The Tolkien Middle Age Club - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

HerenIstarion · 09-19-2002, 04:31 AM

Well, there two active clubs of the kind already, yet I found myself as non qualifiable for both. Coming Of Age one requires reading JRRT's works at least 18 years ago, Under Age to be less than 18 of age oneself. This Middle one is for those who are older than 18 yet read Tolkien for the first time less than 18 years ago.

Here we go:

I'm 24, going to be 25 soon. I've read The Hobbit back in 1989 and Smith of Wotton Major in 1990. Those two books introduced me to Tolkien, and I got hooked since the first read. Both books were in Russian translation, the latter by modern and more or less renowned Russian writer Nagibin. As far as I know, no one in my family confessed ever since of putting the books there, so I assume both were bought some time before due to the covers as "good for children" stuff. Bilbo on the cover looks like old Russian comical actor Leonov, [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] I still retain those books. The Hobbit was published in 1976, and The Smith in 1988

Then (I knew not English) I asked my grandma, who was going on trip to Russia, to bring me LoTR. I knew there was a sequel to the Hobbit from it's preface. She brought it indeed, yet only FoTR (very rare copy of that edition, Raduga Publishers I believe - by mistake cover is upturned - if you open the book normally, you get last page of the book upside down), and TT, and I spent 2 horrible years till 1993 inventing possible adventures that has befallen after Shelob, for The Return of the King was not yet translated and published. And than (I even remember the date, itwas 13th of February, 1993) I saw RoTK on the open fair, in the spot in Tbilisi called "Dry Bridge". All kinds of books, paintings and other artistic paraphernalia a sold there on weekends. I had no money with me, so I promised to pay twice as much as the seller asked, only if the book was still there when I return. I had to borrow money from my sister after an hour of begging (I was so excited she would not believe I needed it to bye a book, those elder sisters are apt to act so parentally sometimes, you know) And ran back like mad. The seller was puzzled indeed - he told me afterwards he was not able to sell it for three weeks!

Same year I started to learn English for the sake of reading Tolkien. (Preface to FoTR was unmerciful enough to reveal that there was more than Bilbo and Frodo, namely Silmarillion, and it was not translated to any language known to me then - Georgian or Russian)

And when I finally got hold of original Hobbit and LoTR (my university lecturer supplied me with them) I was very surprised to read some names, for Russian translators were russificating the book. Bet you can't get who Vseslavur is?

[ November 30, 2002: Message edited by: HerenIstarion ]

Alkanoonion · 09-19-2002, 05:16 AM

Woops I posted in the under 18 topic, I thought it was for reading the books under 18 yrs not for 18 yr olds.

Ok I am 25 years old I started reading the Hobbit when I was 10 so I have been reading the books for 15 years.

[img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Lush · 09-19-2002, 09:06 AM

"Vseslavur"? Well, "vse" is all, "slava" is glory, which leads me to the conclusion that...I have absolutely no idea who you're talking about. Aragorn? Humph.
Well, as for our "club", I guess I fit the general criteria. Im over 18. I first read the books...last winter.
I had read parts of The Hobbit on a babysitting job before, but didn't really know about the existence of the LotR, and all the other heaps of literature. You can say that PJ was the one who turned me on to this stuff. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

Maikadilwen · 09-19-2002, 09:12 AM

Well, I'm 24 (for a couple more months) and I first read Tolkien.... Uhm... Hmm, honestly I can't remember, but we're talking 11-12 years ago. Though it wasn't until recently I bought any of the books myself. Shame on me, I know. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Eol · 09-19-2002, 11:19 AM

Don't feel bad Alk I misunderstood it as well. I definately fit the criteria of this thread better then the other, I felt much too old.

I grew up with the hobbit and began reading the LOTR in seventh grade when my english teacher said we were watching the animated movies because the books were too hard. I was disapointed how easy it was to read, and I keep on reading them.

I have been at it for about seven or eight years, I have stopped counting a while ago. include the hobbit, fourteen years.

[ September 19, 2002: Message edited by: Eol ]

amyrlis · 09-19-2002, 01:28 PM

Phew! I'm glad you started this as I was beginning to think I'd have to start a Tolkien Gen-X Club of my own! I do qualify with the 18+ years of age, in fact I am just nearing the age where I've started to become sensitive about it! I 1st read LOTR a little more than 15 years ago when my sister participated in a high school stage version of the The Hobbit. I was instantly hooked and fell even deeper for them after reading the Sil a few years later. I let my interest slide during my busy college years and the years following, but as soon as I heard an inkling of the coming movies I was again ensnared. I have since added UT to my collection and will have Lost Tales and maybe some HoME on my Christmas list this year.
HI - don't keep us in suspense! Who is Vseslavur??? I will venture to guess, um, Legolas!

Tigerlily Gamgee · 09-19-2002, 08:20 PM

Hmmm... well, I guess I'll post here, even though The Barrow Downs is kinda one-big club in itself. Why is everyone starting to segregate into categories???
I am 22, and I read LOTR less than a year ago. The movie is what prompted me to read the books & now they are my favorite ever! I have also read The Hobbit & The Silmarillion... and I have copies of many of the histories, but it will be a while before I get time to read them.
I also enjoy long walks on the beach, dinner by the lake, and.... [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img]

Neferchoirwen · 09-19-2002, 09:06 PM

I am just about to end The Fellowship at the moment (The Company had just eaten with Galadriel and Celeborn), and I first read The Hobbit just last May.

And like Lush and Tigerlily, I was turned on to Tolkien by the movie. Fantasy was never my thing, but I knew that I should have picked it up at the bookstore 9 years ago.

Vseslavur...my guess would be Arwen????? [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

Bruce MacCulloch · 09-19-2002, 10:37 PM

Well, it seems that I would fit into this category here very nicely.
I'm twenty-six years old (going on seventy according to some of the kids in chat) and first read The Hobbit when I was eight. The summer that I was nine, I had chicken pox and couldn't go anywhere for a little bit. I read Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion straight through. Started reading when I woke up and read until I went to sleep, even holding the book in front of me during meals. (I was at my grandmother's house, my mom would never have let me get away with that one.)
Ever since then, every winter, I start with The Hobbit and work my way through LotR and the Sil. I haven't quite gotten up the stamina to read all of HoME straight though (again - heh heh).

HerenIstarion · 09-20-2002, 01:05 AM

Well, Lush was right in translating the parts of Vseslavur. Vse is "all" and "slavur" may be translated as "glorified" And as well as Lush was right, Muraviev and Kistakovsky (translators) were wrong in interpreting "glor" stem in Glorfindel as "glory" [img]smilies/cool.gif[/img]

PS not that "all glorified" is not suiting Glorfindel nicely, yet still...

[ September 20, 2002: Message edited by: HerenIstarion ]

Neferchoirwen · 09-20-2002, 08:46 AM

I was thinking Galadriel, instead of Glorfindel. In fact, I read Glorfindel as Galadriel (my brain is failing me).

Bruce, for a "seventy-year-old," you're quite a buff for cartoons. Compensating for what the kids think about your age? [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Bruce MacCulloch · 09-20-2002, 09:28 PM

Eol · 09-20-2002, 09:30 PM

Real Mature,, bruce, realy mature! Heh, love the little smiley.

Neferchoirwen · 09-22-2002, 11:27 PM

It is a cute smiley. Even if it was aimed at me [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img]

I was browsing at the Under age club just now, and I am impressed at the fact that as young as nine, they were able to understand Tolkien's language. The language was one of the reasons why I didn't read it when I was half my age now. (But I knew I would've pulled it off) [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

Neferchoirwen · 10-05-2002, 08:56 AM

I'm putting this up again so that the mid-age LotR readers would, you know, show themselves. The Coming of Age people are coming strong.

Bruce: Sorry for the quip on childishness, bro. It was purely endearment.

Hanna_Gamgee · 10-15-2002, 11:51 AM

I am 29 years old. I just started reading LOTR a year ago when the movies came out. Before that I didn't read much fantasy books.I read the hobbit when I was younger. Now I like to read fantasy books more often.

HerenIstarion · 10-16-2002, 12:34 AM

Welcome to our club, Hanna. You still have a great time before you when you get on to the Silmarillion and the rest [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] I even envy you a little (yes, yes, shame on me) [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

[ October 16, 2002: Message edited by: HerenIstarion ]

[ October 19, 2002: Message edited by: HerenIstarion ]

Neferchoirwen · 10-18-2002, 08:41 AM

Welcome to the Downs, and to this club, Hanna!
...and welcome to the world of fantasy literature!

We're kinda on the same boat. I've gathered an interest in fantasy only after reading Tolkien, which was after watching the movie.

[ October 18, 2002: Message edited by: Neferchoirwen ]

HerenIstarion · 11-29-2002, 08:36 AM

We are [?depressed?] minority it seems, come, middle agers (heh?), show up yourselves...

Joy · 11-30-2002, 12:49 AM

I am 24 and I started reading LotR after the movie came out. I did not see the movie at first, because I thought that it was "evil" as some of my friends had said.

Then I started seeing people on the Christian boards that I was one talk about it. One day, I went to my Christian bookstore and saw FotR on the front stand. I decided then that I would check it out.

I bought it about a week before Christmas, but didn't read it right away. Then my mother had a car accident - totaled her car - on New Years Eve. When she went back to work later that week, she took my car and I was stuck at home 12 hours a day by myself.

It was okay for the first week or so, but by the end of Jan, I was going crazy! So, I picked up FotR. I read the book in 2 days, then the next night my mom was off from work and I bought TTT, RotK, and The Hobbit. I finished LotR by Feb 3 - my registration date here on this site, then I dove into The Hobbit. One Feb 12, I saw the movie. After the movie was over, I bought the Sil and UT.

It took me forever to read the Sil the first time through. Now, I have read LotR 3x's, The Hobbit 3x's, the Sil 2x's and working on my 2nd of UT.

I now have the 1st 5 books of HoME and am asking for Morgoth's Ring (HoME 10) and War of the Jewels(HoME 11) for Christmas.

Edit: My mom was not injured in the car wreak - the wheel came off and she went into an enbankment and hit several trees. She bought another car on Feb 13 - the day after we saw the movie.

[ November 30, 2002: Message edited by: Joy ]

HerenIstarion · 11-30-2002, 01:35 AM

Hya Joy, Feb is a good month (I read RoTK in February [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img], and I saw the movie on February 9, for it was not brought to Georgia until then)

Susan Delgado · 11-30-2002, 11:49 PM

Well, I almost qualify for the Coming of Age Club, but not quite. Here I fit in nicely [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

I'm 23 now and have been a bookworm since before I was born. That is, my father is a bookworm too. It's hereditary (at least in my family it is). He introduced me to books, specifically sci fi, but also fantasy and everything else in general. You know, Books, when I was very young. In the summer of 1986, when I was six or seven, my family read Watership Down and The Hobbit. I picked up Fellowship when I was nine or ten but lost interest somewhere after the Council of Elrond. I tried again sporadically over the next twelve years but could never get more than halfway through, despite reading everything else I could get my greedy little mind on. Finally, I realised there was really going to be a movie and that gave me the impetus to finally finish it, and here I am now. I honestly have no idea what stopped me all those years.

By the way, though I've now read LotR and Silm, The Hobbit is still my favorite. It was the one I could (and did) always read. Watership Down is also one of my very favorite books in the world, and I doubt I'd have read it on my own. Rabbits? No Way! It shows how much influence early childhood experiences have on us.

Neferchoirwen · 12-01-2002, 08:02 AM

I have finished reading all of three books just last autumn...and the dreams I've been having were pretty cool, too.

I just saw the cartoon version on Disney a few months ago, Susan. I thought is was cool. I have the book now, thuogh I haven;t read it.

As for me and Middle Earth, I promised myself that I will read LotR to all of my kids, with accents and all.

Susan Delgado · 12-01-2002, 01:28 PM

Neferchoirwen, are you talking about Watership Down? If so, do yourself a favor: burn the movie and read the book. That movie is a 90 minute acid trip.

I'm also going to read LotR to my children, when I have them, along with everything else. No kiddy books for mine! Novels all the way. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Neferchoirwen · 12-02-2002, 12:39 AM

Susan, I figured that out. It was too short for a book that thick. Just saw it on Disney, which I think was the old one. Neil Simon sang the theme on that one.

I've been reading American Gods lately, and I'm getting depressed...I decided to read the Silm along the way, but it might give me migraines (reading the Silm with AG).

HerenIstarion · 12-02-2002, 03:58 AM

Take Silmarillion for your money [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

BTW, since The Silmarillion is presented as collection of tales from the First Age of the world, there is nothing particularly wrong in skipping 'hard' places. I've read it some 10+ times, but I can't recall reading the chapter "Of Beleriand and it's Realsm" more than thrice

Neferchoirwen · 12-16-2002, 02:23 AM

Thanks for the tip...though I just finished American Gods already...but the silm kinda kept my brain in balance...

Yep, I guess I'll be skipping a few stuff. Thanks again!

Sleeping Beauty · 12-16-2002, 11:45 PM

The Silm is a hard read, even when you're trying to concentrate on it alone. @_@

I guess I fit into this category as well. I'm 21 and I first read the LOTR when I was 15. I was always a big fan of fantasy and it was suggested to me by my history teacher. I picked up the books quickly and drank them all in.

It feels funny though you all are posting in the Middle Age Club since everyone here seems so young.... [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] Are we getting that old already? [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

Diamond18 · 12-17-2002, 12:04 AM

Well, I've seen lots of other "Who are you, what is your age, gender, social security number and measurements, when did you first read LotR and how many times have you read it since then" threads and made my obligatory posts.

None of those other threads had such prestigious titles as "The Middle Age Club", so I have to join this thread. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] I won't tell you all the above stuff, though...if you don't already know you're not paying attention. [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img] It's sufficient to say that I qualify for this Club. (Shouldn't we have a motto? Like, "I'll read HoME, if I have to...I guess.")

PS, H-I, maybe you can quiz us on some more russified names? Bring them on!

[ December 17, 2002: Message edited by: Diamond18 ]

HerenIstarion · 12-17-2002, 04:39 AM

Being off-topic strayer meself, I nevertheless am rapt to grab an opportunity to repent and not pose on you requested quizzes here right awaym but readdress you to proper place named:

Quotes in other languages

Liriodendron · 12-17-2002, 06:11 AM

I'm happy to be in The Middle Age club! I'm scared of "The Senior Citizens Club"! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] Hold the phone! I just re read the opener! I read Tolkien over thirty years ago, so I can't be in this club!
I'm the coming of age club! [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img] [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] As long as It's not the old folks club!

[ December 17, 2002: Message edited by: Liriodendron ]

Maikadilwen · 12-19-2002, 08:25 AM

Well, I certainly begin to feel "middle-aged"... I just turned 25 today! [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img]
Oh the PAIN! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

hobbitlass · 02-01-2003, 08:16 AM

AAAAH! The place where I belong. Okay now for my story. As stated before, I will turn 30 on April 15.
September 2001 is when I had heard about the movie for LotR. It brought back a memory of me playing at my best-friend's house 18 years earlier. There was some weird cartoon on the T.V. and all I remember is a frog biting off a short person's finger and falling in lava. I wondered if this was the same story.
Few days later I found the Del-Rey paperbacks at Wal-mart real cheap so I snatched them up.
I read The Hobbit and Lotr in a week. I couldn't put them down but I had to, to take care of my three girls.
I stayed up all night when I was finishing Return of the King. I had to pick up my mum and sisters from the airport the next day. I was on such an adrenalin high that I was wired the whole next day.
Since then I have been collecting Tolkien's works.
I discovered this place last August. I love it here. I'm with others that have a common interest (AKA obsession). So I'll be dead here a long time.

[ February 01, 2003: Message edited by: hobbitlass ]

Holbytlass · 08-23-2005, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hobbitlass

AAAAH! The place where I belong. Okay now for my story. As stated before, I will turn 30 on April 15.
September 2001 is when I had heard about the movie for LotR. It brought back a memory of me playing at my best-friend's house 18 years earlier. There was some weird cartoon on the T.V. and all I remember is a frog biting off a short person's finger and falling in lava. I wondered if this was the same story.
Few days later I found the Del-Rey paperbacks at Wal-mart real cheap so I snatched them up.
I read The Hobbit and Lotr in a week. I couldn't put them down but I had to, to take care of my three girls.
I stayed up all night when I was finishing Return of the King. I had to pick up my mum and sisters from the airport the next day. I was on such an adrenalin high that I was wired the whole next day.
Since then I have been collecting Tolkien's works.
I discovered this place last August. I love it here. I'm with others that have a common interest (AKA obsession). So I'll be dead here a long time.

This is me, I had to re-incarnate, but the story remains the same!

I still love it here and in 8 months I turn 33 and I come-of-age in the Shire-reckoning!

HerenIstarion · 08-23-2005, 07:29 AM

Though gradually, the club still grows

Welcome, Beren, and welcome back, hobbitlass

Feanor of the Peredhil · 08-23-2005, 07:58 AM

How wonderful that the day I find this club is under a week after I qualify for it.

I'm only just 18, but that makes me... old, I suppose. You truly feel it if you ever head over to the chat room where fourteen-year-olds bemoan their love-struck fates.

I did not "discover" Tolkien's work so much as I was forced to read it in 7th grade by a teacher that by common consent is just plain nuts. I have very clear memories of her reading aloud "Riddles in the Dark" and screaming at the top of her voice (disrupting other classes, mind you) about how Baggins is a theif and we hates it forever.

Even apart from that though, I loved The Hobbit and finished it ages before my classmates. I was... *counts on fingers* 12 at the time.

It was my brother's fault that I ended up a bigger LotR fan than him. I make a point of not telling him, but I tend to share his interests and so make a point to check up on new things he's doing to see if I might like them as well. He flatly refused to let me read LotR. He wanted to experiment with me and make me wait until after the movies came out (this was a month or so before the Fellowship came out in theatres) to see what kind of fan I would be.

I objected fiercely and "went behind his back" to beg an old, beat up copy of The Fellowship off of his English teacher (who just happened to be my 7th grade reading teacher who introduced me to Tolkien in the first place). She handed one over immediately and ever after, I fell in love. I finished it in a few days, borrowed TTT and RotK and read them fast.

I read The Silm for the first time last summer, and I recently got my hands on an old copy of The Tolkien Reader, which I've started. What kind of a fool throws a Tolkien book (published in the 60s, no less) on a free rack at the local library?

*Fea throws a banana peel to see who will slip on it*

arcticstorm · 08-23-2005, 02:07 PM

I have been 18 for 7 months, so I guess I qualify. I started reading the hobbit when I was in the spring of my sixth grade year, so I would have been 12 at the time. After that it took me awhile to actually finish reading the Lord of the Rings, I read each book as a book report for my seventh, eighth, and ninth grade years. The first movie came out 3 months later. So once I found out about the movie, which would have been in December. I reread the Fellowship again quickly so I could see how close it was to the book. Immediately afterward, I read the Silmarillion for the first time, and did not understand a word. So I started reading through the Hobbit and LOrd of the Rings again. By the end of my tenth grade year I was reading through the entirety of the Lord of The RIngs and the Appendices in 1 week. I decided to try the Silm out again. This time I knew more about the world it was set in and it wuickly became my favorite of all of Tolkein's major works. I have currently read through HOME 5, The Tolkein Reader, the Unfinished Tales and Sir. Gawain and the Green Knight. and I have read peices of HOME 1-4.

Neferchoirwen · 02-01-2003, 08:57 AM

Quote:

and all I remember is a frog biting off a short person's finger and falling in lava.

If I'd have seen that cartoon 18 years ago, that would have been the way I remembered it as well [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Diamond18 · 02-01-2003, 12:42 PM

Cool, hobbitlass, I read LotR in a week as well (6 days, actually...). To echo a hackneyed phrase, I just could not put it down! And then it was a month or so before I read another book, because the memory of LotR was still lingering and I didn't want to dilute it. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

alaklondewen · 02-08-2003, 09:50 PM

I am glad I found this thread because I was beginning to feel a little left out from the others. Well, here is my story.

I'm 23, and I read the Hobbit when I was 16. I had never heard of LotR, but the Hobbit instantly became one of my favorite books. After I graduated from high school and started college, I met an interesting person who compared almost everything in life to this book he read in the '70s. He also would tell me about his 'happy place', this forest called Lothorien. Needless to say he peeked my interest. I read LotR in '99 for the first time. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I read the books aloud to her when I knew her ears had developed (I certainly didn't want her to miss anything). I am currently reading it for the fourth time and still loving it like the first time. I'm now collecting the rest of Tolkien's works. I hope to start UT when I finish RotK.

09-19-2002, 04:31 AM	#1
HerenIstarion Deadnight Chanter Join Date: Sep 2000 Posts: 4,244	The Tolkien Middle Age Club Well, there two active clubs of the kind already, yet I found myself as non qualifiable for both. Coming Of Age one requires reading JRRT's works at least 18 years ago, Under Age to be less than 18 of age oneself. This Middle one is for those who are older than 18 yet read Tolkien for the first time less than 18 years ago. Here we go: I'm 24, going to be 25 soon. I've read The Hobbit back in 1989 and Smith of Wotton Major in 1990. Those two books introduced me to Tolkien, and I got hooked since the first read. Both books were in Russian translation, the latter by modern and more or less renowned Russian writer Nagibin. As far as I know, no one in my family confessed ever since of putting the books there, so I assume both were bought some time before due to the covers as "good for children" stuff. Bilbo on the cover looks like old Russian comical actor Leonov, [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] I still retain those books. The Hobbit was published in 1976, and The Smith in 1988 Then (I knew not English) I asked my grandma, who was going on trip to Russia, to bring me LoTR. I knew there was a sequel to the Hobbit from it's preface. She brought it indeed, yet only FoTR (very rare copy of that edition, Raduga Publishers I believe - by mistake cover is upturned - if you open the book normally, you get last page of the book upside down), and TT, and I spent 2 horrible years till 1993 inventing possible adventures that has befallen after Shelob, for The Return of the King was not yet translated and published. And than (I even remember the date, itwas 13th of February, 1993) I saw RoTK on the open fair, in the spot in Tbilisi called "Dry Bridge". All kinds of books, paintings and other artistic paraphernalia a sold there on weekends. I had no money with me, so I promised to pay twice as much as the seller asked, only if the book was still there when I return. I had to borrow money from my sister after an hour of begging (I was so excited she would not believe I needed it to bye a book, those elder sisters are apt to act so parentally sometimes, you know) And ran back like mad. The seller was puzzled indeed - he told me afterwards he was not able to sell it for three weeks! Same year I started to learn English for the sake of reading Tolkien. (Preface to FoTR was unmerciful enough to reveal that there was more than Bilbo and Frodo, namely Silmarillion, and it was not translated to any language known to me then - Georgian or Russian) And when I finally got hold of original Hobbit and LoTR (my university lecturer supplied me with them) I was very surprised to read some names, for Russian translators were russificating the book. Bet you can't get who Vseslavur is? [ November 30, 2002: Message edited by: HerenIstarion ] __________________ Egroeg Ihkhsal - Would you believe in the love at first sight? - Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time!

09-19-2002, 05:16 AM	#2
Alkanoonion Spirit in Eriador Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Adelaide Posts: 392	Woops I posted in the under 18 topic, I thought it was for reading the books under 18 yrs not for 18 yr olds. Ok I am 25 years old I started reading the Hobbit when I was 10 so I have been reading the books for 15 years. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] __________________ In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends.

09-19-2002, 09:06 AM	#3
Lush Fair and Cold Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: the big onion Posts: 1,770	"Vseslavur"? Well, "vse" is all, "slava" is glory, which leads me to the conclusion that...I have absolutely no idea who you're talking about. Aragorn? Humph. Well, as for our "club", I guess I fit the general criteria. Im over 18. I first read the books...last winter. I had read parts of The Hobbit on a babysitting job before, but didn't really know about the existence of the LotR, and all the other heaps of literature. You can say that PJ was the one who turned me on to this stuff. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] __________________ ~The beginning is the word and the end is silence. And in between are all the stories. This is one of mine~

09-19-2002, 09:12 AM	#4
Maikadilwen Summoner of Lost Souls Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: At home, with my Strongbow Posts: 521	Well, I'm 24 (for a couple more months) and I first read Tolkien.... Uhm... Hmm, honestly I can't remember, but we're talking 11-12 years ago. Though it wasn't until recently I bought any of the books myself. Shame on me, I know. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] __________________ -"Death borders upon our birth, and our cradle stands in the grave. Our birth is nothing but our death begun."

09-19-2002, 11:19 AM	#5
Eol Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: The Pacific Northwest - Tir Nan Og Posts: 306	Don't feel bad Alk I misunderstood it as well. I definately fit the criteria of this thread better then the other, I felt much too old. I grew up with the hobbit and began reading the LOTR in seventh grade when my english teacher said we were watching the animated movies because the books were too hard. I was disapointed how easy it was to read, and I keep on reading them. I have been at it for about seven or eight years, I have stopped counting a while ago. include the hobbit, fourteen years. [ September 19, 2002: Message edited by: Eol ] __________________ Mes sana in corpec sano- (lt.) A sound mind in a sound body

09-19-2002, 01:28 PM	#6
amyrlis Wight Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Helcaraxe Posts: 210	Phew! I'm glad you started this as I was beginning to think I'd have to start a Tolkien Gen-X Club of my own! I do qualify with the 18+ years of age, in fact I am just nearing the age where I've started to become sensitive about it! I 1st read LOTR a little more than 15 years ago when my sister participated in a high school stage version of the The Hobbit. I was instantly hooked and fell even deeper for them after reading the Sil a few years later. I let my interest slide during my busy college years and the years following, but as soon as I heard an inkling of the coming movies I was again ensnared. I have since added UT to my collection and will have Lost Tales and maybe some HoME on my Christmas list this year. HI - don't keep us in suspense! Who is Vseslavur??? I will venture to guess, um, Legolas! __________________ "Pull the blinders from my eyes, let me see these endless skies And drown here where I stand in the beauty of the land."

09-19-2002, 08:20 PM	#7
Tigerlily Gamgee Hostess of Spirits Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Meduseld Posts: 1,055	Hmmm... well, I guess I'll post here, even though The Barrow Downs is kinda one-big club in itself. Why is everyone starting to segregate into categories??? I am 22, and I read LOTR less than a year ago. The movie is what prompted me to read the books & now they are my favorite ever! I have also read The Hobbit & The Silmarillion... and I have copies of many of the histories, but it will be a while before I get time to read them. I also enjoy long walks on the beach, dinner by the lake, and.... [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img] __________________ ~ ExerciseJunky.com (Hobbits fitness of choice!)~ ~Lady of Rohan: An Eowyn Fansite ~ ~The NEW/OLD Barrow Downs Photo Page~

09-19-2002, 09:06 PM	#8
Neferchoirwen Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: RtR: 483.3 miles, Fords of Bruinen Posts: 512	I am just about to end The Fellowship at the moment (The Company had just eaten with Galadriel and Celeborn), and I first read The Hobbit just last May. And like Lush and Tigerlily, I was turned on to Tolkien by the movie. Fantasy was never my thing, but I knew that I should have picked it up at the bookstore 9 years ago. Vseslavur...my guess would be Arwen????? [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] __________________ On really romantic nights of self, I go salsa dancing with my confusion. ~Speed Levitch http://crevicesofsilence.blogspot.com/

09-19-2002, 10:37 PM	#9
Bruce MacCulloch Dead Man of Dunharrow Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 651	Well, it seems that I would fit into this category here very nicely. I'm twenty-six years old (going on seventy according to some of the kids in chat) and first read The Hobbit when I was eight. The summer that I was nine, I had chicken pox and couldn't go anywhere for a little bit. I read Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion straight through. Started reading when I woke up and read until I went to sleep, even holding the book in front of me during meals. (I was at my grandmother's house, my mom would never have let me get away with that one.) Ever since then, every winter, I start with The Hobbit and work my way through LotR and the Sil. I haven't quite gotten up the stamina to read all of HoME straight though (again - heh heh). __________________ `A blunderbuss, was it?' said he, scratching his head. `I thought it was horseflies!'

09-20-2002, 01:05 AM	#10
HerenIstarion Deadnight Chanter Join Date: Sep 2000 Posts: 4,244	Well, Lush was right in translating the parts of Vseslavur. Vse is "all" and "slavur" may be translated as "glorified" And as well as Lush was right, Muraviev and Kistakovsky (translators) were wrong in interpreting "glor" stem in Glorfindel as "glory" [img]smilies/cool.gif[/img] PS not that "all glorified" is not suiting Glorfindel nicely, yet still... [ September 20, 2002: Message edited by: HerenIstarion ] __________________ Egroeg Ihkhsal - Would you believe in the love at first sight? - Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time!

09-20-2002, 08:46 AM	#11
Neferchoirwen Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: RtR: 483.3 miles, Fords of Bruinen Posts: 512	I was thinking Galadriel, instead of Glorfindel. In fact, I read Glorfindel as Galadriel (my brain is failing me). Bruce, for a "seventy-year-old," you're quite a buff for cartoons. Compensating for what the kids think about your age? [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] __________________ On really romantic nights of self, I go salsa dancing with my confusion. ~Speed Levitch http://crevicesofsilence.blogspot.com/

09-20-2002, 09:28 PM	#12
Bruce MacCulloch Dead Man of Dunharrow Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 651	__________________ `A blunderbuss, was it?' said he, scratching his head. `I thought it was horseflies!'

09-20-2002, 09:30 PM	#13
Eol Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: The Pacific Northwest - Tir Nan Og Posts: 306	Real Mature,, bruce, realy mature! Heh, love the little smiley. __________________ Mes sana in corpec sano- (lt.) A sound mind in a sound body

09-22-2002, 11:27 PM	#14
Neferchoirwen Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: RtR: 483.3 miles, Fords of Bruinen Posts: 512	It is a cute smiley. Even if it was aimed at me [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img] I was browsing at the Under age club just now, and I am impressed at the fact that as young as nine, they were able to understand Tolkien's language. The language was one of the reasons why I didn't read it when I was half my age now. (But I knew I would've pulled it off) [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] __________________ On really romantic nights of self, I go salsa dancing with my confusion. ~Speed Levitch http://crevicesofsilence.blogspot.com/

10-05-2002, 08:56 AM	#15
Neferchoirwen Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: RtR: 483.3 miles, Fords of Bruinen Posts: 512	I'm putting this up again so that the mid-age LotR readers would, you know, show themselves. The Coming of Age people are coming strong. Bruce: Sorry for the quip on childishness, bro. It was purely endearment. __________________ On really romantic nights of self, I go salsa dancing with my confusion. ~Speed Levitch http://crevicesofsilence.blogspot.com/

10-15-2002, 11:51 AM	#16
Hanna_Gamgee Animated Skeleton Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: The Shire section of Antarctica Posts: 37	I am 29 years old. I just started reading LOTR a year ago when the movies came out. Before that I didn't read much fantasy books.I read the hobbit when I was younger. Now I like to read fantasy books more often. __________________ Aragorn: 'Out of the Great Sea to Middle-earth I am come. In this place will I abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world.

10-16-2002, 12:34 AM	#17
HerenIstarion Deadnight Chanter Join Date: Sep 2000 Posts: 4,244	Welcome to our club, Hanna. You still have a great time before you when you get on to the Silmarillion and the rest [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] I even envy you a little (yes, yes, shame on me) [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] [ October 16, 2002: Message edited by: HerenIstarion ] [ October 19, 2002: Message edited by: HerenIstarion ] __________________ Egroeg Ihkhsal - Would you believe in the love at first sight? - Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time!

10-18-2002, 08:41 AM	#18
Neferchoirwen Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: RtR: 483.3 miles, Fords of Bruinen Posts: 512	Welcome to the Downs, and to this club, Hanna! ...and welcome to the world of fantasy literature! We're kinda on the same boat. I've gathered an interest in fantasy only after reading Tolkien, which was after watching the movie. [ October 18, 2002: Message edited by: Neferchoirwen ] __________________ On really romantic nights of self, I go salsa dancing with my confusion. ~Speed Levitch http://crevicesofsilence.blogspot.com/

11-29-2002, 08:36 AM	#19
HerenIstarion Deadnight Chanter Join Date: Sep 2000 Posts: 4,244	We are [?depressed?] minority it seems, come, middle agers (heh?), show up yourselves... __________________ Egroeg Ihkhsal - Would you believe in the love at first sight? - Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time!

11-30-2002, 12:49 AM	#20
Joy Spirit of a Warrior Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Wandering Posts: 1,012	I am 24 and I started reading LotR after the movie came out. I did not see the movie at first, because I thought that it was "evil" as some of my friends had said. Then I started seeing people on the Christian boards that I was one talk about it. One day, I went to my Christian bookstore and saw FotR on the front stand. I decided then that I would check it out. I bought it about a week before Christmas, but didn't read it right away. Then my mother had a car accident - totaled her car - on New Years Eve. When she went back to work later that week, she took my car and I was stuck at home 12 hours a day by myself. It was okay for the first week or so, but by the end of Jan, I was going crazy! So, I picked up FotR. I read the book in 2 days, then the next night my mom was off from work and I bought TTT, RotK, and The Hobbit. I finished LotR by Feb 3 - my registration date here on this site, then I dove into The Hobbit. One Feb 12, I saw the movie. After the movie was over, I bought the Sil and UT. It took me forever to read the Sil the first time through. Now, I have read LotR 3x's, The Hobbit 3x's, the Sil 2x's and working on my 2nd of UT. I now have the 1st 5 books of HoME and am asking for Morgoth's Ring (HoME 10) and War of the Jewels(HoME 11) for Christmas. Edit: My mom was not injured in the car wreak - the wheel came off and she went into an enbankment and hit several trees. She bought another car on Feb 13 - the day after we saw the movie. [ November 30, 2002: Message edited by: Joy ] __________________ God bless, Joy KingdomWarrior@hotmail.com http://kingdomWarrior.jlym.com As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

11-30-2002, 01:35 AM	#21
HerenIstarion Deadnight Chanter Join Date: Sep 2000 Posts: 4,244	Hya Joy, Feb is a good month (I read RoTK in February [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img], and I saw the movie on February 9, for it was not brought to Georgia until then) __________________ Egroeg Ihkhsal - Would you believe in the love at first sight? - Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time!

11-30-2002, 11:49 PM	#22
Susan Delgado The Perished Flame Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: behind my eyes Posts: 1,096	Well, I almost qualify for the Coming of Age Club, but not quite. Here I fit in nicely [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] I'm 23 now and have been a bookworm since before I was born. That is, my father is a bookworm too. It's hereditary (at least in my family it is). He introduced me to books, specifically sci fi, but also fantasy and everything else in general. You know, Books, when I was very young. In the summer of 1986, when I was six or seven, my family read Watership Down and The Hobbit. I picked up Fellowship when I was nine or ten but lost interest somewhere after the Council of Elrond. I tried again sporadically over the next twelve years but could never get more than halfway through, despite reading everything else I could get my greedy little mind on. Finally, I realised there was really going to be a movie and that gave me the impetus to finally finish it, and here I am now. I honestly have no idea what stopped me all those years. By the way, though I've now read LotR and Silm, The Hobbit is still my favorite. It was the one I could (and did) always read. Watership Down is also one of my very favorite books in the world, and I doubt I'd have read it on my own. Rabbits? No Way! It shows how much influence early childhood experiences have on us. __________________ "Man as a whole, Man pitted against the universe, have we seen him at all 'til we see that he is like a hero in a fairy tale?"

12-01-2002, 08:02 AM	#23
Neferchoirwen Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: RtR: 483.3 miles, Fords of Bruinen Posts: 512	I have finished reading all of three books just last autumn...and the dreams I've been having were pretty cool, too. I just saw the cartoon version on Disney a few months ago, Susan. I thought is was cool. I have the book now, thuogh I haven;t read it. As for me and Middle Earth, I promised myself that I will read LotR to all of my kids, with accents and all. __________________ On really romantic nights of self, I go salsa dancing with my confusion. ~Speed Levitch http://crevicesofsilence.blogspot.com/

12-01-2002, 01:28 PM	#24
Susan Delgado The Perished Flame Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: behind my eyes Posts: 1,096	Neferchoirwen, are you talking about Watership Down? If so, do yourself a favor: burn the movie and read the book. That movie is a 90 minute acid trip. I'm also going to read LotR to my children, when I have them, along with everything else. No kiddy books for mine! Novels all the way. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] __________________ "Man as a whole, Man pitted against the universe, have we seen him at all 'til we see that he is like a hero in a fairy tale?"

12-02-2002, 12:39 AM	#25
Neferchoirwen Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: RtR: 483.3 miles, Fords of Bruinen Posts: 512	Susan, I figured that out. It was too short for a book that thick. Just saw it on Disney, which I think was the old one. Neil Simon sang the theme on that one. I've been reading American Gods lately, and I'm getting depressed...I decided to read the Silm along the way, but it might give me migraines (reading the Silm with AG). __________________ On really romantic nights of self, I go salsa dancing with my confusion. ~Speed Levitch http://crevicesofsilence.blogspot.com/

12-02-2002, 03:58 AM	#26
HerenIstarion Deadnight Chanter Join Date: Sep 2000 Posts: 4,244	Take Silmarillion for your money [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] BTW, since The Silmarillion is presented as collection of tales from the First Age of the world, there is nothing particularly wrong in skipping 'hard' places. I've read it some 10+ times, but I can't recall reading the chapter "Of Beleriand and it's Realsm" more than thrice __________________ Egroeg Ihkhsal - Would you believe in the love at first sight? - Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time!

12-16-2002, 02:23 AM	#27
Neferchoirwen Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: RtR: 483.3 miles, Fords of Bruinen Posts: 512	Thanks for the tip...though I just finished American Gods already...but the silm kinda kept my brain in balance... Yep, I guess I'll be skipping a few stuff. Thanks again! __________________ On really romantic nights of self, I go salsa dancing with my confusion. ~Speed Levitch http://crevicesofsilence.blogspot.com/

12-16-2002, 11:45 PM	#28
Sleeping Beauty Wight Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Somewhere between the back of the chair and the monitor Posts: 115	The Silm is a hard read, even when you're trying to concentrate on it alone. @_@ I guess I fit into this category as well. I'm 21 and I first read the LOTR when I was 15. I was always a big fan of fantasy and it was suggested to me by my history teacher. I picked up the books quickly and drank them all in. It feels funny though you all are posting in the Middle Age Club since everyone here seems so young.... [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] Are we getting that old already? [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] __________________ "If I knew all of the answers, I'd run for God." ~ Klinger: MAS*H

12-17-2002, 12:04 AM	#29
Diamond18 Eidolon of a Took Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: my own private fantasy world Posts: 3,460	Well, I've seen lots of other "Who are you, what is your age, gender, social security number and measurements, when did you first read LotR and how many times have you read it since then" threads and made my obligatory posts. None of those other threads had such prestigious titles as "The Middle Age Club", so I have to join this thread. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] I won't tell you all the above stuff, though...if you don't already know you're not paying attention. [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img] It's sufficient to say that I qualify for this Club. (Shouldn't we have a motto? Like, "I'll read HoME, if I have to...I guess.") PS, H-I, maybe you can quiz us on some more russified names? Bring them on! [ December 17, 2002: Message edited by: Diamond18 ] __________________ All shall be rather fond of me and suffer from mild depression.

12-17-2002, 04:39 AM	#30
HerenIstarion Deadnight Chanter Join Date: Sep 2000 Posts: 4,244	Being off-topic strayer meself, I nevertheless am rapt to grab an opportunity to repent and not pose on you requested quizzes here right awaym but readdress you to proper place named: Quotes in other languages __________________ Egroeg Ihkhsal - Would you believe in the love at first sight? - Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time!

12-17-2002, 06:11 AM	#31
Liriodendron Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Indiana Posts: 527	I'm happy to be in The Middle Age club! I'm scared of "The Senior Citizens Club"! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] Hold the phone! I just re read the opener! I read Tolkien over thirty years ago, so I can't be in this club! I'm the coming of age club! [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img] [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] As long as It's not the old folks club! [ December 17, 2002: Message edited by: Liriodendron ] __________________ http://www.lizmargason.com

12-19-2002, 08:25 AM	#32
Maikadilwen Summoner of Lost Souls Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: At home, with my Strongbow Posts: 521	Well, I certainly begin to feel "middle-aged"... I just turned 25 today! [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] Oh the PAIN! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] __________________ -"Death borders upon our birth, and our cradle stands in the grave. Our birth is nothing but our death begun."

02-01-2003, 08:16 AM	#33
hobbitlass Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: next to the fire keeping warm Posts: 471	AAAAH! The place where I belong. Okay now for my story. As stated before, I will turn 30 on April 15. September 2001 is when I had heard about the movie for LotR. It brought back a memory of me playing at my best-friend's house 18 years earlier. There was some weird cartoon on the T.V. and all I remember is a frog biting off a short person's finger and falling in lava. I wondered if this was the same story. Few days later I found the Del-Rey paperbacks at Wal-mart real cheap so I snatched them up. I read The Hobbit and Lotr in a week. I couldn't put them down but I had to, to take care of my three girls. I stayed up all night when I was finishing Return of the King. I had to pick up my mum and sisters from the airport the next day. I was on such an adrenalin high that I was wired the whole next day. Since then I have been collecting Tolkien's works. I discovered this place last August. I love it here. I'm with others that have a common interest (AKA obsession). So I'll be dead here a long time. [ February 01, 2003: Message edited by: hobbitlass ] __________________ Just because a person has the right to do something doesn't make it the right thing to do.

08-23-2005, 07:29 AM	#35
HerenIstarion Deadnight Chanter Join Date: Sep 2000 Posts: 4,244	Though gradually, the club still grows Welcome, Beren, and welcome back, hobbitlass __________________ Egroeg Ihkhsal - Would you believe in the love at first sight? - Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time!

08-23-2005, 07:58 AM	#36
Feanor of the Peredhil La Belle Dame sans Merci Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: perpetual uncertainty Posts: 5,517	How wonderful that the day I find this club is under a week after I qualify for it. I'm only just 18, but that makes me... old, I suppose. You truly feel it if you ever head over to the chat room where fourteen-year-olds bemoan their love-struck fates. I did not "discover" Tolkien's work so much as I was forced to read it in 7th grade by a teacher that by common consent is just plain nuts. I have very clear memories of her reading aloud "Riddles in the Dark" and screaming at the top of her voice (disrupting other classes, mind you) about how Baggins is a theif and we hates it forever. Even apart from that though, I loved The Hobbit and finished it ages before my classmates. I was... counts on fingers 12 at the time. It was my brother's fault that I ended up a bigger LotR fan than him. I make a point of not telling him, but I tend to share his interests and so make a point to check up on new things he's doing to see if I might like them as well. He flatly refused to let me read LotR. He wanted to experiment with me and make me wait until after the movies came out (this was a month or so before the Fellowship came out in theatres) to see what kind of fan I would be. I objected fiercely and "went behind his back" to beg an old, beat up copy of The Fellowship off of his English teacher (who just happened to be my 7th grade reading teacher who introduced me to Tolkien in the first place). She handed one over immediately and ever after, I fell in love. I finished it in a few days, borrowed TTT and RotK and read them fast. I read The Silm for the first time last summer, and I recently got my hands on an old copy of The Tolkien Reader, which I've started. What kind of a fool throws a Tolkien book (published in the 60s, no less) on a free rack at the local library? Fea throws a banana peel to see who will slip on it __________________ peace