Ashamed and A Live - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Ainaserkewen · 12-09-2004, 06:56 PM

When you love reading someone like Tolkien, you'll love roaming around looking for all the fun stuff that he's written.

Oh course, there are other ways of going about it to. Just this morning I picked up a book at the library called "Before Tolkien" and it is about all the greatest fantasy stories that apparently he got some of his inspiration from. A lot of the short stories were written in the middle-ages and for whatever reason are very much LOTR style.

If you're going to tackle the Silmarillion, get a pen and paper ready. Write down names because there are alot and you'll forget/get frustrated/abandon reading.

the phantom · 12-10-2004, 01:12 AM

You guys are crazy. My dad bought me the Sil three days before summer vacation right before I turned 16 (he thought I'd read it on the trip) and I had the thing read before we left town. It drew me in so much that I read it twice more during the trip. It's the closest I'll ever get to love at first sight.

It's on such a big scale and there are so many characters, places, and things to imagine. It's awesome.

Encaitare · 12-10-2004, 11:30 AM

I'm certainly not saying that the Sil is anything less than awesome, on the contrary -- I love it. Yet I consider myself to be quite a strong reader, and I found my first read through the Sil to be a challenge. Now I'm fine with it, but it's quite a change from LotR.

mark12_30 · 12-10-2004, 11:52 AM

Some teenagers read half of Shakespeare's tragedies in one summer on the beach. Other teenagers don't. That doesn't make one crazy and the other sane.

I'd prefer a more genteel, respectful expression of differing opinion rather than

Quote:

You guys are crazy.

Consider it an invitation to expand one's diplomatic writing skills. People differ. If it were not so, even the Downs would be a dull place.

Feanor of the Peredhil · 12-10-2004, 12:49 PM

Quote:

I'd prefer a more genteel, respectful expression of differing opinion rather than Quote:
You guys are crazy.

Especially since he was talking to girls!

Ainaserkewen · 12-10-2004, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Especially since he was talking to girls!

It's amazing the amount of sexism activists who don't care anymore.

But the phantom is right. Some parts I completely ate up, others went a little more slowly. Am I right in assuming that a lot of people read the Silmarillion like the Bible as opposed to a regular novel? By which I mean that they would read sections or chapters not nessesarily in order. That's how I read it anyway, and maybe I'm just weird.

the phantom · 12-10-2004, 04:53 PM

Where in the world do you come from Mark?

Around here, if I say "Burger King's new angus burger is the best!" and my friend says "No way, man, you're crazy! That chicken whopper they have is way better!", my friend is not saying I'm wrong or that he honestly thinks I'm crazy- he's just saying that he likes the chicken a lot better.

"You guys are crazy" is like adding one of these->

to what you say. It's just an expression. It does not mean that I literally think that everyone who took a while to read the Sil is a certifiable lunatic!

Honestly, why would ya take it like that? You should know by now that the phantom is always

and never

.

And Fea, don't make me spam your pm box.

Feanor of the Peredhil · 12-10-2004, 04:59 PM

Quote:

It's amazing the amount of sexism activists who don't care anymore.

Fea's words... misinterpreted again.

Quote:

You guys are crazy.

Quote:

Especially since he was talking to girls!

TP said that us "guys" are crazy, and I pointed out that we were (and presumably still are) girls. I say tosh to the genteel and respectful whatnot (although that is nice). You see, my comment had nothing to do with the whole idea of "Boys should treat us like diamonds because we are precious and blah, blah, blah." I was simply poking fun at his choice of words.

Anyhow, back on task: I agree with you about the bible comparison. I mostly skipped The Lays of Beleriand my first time 'round, on order to read something that I thought seemed more... I don't know... applicable, I guess is the word.

Fea

Edit: TP:

12-09-2004, 06:56 PM	#1
Ainaserkewen Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: A cosmic waiting room Posts: 651	When you love reading someone like Tolkien, you'll love roaming around looking for all the fun stuff that he's written. Oh course, there are other ways of going about it to. Just this morning I picked up a book at the library called "Before Tolkien" and it is about all the greatest fantasy stories that apparently he got some of his inspiration from. A lot of the short stories were written in the middle-ages and for whatever reason are very much LOTR style. If you're going to tackle the Silmarillion, get a pen and paper ready. Write down names because there are alot and you'll forget/get frustrated/abandon reading. __________________ Solus... I'm eating chicken again. I ate chicken yesterday and the day before... will I be eating chicken again tomorrow? Why am I always eating chicken?

12-10-2004, 01:12 AM	#2
the phantom Beloved Shadow Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: The Stadium Posts: 5,971	You guys are crazy. My dad bought me the Sil three days before summer vacation right before I turned 16 (he thought I'd read it on the trip) and I had the thing read before we left town. It drew me in so much that I read it twice more during the trip. It's the closest I'll ever get to love at first sight. It's on such a big scale and there are so many characters, places, and things to imagine. It's awesome. __________________ the phantom has posted. This thread is now important.

12-10-2004, 04:53 PM	#7
the phantom Beloved Shadow Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: The Stadium Posts: 5,971	Where in the world do you come from Mark? Around here, if I say "Burger King's new angus burger is the best!" and my friend says "No way, man, you're crazy! That chicken whopper they have is way better!", my friend is not saying I'm wrong or that he honestly thinks I'm crazy- he's just saying that he likes the chicken a lot better. "You guys are crazy" is like adding one of these-> to what you say. It's just an expression. It does not mean that I literally think that everyone who took a while to read the Sil is a certifiable lunatic! Honestly, why would ya take it like that? You should know by now that the phantom is always and never . And Fea, don't make me spam your pm box. __________________ the phantom has posted. This thread is now important.

12-10-2004, 11:30 AM	#3
Encaitare Bittersweet Symphony Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: On the jolly starship Enterprise Posts: 1,814	I'm certainly not saying that the Sil is anything less than awesome, on the contrary -- I love it. Yet I consider myself to be quite a strong reader, and I found my first read through the Sil to be a challenge. Now I'm fine with it, but it's quite a change from LotR.