LOTR: what did you NOT like in the books?

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

I kind of like the way Ents speak. It's like me trying to answer a call at work while eating my dinner

It's just me. I have an issue with spelling and pronunciation, as some people already learned from the Mordor thread.

[AbercrombieOfRohan]

Nothing. The books are flawless.

(Actually, some of the Two Towers chapters with Sam and Frodo are a little bit too long for my taste, but as Rayner Unwin says, "You don't edit Tolkien!")

[Galadriel]

Originally Posted by AbercrombieOfRohan

Nothing. The books are flawless.

You wouldn't even have liked a slightly more elaborate description of Frodo? Or Sam, or Merry, or Pippin, or Legolas

It just amazed me that Tolkien described every part of the landscapes in his books to a T, but gave us such a vague idea of what his characters looked like.

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Galadriel

It just amazed me that Tolkien described every part of the landscapes in his books to a T, but gave us such a vague idea of what his characters looked like.

But that makes the descriptions even more meaningful when they are there. Whenever there is a character's physical appearance, it gives us greater insight than just how s/he looks. That's one thing. Another is that the reader has freedom to imagine the finer details. Or possibly Tolkien himself didn't see his characters in great detail in his mind's eye; personally I almost never "see" their faces, or even see them fully. I can imagine how they move and some general looks, but anything more specific is really hard to imagine.

So, in other words, I would not put this on my short list of things I don't like.

[Galadriel]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

personally I almost never "see" their faces, or even see them fully. I can imagine how they move and some general looks, but anything more specific is really hard to imagine.

So, in other words, I would not put this on my short list of things I don't like.

It is generally quite hard to imagine characters' faces, whether you have a description of them or not (or maybe that's just me?), but when it comes the Hobbits and Legolas, I barely have a sense of even their colouring. They're basically different sized blobs moving about. I have a childish notion of: 'It's your story! So you describe the characters! *pouts dramatically*'

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Galadriel

'It's your story! So you describe the characters! *pouts dramatically*'

"You're the reader! You imagine them!"

[Galadriel]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

"You're the reader! You imagine them!"

I don't need or want THAT much room for the imagination! In any case, Tolkien seems to be one of those very, very few authors who does not give you an idea as to how his characters look