My mom read the Hobbit aloud to my brother and me when I was about ten years old. I have very fond memories of my brother and I on either side of my mom, listening to her read--the one line that stayed with me the most was "I am Gandalf, and Gandalf means me!" Years after I can still hear my mom reading that line.
A few years later, on my mom's recommendation, I picked up Fellowship. Unfortunately I was not then mature enough to really appreciate it, and got stuck in the first half. After literally losing the book, I started over and finished it. By the end I loved it. (That was the day that the movie came out--Wednesday, December 19th, 2001.) Soon after I read the Two Towers, and finished Return of the King immediately after. I'll by the first to admit that I cried uncontrollably after I finished Return of the King; I felt as though I had lost a friend, or was leaving home, never to see it again. Frodo was leaving, and though Sam, Merry, and Pippin were staying, another boat was taking me off to a distant, unhappy land, far away from the Shire. (You won't be surprised that shortly after I discovered the miracle of re-reading.) I've read it the whole way through twice now, and what I call "skip-read" several times. (As in, I read the parts that I liked best.) Now I'm eagerly awaiting the Two Towers (THREE DAYS!). I plan to give the gift of Tolkien to my children very early on...I can only imagine. Forget Dr. Seuss, let's get straight to Bilbo Baggins!
~*~Orual~*~
[ December 15, 2002: Message edited by: Orual ]
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"Oh, my god! I care so little, I almost passed out!" --Dr. Cox, "Scrubs"
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