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The Book Thread
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Sun, 22 Aug 2010 20:48:25

How can you get a pocket edition of LOTR? Maybe if you were wearing two pairs of combat pants they would fit in the pockets. 

I have 3 different editions of LOTR, my bro bought me the last one as a gift, its like a celebration edition, it has gold trimming on the pages. So when its close it looks like a block of solid gold between two black covers. 

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Sun, 22 Aug 2010 21:08:55

gamingeek said:

How can you get a pocket edition of LOTR? Maybe if you were wearing two pairs of combat pants they would fit in the pockets. 

I have 3 different editions of LOTR, my bro bought me the last one as a gift, its like a celebration edition, it has gold trimming on the pages. So when its close it looks like a block of solid gold between two black covers. 

 LOL I know. They're not precisely pocket. 

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Sun, 22 Aug 2010 22:58:25

i have a single volume edition of TLOTR.  I read the whole thing once several years ago and I feel no need for reading it again anytime soon (there's so many other things I need to read).

BTW I finished Big Sur and on the plane back from London I started:

I expect most of you have read it.  I had previously only read an abridged edition of it in Greek as a child.  I'm about half way through and really enjoying it.  I think it's a truly great book well worthy of its classic status

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Mon, 23 Aug 2010 05:46:50

gamingeek said:

Just wondering, how many of you own a copy of Lord of the Rings?

If so, would anyone think about doing a yearly read through like Christopher Lee?

We could read in sync, up to a certain chapter on a certain date.

Yes, and no. Well, technically they're my sisters. So, no and no. Sad

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Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:20:53

SteelAttack said:

gamingeek said:

How can you get a pocket edition of LOTR? Maybe if you were wearing two pairs of combat pants they would fit in the pockets.

I have 3 different editions of LOTR, my bro bought me the last one as a gift, its like a celebration edition, it has gold trimming on the pages. So when its close it looks like a block of solid gold between two black covers.

LOL I know. They're not precisely pocket.

How did you like the  Silmarillion?

I loved it, almost prefer it to LOTR, how it gives you the whole backstory and how it describes grander events than those depicted in LOTR. The events of LOTR almost seem like a shadow of larger events in the Simarillion.

Frodo and everyone had to go through all that shit because the Valar didn't want to get off their asses and sort Sauron out.

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Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:49:05

gamingeek said:

How did you like the  Silmarillion?

I loved it, almost prefer it to LOTR, how it gives you the whole backstory and how it describes grander events than those depicted in LOTR. The events of LOTR almost seem like a shadow of larger events in the Simarillion.

Frodo and everyone had to go through all that shit because the Valar didn't want to get off their asses and sort Sauron out.

I like the flow of things in LotR. Tells a more intimate story, even in the wake of greater things around them. Easier to grasp, and abundantly described.

But what the Silmarillion lacks in intimacy, it more than makes up for with some of the greatest stories about heroes and evil that the Tolkien works can offer. Everything in there is cranked up to eleven. So Gandalf and Co. shat their pants and robes with a Balrog? The Silmarillion depicts a war with legions of them, being led by some evil badass called Gothmog. Frodo got stung in the ass by a huge spider? Probably a descendant of a foul beast called Ungoliant, whose story is told in the Silmarillion about how it fucking ATE the Tree of Light.

I get lightheaded when thinking about how would the Silmarillion be depicted with today`s special effects.

Edited: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:49:49
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Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:56:33

SteelAttack said:

gamingeek said:

How did you like the  Silmarillion?

I loved it, almost prefer it to LOTR, how it gives you the whole backstory and how it describes grander events than those depicted in LOTR. The events of LOTR almost seem like a shadow of larger events in the Simarillion.

Frodo and everyone had to go through all that shit because the Valar didn't want to get off their asses and sort Sauron out.

I like the flow of things in LotR. Tells a more intimate story, even in the wake of greater things around them. Easier to grasp, and abundantly described.

But what the Silmarillion lacks in intimacy, it more than makes up for with some of the greatest stories about heroes and evil that the Tolkien works can offer. Everything in there is cranked up to eleven. So Gandalf and Co. shat their pants and robes with a Balrog? The Silmarillion depicts a war with legions of them, being led by some evil badass called Gothmog. Frodo got stung in the ass by a huge spider? Probably a descendant of a foul beast called Ungoliant, whose story is told in the Silmarillion about how it fucking ATE the Tree of Light.

I get lightheaded when thinking about how would the Silmarillion be depicted with today`s special effects.

Yeah I get that, the Simarillion skips between characters and times, to tell a huge swathe of different epic stories, but it can't neccesarily be personal when it does that.

They say that it's unfilmable. Some of the stuff is just crazy, really powerful elves from the west going one on one with Balrogs and stuff. And Morgoth pisses all over Sauron who is just a Maiar.

There is so much that people don't know about LOTR that is explained in the Simarillion, like the Eagles, who and what Gandalf and the other wizards really are, what happened to Aragorns bloodline, it tells you about Galadriel and Elrond and just tons of other stuff.

It's just indispensible. If someone has seen the movies or just read LOTR, they really really need to read this book.

Oh BTW, don't waste your money on the Children of Hurin book, it's better to read it as part of the Unfinished Tales or Simarillion.

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Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:59:25

There's this great book I got with has artistic depictions of everything creature/location in the whole series of books.

It's fugging awesome.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tolkien-Bestiary-David-Day/dp/0517120771/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1282581841&sr=1-1-spell

http://rarelibrary.com/book/OVS-B/231/TOLKIEN+BESTIARY,+A.html

bestiary.jpg&fltr[]=wmt||5|BR|FF0000&h=800&w=800

Edited: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:03:28

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Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:02:28

SilmarillionP-back-port.jpg

I can't believe I've forgotten the name of the elf dude.

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Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:12:55
Fingolfin. He battled toe to toe with a motherfucking GOD. He had balls of adamantium.
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Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:23:45
I'm readin' dis:



Plot summary

The novel, set in post–Spanish Civil War Barcelona, concerns a young boy, Daniel. Just after the war, Daniel's father takes him to the secret Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a huge library of old, forgotten titles lovingly preserved by a select few initiates. According to tradition, everyone initiated to this secret place is allowed to take one book from it, and must protect it for life. Daniel selects a book called The Shadow of the Wind by Julián Carax. That night he takes the book home and reads it, completely engrossed. Daniel then attempts to look for other books by this unknown author, but can find none. All he comes across are stories of a strange man – calling himself Laín Coubert, after a character in the book who happens to be the Devil – who has been seeking out Carax's books for decades, buying them all and burning them.

_________________________
Critical reception
  • Entertainment Weekly (Grade: A): "While it's difficult to categorize this mystery/romance/thriller/period epic, there is no question that Wind is wondrous. Set in post-WWII Barcelona, the novel opens with a man initiating his young son, Daniel, into the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, where lost tomes wait to be rediscovered. Daniel chooses a novel called The Shadow of the Wind and becomes obsessed with the author, whose tragic and drama-filled story unfolds, interlaced with Daniel's own tragic and drama-filled life. There are places in which the book might seem a little over-the-top (doomed love, gruesome murders) but for Zafon's masterful, meticulous plotting and extraordinary control over language (originally written in Spanish, it has been translated by Lucia Graves, daughter of the poet Robert). While managing to hit just about every genre, The Shadow of the Wind is ultimately a love letter to literature, intended for readers as passionate about storytelling as its young hero."[2]
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Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:23:13

SteelAttack said:
Fingolfin. He battled toe to toe with a motherfucking GOD. He had balls of adamantium.

I just remembered that in the films they based Saurons design on the Simarillion's description of Morgoth, because Sauron is never actually physically described.

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Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:29:22

gamingeek said:

I just remembered that in the films they based Saurons design on the Simarillion's description of Morgoth, because Sauron is never actually physically described.

Sauron is an entity, as far as I understand. With no defined shape although it seems he could shift to whichever appearance could suit his means, not unlike Melkor. And yeah, the black armor, and the huge hammer in the Fellowship movie are from Melkor (Morgoth).

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Tue, 24 Aug 2010 05:41:03

SteelAttack said:

I like the flow of things in LotR. Tells a more intimate story, even in the wake of greater things around them. Easier to grasp, and abundantly described.

But what the Silmarillion lacks in intimacy, it more than makes up for with some of the greatest stories about heroes and evil that the Tolkien works can offer. Everything in there is cranked up to eleven. So Gandalf and Co. shat their pants and robes with a Balrog? The Silmarillion depicts a war with legions of them, being led by some evil badass called Gothmog. Frodo got stung in the ass by a huge spider? Probably a descendant of a foul beast called Ungoliant, whose story is told in the Silmarillion about how it fucking ATE the Tree of Light.

I get lightheaded when thinking about how would the Silmarillion be depicted with today`s special effects.

Probably as badly as LOTR was.

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Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:03:01

Foolz said:

SteelAttack said:

I like the flow of things in LotR. Tells a more intimate story, even in the wake of greater things around them. Easier to grasp, and abundantly described.

But what the Silmarillion lacks in intimacy, it more than makes up for with some of the greatest stories about heroes and evil that the Tolkien works can offer. Everything in there is cranked up to eleven. So Gandalf and Co. shat their pants and robes with a Balrog? The Silmarillion depicts a war with legions of them, being led by some evil badass called Gothmog. Frodo got stung in the ass by a huge spider? Probably a descendant of a foul beast called Ungoliant, whose story is told in the Silmarillion about how it fucking ATE the Tree of Light.

I get lightheaded when thinking about how would the Silmarillion be depicted with today`s special effects.

Probably as badly as LOTR was.

Your mama's so fat.....

SteelAttack said:

gamingeek said:

I just remembered that in the films they based Saurons design on the Simarillion's description of Morgoth, because Sauron is never actually physically described.

Sauron is an entity, as far as I understand. With no defined shape although it seems he could shift to whichever appearance could suit his means, not unlike Melkor. And yeah, the black armor, and the huge hammer in the Fellowship movie are from Melkor (Morgoth).

Wasn't it because Sauron was never fully formed or something? I can't remember, was that from the Hobbit?

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Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:28:47
Okay... so is the LotR any good as a book?  I always figured it would be like C.S.Lewis (which is good, I just never read much fiction other than Asimov or Arthur C. Clark after I was 14).

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Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:52:08

aspro said:
Okay... so is the LotR any good as a book?  I always figured it would be like C.S.Lewis (which is good, I just never read much fiction other than Asimov or Arthur C. Clark after I was 14).

It was named as the Book of the Century. At first it's tough to get into because of the terminology and various names for things. For instance once person or location may have several different names.

Once you bed down, its easier to read. It's a great, epic book, but you have to read the introduction and epilogue and index in the book to fully understand everything. But that's not a chore because you'll be so interested by the end of the book you'll be dying to read it.

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Tue, 24 Aug 2010 13:03:57

gamingeek said:

Foolz said:

SteelAttack said:

I like the flow of things in LotR. Tells a more intimate story, even in the wake of greater things around them. Easier to grasp, and abundantly described.

But what the Silmarillion lacks in intimacy, it more than makes up for with some of the greatest stories about heroes and evil that the Tolkien works can offer. Everything in there is cranked up to eleven. So Gandalf and Co. shat their pants and robes with a Balrog? The Silmarillion depicts a war with legions of them, being led by some evil badass called Gothmog. Frodo got stung in the ass by a huge spider? Probably a descendant of a foul beast called Ungoliant, whose story is told in the Silmarillion about how it fucking ATE the Tree of Light.

I get lightheaded when thinking about how would the Silmarillion be depicted with today`s special effects.

Probably as badly as LOTR was.

Your mama's so fat.....


Nah, you're right: the special effects were good. That was about it, though.

aspro said:
Okay... so is the LotR any good as a book?  I always figured it would be like C.S.Lewis (which is good, I just never read much fiction other than Asimov or Arthur C. Clark after I was 14).

Tolkien's writing isn't really anything like C.S. Lewis' from what I remember but it's been awhile since I read any of either. It's certainly better from what I remember, though!

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Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:21:52
aspro said:
Okay... so is the LotR any good as a book?  I always figured it would be like C.S.Lewis (which is good, I just never read much fiction other than Asimov or Arthur C. Clark after I was 14).

The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are excellent as books.  Stay the hell away from anything else by Tolkien, though.

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Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:39:34
This was discussed in the post podcast segment. I read the books after watching the movies and I perfer the movies. It's not the books fault, Tolkien spends a lot of time describing stuff that I have seen in the movie, therefore as I read I don't need the description cause in my mind I already see it. Of course the action is no where near as good, writing about a war is far more boring that showing a war on screen. That said the characters are more fleshed out and its still fantastic.The book must have been extremely exciting to read if one did not know what was going to happen next, I of course do so it loses all of its tension.
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