Mordor makes me thirsty! The power of Tolkien!

[MatthewM]

As I read through Frodo and Sam's journey through Mordor, quenching for thirst, I actually found myself feeling extremely parched. When I finally took a drink of water, it was like finding that little depressed stream that the hobbits found, only mine of course was clean and clear. It happened more than once, so it wasn't just coincidence. The words of Tolkien are the only words I have read in a story that have actually made me physically feel what the characters were feeling. This is one of the many powers of Tolkien!

Let me ask the Downs, have any of you physically felt something like this through Tolkien's world? I believe this kind of feeling is like a bridge, from your mind to Middle-earth. A true connection.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Well, it surely happened to me more than once, you just reminded me that once exactly the same happened to me - just as you describe, the "desert feeling", and I must say I was very, very much pleased to have a drink of water then. And not that I have been without drinking a long time before that, definitely not.

Hmm... other thing I remember now was a feeling of smelling a really not nice smell of apples when reading the Hobbit (Barrels out of bond, or, the next one). But I have to think of more, there certainly were many...

[The Might]

I always felt really comfortable in my bed/sofa/armchair while reading about Bag End
And...always when food was mentioned in the book, I felt the need to eat something...especially when the food was good

[CaptainofDespair]

Well, I cannot recall a time when I felt hungry or thirty in reading LOTR. But, I did feel very, very warm when I read of Smaug's attack on Laketown. Good ol' Smaug.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by The Might

I always felt really comfortable in my bed/sofa/armchair while reading about Bag End
And...always when food was mentioned in the book, I felt the need to eat something...especially when the food was good

Oh, I didn't even bother to mention that. This is necessity. LotR was the first book that learned me to eat when reading. I have to eat something, especially dinner at Farmer Maggot's, at the house of Tom Bombadil (a semi-vegetarian, good, light food), at the Prancing Pony (the paragraph starting with the words "They were washed and in the middle of good deep mugs of beer when Mr.Butterbur and Nob came in again..." - this is one of the places you REALLY HAVE TO EAT, or you cannot read any further)... well... if I think of it, generally every time food is mentioned in Tolkien, it awakes appetite. The Hobbit maybe even more than LotR. From the most significant from LotR I would also mention dinner with Faramir (wine&cheese, the best) and Beregond with Pippin (if you really want to enjoy a simple breakfast, read it from the moment Gandalf leaves Pippin, this is really a very good scene for boosting your appetite, and start eating only at the moment they come to Targon - yes, I remember the name, so you can see I am quite fond of that scene - and you'll feel... well, extatic). And the first time Gimli tastes lembas, I generally also take something crunchy for taste.
...not speaking of the famous rabbits OKAY, I'll stop now.

...not mentioning that I need to bathe when reading about the coming to Crickhillow. Hot water, bath, holding the book. Best after returning from a long walk in the evening.

Oh, and on a non-pleasure note, the beginning of Chapter 2 in Hobbit, whether the sun is shining, whether I sit in comfortable room, I always forget the reality and feel as if my clothes are wet allover and everywhere is raining, raining, water, wet, muddy road I am standing on, oh crap, I might get a cold.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

According to Hollywood legend, at least, Lawrence of Arabia smashed all previous records for intermission drink sales...

[ninja91]

Basically whenever I read about Lothlorien or Moria, I get that mysterious or adventurous feeling. Just the thought of the unknown thrills me!

[The Might]

And speaking of food, I always had to have have cookies after reading the part where Beorn is introduced...preferably with honey as well
However, when I read the Tale of Aldarion and Erendis I can't say I feel a sudden need to go sailing

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

...not mentioning that I need to bathe when reading about the coming to Crickhillow. Hot water, bath, holding the book. Best after returning from a long walk in the evening. . . .

Great! Now I have this image of Legate stuck in my head:

[Sir Kohran]

When the dwarves in TH start calling for pies...I get HUNGRY

[The Might]

Well...I think I'll have to think of the picture when mentioning Legate...nice find Bêthberry

As for the thread title...I doubt this is a "power" of Tolkien.
I mean, I don't think I only speak for myself when I say that his books aren't the only ones that generate such reactions...it's books in general, or at least some of them.
Back to the image...what better avatar to go with the image then

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

I don't have such a terrible bathroom!

...and, is the person on the picture male or female

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

I don't have such a terrible bathroom!

...and, is the person on the picture male or female

Ah, I thought, when I read this reply, here we have the conumdrum of the anonymous internet which masks gender and you are outing yourself with a subtly unstated, "Hey, I'm a guy." Just the other day someone mentioned that Raynor was a girl, to much amazement from a third Downer. So, I was prepared to re-evaluate my thoughts about Legate's hot, steamy read.

It was harder than I thought, I discovered that the combination woman + reading +bath produces far more images than the combination man + reading + bath.

One of my early searches produced:





Yet this did not chime with the image of a warm, steamy, relaxing bath. Back to the google board, as it were, where I found that there was a much more common activity associated with men in tubs than reading.





However, once again, this seems not to fit well the image Legate's description created in my mind. Onward again.




Well, here we have an attractive young man, book in hand, tub-bound and displaying a hobbitish friendly wave. But the clothes don't belong in a restful bath after hard exercise. No, this one isn't quite right either.





Finally, a pose of some merit. Anyone who reads a magazine editted by Dave Eggers has to be cool enough to be a Downer, right?

But wait, Legate has coyly declined to be explicit about his identity. I went back one last time to cover all bases. We have quite a run on cat mascots here at the Downs, and with Hookbill's Serious Cat and the cat theme of my blog, I thought it perhaps wisest to provide one last alternative. If none of these fit, then I humbly beg Legate to provide a bit more explanation of how his bathroom is not "so terrible", so I can google "lovely bathrooms + book" or something like that. And we shall leave which Tolkien book Legate would be reading to someone else's photoshop capabilities.

[The Might]

Correct there Bethberry...
The combinations are woman - bathtub - book and
man - toilet seat - newspaper...or book in this case

But what you say is true...Legate is somewhat mysterious...so to remain in Tolkien-related stuff, I'd rather think of him as a Watcher in the Water
This would also explain why he's good at lore...he was there himself!

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Oh, and I am male... it just happens that I read newspaper only in bus/tram/underground. And, females have shorter tentacles.

[MatthewM]

Originally Posted by The Might

As for the thread title...I doubt this is a "power" of Tolkien.
I mean, I don't think I only speak for myself when I say that his books aren't the only ones that generate such reactions...it's books in general, or at least some of them.

I disagree. That's your opinion. For me, the Lord of the Rings is the only book that has done it. So, for me, it is a power of Tolkien.

[The Might]

Well, sorry for jumping to conclusions too fast perhaps.
Indeed, it does seem to depend on your opinion, so I'll ask:
Are Tolkien's books the only ones that have such an effect on you?
Btw, I'm not to prove anything here, just trying to see some answers.

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

Oh, and I am male... it just happens that I read newspaper only in bus/tram/underground. And, females have shorter tentacles.

Oh, indeed quite a lovely (tile) garden, Octopus. But oh my, I do hope you stay around the Downs longer than the usual life span. May I suggest that you, ah, um, err, avoid ...*coughs*... delay... ah, well, ah,... abstain... *ahem*. . . . (voice trails off...) But I must say the reputed intelligence and multiple digits certainly suit you.

Now, before anyone cautions about the topic, let me announce the bit of Tolkien that has a particular physical inspiration on me. Every spring I avidly seek out and read all of Sam's comments about gardening. Moving from winter cocooning to spring activity requires a substantial amount of effort to overcome winter lethargy and the kind of procrastination that readers such as I are prone to and I find Mr. Gamgee's faithful words to be a fount of powerful, positive thinking. In fact, I suspect that the depiction of Sam could well have been instrumental in the writing of a popular treatise on happiness and success.

So there you have it. I use my gardening shears to allow me to eavestrop on neighbours' conversations and I feel absolutely that I am modelling Tolkien.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by The Might

Well, sorry for jumping to conclusions too fast perhaps.
Indeed, it does seem to depend on your opinion, so I'll ask:
Are Tolkien's books the only ones that have such an effect on you?
Btw, I'm not to prove anything here, just trying to see some answers.

They are not the only ones who have such an effect on me, I think it is general in the literature. It also depends, however, on your own dispositions to be influenced so. But, necessary to say, I think that Tolkien produces this effect in a larger scale than an average writer. This, of course, is also subjective.

[MatthewM]

Originally Posted by The Might

Well, sorry for jumping to conclusions too fast perhaps.
Indeed, it does seem to depend on your opinion, so I'll ask:
Are Tolkien's books the only ones that have such an effect on you?
Btw, I'm not to prove anything here, just trying to see some answers.

Like I said, to my memory, The Lord of the Rings is the only book that has affected me in this way. Other books have affected me in different ways, but none like the words of Tolkien.

[Bêthberry]

As I read through Frodo and Sam's journey through Mordor, quenching for thirst, I actually found myself feeling extremely parched. When I finally took a drink of water, it was like finding that little depressed stream that the hobbits found, only mine of course was clean and clear. It happened more than once, so it wasn't just coincidence. The words of Tolkien are the only words I have read in a story that have actually made me physically feel what the characters were feeling. This is one of the many powers of Tolkien!

They are not the only ones who have such an effect on me, I think it is general in the literature. It also depends, however, on your own dispositions to be influenced so. But, necessary to say, I think that Tolkien produces this effect in a larger scale than an average writer.

Moving from winter cocooning to spring activity requires a substantial amount of effort to overcome winter lethargy and the kind of procrastination that readers such as I are prone to and I find Mr. Gamgee's faithful words to be a fount of powerful, positive thinking. In fact, I suspect that the depiction of Sam could well have been instrumental in the writing of a popular treatise on happiness and success.

So there you have it. I use my gardening shears to allow me to eavestrop on neighbours' conversations and I feel absolutely that I am modelling Tolkien.

Perhaps we should be thankful that Tolkien did not write pornography.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Bb

Perhaps we should be thankful that Tolkien did not write pornography.

Teleporno?

Originally Posted by The Might

Correct there Bethberry...
The combinations are woman - bathtub - book and
man - toilet seat - newspaper...or book in this case

Or in our house, the combo is anyone+toilet+Argos catalogue. I also have strategically placed copies of LotR and The Hobbit for emergency reading, including in the little bedroom next to the bathroom...



Anyway, Mordor doesn't make me thirsty, but reading about Hobbits always makes me want to lie around in the sun, smoking and feasting on cakes and ale. But then, so do most things...

Originally Posted by MatthewM

As I read through Frodo and Sam's journey through Mordor, quenching for thirst, I actually found myself feeling extremely parched. When I finally took a drink of water, it was like finding that little depressed stream that the hobbits found, only mine of course was clean and clear. It happened more than once, so it wasn't just coincidence. The words of Tolkien are the only words I have read in a story that have actually made me physically feel what the characters were feeling. This is one of the many powers of Tolkien!

Let me ask the Downs, have any of you physically felt something like this through Tolkien's world? I believe this kind of feeling is like a bridge, from your mind to Middle-earth. A true connection.

That was beautiful man.
That's why we're here.

[Sir Kohran]

I don't think this is a power of Tolkien alone - in Brian Jacques' Redwall series, the long descriptions of all the food at the feasts makes me hungry.

[littlemanpoet]

For me it's the ale. Very inspirational!

Oh, and the bath and song at Crickhollow always make me feel wonderfully splashed.