ago, and the LOTR just after that. My mum talked me into it, and I don't really regret giving in to her... I'm kinda proud of myself for reading them in English, especially lotr, 'cause it's so huge. I'm reading Silm now (in English this one too..). The Norwegian translation has even translated the names, and I really don't like it when they do that. And I have this thing about reading books in the original language (if I understand that language that is..). It's the author's own words then, you know..

[VanimaEdhel]

*Cheers* Good job! Name translations? What's that like? What are their names?

Hmmm...maybe I should try Lord of the Rings en Espanol...might be good practice for me...I almost know the books by heart anyway!

[vanwalossien]

We have Frodo and Bilbo Lommelun(Baggins), Muntiadoc (Meriadoc), Tók(Took) and Kløvendal (Rivendell). There's loads more too, but as I haven't read them in Norwegian...

[Amanaduial the archer]

i read the hobbit when i was in year 3, so i was about 7 or 8. I read LoTR when i was in year 6, or 7, i forget- about 10 or 11. I read the when i was 13, say 6 months ago.
Im now 13, but Im 14 on wednesday.
Right...so to get into the coming of age club, ive only got until Im 32 years old.

*sigh*

[Galadrie1]

Im now 13, but Im 14 on wednesday.
No, I'm 13, but I'm going to be 14 on Wednesday!!! smilies/eek.gif I need to stop finding people who are the same age as me and have the same birthday...

[Amanaduial the archer]

woah! how cool! well, happy birthday Galadrie1- the 23rd is obviously the best day to have a b*day!

[Nurumaiel]

This thread is rather old, but who cares? It looks fun, and maybe we can get some more action? smilies/smile.gif

I first heard of LOTR when I was five nearly six, and I read it for myself when I was eleven (exactly last year). But it was read to me when I was seven. So I've loved LOTR nearly seven years now (seven years exactly on Christmas). smilies/smile.gif Long time, considering how young I am. smilies/wink.gif Only eleven more years till I can be on the Coming of Age thread. smilies/biggrin.gif

~Nurumaiel

[Arwen Imladris]

Thanks for bringing this thread up Nurumaiel! It has been a while hasn't it? Any other under age people here?

[tangerine]

I never really got into Tolkien until two years ago, even though my dad was into it when he was younger and my sister had done her English ISU on FotR. But I was working at a theater at the time, and I saw a teaser trailer for FotR almost a year before the movie came out, so I basically devoured the Hobbit and the LotR trilogy in under a month. I was 15 then, I'm 17 now. Since then I've read my dad's 1975 copy of the Silm., UT, and i've read the non-etmymology portion of the Lost Road (HoME), as well as the Lays of Beleriand (HoME). needless to say, I've been hooked since then.

[TolkienGurl]

I was a Star Wars freak in 6th grade (5 years ago), but I decided to read The Hobbit for an oral book report. I didn't finish it on time because of procrastination. I think I've read it 3 times now.

I think it was 7th grade when I decided to read LotR. I saw the old battered copies that belong to my mom sitting on the bookshelf. I'd never really noticed them before, but after she vaguely described them to me, I read them. That Christmas ('98) I received my own boxed set, which was quickly destroyed by coffee. smilies/rolleyes.gif the pictures on the cover were ugly anyway.

In '99 (Christmas of my 8th grade year) I received a boxed version containing LotR in 3 volumes and The Hobbit. I still have them. They are my lifeline. I will be getting the red leather edition for Christmas this year ($75).

I did The Hobbit for a comic-strip book report in 7th grade (the riddle-scene) and the Fellowship for a written book report in 8th grade.

I think I've read FotR 3 times and TTT and RotK 2 times. I just started TTT again. I'm at the Entmoot part.

I've tried to read Silm, but it takes a long time to concentrate on it. Christmas break just started for me so maybe I'll read it during these 2-3 weeks of freedom.

I've read sections of UT. It's a very interesting book, filling up the holes left in the original stories.

I'm planning on getting all 12 HoMe volumes in hardcover one of these days.

[Aragorn2002]

I started reading LotR this year, and I positively love them. There is no other book that is better.
________
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[arelendil]

I had the hobbit read to me by my dad when I was seven, that what started this all off, his amazing gollum voice it was soooo scary! So really me being a LOTR freak is his fault so he can't complain or at least shouldn't but is now!

Anyway.. I read LOTR when I was 12, and have since read it about 20 times. I've read the silm that's my fav about 15 time. It takes longer than LOTR cause I end up having to draw charts to remember who is who and then lose them before I read it again and so have to make another! I've read Unfinshed tales about twice and loved it, I need to reread it soon. I read Farmer Giles of Ham, Adventures of Tom Bombadil, Of Tree and Leave(that's the one I'm proud of cause it has a huge essay on fairy tales which you have to read),Smith of Wooton major (love that one)and the homecoming of Beorthnoth, at least twice each if not more.

I've read most of the HoME and LOVED number ten the best!

I read my Tolkien beastary and the Tolkien encyclopedia nearly everyday(just bits) and have to admit to reading them all the way through at least twice.

And I'm currently looking for the last HoME would you believe it Number One the only one I haven't read. When I've found and read it I'm going to buy them all in a nice addition or maybe ask for them for christmas though my parents thing I'm strange so I may not get them!

All this in only...ummm..well I'm 15 now so that makes it 8 years! WOW, time slips by doesn't it!

[Helkahothion]

Well I am 15 years old and I read Lord of the Rings in october. I guess it makes me about 3 months old smilies/frown.gif . I read it afther I saw the firsth movie. (I saw the movie because I got a puzzle from christmas and my mother kept nagging my head to see it. Bless puzzles and mothers.) I am ashamed o say that I am only introduced into Tolkien's world 4 Months ago.

Sorry people I got here as soon as I could.
________
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[Marsyas]

My step-mother gave me the Hobbit when I was 9 at her and my dad's wedding. I read it and fell in love! I've been reading JRRT stuff ever since. I am currently 16.

*~Marsyas~*

[Helkahothion]

I notice that all you guy's and girl's read the Hobbit when you where young. I never read the Hobbit in my life.

Is it so that the Hobbit is a must-be-read-by-you-child-book over there in America? Cause over here it sertenly issn't.
________
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[Marsyas]

The Hobbit isn't a must-read. I think the reason it is read by so many when they are young is because it is easier to follow and understand than LotR. I tried to read LotR after I finished the Hobbit and was absolutely overwhelmed at first.

*~Marsyas~*

[TolkienGurl]

I'm on chapter 13 "Of The Return of the Noldor" in the Silmarillion. It's such an awesome book! I wish I would have read it ages ago. And I'm borrowing The Atlas of Middle-earth from my uncle. It clears things up a lot. Now I know where everything is at! Yay!

*clears throat*

smilies/biggrin.gif

[ December 27, 2002: Message edited by: TolkienGurl ]

[VanimaEdhel]

"The Hobbit" is certainly not a "must-read" over here in New York. Here, there aren't too many readers in general. Parents have the habit of plopping their kids in front of the TV and leaving them. My mom was different, however. Instead of letting me mindlessly watch TV, she would read to me until I asked her to stop, then I continued to read by myself.

[Helkahothion]

. Parents have the habit of plopping their kids in front of the TV and leaving them. My mom was different, however. Instead of letting me mindlessly watch TV,
Now I recent that Vanima. Because of the t.v. I spoke perfectly good englisch in 3 dialect's when I was 8 so don't say it's mindless. It's just a matter of putting your child in front of the right program. (For me Enlisch languaged cartoons worked, with subtitles ofcaurse but you pick up a lot from it.
________
HERB SCALES (http://www.vaporshop.com/scales)

[Lindolirian]

I first read the Hobbit in fifth grade (1997)for school and after much convincing from my friend I read LotR in seventh (1999). Since the I have read all the other books written by Tolkien except the last four HoME of which I got two for Christmas and still have yet to read them. I read everything (Hobbit, LotR, Sil, UT, and now HoME) yearly and if I want to, I'll read one of them more than once. So, its been 5 years since I was intoduced to Tolkien.

[Helkahothion]

The Norwegian translation has even translated the names, and I really don't like it when they do that.

Yes my Dutch version has the same problem.
Demsterwold(Mirkwood) de eenzame berg(the lonly mountain) Frodo and Bilbo Balings(Baggins) and I could go on about it for ages. The worsth thing they did is litteraly translate treebeard's name. Boombaard. Boom is the dutch word for tree and baard is the Dutch word for beard.


How annoying.

Greetings,

Anuion
________
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[Gorwingel]

You will all hate me for this, but I first read FOTR for a book Report in 7th grade. I had been having a hard time finding books, so I asked the Librarian about what I should read, and since I had read some of the "Redwall" books they said that I should try this. This is where all the trouble started. I thought (stupidly) that "The Hobbit" was the first book in the series, and that I was starting with the second book (I know what you are thinking).

While I was reading it, I was trying to imagine what the Hobbits looked like, I thought they would be ugly, like Scandinavian trolls. So I could not relate, it was a very hard book to read for me, so I did not read TTT, or ROTK. smilies/frown.gif

I did remember the book (The main parts I remembered were Bilbo, and the big huge party he threw, and the party tree, strange, I know).

Travel into the future, 2001, I was on a car trip to Minnesota, and I received a free Entertaiment Weekly at a hotel we stayed at, it was the fall movie preview, and one of the films in it was FOTR, I remember that so vividly, and thinking "maybe this movie will finally explain the story to me"

So when December came around, my mother kept asking me, "we should go to FOTR". and I kept saying "later", "later". I did not go until January 12 (I think) because my sister had said "you should go to this film, it is really good". I did go, and I loved it! and I kept thinking about it, so I went and saw it over and over again, and then I decided to read the books, (and I finally came to my senses). The books were wonderful! I now have read them a couple of times now, and I am finally a full fleshed LOTR fanatic, the books and everything is so wonderful! smilies/biggrin.gif
I have been a fan of the books for about a year now.

[ December 30, 2002: Message edited by: Gorwingel ]

[VanimaEdhel]

. It's just a matter of putting your child in front of the right program. (For me Enlisch languaged cartoons worked, with subtitles ofcaurse but you pick up a lot from it.

Well, you had the right programs. Most of youth TV-watching here involves little New York kids being plopped down in front of "Teletubbies" where the most intelligent thing they say is, "EH-OOOOOOOOH!" when something bad happens. There is not too much good children's programming here. It all has poor grammar, and teaches the children bad grammar. I remember when I was eight, I used to have fights with my old best friend because she insisted that "bestest" was a word because she heard it on "Rugrats", whereas I never watched the show, and thought, from the commercials I saw, that it was an awful waste of airspace (no offense to you who like it).

And yes, I thought it was a waste: I was that kind of child (and still am that kind of teenager). My mom tells me all these things I said when I was little, and I realize: I was quite a cynical little child. Now, my friends say things along the lines of, "How can you believe in so much magic in the world and be so cynical?" (direct quote from my friend Erin), so I guess...I don't know what that says about me. I am happy, I really am...I guess...I'm bored, but happy...

Well, enough personal life...

[Kirsanne_Tolebrass]

I first read the FOTR about three years ago and I am now almost 15.

[Airerûthiel]

I read The Hobbit when I was 11 because I was given it as a birthday present, and I read FotR over this summer. Then I finished TTT about a week before Christmas (which was my goal anyway), and at the moment I've just finished the first chapter of RotK. I was 14 when I read FotR and 15 when I finished TTT...do the maths.

I was going to read LotR after I read The Hobbit because I thought Tolkien's descriptions and characterisation were exactly like the sort of thing I wanted to achieve in my own creative writing, but I couldn't find a copy of it anywhere. So I had to wait until after the first film was released to get a copy of the book, which I absolutely hated because I either didn't have enough money for it or they were all sold out!!

The one thing I regret about my approach to Tolkien's works was the fact that I saw the film before I read the book...not good *shakes head and finger as if telling self off*

[Helkahothion]

Greetings all,

I would like to take the oppurtunety and D*MN my local book store. I have read LOTR for the second time now, (and cried at the and) and I'm trying to get my hands on The Silmarillion. They don't have it. It's very frustrating.

Greetings,

Anuion
________
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[VanimaEdhel]

That's easy enough to solve. To to http://www.amazon.com , dollface. They even have all 12 volumes of HoME...

[Sindafalathiel]

I first read The Hobbit a few weeks ago. two days after seeing FotR on DVD. I literally became obsessed overnight. (blame it on my friends, they bugged me for two months till I watched it.) needless to say, I've seen TTT and want to see it again. I now have two copies of the series, one all-in-one, one is a box set w/The Hobbit. currently, I have TOR on a chain around my neck, my hair is in elf fashion, I'm here on BD,and FotR is playing on my DVD player...*attention turnes to TV...*cringe* the hobbits just fell down the cliff...ow.

[Hobbiton_Girl]

Ah, my journy into Middle-Earth. I got hooked in a kind of round-about way. This might take awhile so bear with me. smilies/smile.gif

I grew up watching the cartoon movie "The Hobbit" The Gollum and Goblin scenes always scared the bajeebies out of me but I thought the dragon scenes were pretty cool. It was never one of my favorite movies but for a kid between the ages of 2-5, it's a great movie to watch when your trying to take a nap!
I read "The Hobbit" because of the movie and I wanted to caompare them. I liked the book better, being a book junkie, but it never became one of my favorites. This was when I was about 12 years old.
I write on message board add on stories (Sort of like Fan fics escept mostly they are creative ideas and not based on movies or books) and was writing on a Star Wars one (There I go contradicting myself)and I met this guy who was really into LOTR. About 4 months before FOTR came out, he asked me to help him start a fan fic about LOTR. I didn't know anything about it and, reading my entris now I have to laugh. But then I heard about the movie coming out and I really wanted to see it. My mom, hearing how interested I was in the movie, got my the trilogy book for Christmas and said I had to read it before I could see the movie. I read the whole thing in two weeks, went to go see the movie, and now I'm a 17 year old fanatic!

[ January 05, 2003: Message edited by: Hobbiton_Girl ]

[PeregrinTook]

Let's see, it was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, 2001. Yep. I read The Hobbit first and then read The Lord of the Rings and finished before I saw the movie on the 27th. ::sad sigh:: Ah yes, the days when I was ignorant of the great works of J.R.R. Tolkien... NOW I'LL NEVER FORGET HIM! And I am a total fanatic. I've read books five times since then and have watched FotR countless times since it came out... smilies/biggrin.gif And all because a teacher told me about the books and this great-sounding movie that was going to come out... Now, I'm obsessed. smilies/evil.gif

[PeregrinTook]

Oh yeah, and I'm 14.

[**sparkle fairy**]

hi I'm 14 and called katherine. And i'm feeling very embarressed smilies/redface.gif as i am only on chapter 4 of the hobbit. I have always wanted to read them but have only just found time to do it.

[The Human Of Our Time]

I'm 17 and I just finished reading The Return of the King on Thursday at about 1 in the morning. I loved the book so much that I had to stay up and read it. All parts of the book were great and The Hobbit too. I'm glad that the movies came out so I got into the books and my friend who encourages me to read it. I loved the movies too, but I can't really compare them together.

Oh and, obviously, Gollum is my favorite character! I think he's a great character. And without him...You know.

[ January 10, 2003: Message edited by: Sméagol ]

[VanimaEdhel]

I loved the book so much that I had to stay up and read it.

Did you cry? I cry every time I read "Return of the King" for about the last 100-150 pages...scared some people last time, as I was on an airplane when I was reading it...

[Gorwingel]

Yeah, when I first read the books I stayed up so late. I think when I read the second half of TTT I stayed up till like 2, because I wanted to find out what happened to Frodo and Sam. Then I found out what happened, and then I read ROTK. Those books are amazing. smilies/cool.gif

[Galadrie1]

When I read first RotK, I'd stay up as late as I could keep my eyes open. Then I'd get up and immediately grab the book and continue reading until my mom forced me to get out of bed and eat something.... Honestly, I just don't understand mothers sometimes. smilies/rolleyes.gif smilies/smile.gif

[ January 15, 2003: Message edited by: Galadrie1 ]

[Nevolosse Maehayanda]

I read the Hobbit the summer after 5th grade..which means...i'd be...10. And Lotr the school year afterwards...Then I read The Silmarillion when I was 11, and HoME this year...and I'm 12 still! *wah*

[The Human Of Our Time]

Well I didn't cry, but a tear or two might have come to my eyes. I know I just finished reading the books a little while ago, but I want to read them again!

[ January 15, 2003: Message edited by: Sméagol ]

[VanimaEdhel]

Under Age Club members who have read any of HoME unite! Yaaaay!

[Gorwingel]

Sorry haven't got to HoME yet, I am just starting on the Sil, but I have been so busy (with school, finals and all) that I haven't had much time to read, but I can't wait. smilies/smile.gif

[Eärendil]

I´m with you Vanima, unite! smilies/biggrin.gif
I have only read , BoLT 1&2, Morgoth´s Ring and The Lost Road (the ones I´ve got), but still.
What about you all?

[Beren87]

I've read every Tolkien book (published at least) except bloody Leaf by Niggle! I cannot find it anywhere (without ordering it online that is)! Horrid really.

[Blue Elf]

Well, I didn't know what the hobbit was until sixth grade (I'm in eigth now), but for some reason, I thought it wasn't fantasy, and didn't want to read it.

But then we had to for a project, and meanwhile, my friend introduced my to LotR and I was hooked. I have attempted the Silmarillion (however you spell it), but there were so many names!!! I lost track of who was who, and all that...

[Artalwen]

I'm an under-aged member. I am a new fan of this all....introduced to it all in November....

...i still have yet to read any other works by Tolkien...I'm trying hard to find them though!

[Mintyztwin]

Mwahaha! I'm older than *most* of you! smilies/evil.gif I'm almost in my "tweens" (If you don't know what that is, go read Fellowship again!)

Um, actually, I got introduced to LotR on the cartoon version of the Hobbit. Y'know, with all the *ugly* elves and hobbits and dwarves, etc. The Goblins gave me nightmares for "heap many moons." We have a copy of it, and I saw it when I was, I dunno, 6? 7? Anyhoo, I read the hobbit when I was . . . around . . . 9 or 10 . . . and then I tried to read LotR, but sadly, I failed! Wasn't my fault, Dad didn't have all the books. Then he got them from a second-hand dealer, and I finally read TTT. (That's the one he didn't have.) But by THEN I was really confused (who wouldn't be, reading them all out of order like that?) so, I pretty much left LotR alone, until my little brother got into it. He (I'm totally serious.) read those books to SHREDS!!! And they were in good condition! So then I HAD to read them, and I did. I didn't really like them until I was about . . . 16 or 17. Then I fell in love. (How cliché.) And I GOBBLE LotR. I've read the LotR I dunno how many times, the Hobbit, several, The Silmarillion 1 & 1/2, Lost Tales 1 & 2, AND Farmer Giles, etc. I loved the Sil, but I don't remember hardly any of the Lost Tales. (CT drove me nuts with all his interupting.) So, I've been a complete LotR FREAK for about . . . 3 - 4 years, but I've known and semi-liked LotR for about . . . 10. smilies/tongue.gif smilies/wink.gif

[VanimaEdhel]

Eh: all ages are accepted, hon! smilies/wink.gif

I hated the cartoon version of Lord of the Rings. Poor Glorfindel: he never gets into the movies. In that movie, Legolas rescued Frodo...Legolas of the freaky-eyes, that is.

[Mintyztwin]

The elves were ugly in those movies! Ugly ELVES for the luva mike!!!! I mean, come on! They looked like they had been soaking in vinegar for thousands of years instead of living in ME!!!!!!!

By the way, VadimaEdhel (did I spell that right? Sorry!) Were you talking to me?

[Gorwingel]

Artalwen why are you having a hard time finding the books? they are kinda easy to find, they even sell a paperback of the TTT at my local grocery store, you can find them at almost all bookstores and Amazon.com.

[Mintyztwin]

Maybe they ran out from Christmas. My brother got me the last hard-bound copy of the Silmarillion in town for Christmas (bless him!) and gave his friend the last paperback! (Ha Ha! smilies/tongue.gif ) Stores probably haven't restocked . . .

[Merri]

I first read The Lord of the Rings the summer before the movies came out. Everybody was saying that LOTR was better than Harry Potter, and I started getting quite irritated, thinking: Those people don't know what they're talking about- nothing can be better than Harry Potter. On second thought, though, I decided that maybe I'd better see what all the fuss was about. I picked up The Hobbit, and was immediately hooked. I finished Lord of the Rings in a week.

Now, I still don't think that Lord of the Rings is better than Harry Potter. They're both very different books, and excellent in their own rights.

Phew. I'm done now.

[Inderjit Sanghera]

I'll join. I'm 16.I first read LoTR a year or so ago and the Hobbit a few months before. I've also read The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, HoME 2, 6, 10 and 12.

[ January 29, 2003: Message edited by: Inderjit Sanghera ]

[InklingElf]

I like this thread smilies/biggrin.gif I'm 13 and currently in 8th grade. I was introduced to Tolkien by my mother when I was 9. I started with the Hobbit then the Lord of the Rings:trilogy-then got even more engrosed and read the Slmarillion, the Book of Lost Tales I&II etc... I'm still not finished reading everything-right now I'm reading the History of the Lord of the Rings four volume set.

Thanks to Arwen Imladris for starting this thread! I can finally fit in smilies/wink.gif

[VanimaEdhel]

HoME 2, 6, 10 and 12.

Eep! I could never do that! I'm too compulsive: I have to read everything in order...

[InklingElf]

Yeah me too-but I don't think not reading in order is fine. I don't think it's too much trouble discerning which of the books are beginning and which one is in the end. But yes I too read it in order; which brings up another problem. What if you can't borrow or buy in order? I wouldn't mind- I would just read in any-which order smilies/wink.gif ::shrug::

[hobbitlass]

Gee, I don't fit in anywhere. smilies/frown.gif
I'm too old for this site, rules are for those ages under 18. The coming-of-age rules are for those who have read Tolkien at least 18 years. I'm 29 (30 on U.S. tax day) but I've only started reading Tolkien September of 2001. I guess I'll start an oddball club! smilies/smile.gif

[Eärendil]

hobbitlass - There was a Tolkien Middle-Age Club here somewhere, for people "in between": Over 18, and haven´t read Tolkien for 18 years or longer.
I don´t know if it´s still there, but if it isn´t I guess you could start a new. I will join it, in about half a year or so... smilies/wink.gif

[hobbitlass]

Thank you, young one, smilies/wink.gif . I shall indeed search for that one.

[InklingElf]

hehehe hobbitlass and Earendil I believe it still does exist. I posted something there before & found out it's only for people 18+. Ahh well there are threads for everything.

[Arwen Imladris]

Thanks to Arwen Imladris for starting this thread! I can finally fit in

Awww! Thanks InklingElf!

[Hirilaelin]

My Mom was reading the Hobbit to us (me and my siblings) when I was about five or six. Then, when I heard the movie was coming out, it prompted me to read the books, which I fell in love with instantly. (I had got the books in a collected version when I was about nine, but it was too hard for me too read, so...) So here I am!

~Hirilaelin, Sorceress of the Misted Isle

[Nuinatariel]

I just finished reading the LotR for the first time a few weeks ago. I love the books and just joined this site. It's great to have so many Tolkien fans in one place!

[Vardamar]

Well I’m 17 almost 18!!! I started reading the Hobbit when I was 10. My mother checked it out from the library, and told me to read it. At first I was upset, I HATE being told what to do, but then I really started to like it. For some reason I always thought that Kili and Fili were girls. Well after I finished the Hobbit I didn’t know what to do. I looked in my father’s bookcase and saw another book by Tolkien THE RETURN OF THE KING. I happily opened it up and saw a familiar name Gandalf. But the I became lost in all the names and places I knew nothing about. I didn’t read anymore until I saw the first movie. That rekindled my interest. I started reading the fellowship of the ring. Now after traveling middle earth a few times, I have started read the Sil. Out of all the books I’ve ever read the only ones that even come close are the Dune series by Frank Herbert.

[Gorwingel]

Vardamar I too got into the books practically the same way that you did, I was a little interested and then once the movies came out I read all the books and I love it. that's cool. we are a rare breed of fan. smilies/cool.gif

[Durelin]

Well, I will admit I read the books after the first movie came out though my dad was a fan and had introduced it to me before. And on my mom's side, my aunt had a cat named Frodo who has recently died and still has one named Pippin. I saw the cartoon when I was about 10 or 11 and I read the books last year at age 12, now I'm only 13(dangit). I'm now known as an LOTR freak throughout my school, not that that's a bad thing, most people like it, but most of the girls, unlike me, like it for the "hot" guys. Ugh. Who cares? Oh, right, they do.

[InklingElf]

Arwen Imladris: smilies/biggrin.gif No problem, you deserve the credit!

Durelin :hehehe smilies/biggrin.gif I saw the cartoons too-just last year, though the LOTR one was kind of crappy.-I got a head-ache! But I like the Hobbit one. I'm 13 too, I started to read the Hobbit when I was 9, then the trilogy,then the Silmarillion etc., and right now I'm reading the Lost Road and other writingsgemme five!

[Gorwingel]

Gosh, all those books at such a young age, I could barely handle FOTR at age 12, I was so confused about it, I did not get it, though I do remember some parts.

[Lady Iverin]

I watched the cartoon movie of the hobbit when I was 7 or 8. Then my mom told me about FOTR coming out. I didn't read the books until after I'd seen it. So I was 14 when I first read the hobbit and LOTR. Kinda sad... smilies/smile.gif

[ February 20, 2003: Message edited by: Lady Iverin ]

[Túrin Turambar]

I first begun to read The Fellowship of the ring when i was 12 and now when Im 14 I've read almost everything Tolkien related there is to find.

[ February 16, 2003: Message edited by: Túrin Turambar ]

[Arwen Imladris]

Arwen Imladris: No problem, you deserve the credit!

*Arwen Imladris blushes*

Aww, it wasn't that hard guys!

[InklingElf]

Gosh, all those books at such a young age, I could barely handle FOTR at age 12, I was so confused about it, I did not get it, though I do remember some parts.

Gorwingel, don't worry. It drove me nuts until I had to read over and over again smilies/wink.gif

BTW: Cool sig

[Arien]

I had Lord of the Rings read to me when I was little, about 6, but I guess that doesnt count.

I read the hobbit when I was 9, and then I read Lord Of the Rings when I was 10, but I got absolutely confused smilies/rolleyes.gif . So I read it again when I was 12 and I finally got it. And now I am 15 and I have read the Simarillion. I think I need to read it again though. Just so I take it all in. smilies/smile.gif

[GaladrieloftheOlden]

The Hobbit was read to me in first grade, and I didn't much like it, so I only read LotR in the beginning of fifth grade, because I thought I wouldn' like it. I really loved it, but then I forgot about it till FotR came out. I loved it. Then, a few weeks before TTT came out I got seriously hooked, came here, and have been here since! smilies/biggrin.gif

~Menelien

[Tinuviel Took]

I was ten when my parents read The Hobbit and LoTR to us (That was also when the let us watch Star Wars. They wanted us to be old enough to understand it the first time we watched it, so we could enjoy it). I then read them for myself right afterwards and read the Silm. when I was eleven. I didn't understand all of the Silmarillion fully the first time I read it but understood and loved the others from the first.

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

I am attempting to ressurect this thread not because I qualify to post to it (being over 18 years old ;) ) but because I think it's a good idea for a thread, and I rather suspect there might be a few newer members out there who would appreciate it -- and I would love to lurk on the thread and see what they have to say.

In hopes that this will re-ignite the thread, I bring forward the initial post by Arwen Imladris

This is for all of us who are too young to post in the The Tolkien Coming of Age Club. That would be anyone who is under 18. Please tell us how long ago you first read the book(s); if you like, your age at that time and what prompted you to read Tolkien.

I first read The hobbit and LOTR when I was ~10ish. That would be about 6 years ago. Before that my parents had read it to me.

[Imladris]

Just to hlep Fordim resurrect the thread,

I watched the Hobbit when I was about ten and Gollum and freaked me out so much I never wanted to watch it again. Then my bro was rummaging around his bookshelf and found a very tattered copy of the book. I didn't want to read it because of the movie and those nasssty elves, but I couldn't let my bro read something I wouldn't...besides, he said he liked it...so I read it. Then my bro found out about the rest of the Trilogy and I read after he did. :)

[elronds_daughter]

I've only been reading LotR for a few years. I'm on my sixth time through.

Imladris, I, too, watched the animated version of The Hobbit and was throroughly freaked out. I'd read LotR about twice at that time and The Hobbit once, so I was informed.... My family, however, hadn't read the Hobbit, and were thoroughly confused. (Not having seen any of Peter Jackson's wondrous films yet, though I think it was late '02.)

[Thinlómien]

I was 6 when my father read LotR to me aloud... When I was 8, I read it by myself and totally fell in love with it. By now I've read it 15 times. I've also read The Hobbit, The Sil and The UT. I would like to read HoME-series, but you can't get them from Finland. I should probably order from Amazon.com.
My age: I'm 15 next tuesday... :)

[ElementFire]

Hey guys, I'm under age, so I guess I qualify for the underage club? I just got registered, so be nice please. I have another name, muhahahaha. I'm always watching you. ;) That should be a "had" anyway... lost it to a friend. *sniff* I'm 18 in July so I'll be able to be here until then.

[ninja91]

I saw the movies first. I have been reading the books since I was 13, that was in 2003, so about when ROTK came out. I have The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and soon to be the new one (children of hurin), but I have not yet read the hobbit or the sil. Lately, I have just been going to them for reference.

[Thinlómien]

I have The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and soon to be the new one (children of hurin), but I have not yet read the hobbit or the sil. Lately, I have just been going to them for reference.I recommend you to read the Sil before reading The Children of Húrin. I bet you'll understand more about it and enjoy it more when you know the background.

[ninja91]

Yeah. If I do buy COH, I will read the Sil beforehand. But before I read the Sil I have to finish those dozens of other books that I bought that I still have to read... :rolleyes:

[Thinlómien]

Yeah. If I do buy COH, I will read the Sil beforehand. But before I read the Sil I have to finish those dozens of other books that I bought that I still have to read... :rolleyes:I recommend you to start with the Sil, because I bet it's the best... ;)

[ninja91]

You're right, Thinlomien. Children of Hurin will come up before I know it, and I be out at Border's once again picking up another book to add to the I-have-yet-to-read pile... :D

[Thinlómien]

You're right, Thinlomien. Children of Hurin will come up before I know it, and I be out at Border's once again picking up another book to add to the I-have-yet-to-read pile... :DWhich books do you already have there? (Tell me and I'll tell which you should read first... ;))

[ninja91]

The Icewind Dale Trilogy
The Dark Elf Trilogy
Chronicles of Chrestomanci
The Chronicles of Narnia
Sphere
Congo
The Hunter's Blades
The Dark Tower

Whoo, I'll be busy the next 15 years... :D

[Thinlómien]

Whoo, I'll be busy the next 15 years... Not, if you're quick. :) Start with Tolkien. (Yes, I'm obsessed. :D)

I can recommend Narnia and have heard lots of praise for Dark Elf trilogy and Black Tower.

[ninja91]

I'll take your advice! I am sure that The Sil will turn out well..(it is Tolkien... how can it not!?) I just have to finish up Eragon because the movie is said to come out in the near future. Also, I put in Sphere and Congo by Michael Crichton. I will go with those last, because fantasy is almost always better. ;)

[Volo]

Sil is my favorite book, if I were you, I'd toss Eragon out of the window and start reading Sil... I was really shoked when I read Eragon, and even more shoked when I heard that they were making a film out of it... Eragon is a book that has most of the things mentioned here (http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=10855) that I have read... Well, ok, after LotR, but there sure is a difference.

[ninja91]

Eragon is definitely not the best book I have read, thats for sure. But when I am already 300-something pages into it, I might as well close the window and curl up by the lamp... :)

[Firefoot]

Come on, Eragon isn't that bad...

For myself, I enjoyed it. It may not be the best piece of fantasy out there, but it's not as bad a book as some people make it out to be. The biggest problem I had with it was the ridiculously hard to pronounce names. Names that look like five or six syllables and are supposed to be three. :rolleyes:

[ninja91]

Dont get me wrong, Firefoot. It is a really good story. And yes, the unpronouncable names and places kind of messed me up. :mad:

[Imladris]

Sil is my favorite book, if I were you, I'd toss Eragon out of the window and start reading Sil... I was really shoked when I read Eragon, and even more shoked when I heard that they were making a film out of it... Eragon is a book that has most of the things mentioned here (http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=10855) that I have read... Well, ok, after LotR, but there sure is a difference.

All stories (good, bad, and mediocre) have at least some of the attributes in that link, so having those attributes is not a reason to toss a story out the window (unless you'd like purposeless stories to come in vogue or Mary Sues as main characters, etc)...it's only tossworthy if those things are written poorly and made into little cardboard puppets to prance across a stage saying,

Look at me look at me! I'm the [insert Epic Element of choice]

The Sil will turn out well..(it is Tolkien... how can it not!?)

Well, even good writers have bad eggs. Just the way it is. I remember reading the Sil a year or two ago. I hated it because it got caught up in details and, in my opinion, seemed to loose sight of the story (a chapter that was a geography lesson? :rolleyes: ).

[Thinlómien]

Well, even good writers have bad eggs. Just the way it is. I remember reading the Sil a year or two ago. I hated it because it got caught up in details and, in my opinion, seemed to loose sight of the story (a chapter that was a geography lesson? :rolleyes: ).Yes, not all Tolkien-lovers love the Sil, but it's certainly worth a try. (I love it as much as LotR, so I'd say it'd be a great loss not to read it.) When you've tried it, you can come to love it (like me and so many others) or to not like it (like Imladris here and some other people). Neither opinion, of course is more valuable.

[Firefoot]

I don't think I will ever love the Sil the way I do LotR or even the Hobbit. Certainly, there are parts and characters that I really enjoy, but it's not quite the same, somehow. It does still rank up there with my favorite books, though, but that didn't happen with the first reading; I think it took me two to really understand it. All the many names caught me up in the first time; the index and family trees were my best friends. (So Fingolwho was the son of Finwhat? Remind me why this guy was important? ;) )

[ninja91]

Well, even good writers have bad eggs. Just the way it is. I remember reading the Sil a year or two ago. I hated it because it got caught up in details and, in my opinion, seemed to loose sight of the story (a chapter that was a geography lesson? :rolleyes: ).
I know that the Sil reads almost like an Arda history textbook, but if I dont read it like its an assignment, I'll most likely end up enjoying it. A lot.

[Thinlómien]

I know that the Sil reads almost like an Arda history textbookNo it isn't! It's an epic myth and fairytale and told in a manner according to that. It is a story and is written like one, not a boring and "official" history text.

EDIT: Just noticed: Happy Birthday Firefoot! :)

[ninja91]

No it isn't! It's an epic myth and fairytale and told in a manner according to that. It is a story and is written like one, not a boring and "official" history text.

Not boring :o . I meant that (because I have really only skimmed it and taken excerpts out) I dont know how the book reads overall. Sorry for my harsh anti-Sil words.
Also, does it flow like a regular book? Or can you switch up the chapters and you will have the same story (i.e. chapters like "of elves and their origin" or something like that)

[Firefoot]

I wouldn't switch up the chapters. Although they are more self-contained than in other books, there is enough continuity that you would be in danger of getting lost.

Thanks, Lommy. :)

[Thinlómien]

I wouldn't switch up the chapters. Although they are more self-contained than in other books, there is enough continuity that you would be in danger of getting lost.I second these wise words. (:D) And even if you didn't get lost you'd lose the sense of history and the flowing story since all the shorter stories (like the one of the Children of Húrin) are importantly linked to the "main storyline" and you'd understand less of the stories when they were separated from the context.

[ninja91]

I second these wise words. (:D) And even if you didn't get lost you'd lose the sense of history and the flowing story since all the shorter stories (like the one of the Children of Húrin) are importantly linked to the "main storyline" and you'd understand less of the stories when they were separated from the context.

Thanks to you both for the advice! To tell the truth, I want to read the Silmarillion because Melkor and Ungoliant and their history amazes me. Melkor Morgoth... what an evil-sounding and imposing name...

[ninja91]

Anyone else play Lord of the Rings Risk ?

(seemed like we needed a new topic :) )

[Firefoot]

I have played before, but personally I don't like the game much at all. I feel that they added too many new rules and altogether made the game too complicated. Give me regular Risk any day (which happens to be one of my favorite games).

[ninja91]

I have played before, but personally I don't like the game much at all. I feel that they added too many new rules and altogether made the game too complicated. Give me regular Risk any day (which happens to be one of my favorite games).

I understand. I really dont like the whole "carry the ring to Mordor, where the game ends." If a war really raged across Middle-Earth, I doubt that destroying the ring in Mordor would greatly affect the orcs of Angmar or Moria...

[Durelin]

The one and only time I played LOTR Risk, I played it with my entire family (mom, dad, and brother)...it was an interesting experience, to say the least.

All I have to say is, because of me...the Free Peoples lost.

I don't really know why I bought that game, seeing as the few times I've played Risk I've only become incredibly enraged (because I am not such a good strategist and I have horrible luck with dice), and practically gotten into a fist fight with my brother (kind of like miniature golf...such a violent sport...).

It did eventually come in handy, though, when I used the One Ring that came with it at the 'Ring Ceremony' at my high school in place of my class ring (but of course I went and ordered one of those this year because I decided I wanted one for the old school because they are changing locations and the name).

Oh, and it's been five years of Tolkien for me, now. (But don't go back and look at my one and only post on here to find out when I first read the books, because you will see the blatherings of a thirteen year old girl...and it's not pretty) :p

[Firefoot]

I have horrible luck with dice Me too! The best strategies in the world won't work for me because the dice don't. My brother, on the other hand, can be blind as a bat about what's going on on the other half of the board, but his dice are freaking amazing. Not fair, I tell you.

[Durelin]

Yes, and to think I've always wanted to for once actually play DnD... Perhaps it's good that I have not been able to yet. I get violent when I feel that luck is the only thing against me (it's rarely really about skill, right? right... :p)... Though that might make things interesting. And if I'm RPing a 'Chaotic Evil Barbarian,' well then, I'd be quite in-character...

[ninja91]

Yes, I used that ring and put it around a chain and... oh my god, I am such a nerd...

[Durelin]

I wore "the One Ring" around my neck for probably over a year, of and on. I kept using Rings that came on these bookmarks...but I kept losing them! What a great Ringbearer I make... Yes, let's just conveniently lose it somewhere. After all, that's how it disappeared for thousands of years anyway, being lost in a river... Behind my bed it might be even more difficult to find! :D

I also was an avid collector of the LotR "CCG" (which translates: "Collectible Card Game"). I had a humongous binder full of them, and other boxes as well...and I can't say I played the game more than three or four times! Now they sit and collect dust, and I look at them every once in a while, and think about how they just have to be worth something someday, and that ebay will still be around then... ;)

And I can't say there's anything wrong with being a nerd. A merchandising nerd, though...well, I don't suggest it. :p

[ninja91]

Oh, you are right, Durelin . If I wasnt a nerd, I would never have found LOTR... :cool:

But anyway, I never got into the CCG, be it the lack of money or the fascination with my GameCube... :D

[Durelin]

I'm a bit of a 'collector,' perhaps? Actually a more apt name would be 'packrat.'

Btw...if anyone missed anything LotR merchandise wise, there's a chance that I have it, and don't really want it anymore...i.e., I'm trying to off stuff like...say...an embarrassing Legolas cardboard stand-up (still in package, though a little bent from being placed in a closet full of junk) from a kind but hapless uncle... *wink wink nudge nudge*

Anyway, I was thinking how I feel so incapable or unintelligent when I see these people who have read LotR at age 7 or 8, and have read it numerous times since then. I didn't read it until I was twelve, and I haven't read but pieces of it since! And yet I sit around on this forum and think I can talk about it and write about characters in ME! Am I really justified? :eek: ;)

[ninja91]

Anyway, I was thinking how I feel so incapable or unintelligent when I see these people who have read LotR at age 7 or 8, and have read it numerous times since then. I didn't read it until I was twelve, and I haven't read but pieces of it since! And yet I sit around on this forum and think I can talk about it and write about characters in ME! Am I really justified? :eek: ;)

Of course you are, Durelin. To tell the truth, I have never even read the Lord of the Rings or the Silmarillion all the way through, yet I know just enough to contribute here, thankfully... ;)

[Durelin]

Hehe, why thank you! I must say I was proud of myself for reading through the entirety of "the Council of Elrond" the first time around. None of my friends managed that one... :D

[Firefoot]

Haha, mine neither.

Concerning justification: no, Durelin, of course you're not justified. No one could possibly be justified unless they had read the Hobbit before they could walk, have read LotR religiously at least once a year since then, and can quote HoME at the drop of the hat. :p You should probably own original 1950's copies of the books, as well.

*All this to say, of course we like having you around, Durelin. :cool:

[Thinlómien]

I also was an avid collector of the LotR "CCG" (which translates: "Collectible Card Game"). I had a humongous binder full of them, and other boxes as well...and I can't say I played the game more than three or four times! Now they sit and collect dust, and I look at them every once in a while, and think about how they just have to be worth something someday, and that ebay will still be around then... The one based on the movies? I never played that one, but I used to collect Middle-Earth The Wizards -cards and playing mainly games made up by me and my little sis with them since my sister disliked the real game. (Even now she won't try a match against me... :() I remember my friends bought me the Galadriel card from a special shop as a birthday present and it was really cool back then... :)

[Durelin]

*All this to say, of course we like having you around, Durelin.

Hehe! Aw, you Downers are like a support group.


And yes, the card game based on the movies. I remember coming across the older game, but only online and never in stores...otherwise I would probably have some of those cards, too... :rolleyes: ;) Those had some interesting art, as I recall. And I can understand your sister's feelings about the game...I own several different card games, and I never play any of them. Though, now I couldn't tell you if that was because I didn't like the games or if I was just too lazy (or was spending too much time doing other things...like trying to be on the 'Downs on dial-up...).

[ninja91]

Speaking of cards, my group and I had just gotten back from Homecoming and the 10 of us walking back to his house when we saw this sale. So I told them I was going to check it out real quick (because you never know what you will find). Anyway, I found this plastic card-container. I opened it up, and, alas! Middle-Earth region geography cards!
From what I could see, there was just a deck of cards, each having a region from Middle Earth printed on them, such as Lorien, Emyn Muil, Plateau of Gorgoroth, Umbar, and the likes. And they werent the ones from the new editions of LOTR Risk, because I already own them. I asked how much they were going for, and the guy who was selling this stuff took one look at them and snatched them away. "Oh, these arent for sale, sorry". So I never saw them again, and I am wondering if they had special powers. :eek:
Anyone know of these? I doubt that they are that valuable from the looks of them... :smokin:

[shieldmaiden4xsword]

I think i was 13. I found them in the library and loved them. i still am 13, by the way. I read all 3, the Hobbit when i was 10 or younger, i don't know how old.

I tried the Silmarillion but only got through half way.

[Thinlómien]

ninja, I think the region cards might have been from Middle-Earth the wizards, for they have such.

[Durelin]

The newer CCG had region cards, too. Though they would be pictures from the films.

shieldmaiden - I suppose we should welcome you to the "club." I can't say it's too much of a club, though. Not exactly too cohesive beyond usual BD cohesiveness. No real club president or secretary...certainly not any treasurer. (Unless someone would like to donate? Because then I would love to be treasurer, and you can send your money to me. And our first project: buying me a new laptop... :p)

Oh...yeah...

So, welcome! :smokin:

And keep trying with the Sil!