The two types of LotR fans

[Thinlómien]

I've noticed that there are two different kinds of LotR-fans; those who love the story and those who love the world.
This actually is also for those who have become fans because of the movies; what in the movies fascinated them most?

My aunt is a perfect example of a story-lover LotR-fan. She reads it always again and again (as she does with a few other books). Once I asked her, has she read The Silmarillion. "I started it, but it was so boring, that I couldn't read it any further", she answered.
So story-lovers love just the story, and the characters maybe. They usually don't read The Sil, or HoMEs.

The others, world-lovers, love Middle-Earth. Its places, cultures, peoples and languages. They may end up with playing RPGs in ME.

Of course people can't be divided so roughly; I don't say that the story-lovers wouldn't love Middle-Earth as a place, or the world-lovers wouldn't love LotR as a story.

Have you ever noticed this distinction? Which group do you belong in?
I myself belong to the world-lovers, I suppose, though I love the story too...
I'm interested to hear your answers...

[mark12_30]

World.

Although, when it all began, I was Story.

Perhaps my interest is further clarified when I say, 'holiness'; it is the holiness that intrigues me and draws me in, and I was drawn first by the virtue in LOTR. It took a different way of looking, to find that virtue in the Sil.

[Lalwendë]

For me I'd have to be contrary and say both. But sometimes I think the thrill of the story wears off after many readings, as it doesn't necessarily surprise as much - though with Tolkien I always notice something new each time I read his work. If the World did not have the story then I don't think I could have enjoyed it in the first place, as its story which draws in the majority of people. Without story then it might just be a gazeteer or a travel book with some wonderful descriptions. But then because the World is so immersive, it keeps me reading even long after I have learned the plot. And sometimes, when I have 'lost the plot'.

[Sophia the Thunder Mistress]

I'll have to agree with what Lalwende said about not being introduced to the world without first knowing the story, but after that point, I'm certainly in the "World" camp.

I think it's the complexity of Tolkien's world that makes it able to stand up to so much analysis without losing the joy of the story. Some stories, even great literature, wear out under too much scrutiny (is it just me, or has Jane Eyre been analyzed to death?), Tolkien's world doesn't wear out like that, at least for me. And I suspect that this is because of the great detail he included and the vast amount of background material we have to put the story in context.

I've thought about this often, actually, and although I can't say why, I've definitely made the distinction between Story-lovers and World-lovers. It reminds me of the distinction CS Lewis made between two types of readers in his book "An Experiment in Criticism"--only I suspect that both kinds of readers of Tolkien would probably fit his "literary" category.

Sophia

[Eruanna]

I would have to say that in the beginning it was The Story.
When I first read The Hobbit, I was entranced. These were not the pale representations of Elves and Dwarves in the children's stories I was used to and I delighted in the difference.
On reading the trilogy a few years later, as well as appreciating the epic, I fell headlong into the world, its people and its history; and there I have remained, devouring The Silm and Unfinished Tales and of late, HoME.
I find my fascination difficult to explain sometimes. My family are used to finding me with my nose perpetually in a book and yet they can't understand why I would wish to read and re-read the same stories. I know that each time I 'visit' I will find something new.
To cut a long explanation short. I would say that for me, the world is the story.

[Milord Aldagrim]

I'll have to say both. When I first read the story, I loved it, and after the second time, I started noticing the subtleties of the symbolism, but I've always liked to think about what it would be like to live there. In fact, Tolkien has inspired me to try to create my own world.

[Elu Ancalime]

For me i started on the story. I first got into lotr by seeing the two towers with a friend. I didnt understand anything that was going on, so i read the books. But then after reading the silmarillion, the hobbits, and others like unfinished tales, the world Tolkien created was overwhelming. I dont really refer to the books as lotr, because the lord of the rings is juust a part of the Ea created. I would refer to it as Ea or Arda, but few nonreaders understand that. I just think of it as Tolkiens works.
________
Fusion (europe)

[Thinlómien]

I dont really refer to the books as lotr, because the lord of the rings is juust a part of the Ea created. I would refer to it as Ea or Arda, but few nonreaders understand that. I just think of it as Tolkiens works.

I agree! It's impossible to say that you're a Arda-fan, or you'd like to play an Arda-quiz, because no one understands what are you talking about. But saying LotR or Middle-Earth isn't just the same thing.

[ArathorofBarahir]

To be brutally honest with you, I couldn't choose, and you can't make me. I love the story and the world just the same.

I'm both.. I first loved the story, and when the movies came out, I became attached to Middle Earth itself. all I remember saying when I first saw FotR was: It's sooooo pretty!!!!

[Oroaranion]

First thoughts after many readings of the books is that I am a story man. I have read the Hobbit and the Silm, and enjoyed both, although initially the Silm was quite hard to get into. I have a hard time imagining teh world and places inside my head, the images in there ae supplied by the movies, and this is only one person's view of the world.
Also, reading the appendices is very interesting, as it helps develop characters and give the story more of a history.

[Calan]

Like so many, I began with the story - read The Hobbit in elementary school, and subsequently lost interest for a few years. When the movies were initially announced, I found the thread again, and went headlong into the trilogy; aided in no small part by the interest in Dungeons & Dragons that I had developed in between times. These days, I read the trilogy in full once or twice a year, and just odd chapters at a whim.

I suppose that makes it fairly recently that I've dug deeper into the rest of the milieu. I'd never really much paid attention to the appendices in Return of the King before, much less the other books; now that I actually have the patience to churn through the weightier volumes, so much the better! The real joy is in the details as well as the vast view, and years of tabletop roleplaying have made me very aware of both views.

In short: though the story came first, the two ideas are far too intertwined now for me to decide between them - and why would I want to?

PS: Q#5 - b) Elrond, for the prose version.

[Eowyn Skywalker]

How can you possibly put it into words? The story is incredible. You have to fall in love with the story to ever love the world. I read the story, and I loved it, but the world contained so much depth... I wanted to fanfic, I wanted to learn the language, I wanted to know more and so much more! It's what drove me to love Star Wars just as much. They both had these worlds. And with both fandoms effecting me, I have to say with both it's the worlds, the races, the languages, the possibilities for so much more!

I love the stories. The worlds wouldn't be the same without the "canon". But after I read/watched/etc, I found myself thinking fanfictions up in my head. I built on to the worlds and made characters, immediately became a role-player of sorts. I loved RPs on sites like these because they allowed further exploration.

You can't love the world without loving at least one of the stories. But the world offers so much more than the plot does. It allows for room to run, to play, to let your fingers do the speaking over text rather than merely read it once, get the story, that's it.

I love worlds that offer the emmensity of Middle-earth, the sorts of worlds that let you make forums and fictions and RPGs. I'm not entirely a world lover. I'll never be able to read all of HoME and like it better than the LotR books. But it's probably a 60:40 in favor of the world.

[Texadan]

Originally Posted by Thinlómien

I've noticed that there are two different kinds of LotR-fans; those who love the story and those who love the world.
This actually is also for those who have become fans because of the movies; what in the movies fascinated them most?

My aunt is a perfect example of a story-lover LotR-fan. She reads it always again and again (as she does with a few other books). Once I asked her, has she read The Silmarillion. "I started it, but it was so boring, that I couldn't read it any further", she answered.
So story-lovers love just the story, and the characters maybe. They usually don't read The Sil, or HoMEs.

The others, world-lovers, love Middle-Earth. Its places, cultures, peoples and languages. They may end up with playing RPGs in ME.

Of course people can't be divided so roughly; I don't say that the story-lovers wouldn't love Middle-Earth as a place, or the world-lovers wouldn't love LotR as a story.

Have you ever noticed this distinction? Which group do you belong in?
I myself belong to the world-lovers, I suppose, though I love the story too...
I'm interested to hear your answers...

I'm a little of both. Now. The first time I picked up The Silmarillion my reaction was the same as your Aunt's. I didn't touch it again for years. Then I tried it again and found myself enjoying it, though not as much as the story. I'm still a story person but I now enjoy the history and culture of Middle-Earth as well.

[Laitoste]

It alternates. Sometimes, I just want to wander the eaves of Doriath, or those of Lorien, or even the plains of Rohan, and discover their secrets for myself. Others, like right now, I am simply struck by how much I love the story of The Lord of the Rings, and all I want to do is curl up and relive the narrative. So, it depends on when you ask me, really...which is absolutely inconclusive. But there you go.

[ninja91]

Both! The world itself is a beautiful creation of adventure and myth. The story is full of valiance, friendship, and integrity. Tolkien is a genious- to make the world of Arda, to build societies, create histories, and then to make an elaborate story that beats out the Bible (sorry God). I going to go play with my LOTR warhammers now! later

[Volo]

(Don't take it too seriously)
Like the greatest Finnish philosopher said: "It's fifty-sixty."

Silm is my favourite book from Tolkien, for both world and plot. I'm really interested in Tolkien's languages and the history of Arda, but I'm too lazy to read enough about it. I rather invent my own world...

[shieldmaiden4xsword]

you know, I love the stories. I really really REALLY love reading them.

But I also love the world. I read halfway through the Silmarillion but it got time to return it to the library so i couldn't finish it. Gotta borrow it again. I want to watch the movies. I really really do...... and I spend a lot of time on LOTR websites.....learning about interesting stuff......

and the language is kinda cool. It's interesting seeing what the names and stuff mean.

Namárië!

me too....i always wish for more info......same with the Bible. There's a lot of what-if's in LOTR.....

When I first read LoTR, I belonged more in the 'story' camp, and finished reading the book without any interest in the appendices. I began reading them, but did not finish.

A couple years later after my second read, I was enthralled with the appedices. I had watched the movies, and re-read the LoTR for comparision; I wanted more than the book itself or the movies offered. The appendices slightly quenced my thirst, but it was the Simillarion that satisfied me. I had crossed over to the 'world' camp.

Now, I feel more strong towards the world, and only slightly less toward the story.


~Jaime

[Galadriel]

Interesting thread! I would say I am a lover of both, since when I started reading Lord of the Rings, I loved it for the story, but eventually, after reading The Hobbit, The Silmarillion and other works I fell in love with the world as well. It never ceases to fascinate me. I am much of a nature lover, so naturally Tolkien's idealistic world appeals to me

[Galadriel55]

I'm both, like Galadriel. At first I was hooked up by the story, but after I reread LOTR a few times I fell in love with the world, and that inspired me to read other Tolkien works.

[xMellrynxMaidenx]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

I'm both, like Galadriel. At first I was hooked up by the story, but after I reread LOTR a few times I fell in love with the world, and that inspired me to read other Tolkien works.

Same here, it's like someone mentioned earlier on in the thread, you can't really love the world without having first read the story.

I find the storyline to be entertaining and I NEVER get tired of reading it. That being said, I'm also an explorer type of person; love to travel to different locations and learn everything there is to know or do everything there is to know. So reading of something different with so many places; it's my version of heaven.

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by xMellrynxMaidenx

So reading of something different with so many places; it's my version of heaven.

How the same for me! I practically live inside books. All my thoughts are with books. In my last life I was a character of a book, and I hope to be so in the next life. My favourite books are those that happen sometime in the past, and I don't care if it's five decades or 5 centuries ago. When I read a book I get into that world and stay there until I start another one.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

I practically live inside books... In my last life I was a character of a book... When I read a book I get into that world and stay there until I start another one.

With that kind of mindset you'd tremendously enjoy Jasper Fforde's 'Thursday Next' books! That kind of tale allows for a "both" answer to the question of this thread...

We now return to your scheduled Tolkien discussion.

[Galadriel]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

How the same for me! I practically live inside books. All my thoughts are with books. In my last life I was a character of a book, and I hope to be so in the next life. My favourite books are those that happen sometime in the past, and I don't care if it's five decades or 5 centuries ago. When I read a book I get into that world and stay there until I start another one.

Really? *astonished* I live in a book even after I've finished reading it My mom thinks I 'have something wrong with me' because I'd rather live with my books than live with a (future) husband