LotR Reading Club

[Maédhros]

Originally Posted by Fordim Hedgethistle

I have given Esty a first and very rough draft of a sticky that will go at the top of the threads list for the forum, in which the purpose of the forum is explained and any and all who wish to are invited to join in the conversation.

I will also be writing up and sending along to her a first post/intro thingee for the Prologue, with which we shall begin the first thread for discussion. I hope to have this available by Monday night, which means we might very well be able to get the ball rolling by, well, early next week (so everyone get out there and read the Prologue!) I will do my best to 'do' what people have been suggesting in that intro post, but if there are comments on the format of it, then pass those along so that future first-posters will be able to craft more useful intros.

I'm hoping that the mods are paying attention to the ideas/concerns about naming the threads for ease of sorting! These are the kinds of really important details that I never seem able to think of.

One thing I'm not at all sure about right now is how we are going to go about signing people up for those first posts to each thread. I hope that I am not earning her wrath by saying this in open forum without first doing so by PM, but I rather suspect that people interested in signing on for the intro post to a specific chapter should contact Esty -- and I getting this right, oh great and mighty Mod of the Books???

(Please, nobody contact her yet -- not until she's confirmed that I have gotten this right.)

Unless I'm terribly mistaken, this sounds an awful lot like the way the other Tolkien discussion I had mentioned when people get assigned to do intros into each chapter Mr. UnderHill. Where will I know for sure what the format is going to be.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Fordim apparently has friends in high places.

No, but we do recognize a great idea when we see it! As a matter of fact, back when something similar was started on the Downs, almost four years ago, it was Mister Underhill's idea! Anyone interested in ancient site history might want to scroll back and read the links he provided earlier on this thread. Alas, some of those discussions were lost, and many names of involved members are now only mythical to forum newcomers!

Fordim Hedgethistle, Mister Underhill and I have been corresponding, sharing ideas and plans and taking into consideration suggestions made on this thread. Many thanks to Underhill for his experience and technical expertise; he set up the new sub-forum. (If you haven’t yet noticed it, go to the Books forum main page and look at the top – it’s called “Chapter-by-Chapter”.) Here’s how it will work:


All Barrow-Downs members can post there; the ‘club’ includes anyone who takes part in the discussions.

Only BD administrators and selected moderators can begin threads on the sub-forum. That insures that only ‘official’ threads will be posted there, with uniform titles to make locating and finding threads easier. For the start, Estelyn Telcontar will be the moderator who starts the new threads.

An introductory thread will go up within the next day, explaining the idea and inviting all to participate. It will be ‘stickied’ to the top of the sub-forum.

There will be an official introduction by Fordim Hedgethistle only for the first discussion thread; neither he nor the involved mods/admins want the organisational headache of coordinating volunteer members to write summaries, etc. for each chapter. Anyone is welcome to prepare a post for her/his favorite chapter; we are confident that discussions will be excellent, whether there is no intro, one or several.

Members will be expected to stay on topic, especially when long book chapters must be divided up to keep the discussion from getting confusing. As on all other forums, moderators/administrators will step in to edit/delete inappropriate posts.

As was suggested, we will begin with a discussion of the Foreword; though it was written by Tolkien years after the book was first published, there are many good thoughts well worth discussing in it. (That thread should begin on Monday.) After that, we will discuss the Prologue, then one chapter after another. To begin with, each chapter discussion will last a week before the next one is started; threads will be left open so that newcomers and late starters can still participate.

Wow this thread is confusing! I had to read the whole thing

Yes, a lot of different thoughts have been offered and many taken into consideration. This post sounds a bit like ‘Shirriff’s rules’; however, it is intended to be helpful, to explain everything and to answer the questions people have asked. And quite honestly, if a bit of confusion would get more people to actually read whole threads, I’d have no objection!

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Hey, I'm in too. This sounds fun.

What about... doing individual threads for each chapter, starting with the foreward and prologue. Week One, we read the foreward and prologue and BEGIN the discussion in its own thread. Week Two, as the foreward and prologue discussion progresses, we read The Long Expected Party and discuss it in its own new thread. Week Three, we continue on with our reading, and discussions still go on. That way there is a basic schedule to follow, so you don't get thrown off track (a chapter a week), but discussions aren't limited by time constraints. You can tell which chapter we are currently on, because it is the latest chapter that currently has its own thread. Any newcomers can start at the beginning and work their way up to the most current chapter, while still being involved in active discussions about each chapter they read, as they read it. If you miss a chapter (alas, real life can throw off a lot of things), you can catch yourself up and then progress to the current conversation.

Fea

Edit: seems I hit "post reply" before I noticed pages 2 and 3. That, of course, means that I just rephrased a few of the prior posts. Sorry about that...

[Bombadil]

That seems like a good idea, but do you mean to say start with the Prologue?

[Mister Underhill]

That's pretty much the plan, Feanor, though we're actually going to start with the foreword. In fact, the first discussion thread is likely to go up within a day or two, so all interested in joining the read-along can get cracking on the foreword now! When the Chapter-by-Chapter forum officially opens for business, we'll post an announcement in all other fora.

[mark12_30]

.....Er...... ...The Foreword AND the Prologue? (I hope)

Or just the Foreword?
if so, too late...

[Estelyn Telcontar]

This week the Foreword; next week the world!!! Ummmm, I mean, next week the Prologue, of course...

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Fordim's explanation of the chapter-by-chapter discussion forum can now be read on the new Welcome! thread. The first discussion thread (on the Foreword) will open on Monday, June 7th (early morning, Downs-time/EST). Plans are for the second discussion thread (on the Prologue) to open a week later, on Monday, June 14th, then Chapter 1 of LotR yet another week later. Enjoy reading and discussing, everyone!

[Mister Underhill]

The read-through is in business. Thanks to everyone for their input and ideas.

To follow up slightly on Esty's point, I think a key (how many keys are we up to now?) to success is getting people in on the ground floor. Starting slowly with only the Foreword will allow awareness of the project to build before people get too far behind.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

For all those who were involved in exchanging ideas developing the Chapter-by-Chapter discussion, we have opened a Feedback and Suggestion Box thread on the Chapter-by-Chapter sub-forum. If you took part in the first week's discussion on the Foreword, please tell us what you enjoyed and what you feel could be improved for the continuing discussions. Or perhaps you didn't participate; if your reason had something to do with the discussion itself, please do share it with us!

On Monday we will continue with the discussion of the Prologue - if you haven't already done so, dig out your book and (re-)read it so that you can share your thoughts with us!

[Calenedheliel1]

I was really looking forward to this club starting and then when it did it wasn't at all what I expected. I was hoping to discuss that was happening in the book and not why or what ideals went into the writing of this book. I thought this was supposed to be fun but what I read in the discussion thread was not fun it was actually boring. I hope that as the book goes on that it will become a discussion about the story and not the ideas behind it.

[Bombadil]

To me it would be boring to discuss what happenned in the books, because we already know that! I find it very interesting discussing the books in depth, and tlaking about how tolkien wrote, I'm very muck looking forward to more.

[Kuruharan]

I was hoping to discuss that was happening in the book and not why or what ideals went into the writing of this book.

To me it would be boring to discuss what happenned in the books, because we already know that! I find it very interesting discussing the books in depth

Perhaps we can compromise and do both.

[HerenIstarion]

I believe that it all can be combined once the books proper discussion are started. For plot is indeed known (but how well? ), but what lies beyond and out there is also of great interest

My suggestion would be not to be intimidated if some drafts of HoME 5, or letters, or works of Boethius and anything besides show up (and I believe those may come up, just for the look of the thing and to see 'what it would have been like if published in 1940' and 'does Pope look like Tom Bombadil to you' or whatever)

If you find some post boring, skip it, just make sure when contributing your own entry to indicate whom are you answering and on what (by quoting, or addressing people to post (with its number) that you have in mind. It was done before, and quite successfully. The posts that bore you may be full of wonder to some other readers, and, if dealt with in similar way, will not be confusing (I believe) at all.

[Bêthberry]

*runs off to set up a parody RPG in Rohan about Chapter by Chapter*

Or, some enterprising, intrepid soul could start a Book Club in Mirth.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Parody on Tolkien, Bb?? Shocking!! To even think of such a suggestion!!

(We now return you to your regularly scheduled topic, begging your pardon...)

[Estelyn Telcontar]

The discussion of Chapter 1, "The Long-Expected Party", is now open - welcome to all who want to participate!

[Fingolfin II]

I was thinking, after we finish LotR, could we do a chapter-by-chapter discussion on The Silmarillion?

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Why not?! Ask again in another year or so...

Actually though, we might want to go through The Hobbit chapter by chapter first; we'll make that decision when we're somewhere in RotK. If interest in this kind of discussion continues, we have many interesting years ahead of us!

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Discussion of Chapter 4, 'A Shortcut to Mushrooms', begins here today. All are welcome to participate!

[Bombadil]

I'm sure noone cares, but I look forward to participating in the CbC discussion as soon as you hit the Old Forest chapter. I started re-reading fellowship awhile ago, and stopped there, and i will pick it back up along with the discussions starting at that point. So see you in two weeks!