Boring - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

02-14-2003, 06:50 AM

The first chapter of the book is so boring. The party for Bilbo's 111 birthday. It's so long too. But I'm almost finished it!

dragoneyes · 02-14-2003, 07:04 AM

It annoys me when people say this. You're entitled to your own opinion but I see this as one of the highlights of the book. Congratulations on nearly finishing one chapter though, I think.

Estelyn Telcontar · 02-14-2003, 07:11 AM

Welcome to a newcomer here! This thread has been moved to the Novices and Newcomers forum. Please read and post there.

Rynoah, the Overly-Happy · 02-14-2003, 09:48 AM

Please name for me one book whose first chapter is completely and utterly fascinating. No, seriously. If you don't start a book with the idea that the first bits will be boring, you'll probably end up not finishing the book at all.

eleanor_niphredil · 02-14-2003, 10:33 AM

Sorry, but you did ask.

"The Named" by Marianne Curley has a really good first chapter that gets you hooked within seconds. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Meela · 02-14-2003, 02:18 PM

i know ill get killed for saying this, but i find just about all of the hobbit related parts either in the book or the movies pretty darn boring

eleanor_niphredil · 02-14-2003, 02:29 PM

they certainly dont measure up to the battle scenes, but yes, I will kill you. How would you like to go? [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Rumil · 02-14-2003, 02:34 PM

I think the first chapter is meant to be 'boring' or at least uneventful because it portrays the peaceful life of the hobbits in the shire (to which the rest of the book is such a contrast). Just wait till you get to the next chapter, that's when it really kicks off.
[img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]
When you're reading a second time (or nth time in my case!) the first chapter is a good relaxing chapter, full of interesting hobbit-lore snippets and connects LoTR to the Hobbit too. Keep on reading!

eleanor_niphredil · 02-14-2003, 02:37 PM

one good point is that tolkien was originaly writing the book for children. So it is no wonder that it seems a bit boring.

Eomer of the Rohirrim · 02-14-2003, 02:56 PM

I don't think its boring at all. If you read it (with a positive mindset) you will find a lot of humour.

Its not action packed, but there are entire books out there that are not action-packed. Great ones like 'Catcher in the Rye'.

As noted above, uneventful does not have to mean boring.

Beren87 · 02-14-2003, 02:58 PM

He has a point, for younger people it is quite boring. When I first read the books, I put FotR down for a year after I got bored through the first chapter.

Sindae · 02-14-2003, 04:07 PM

well when I read LotR for the first time i liked it very much until the hobbits left hobbiton, then i stopped reading it for about half a year. the first chapter was a very nice and funny one in my opinion.....it began to be incredebly boring in the thrird chapter. but when i read it now it's much better then it was the first time....i think you just have to read it some times, like someone else already said.

elven maiden Earwen · 02-14-2003, 04:31 PM

i thought the first chapter in the book was boring but the books were great and in most books the fitrst part is very boring.

Galadrie1 · 02-14-2003, 05:27 PM

I found all of Book 1 to be kind of boring, but I still thought it was really good! I like reading it over now, because I know that it will get more exciting later on, kind of like the calm before the storm.... [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

[ February 14, 2003: Message edited by: Galadrie1 ]

hobbit punk · 02-14-2003, 07:08 PM

Quote:

i know ill get killed for saying this, but i find just about all of the hobbit related parts either in the book or the movies pretty darn boring

[img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] I love the hobbits!!! Oh well it is your opinion and you can't be grudged that! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] Personally when I first began to read FOTR, I found the continual references in the first chapter a bit confusing but I re-read the parts I found a bit confusing over slowly and they made perfect sense! The humor started flowing and I couldn't put it down. One warning though: If you find the 111 birthday chapter boring, I don't know how you will get through The Council of Elrond! I hope it gets better for you because LOTR is truly a piece of magnificence!

[ February 14, 2003: Message edited by: hobbit punk ]

Meela · 02-15-2003, 06:29 AM

is the council of elrond sposed to be a boring chapter then? cos its one of the best parts of the whole of lotr!

Arwen Imladris · 02-15-2003, 02:55 PM

I find I like the first chapters the best! Every thing is so simple! So happy! The rest of the book can be sad and depressing, more exciting maybe, but you know that they will never return to that same state of complete inocence. There is also a lot of humour in the first bit. Esp Bilbo's tags for his stuff. And then when you get to conspiracy unmasked, can't you just picture the look on Frodo's face when he discovers what his friends know?

InklingElf · 02-15-2003, 03:53 PM

I agree that the first part of FOTR was a bit boring, but after my second read I began to admire him JRRT for that.

Tolkien is a writer who doesn't just write anything and leave it as it is. He is a writer of meticulous details.

In LOTR, it is important to note that he was trying (and has succeeded in) conveying the background of everything that was to be known about the Shire at that present time.

With all courtesies, I formally welcome patriarch_nova7 the BD [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

Finwen · 02-15-2003, 04:07 PM

When I first read the Lord of the Rings, I adored the first chapter. I read it straight after reading the Hobbit, and, finding such a familiar writing-style etc., I was very happy. I always loved the bits with hobbits in them, and actually got bored when it came to the Big People and their doings... A now amended view, I can assure you.
[img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

I suppose I can see why some people might find it boring, if hobbits and their unhurried lifestyles aren't their particular cup of tea, but if you can persevere then I'm very sure that you'll get at least something worthwhile out of the book.

(Just don't try reading the Prologue first: it's enough to put people off for life!)

Peri · 02-15-2003, 04:09 PM

Hmm...I don't know. I rather liked that chapter. I thought it was a great way to begin the story. Not boring at all. I loved Bilbo's B-day speech.

Phrim · 02-15-2003, 04:23 PM

Better boring than confusing, I say.

The Fellowship of the Ring (or indeed, the first "book") was written as a sequel to The Hobbit. You have to admit though, that the plotlines are completely unrelated, and the connection between the books is tenuously thin. In "The Hobbit", the magic ring is not a thing of power, evil, or anything of that sort--it's just a trinket. For Tolkien to make this a true sequel and morph this non-central aspect of "The Hobbit" (a ring of invisibility) into the central theme of his great epic (the One Ring of the Dark Lord), Tolkien quite frankly had a lot of explaining to do. To both establish this link to "The Hobbit" and to develop the hobbits and their background, the first chapter is, if nothing else, very necessary.

02-14-2003, 06:50 AM	#1
patriarch_nova7 Guest Posts: n/a	Boring The first chapter of the book is so boring. The party for Bilbo's 111 birthday. It's so long too. But I'm almost finished it!

02-14-2003, 07:04 AM	#2
dragoneyes Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Completely lost track, sorry! Posts: 733	It annoys me when people say this. You're entitled to your own opinion but I see this as one of the highlights of the book. Congratulations on nearly finishing one chapter though, I think. __________________ "We might succeed in roasting Pippin alive inside." - Frodo.

02-14-2003, 07:11 AM	#3
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	Welcome to a newcomer here! This thread has been moved to the Novices and Newcomers forum. Please read and post there. __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'

02-14-2003, 09:48 AM	#4
Rynoah, the Overly-Happy Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Arizona Posts: 474	Please name for me one book whose first chapter is completely and utterly fascinating. No, seriously. If you don't start a book with the idea that the first bits will be boring, you'll probably end up not finishing the book at all. __________________ Spook the spook of spookish spookdom to spook the spooked spookers. ?!?! This isn't Osgiliath! Do the wave for Boromir the Disco King! Eat squid for Boromir the Disco King!

02-14-2003, 10:33 AM	#5
eleanor_niphredil Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: england Posts: 805	Sorry, but you did ask. "The Named" by Marianne Curley has a really good first chapter that gets you hooked within seconds. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] __________________ Here I am, brain the size of a planet, and they ask me to spend my time on this forum. And by the way, for any of you turning into a penguin, stop it. ~* I am Pippin took in the Female Fellowship*~

02-14-2003, 02:18 PM	#6
Meela Denethor's True Love Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Mirkwood. With Thranduil... swoon Posts: 2,049	i know ill get killed for saying this, but i find just about all of the hobbit related parts either in the book or the movies pretty darn boring __________________ 'The Hobbit' 1st impressions: 1. Thorin is hot... Oh god, I fancy a dwarf. 2. Thranduil is hotter. 3. Is that... Figwit! 4. Does Elijah Wood never age? 2nd: It's all about Fili & Kili, really. 3rd: BARD! OMG, Bard.

02-14-2003, 02:29 PM	#7
eleanor_niphredil Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: england Posts: 805	they certainly dont measure up to the battle scenes, but yes, I will kill you. How would you like to go? [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] __________________ Here I am, brain the size of a planet, and they ask me to spend my time on this forum. And by the way, for any of you turning into a penguin, stop it. ~* I am Pippin took in the Female Fellowship*~

02-14-2003, 02:34 PM	#8
Rumil Sage & Onions Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Britain Posts: 894	I think the first chapter is meant to be 'boring' or at least uneventful because it portrays the peaceful life of the hobbits in the shire (to which the rest of the book is such a contrast). Just wait till you get to the next chapter, that's when it really kicks off. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] When you're reading a second time (or nth time in my case!) the first chapter is a good relaxing chapter, full of interesting hobbit-lore snippets and connects LoTR to the Hobbit too. Keep on reading! __________________ Rumil of Coedhirion

02-14-2003, 02:37 PM	#9
eleanor_niphredil Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: england Posts: 805	one good point is that tolkien was originaly writing the book for children. So it is no wonder that it seems a bit boring. __________________ Here I am, brain the size of a planet, and they ask me to spend my time on this forum. And by the way, for any of you turning into a penguin, stop it. ~* I am Pippin took in the Female Fellowship*~

02-14-2003, 02:56 PM	#10
Eomer of the Rohirrim Auspicious Wraith Join Date: May 2002 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 4,859	I don't think its boring at all. If you read it (with a positive mindset) you will find a lot of humour. Its not action packed, but there are entire books out there that are not action-packed. Great ones like 'Catcher in the Rye'. As noted above, uneventful does not have to mean boring. __________________ Los Ingobernables de Harlond

02-14-2003, 02:58 PM	#11
Beren87 Master of the Secret Fire Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Between fire and ice, death and life Posts: 2,241	He has a point, for younger people it is quite boring. When I first read the books, I put FotR down for a year after I got bored through the first chapter.

02-14-2003, 04:07 PM	#12
Sindae Haunting Spirit Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: a messy room in the world's best city Posts: 95	well when I read LotR for the first time i liked it very much until the hobbits left hobbiton, then i stopped reading it for about half a year. the first chapter was a very nice and funny one in my opinion.....it began to be incredebly boring in the thrird chapter. but when i read it now it's much better then it was the first time....i think you just have to read it some times, like someone else already said. __________________ My page about Iceland

02-14-2003, 04:31 PM	#13
elven maiden Earwen Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: A world that never was and never will be Posts: 1,300	i thought the first chapter in the book was boring but the books were great and in most books the fitrst part is very boring. __________________ We pillage and plunder, we rifle and loot, Drink up me hearties, Yo Ho. the looniest site in the world!!!

02-14-2003, 05:27 PM	#14
Galadrie1 Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: The wrong place at the wrong time. Posts: 385	I found all of Book 1 to be kind of boring, but I still thought it was really good! I like reading it over now, because I know that it will get more exciting later on, kind of like the calm before the storm.... [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] [ February 14, 2003: Message edited by: Galadrie1 ] __________________ "For this is what your folk would call magic, I believe; though I do not understand clearly what they mean; and they seem to use the same word of the deceits of the Enemy. But this, if you will, is the magic of Galadriel."

02-15-2003, 06:29 AM	#16
Meela Denethor's True Love Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Mirkwood. With Thranduil... swoon Posts: 2,049	is the council of elrond sposed to be a boring chapter then? cos its one of the best parts of the whole of lotr! __________________ 'The Hobbit' 1st impressions: 1. Thorin is hot... Oh god, I fancy a dwarf. 2. Thranduil is hotter. 3. Is that... Figwit! 4. Does Elijah Wood never age? 2nd: It's all about Fili & Kili, really. 3rd: BARD! OMG, Bard.

02-15-2003, 02:55 PM	#17
Arwen Imladris Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: In a box with a fox Posts: 1,347	I find I like the first chapters the best! Every thing is so simple! So happy! The rest of the book can be sad and depressing, more exciting maybe, but you know that they will never return to that same state of complete inocence. There is also a lot of humour in the first bit. Esp Bilbo's tags for his stuff. And then when you get to conspiracy unmasked, can't you just picture the look on Frodo's face when he discovers what his friends know? __________________ "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up, sleepies, we must go, yes, we must go at once."

02-15-2003, 03:53 PM	#18
InklingElf Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 402	I agree that the first part of FOTR was a bit boring, but after my second read I began to admire him JRRT for that. Tolkien is a writer who doesn't just write anything and leave it as it is. He is a writer of meticulous details. In LOTR, it is important to note that he was trying (and has succeeded in) conveying the background of everything that was to be known about the Shire at that present time. With all courtesies, I formally welcome patriarch_nova7 the BD [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

02-15-2003, 04:07 PM	#19
Finwen Animated Skeleton Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: West Yorkshire, England Posts: 37	When I first read the Lord of the Rings, I adored the first chapter. I read it straight after reading the Hobbit, and, finding such a familiar writing-style etc., I was very happy. I always loved the bits with hobbits in them, and actually got bored when it came to the Big People and their doings... A now amended view, I can assure you. [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] I suppose I can see why some people might find it boring, if hobbits and their unhurried lifestyles aren't their particular cup of tea, but if you can persevere then I'm very sure that you'll get at least something worthwhile out of the book. (Just don't try reading the Prologue first: it's enough to put people off for life!)

02-15-2003, 04:09 PM	#20
Peri Wight Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Rivendell Posts: 124	Hmm...I don't know. I rather liked that chapter. I thought it was a great way to begin the story. Not boring at all. I loved Bilbo's B-day speech. __________________ "Ah, but I'll begowk ye there!" cried the gentleman. "Play me false, and I'll play you cunning."

02-15-2003, 04:23 PM	#21
Phrim Haunting Spirit Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: New Jersey, USA Posts: 72	Better boring than confusing, I say. The Fellowship of the Ring (or indeed, the first "book") was written as a sequel to The Hobbit. You have to admit though, that the plotlines are completely unrelated, and the connection between the books is tenuously thin. In "The Hobbit", the magic ring is not a thing of power, evil, or anything of that sort--it's just a trinket. For Tolkien to make this a true sequel and morph this non-central aspect of "The Hobbit" (a ring of invisibility) into the central theme of his great epic (the One Ring of the Dark Lord), Tolkien quite frankly had a lot of explaining to do. To both establish this link to "The Hobbit" and to develop the hobbits and their background, the first chapter is, if nothing else, very necessary.