CbC Reloaded
 

One idea that came up at the recent Finlandmoot was to revive the CbC discussions of The Hobbit before the (first) movie comes to the theatres next year. I'd like to begin with that project early in 2012, so that we have leisure to refresh our memories of the book before we're overwriting our own images with movie previews.

In thinking about that, I realized two things: first, that the Silmarillion discussions haven't yet finished, and that there was a request to do a Chapter-by-Chapter discussion of the Unfinished Tales in a post by Marky Lazer some time ago, which I missed for whatever reason.

Shall we take on those two projects this year? I'm not a Sil expert, but if Aiwendil is no longer able to carry on, I'm willing to start off the threads so the rest of you can post on them. It's a good opportunity for me to reread Sil and UT at any rate, and even if you don't have time to go back through the chapters in detail, you would be welcome to post from memory.

Anyone interested?

I'm very interested, especially with The Sil. I haven't read UT (what a perfect opportunity to read it!, says you :p), but I will definitely read, and where I can maybe participate in the discussions.

I'm glad this subforum will be reawakened! :D

After pondering this for a day... I am interested in The Hobbit CbC.

I am not disinterested in a Sil CbC... Read bits of it recently during vacation. No computers where I take vacation, though. In fact I'm planning on tackling LotR on my upcoming two weeks off; but I doubt I'll have web access... except on my cell, and that is finicky.

However, The Hobbit can take all season, or all year. I am content with that.

I'd like to get started with the remaining CbC discussions of the Silmarillion as soon as possible, so we can get through the book as well as the Unfinished Tales in time for a Hobbit relaunch next year. I'm thinking that Monday would be a good day to begin discussion threads - some of you may want to read the chapters on the weekend and can then jump right in, or you can take your time during the week. Each discussion will last one week, though of course the threads remain open for those who wish to contribute later on.

Is there any interest - shall we begin this week (i.e. tomorrow), or wait another for people to join in the reading? Chapter 20, "Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad" is the next in line.

I'm happy to join either way. I think interest will build up once we start.

It's Monday; the discussion thread for Chapter 20 is up. I hope you'll join me - comments are welcome even if you're not currently rereading the Sil!

After our Christmas break with the Father Christmas Letters, we will soon be resuming discussions of the Unfinished Tales. The next chapter is "Aldarion and Erendis", and the thread for it will be opened on February 6 (unless something unforeseen deters me...).

I'm in whenever it starts! Thank you Esty!

No A Description of the Island of Númenor? But... but... :('


Not that I can't see how that one might be a little boring... :p

Oops! You're right, of course, Formy - that chapter is so short I missed it when paging through today, but it shall be discussed at least briefly.

I'm afraid I have never read (or owned) the Father Christmas letters based on oversight alone. I've enjoyed wighting through the posts though, and feel compelled to pick it up in time for the next Christmas season.

But as mainly I clicked to say, bring on Unfinished Tales!

I'll join, if you'll have me. I have a second edition Unfinished Tales I found in an antique store several years back. (I'm quite proud of it.) Aldarion and Erendis was one of my favorite stories last time I read it.

You are very welcome to join, Dilettante - as is everyone else who's interested! Discussion resumes today, with a brief look at Númenor before we move on to the fascinating story of Aldarion and Erendis.

We're nearly through the Unfinished Tales - I will be posting the threads for the final three chapters within the next two weeks. You may read and post at your convenience.

Next project will be a re-discussion of The Hobbit to prepare for the upcoming movie(s). There are 19 chapters, so at one chapter a week, we will need almost five months to get through. I'm thinking May - September: any objections or other wishes?

I'm also thinking we should have new threads for this round, so as to have a fresh start instead of just tacking new posts onto the previous threads. What do you think?

In addition to the Annotated Hobbit by Anderson we now have a new resource in the two volumes of the History of the Hobbit by Rateliff. That should add to the depth of the discussions.

I know many of you are looking forward to refreshing your knowledge of the book before the movie is released and I hope you will all post on these threads!

Hurray for Hobbit! ie I'm in!

It would be a good thing for me to reread it from cover to cover. Haven't done that in a long time!

I like the idea of new threads. Partially because I don't want to read through the old ones. :p On the other hand, it would be an incentive for me to read them... Disregarding that, though, it's a question of whether you want repetition on different threads or on the same thread. And on a new one, you can actually be part of the discussion as it happens... In other words, I'm good either way.

I've posted the introduction to the final chapter of the Unfinished Tales. As always, the threads remain open, so if you want to post later, you are free to do so.

I would like to begin with the new Hobbit discussions on the first weekend in May.

For those anxiously awaiting the next thread of the Hobbit discussion: I'm currently away from home and my bookshelf. There will be a delay of approximately three days, then the next chapter will be up. Thanks for your patience!

The summer slump has hit our Hobbit discussions - I'm going to space them a bit so as to give latecomers a chance to catch up and join in. For the next month or two, new threads will be posted every fortnight. (Chapter 8 will begin next week.) See you there!

Sorry, folks - real life temporarily took on an insane tempo and I had to delay the next chapter of discussion. I will post the new thread within a day or two, then there will probably be another delay while I am in England for Britmoot and Return of the Ring. To be continued...

The announced break during my absence to Britmoot and RotR is over - the next chapter discussion thread is up! Are you still with me?

The break during the past weeks was due to another absence - my last for this year. The discussions are now resumed at the rate of one chapter a week so that we finish by the time the movie is released.

If you haven't joined the reading and discussion yet, I welcome you to do so and catch up gradually!

So, we managed to finish the Hobbit discussions before the Wellington premiere! Those of you who still want to read the book before seeing the movie are welcome to post to the threads as you proceed. Thanks to those who posted so far!

For more online discussion, I recommend "75 reasons why you should read "The Hobbit" before watching the films" on The Tolkienist's website. Some wonderful insights are shared by leading international experts such as Tom Shippey, Verlyn Flieger, and Brian Sibley, to name a few.

CbC Re-Reloaded
 

After a far too long absence from this forum, Legate of Amon Lanc and I have decided to make our comeback to book discussions on this very fitting day - we will today start reading The Lord of the Rings and will be posting anything interesting that we come up with on these Chapter-by-Chapter threads. If there's anyone out there who is rereading at the moment or would like to start now, you're more than welcome to join this very unofficial project and post on the threads as you go - we will join you. Hope to see you guys around. :)

A nice idea
 

That's a nice idea, Legate and Thinlómien. I'll join you, although I see I need to catch up with the Prologue and a few chapters first. :)

As you might have noticed since there were no posts on that thread, we were actually lazy and skipped the prologue - I'm personally planning to read it sometime during the reread project when I happen to feel like it. Anyway, glad you're joining in, Faramir! :)

Also a sort of psa, I won't be posting much if at all in the next couple of days as my priority is to finish reading Hookbill's new novel so I can review it by his birthday next week. But don't wait for me, I'll catch up!