Early-teen fans on the Barrow Downs? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

hobbit punk · 05-03-2004, 07:45 PM

I turned 18 in February and have been a Tolkien fan and admirer since I was about 15. However, my first taste of Tolkien came at a very young age, probably 4 or 5, when my step-dad took out his animated version of the Hobbit. (By animated I mean a sort of comic book style, not a movie...is graphic novel the right term here?) Anyways, I was really enjoying it until Bilbo found himself in Gollum's cave. Gollum scared the bejesus out of me and we never finished the book. As I grew up, my step-dad was always telling me to read Lord of the Rings. Being a playfully saucy young thing, I didn't read it simply because he wanted me to. But for some reason or another, I eventually picked it up when I was around 15. From the first sentence I was hooked. Never had a book affected me the way that Lord of the Rings did. Here it is now, three years later and my step-dad has ordered me the special hardback editions of the Lord of the Rings from the Folio Society as my graduation present. They are pricey but they are the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I plan to pass them on to the children I may have one day as a family heirloom. I hope I can pass on the same love for reading especially reading LOTR that I have now. I also am planning on becoming an English teacher one day. It is a dream of mine to teach Tolkien in school. So many of my peers won't open a book unless it counts for a grade and even then it can be a struggle to get them to read. I hope to convey the joy of reading when I am older. But for now I will continue on my other dream of some day becoming a Tolkien scholar, finishing high school and moving on to university. Lata gatas

Lhunardawen · 05-04-2004, 01:13 AM

It seems to me that most of you around here have encountered the book before the movies came out...I have seen the books around my campus when I was a highschool freshman (almost 3 years ago) and I wondered how come I don't seem to have heard about them. Then a friend of mine told me that they were going to be made into movies. I listened to my classmates debate about Legolas and Aragorn and can't actually relate to them. When I finally watched the movie, I agreed that Legolas is indeed a cutie and sort of became a fangirl. The next year, when I have finally read all the books, I decided that Aragorn was better. Another round of reading led me to the conclusion that Faramir is better than both of them.

Ah...the drama of my life with LotR.

Ithaeliel · 05-07-2004, 01:38 PM

I'm 16, so I really wouldn't count as a young teen since I'm in high school now, but when I first came here I was 14. It was jsut a few months after I saw the first movie. Yes, the movie was what reallyintroduced me to Middle-earth, though I was a fan of The Hobbit as a younger kid. Having read the Silmarillion and owning some of Tolkien's less well-known books (Lost Tales, Shaping of Middle Earth, Unfinished Tales, etc.), I think it's safe to say I've become more of a book fan. My primary interest in Middle-earth, though, lies in the races, geography, and extensive history of the world, which I got from books; but I mostly utilize those interests in roleplaying.

05-03-2004, 07:45 PM	#1
hobbit punk Haunting Spirit Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 86	how the hobbit discovered the hobbit I turned 18 in February and have been a Tolkien fan and admirer since I was about 15. However, my first taste of Tolkien came at a very young age, probably 4 or 5, when my step-dad took out his animated version of the Hobbit. (By animated I mean a sort of comic book style, not a movie...is graphic novel the right term here?) Anyways, I was really enjoying it until Bilbo found himself in Gollum's cave. Gollum scared the bejesus out of me and we never finished the book. As I grew up, my step-dad was always telling me to read Lord of the Rings. Being a playfully saucy young thing, I didn't read it simply because he wanted me to. But for some reason or another, I eventually picked it up when I was around 15. From the first sentence I was hooked. Never had a book affected me the way that Lord of the Rings did. Here it is now, three years later and my step-dad has ordered me the special hardback editions of the Lord of the Rings from the Folio Society as my graduation present. They are pricey but they are the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I plan to pass them on to the children I may have one day as a family heirloom. I hope I can pass on the same love for reading especially reading LOTR that I have now. I also am planning on becoming an English teacher one day. It is a dream of mine to teach Tolkien in school. So many of my peers won't open a book unless it counts for a grade and even then it can be a struggle to get them to read. I hope to convey the joy of reading when I am older. But for now I will continue on my other dream of some day becoming a Tolkien scholar, finishing high school and moving on to university. Lata gatas __________________ "The alphabet does not go "A B C D What? When? How? but it does go "V W X Why? Z." -Douglas Adams

05-07-2004, 01:38 PM	#3
Ithaeliel Cornus Caliga Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Five-hundred-twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes from here Posts: 710	I'm 16, so I really wouldn't count as a young teen since I'm in high school now, but when I first came here I was 14. It was jsut a few months after I saw the first movie. Yes, the movie was what reallyintroduced me to Middle-earth, though I was a fan of The Hobbit as a younger kid. Having read the Silmarillion and owning some of Tolkien's less well-known books (Lost Tales, Shaping of Middle Earth, Unfinished Tales, etc.), I think it's safe to say I've become more of a book fan. My primary interest in Middle-earth, though, lies in the races, geography, and extensive history of the world, which I got from books; but I mostly utilize those interests in roleplaying. __________________ That best portion of a good man's life, His little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love. .................William Wordsworth

05-04-2004, 01:13 AM	#2
Lhunardawen Hauntress of the Havens Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: IN it, but not OF it Posts: 2,538	It seems to me that most of you around here have encountered the book before the movies came out...I have seen the books around my campus when I was a highschool freshman (almost 3 years ago) and I wondered how come I don't seem to have heard about them. Then a friend of mine told me that they were going to be made into movies. I listened to my classmates debate about Legolas and Aragorn and can't actually relate to them. When I finally watched the movie, I agreed that Legolas is indeed a cutie and sort of became a fangirl. The next year, when I have finally read all the books, I decided that Aragorn was better. Another round of reading led me to the conclusion that Faramir is better than both of them. Ah...the drama of my life with LotR.