Public Research: How did you become Tolkien-lover? - Page 2 - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

mark12_30 · 07-04-2006, 07:26 PM

....meaning, I had The Hobbit read to our class by an enlightened Fourth Grade teacher.

Rediscovered it in sixth grade, reread The Hobbit then, attempted The Fellowship, & dropped it halfway through Book 1. Retried in 7th grade & made it all the way through.

Edit: BTW, Fourth grade-- that was.... 1969-70 school year.

08-16-2006, 03:25 PM

I became a tolkien lover when I was 8 I found the books on my mum's book shelf. She didn't like the books when she was a child and was cind of mad when I found them

lol
So i red them and then forced my mum to let me see the movie when I finished the book and i have loved it ever since.

shieldmaiden4xsword · 08-22-2006, 01:34 PM

hm. I read The Hobbit when I was 8 or 9. And i liked it, kinda, but I didn't quite understand it. It was a bit over my head.....

and i was always scared to read the books because......i saw some LOTR dolls in Wal mart and got freaked out.

then i forgot all that.....and i found the books in my library and decided to read it.

I literally fell in love with them.....

Finduilas · 05-21-2007, 03:56 PM

My brother started me into Tolkien, first by reading the Hobbit out loud to the family. As soon as he thought me old enough for LotR, age 10, he gave them to me to read. Since I highly respect my brother, I did what he told me to, and here I am.

ninja91 · 05-29-2007, 08:31 AM

The movies just put it in a visual perspective for me, and since them I have been totally enthralled by his works...

Regin Hardhammer · 05-30-2007, 12:51 AM

I'm really surprised how many there were who got to know Tolkien from a parent. I thought I was the only one. My mother read the Hobbit to me (and later my sister) when we were younger. She had lots of Tolkien books sitting around the house. After that, I went to see the movie and then read LotR on my own.

Although it wasn't the main thing, Tolkien even influenced my choice of majors. I've gotten interested in languages and am doing a double major in linguistics along with Arabic and Hebrew.

The Sixth Wizard · 05-30-2007, 04:52 AM

I got the Hobbit from my parents.

I'm pretty sure the origin of my interest was reading a classic Australian storybook called "The Magic Pudding". There were rhymes on many pages, and my dad would do all the right voices. (the croaky one for the pudding, the squeaky penguin!

) Anyways, I discovered it again in the bookshelf again at the age of nine, found it funny and my dad told me I should read the Hobbit for a good book with songs, rhyming etc. I read the Hobbit in a month or so and eventually got LOTR and spent a whole year reading that, on and off.

So ... yeah. Whole obsessive nature developed from that.

Aganzir · 05-30-2007, 11:30 AM

I was 10 years old and had just befriended a girl nowadays called Thinlómien.

I had heard of a book called The Lord of the Rings, but I had never thought about reading it. As a child I often read books because their names, covers or descriptions seemed interesting, and the Lotr unfortunately looked rather nondescript (in a child's opinion the Finnish edition indeed looks dull out).

I remember walking with Lommy in the wintry schoolyard, and she spoke to me about the Lord of the Rings and roleplaying and everything that was already a part of her life, but by now a part of my life, too. I actually owe everything to her.

When I turned 11 I got the Lord of the Rings from my aunt as a present. I read it quickly, and started rereading almost immediately when I had finished it for the first time. At some point my father thought I had become hooked and read no other books anymore, so he forbade me reading it for two or three months (I had read it say 6 times in 1,5 a year, but I don't think it was that much). I took it with me to school and read it anyway.

By my next bithday I had read the Lotr for several times, the Hobbit, the Silmarillion and the Unfinished Tales. There was something in Tolkien's works that made me love them, and that love is something I will probably always carry with me.

Morthoron · 06-09-2007, 08:32 PM

I alluded to this elsewhere on the forum, but oddly enough it was Tolkien's obituary that led me to read his books. I was in grade school and happened to see his obit in The Detroit Free Press (complete with his picture and some drawings of Hobbits). Out of curiousity I began reading The Hobbit, and decades later I still keep the Tolkien estate subsidized through annual purchases of their product (which take up most of one of the bookcases in my study).

Rikae · 06-10-2007, 10:08 AM

I read the LOTR for the first time (at age 8) because a 28 year old man I had a crush on was very much into Tolkien, and I wanted to see what it was he liked so much.

The subsequent 8 rereadings, however, were motivated purely by love of the book!

Embarrassingly enough, I only completely read the Silmarillion this year, and it was for the same silly, childish reason that I first read LOTR.

(Read the first half in '87, lost it, and never got around to finishing it - I don't really know why. There is no excuse.)

I'm glad I finally did, though. I don't know why I am motivated best by curiosity about interesting men, but I guess I have to accept motivation where I find it. It seems to work out surprisingly well...

Left to my own devices,I'd probably take LJ quizzes and listen to Radiohead all day until I died of boredom.

Morthoron · 06-10-2007, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rikae

Left to my own devices,I'd probably take LJ quizzes and listen to Radiohead all day until I died of boredom.

Hmmm...wouldn't listening to Radiohead all day give you the bends?

The Sixth Wizard · 06-11-2007, 01:41 AM

Just a second... you had a crush on a 28 year old Tolkien addict?!

Rikae · 06-11-2007, 06:31 AM

Of course, the age difference is less of an issue this time!

Macalaure · 06-11-2007, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rikae

Embarrassingly enough, I only completely read the Silmarillion this year, and it was for the same silly, childish reason that I first read LOTR.

I wonder who that interesting 28 year old man is that you're so curious about...

View Poll Results: I've read Tolkien, for I have...
Found him on my own in a bookstore	4	3.77%
Heard about him from a friend/sibling	31	29.25%
Watched the movies	18	16.98%
Read exalted criticism in a paper/book and read his works to look for myself	0	0%
Read spiteful criticism in a paper/book and read his works to look for myself	0	0%
Found the books prohibited in my school/university and decided to have a go	0	0%
Been taught his works in school/university	4	3.77%
Been read his works by my parents as a child/read the books bought for me by my parents	28	26.42%
Enjoyed another artist (poet, writer, etc, please indicate)	3	2.83%
Other	18	16.98%
Voters: 106. You may not vote on this poll

07-04-2006, 07:26 PM	#41
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	Been taught his works in school/university ....meaning, I had The Hobbit read to our class by an enlightened Fourth Grade teacher. Rediscovered it in sixth grade, reread The Hobbit then, attempted The Fellowship, & dropped it halfway through Book 1. Retried in 7th grade & made it all the way through. Edit: BTW, Fourth grade-- that was.... 1969-70 school year. __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.

05-21-2007, 03:56 PM	#44
Finduilas Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Home. Where rolling green hills and clear rivers are practically my backyard. Posts: 595	My brother started me into Tolkien, first by reading the Hobbit out loud to the family. As soon as he thought me old enough for LotR, age 10, he gave them to me to read. Since I highly respect my brother, I did what he told me to, and here I am. __________________ One (1) book of rules and traffic regulations, which may not be bent or broken. ~ The Phantom Tollbooth

05-30-2007, 12:51 AM	#46
Regin Hardhammer Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Tumunzahar/Nogrod Posts: 364	I'm really surprised how many there were who got to know Tolkien from a parent. I thought I was the only one. My mother read the Hobbit to me (and later my sister) when we were younger. She had lots of Tolkien books sitting around the house. After that, I went to see the movie and then read LotR on my own. Although it wasn't the main thing, Tolkien even influenced my choice of majors. I've gotten interested in languages and am doing a double major in linguistics along with Arabic and Hebrew. __________________ For once I myself saw with my own eyes the Sibyl at Cumae hanging in a bottle, and when the boys said to her: 'Sibyl, what do you want?' she replied, 'I want to die.'"

05-30-2007, 11:30 AM	#48
Aganzir Woman of Secret Shadow Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: in hollow halls beneath the fells Posts: 4,511	I was 10 years old and had just befriended a girl nowadays called Thinlómien. I had heard of a book called The Lord of the Rings, but I had never thought about reading it. As a child I often read books because their names, covers or descriptions seemed interesting, and the Lotr unfortunately looked rather nondescript (in a child's opinion the Finnish edition indeed looks dull out). I remember walking with Lommy in the wintry schoolyard, and she spoke to me about the Lord of the Rings and roleplaying and everything that was already a part of her life, but by now a part of my life, too. I actually owe everything to her. When I turned 11 I got the Lord of the Rings from my aunt as a present. I read it quickly, and started rereading almost immediately when I had finished it for the first time. At some point my father thought I had become hooked and read no other books anymore, so he forbade me reading it for two or three months (I had read it say 6 times in 1,5 a year, but I don't think it was that much). I took it with me to school and read it anyway. By my next bithday I had read the Lotr for several times, the Hobbit, the Silmarillion and the Unfinished Tales. There was something in Tolkien's works that made me love them, and that love is something I will probably always carry with me. __________________ He bit me, and I was not gentle.

08-16-2006, 03:25 PM	#42
Arwen Evenstar6 Guest Posts: n/a	I became a tolkien lover when I was 8 I found the books on my mum's book shelf. She didn't like the books when she was a child and was cind of mad when I found them lol So i red them and then forced my mum to let me see the movie when I finished the book and i have loved it ever since.

08-22-2006, 01:34 PM	#43
shieldmaiden4xsword Wight Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: where people stick out their tongues at their youth pastor.... Posts: 183	hm. I read The Hobbit when I was 8 or 9. And i liked it, kinda, but I didn't quite understand it. It was a bit over my head..... and i was always scared to read the books because......i saw some LOTR dolls in Wal mart and got freaked out. then i forgot all that.....and i found the books in my library and decided to read it. I literally fell in love with them.....

05-30-2007, 04:52 AM	#47
The Sixth Wizard Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Stuck under a rock in Valinor with Ar-Pharazon. Posts: 480	I got the Hobbit from my parents. I'm pretty sure the origin of my interest was reading a classic Australian storybook called "The Magic Pudding". There were rhymes on many pages, and my dad would do all the right voices. (the croaky one for the pudding, the squeaky penguin! ) Anyways, I discovered it again in the bookshelf again at the age of nine, found it funny and my dad told me I should read the Hobbit for a good book with songs, rhyming etc. I read the Hobbit in a month or so and eventually got LOTR and spent a whole year reading that, on and off. So ... yeah. Whole obsessive nature developed from that.

06-09-2007, 08:32 PM	#49
Morthoron Curmudgeonly Wordwraith Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Ensconced in curmudgeonly pursuits Posts: 2,509	I alluded to this elsewhere on the forum, but oddly enough it was Tolkien's obituary that led me to read his books. I was in grade school and happened to see his obit in The Detroit Free Press (complete with his picture and some drawings of Hobbits). Out of curiousity I began reading The Hobbit, and decades later I still keep the Tolkien estate subsidized through annual purchases of their product (which take up most of one of the bookcases in my study). __________________ And your little sister's immaculate virginity wings away on the bony shoulders of a young horse named George who stole surreptitiously into her geography revision. Last edited by Morthoron; 06-09-2007 at 10:14 PM.

06-10-2007, 10:08 AM	#50
Rikae Mellifluous Maia Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: A glade open to the stars, deep in Nan Elmoth Posts: 3,489	Embarrassing admission... I read the LOTR for the first time (at age 8) because a 28 year old man I had a crush on was very much into Tolkien, and I wanted to see what it was he liked so much. The subsequent 8 rereadings, however, were motivated purely by love of the book! Embarrassingly enough, I only completely read the Silmarillion this year, and it was for the same silly, childish reason that I first read LOTR. (Read the first half in '87, lost it, and never got around to finishing it - I don't really know why. There is no excuse.) I'm glad I finally did, though. I don't know why I am motivated best by curiosity about interesting men, but I guess I have to accept motivation where I find it. It seems to work out surprisingly well... Left to my own devices,I'd probably take LJ quizzes and listen to Radiohead all day until I died of boredom. Last edited by Rikae; 06-10-2007 at 10:16 AM.

06-11-2007, 01:41 AM	#52
The Sixth Wizard Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Stuck under a rock in Valinor with Ar-Pharazon. Posts: 480	Just a second... you had a crush on a 28 year old Tolkien addict?!

06-11-2007, 06:31 AM	#53
Rikae Mellifluous Maia Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: A glade open to the stars, deep in Nan Elmoth Posts: 3,489	Of course, the age difference is less of an issue this time!