Parts we read without reading the whole book

[Lalwendë]

I often read the passages featuring The Shire as stand alone pieces, purely because I like Hobbits so much. And also The Voice of Saruman; and The Old Forest through to Fog On The Barrow-downs. I'm still sad that everyone sees fit to cut these chapters out.

[Aiwendil]

As far as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, I tend to do complete read-throughs and avoid reading excerpts. In part, that's because once I've started reading either of them, I find it very difficult to stop. The chief exception is the poetry, which I'll sometimes read in isolation - particularly a few favourites like Aragorn's song of Beren and Luthien or 'Earendil was a Mariner'. The appendices to LotR, though, I frequently read piecemeal; and also the prologue.

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Aiwendil

The chief exception is the poetry, which I'll sometimes read in isolation - particularly a few favourites like Aragorn's song of Beren and Luthien or 'Earendil was a Mariner'.

Indeed! I also tend to single out my favourite poems and songs.

[littlemanpoet]

My stand-alones:

• "Riddles in the Dark"
• "Ainulindalé"
• "On Faerie Stories"
• The gift-giving at Lorien, particularly the exchange between Gimli and Galadriel
• Sam with the Ring
• The Scouring of the Shire

[Gondolin23]

My favorite re-reads are the dramatic and dangerous parts:
1. Eowyn defying the Nazgul
2. Galadriel and her Mirror
3. Frodo confronting Saruman at Bag End
4. The hobbits passing through Shelob's Lair
5. The whole Moria journey

[Tuor in Gondolin]

1---Unfinished Tales, esp. The Battle of the Fords of Isen
and The Disaster of the Gladden Fields. and The Quest of
Erebor. (It's a pity PJ and
Friends apparently didn't read it or they might have not made
some of their sillier "improvements in their 3 LoTR movies).

2---The Ride of the Rohirrim. That chapter is really meant to be
read aloud. Again, PJ botched it in RotK. Not only Eowyn but the
whole charge. Theoden should have (in the dark with figures in
shadow) have blown Guthlaf's horn and then charged with a
bright light breaking through first on the flag (white horse upon a
field of green) and then gradually bringing light to the field as
the Rohirrim charged (not saying ""Death!"- that comes later) but
breaking into singing.

[Gondolin23]

Sorry, I overlooked the Silmarillion, but I have the same taste there:
6. Fingolfin fighting Morgoth
7. Beren and Luthien in Morgoth's throne room
8. The killing of the Two Trees, and the creation of the Sun and Moon
9. Nirnaeth Arnoediad: even though it's a disaster, there's a lot of heroism I like

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

I often read the passages featuring The Shire as stand alone pieces, purely because I like Hobbits so much. And also The Voice of Saruman; and The Old Forest through to Fog On The Barrow-downs. I'm still sad that everyone sees fit to cut these chapters out.

These chapters are also my favourites! When I first read Lord of the Rings, I was particularly drawn to hobbits. During my first read I was anxious to get the story rolling, so I rushed through the beginning, but since then those have become my most loved chapters. When I first read FotR, Bilbo's Bath Song caught my fancy. I always thought it so funny. I have always liked the banter between Frodo, Sam, and Pippin. When Merry was added to it, that made it even better!

[Aganzir]

Originally Posted by Tuor in Gondolin

and The Quest of
Erebor. (It's a pity PJ and
Friends apparently didn't read it or they might have not made
some of their sillier "improvements in their 3 LoTR movies).

They couldn't have used anything in it though because they don't have the rights to UT... and my guess is that the Estate might have sued them if there had been anything that looked even remotely Quest of Erebor-ish. (Sometimes it feels like they didn't read The Hobbit either. )

I rarely reread just parts, especially if I'm reading one of the more coherent stories, but sometimes you get a craving. Poems are easier to single out (and I have lots of favourites), but there are also some chapters - even though usually I prefer thinking back to a chapter, recalling its atmosphere and tone and then saving it for a later read-through. The ones I get back to regularly:

• Old Forest, Tom Bombadil, Barrow-downs
• the Bridge of Khazad-dûm
• the Window on the West
• the Gondor stuff in Book Five in ROTK (and the Ride of the Rohirrim too - I agree with Tuor it's amazing)

It covers my main interests: dwarves and the dúnedain of the south. Similarly in the Sil, UT and HOME, I mostly reread passages about dwarves and Númenor.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by TheGreatElvenWarrior

These chapters are also my favourites! When I first read Lord of the Rings, I was particularly drawn to hobbits. During my first read I was anxious to get the story rolling, so I rushed through the beginning, but since then those have become my most loved chapters. When I first read FotR, Bilbo's Bath Song caught my fancy. I always thought it so funny. I have always liked the banter between Frodo, Sam, and Pippin. When Merry was added to it, that made it even better!

Those three chapters go right to the heart of what Tolkien means to me and they're really evocative of ancient Britain - the wildwood, the rain, the barrows, the megaliths...When I first read about Old Man Willow I knew exactly why he was frightening and dangerous, it was like getting some atavistic thrill.

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

Those three chapters go right to the heart of what Tolkien means to me and they're really evocative of ancient Britain - the wildwood, the rain, the barrows, the megaliths...When I first read about Old Man Willow I knew exactly why he was frightening and dangerous, it was like getting some atavistic thrill.

Was there a reason other than his hobbit eating tendencies?

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by TheGreatElvenWarrior

Was there a reason other than his hobbit eating tendencies?

It reminded me of being a child and how my parents and grandparents used to warn me about going near the willows that still grew along the brooks and ditches (which were also full of 'Jinny Greenteeth') where we lived. And of the vast, old weeping one that grew in our garden, that I used to hide under. My mum would say she was scared the tree would eat me up.

Willow is very odd. My dad had to chop some down once because they were stopping his apples from fruiting, and he re-used the wood to make a fence. It sprouted again! It's hard enough to make a cricket bat from but soft enough to make a basket.

[cellurdur]

I love the rich history of Middle Earth so two of my favourite chapters are the Council of Elrond and the Shadow of the Past. Another favourite though for different reasons is the Scouring of the Shire.

[Ardent]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

...willows that still grew along the brooks and ditches ...the vast, old weeping one that grew in our garden...

Willow is very odd. ..and he re-used the wood to make a fence. It sprouted again! It's hard enough to make a cricket bat from but soft enough to make a basket.

I grew up in the Severn Valley and willows don't just line the banks, they preserve them. Their roots get everywhere binding ground that the river would otherwise erode. Many rivers still have willows that were deliberately planted and kept either coppiced or else pollarded (their heads cut off above browsing height) to provide a constant source of basket canes. One of my favourite paintings, The_Lady_Of_Shallot by John William Waterhouse, is set against such a managed riverbank.

Of course, left to himself Old Man Willow will grow taller and taller until he falls over and then send up new shoots. I used to enjoy playing in a marshy area where this had happened and the fallen trunks had become bridges over pools.

Whenever I read LotR I love to arrive at the next woodland. They each have their own character (and we meet characters in them) and we get to pass through every wood on the map east of Hobbiton:

Woody End
The Old Forest
Trollshaws
Lorien
Fangorn
Firion Wood
Druadan Forest
Ithilien

and of course, in The Hobbit, we get to visit Greenwood the Great/Mirkwood.

I wonder what kind of character the woodlands to the north and south of the Gulf of Lhun would have. Given that they lie in the realm of Cirdan the shipwright perhaps they'd be, in part, managed for his purposes like the New Forest in Hampshire?