when did you read lotr for the first time? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

the.landlord · 12-11-2006, 05:40 PM

when did you all read the lord of the rings for the first time? have your prferences changed since then?

my father red it to me for the first time, when i was 12 and suffering from scarlett fever. actually i have to say that i did not understand most of it then. back then i used to think that everything about mordor was just plain boring. as i grew up, i learned to love the mordor scenes more... and now they are amongst my favourites.
when i was younger gandalf used to be my favourite character. i used to have sort of a "disdain" for frodo, because he seemed so weak... and when i heard that hbe claimed the ring i was infuriated. but then i grew older and by now i understand him very well.

by the way: what was the situation you read lotr or someone red lotr out to you for the first time like?
if have done a little "statistic" on it. 90% of the lotr fans i know have red it for the first time, when they were sick or when they were riding a train. (i think pj has, too).

Mänwe · 12-11-2006, 06:30 PM

Well I will have to break that mould of yours landlord, for I was not ill when I first read the trilogy. I was eleven years old at the time and as in your case not all the words made much sense to me.

However I got into it because during the evenings when there was nothing on TV I would be stuck for something to do. My parents suggested that I look for something on their bookshelf, and further suggested that I might read Lord of the Rings. I know that it became particularly interesting after my father said he had not been able to finish reading it.

So I took it from the shelf, I am fortunate enough to have the HUGE hardback copy that weighs an awful lot which combines the entire narrative. My eyes were immediately drawn to the front cover illustration by John Howe depicting Sam, Frodo and Gollum outside the Black Gate and the wealth of detail in the appendix and the maps. I am a sucker at times for the detail and illustrations!

My father and I then and there decided to read it to its conclusion. I would read it until I was ready to sleep handing it to him before I did so. Oh how enthralled I became, the illustrations throughout the book were a godsend for they bought to life the landscape and characters I could not always visualise through the terrific but long winded descriptions.

Many many nights later I read the last words. Rather a nostalgic moment.

FeRaL sHaDoW · 12-11-2006, 09:52 PM

i had started the lord of the rings when i was ten for i had nothing better to do. but didnt finish it untill i was like 15. i had lost most intrest but i know love the books.

CSteefel · 12-11-2006, 10:09 PM

I read it for the first time when I was 13 (1965), mostly in the basement of my grandmother's house in a marathon session lasting 2-3 days. Blew me away immediately, especially the first part in which the Hobbits flee the Shire and make it to Rivendell, the Council of Elrond, and then again in their trip through Moria. I also loved the part in Mordor, especially for some reason the bleak stretch where Sam and Frodo move up along the Morgai, and then in the final surge to Mount Doom.

I have read it 11 or 12 times since and I am still finding new things to appreciate. Now I really pay attention to Tolkien's description of nature and the general physical setting--the man was really masterful at conveying the texture of a landscape with great economy. Check out, for example, his description of the party's approach from the north to Weathertop...

Azaelia of Willowbottom · 12-12-2006, 06:37 AM

Well, I attempted to start LOTR when I had just turned 13. It didn't work out. At that point, I was still a big Star Wars geek, and what I was looking for was action and adventure in the fast paced sense. Needless to say, it wasn't what I was expecting. I hadn't read The Hobbit, and I'd skipped the prologue, so I was pretty lost at the beginning, and not really willing to embrace the feeling. I did the worst thing possible: in my search for action, I began skimming. I got very confused very fast and quit a few pages from the end of Fellowship of the Ring.

I remember, however, a sense that what I had seen was not all to the story, and that it was actually a great work of literature that I just hadn't been ready to read yet.

In november of that year, almost a year later, I saw a trailer for the movie and thought, "hey, this actually looks good!" so immediately after arriving home, I pulled out my mom's old books and began reading. It was veteran's day weekend. I was engrossed. I spent the entire weekend on the couch in my living room, lying there under blankets and just reading and reading and reading. I still hadn't read The Hobbit, and had only skimmed the prologue, but for some reason, magic happened and I fell head-over-heels into Middle-earth. It was an amazing feeling. I was wandering in a beautiful new world and loving every minute of it.

When I got to the end, I stared blankly at the page through a haze of tears. That can't be all! And of course, I went back to Fellowship and started it all over. I read LOTR five times in a row after that, just because I couldn't let it end. After those five times, I told myself I'd only read it once a year from then on out, but of course, I found that rule very hard to keep and ultimately broke it several times.

I've read LOTR more times now than I can count. I know for sure the number is somewhere up over 10, but beyond that, who knows, since I lost count a long time ago. I may be somewhere betweeen the 13-15 range, though I'm not sure, as I did not keep to my once-a-year rule. Each time I notice several new things, in the description of a chracter, or in the description of a place that I'd never given much thought to. It's amazing!

Lush · 12-12-2006, 08:02 AM

I saw the first film, and then someone said to me: "If you liked the movie, you're going to love the book."

My wallet was conveniently stolen a few days later (coincidence? I think not), and so I bought a copy of LotR to tide me over at the DMV, where I spent four hours reading and having creepy experiences with the other patrons.

By the time I got out of the DMV that day, I was hooked.

It took me about a month to finish the book. I was a senior in high school, had recently gotten into college, and read the book during the lessons that seemed the most boring to me (since I didn't really care about learning math anymore, for example).

Those were happy days.

ninja91 · 12-12-2006, 10:27 AM

Unlike almost everyone else here, I have not yet read the Lord of the Rings all the way through yet. I have read the first book...but I have yet to finish the trilogy. But I read the Fellowship of the Ring last year, and it was very good, every bit as good as I knew it would be.

MatthewM · 12-12-2006, 10:33 AM

After years of being fond of LotR (I first watched Baksi's cartoon version when I was around 8-10 years old) I finally asked for the books as a Christmas gift after the The Fellowship hit theatres, which sparked my interest again for good. I read them after that, and finished slightly after The Return of the King hit theatres. I'm a slow reader! I take every sentence with detail.

calandil · 12-17-2006, 11:57 AM

i live in the middle east and i was just browsing at a shop when i saw lotr and bought it and am hooked ever since!was 15 at the time.

12-17-2006, 02:29 PM

Well lets see... I first read the book after seeing a stage peformance of the Hobbit in Birmingham, it was very good and was my first introduction to the world of tolkien. As soon as I got home I got my Mothers very old edition of LoTR out and began reading it, I had a lot of trouble but I still read the book (all 6 in one edition) in around two weeks and thoroughly enjoyed it (even if I found myself lost in details by the end and very confused). I then proceded to read it many more times and maybe a year later discovered that they had just began producing LoTR the film (around 1998).

The Might · 12-17-2006, 05:18 PM

when I saw the first movie I definitely decided that LOTR was something for me, and since I enjoy learning English I bought the book in English. I think I was...13 at that time

Annatar! · 12-18-2006, 03:22 AM

I was given the LOTR in 1993 for christmas. I was 10 and my mum passed it to me with the words 'i hope you enjoy this as much as i do'. I began to read it immediately and i was enraptured. However it still took me 6 months to complete it and it pains me to admit that most of it flew over my head. It wasn't the story that had me hooked but rather the fact i had found something that fed my, apparently, overactive and fanciful imagination. Who had ever heard of Elves that didn't have wings and magic wands when they were 10, or Orcs or Ents or Dwarves who didn't have toadstools (thankyou Enid Blyton). It was what i had been looking for! I began reading it every year and each year my understanding grew. 1996 saw The Silmarillion in my Santa sack.... 8 months and 8 tonnes of confusion but wow!!!!!! Oddly i then received The Hobbit in 1997 for my birthday: a rather backward introduction to Middle Earth, but i wouldn't have it any other way. By the time i made it to The Hobbit i had already developed my passion for Middle Earth, a passion which sees every January herald the beginning of my Tolkien marathon: The Silmarillion; The Hobbit and finally LOTR. I have managed to complete this marathon by early March ( i am slowed by endless note taking and cross referencing these days), but nonetheless it is one highly enjoyable matrathon!!!!

Thinlómien · 12-18-2006, 03:33 AM

I read it for the first time around eight or nine years ago, I was eight ears old back then. That wasn't, however, my first LotR experience; I had seen the Bakshi cartoon before and the book had been read aloud to me a few years earlier.

It took me from late spring to early autumn to read the book and still bears marks from being carried everywhere. I also remember reading it in my grandparents' place and falling asleep on the book since I was so tired and it was so late, but I didn't want to stop reading. I still remember that the chapter which I was reading was The Great River.

12-11-2006, 05:40 PM	#1
the.landlord Pile O'Bones Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Germany Posts: 13	when did you read lotr for the first time? when did you all read the lord of the rings for the first time? have your prferences changed since then? my father red it to me for the first time, when i was 12 and suffering from scarlett fever. actually i have to say that i did not understand most of it then. back then i used to think that everything about mordor was just plain boring. as i grew up, i learned to love the mordor scenes more... and now they are amongst my favourites. when i was younger gandalf used to be my favourite character. i used to have sort of a "disdain" for frodo, because he seemed so weak... and when i heard that hbe claimed the ring i was infuriated. but then i grew older and by now i understand him very well. by the way: what was the situation you read lotr or someone red lotr out to you for the first time like? if have done a little "statistic" on it. 90% of the lotr fans i know have red it for the first time, when they were sick or when they were riding a train. (i think pj has, too).

12-11-2006, 06:30 PM	#2
Mänwe Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: May as well be the Arctic Circle Posts: 283	Fond memory. Well I will have to break that mould of yours landlord, for I was not ill when I first read the trilogy. I was eleven years old at the time and as in your case not all the words made much sense to me. However I got into it because during the evenings when there was nothing on TV I would be stuck for something to do. My parents suggested that I look for something on their bookshelf, and further suggested that I might read Lord of the Rings. I know that it became particularly interesting after my father said he had not been able to finish reading it. So I took it from the shelf, I am fortunate enough to have the HUGE hardback copy that weighs an awful lot which combines the entire narrative. My eyes were immediately drawn to the front cover illustration by John Howe depicting Sam, Frodo and Gollum outside the Black Gate and the wealth of detail in the appendix and the maps. I am a sucker at times for the detail and illustrations! My father and I then and there decided to read it to its conclusion. I would read it until I was ready to sleep handing it to him before I did so. Oh how enthralled I became, the illustrations throughout the book were a godsend for they bought to life the landscape and characters I could not always visualise through the terrific but long winded descriptions. Many many nights later I read the last words. Rather a nostalgic moment. __________________ "I am, I fear, a most unsatisfactory person." - (Letter #124 To Sir Stanley Unwin)

12-11-2006, 09:52 PM	#3
FeRaL sHaDoW Wight Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: New Zealand Posts: 232	i had started the lord of the rings when i was ten for i had nothing better to do. but didnt finish it untill i was like 15. i had lost most intrest but i know love the books. __________________ God created night, but man created darkness....

12-11-2006, 10:09 PM	#4
CSteefel Wight Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 204	I read it for the first time when I was 13 (1965), mostly in the basement of my grandmother's house in a marathon session lasting 2-3 days. Blew me away immediately, especially the first part in which the Hobbits flee the Shire and make it to Rivendell, the Council of Elrond, and then again in their trip through Moria. I also loved the part in Mordor, especially for some reason the bleak stretch where Sam and Frodo move up along the Morgai, and then in the final surge to Mount Doom. I have read it 11 or 12 times since and I am still finding new things to appreciate. Now I really pay attention to Tolkien's description of nature and the general physical setting--the man was really masterful at conveying the texture of a landscape with great economy. Check out, for example, his description of the party's approach from the north to Weathertop... __________________ `These are indeed strange days,' he muttered. `Dreams and legends spring to life out of the grass.'

12-12-2006, 06:37 AM	#5
Azaelia of Willowbottom Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: By the Sea Posts: 446	Well, I attempted to start LOTR when I had just turned 13. It didn't work out. At that point, I was still a big Star Wars geek, and what I was looking for was action and adventure in the fast paced sense. Needless to say, it wasn't what I was expecting. I hadn't read The Hobbit, and I'd skipped the prologue, so I was pretty lost at the beginning, and not really willing to embrace the feeling. I did the worst thing possible: in my search for action, I began skimming. I got very confused very fast and quit a few pages from the end of Fellowship of the Ring. I remember, however, a sense that what I had seen was not all to the story, and that it was actually a great work of literature that I just hadn't been ready to read yet. In november of that year, almost a year later, I saw a trailer for the movie and thought, "hey, this actually looks good!" so immediately after arriving home, I pulled out my mom's old books and began reading. It was veteran's day weekend. I was engrossed. I spent the entire weekend on the couch in my living room, lying there under blankets and just reading and reading and reading. I still hadn't read The Hobbit, and had only skimmed the prologue, but for some reason, magic happened and I fell head-over-heels into Middle-earth. It was an amazing feeling. I was wandering in a beautiful new world and loving every minute of it. When I got to the end, I stared blankly at the page through a haze of tears. That can't be all! And of course, I went back to Fellowship and started it all over. I read LOTR five times in a row after that, just because I couldn't let it end. After those five times, I told myself I'd only read it once a year from then on out, but of course, I found that rule very hard to keep and ultimately broke it several times. I've read LOTR more times now than I can count. I know for sure the number is somewhere up over 10, but beyond that, who knows, since I lost count a long time ago. I may be somewhere betweeen the 13-15 range, though I'm not sure, as I did not keep to my once-a-year rule. Each time I notice several new things, in the description of a chracter, or in the description of a place that I'd never given much thought to. It's amazing! __________________ "Wherever I have been, I am back."

12-12-2006, 08:02 AM	#6
Lush Fair and Cold Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: the big onion Posts: 1,770	I saw the first film, and then someone said to me: "If you liked the movie, you're going to love the book." My wallet was conveniently stolen a few days later (coincidence? I think not), and so I bought a copy of LotR to tide me over at the DMV, where I spent four hours reading and having creepy experiences with the other patrons. By the time I got out of the DMV that day, I was hooked. It took me about a month to finish the book. I was a senior in high school, had recently gotten into college, and read the book during the lessons that seemed the most boring to me (since I didn't really care about learning math anymore, for example). Those were happy days. __________________ ~The beginning is the word and the end is silence. And in between are all the stories. This is one of mine~

12-12-2006, 10:33 AM	#8
MatthewM Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: New York Posts: 628	After years of being fond of LotR (I first watched Baksi's cartoon version when I was around 8-10 years old) I finally asked for the books as a Christmas gift after the The Fellowship hit theatres, which sparked my interest again for good. I read them after that, and finished slightly after The Return of the King hit theatres. I'm a slow reader! I take every sentence with detail. __________________ "Loud and clear it sounds in the valleys of the hills...and then let all the foes of Gondor flee!" -Boromir, The Fellowship of the Ring

12-17-2006, 11:57 AM	#9
calandil Pile O'Bones Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 15	what a great desicion i live in the middle east and i was just browsing at a shop when i saw lotr and bought it and am hooked ever since!was 15 at the time.

12-17-2006, 02:29 PM	#10
Grok Guest Posts: n/a	Lets See Well lets see... I first read the book after seeing a stage peformance of the Hobbit in Birmingham, it was very good and was my first introduction to the world of tolkien. As soon as I got home I got my Mothers very old edition of LoTR out and began reading it, I had a lot of trouble but I still read the book (all 6 in one edition) in around two weeks and thoroughly enjoyed it (even if I found myself lost in details by the end and very confused). I then proceded to read it many more times and maybe a year later discovered that they had just began producing LoTR the film (around 1998).

12-17-2006, 05:18 PM	#11
The Might Guard of the Citadel Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Oxon Posts: 2,205	when I saw the first movie I definitely decided that LOTR was something for me, and since I enjoy learning English I bought the book in English. I think I was...13 at that time __________________ “The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike.” Delos B. McKown

12-18-2006, 03:22 AM	#12
Annatar! Pile O'Bones Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 11	I was given the LOTR in 1993 for christmas. I was 10 and my mum passed it to me with the words 'i hope you enjoy this as much as i do'. I began to read it immediately and i was enraptured. However it still took me 6 months to complete it and it pains me to admit that most of it flew over my head. It wasn't the story that had me hooked but rather the fact i had found something that fed my, apparently, overactive and fanciful imagination. Who had ever heard of Elves that didn't have wings and magic wands when they were 10, or Orcs or Ents or Dwarves who didn't have toadstools (thankyou Enid Blyton). It was what i had been looking for! I began reading it every year and each year my understanding grew. 1996 saw The Silmarillion in my Santa sack.... 8 months and 8 tonnes of confusion but wow!!!!!! Oddly i then received The Hobbit in 1997 for my birthday: a rather backward introduction to Middle Earth, but i wouldn't have it any other way. By the time i made it to The Hobbit i had already developed my passion for Middle Earth, a passion which sees every January herald the beginning of my Tolkien marathon: The Silmarillion; The Hobbit and finally LOTR. I have managed to complete this marathon by early March ( i am slowed by endless note taking and cross referencing these days), but nonetheless it is one highly enjoyable matrathon!!!! __________________ for Sauron took to himself the name of Annatar; the Lord of Gifts

12-18-2006, 03:33 AM	#13
Thinlómien Shady She-Penguin Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: In a far land beyond the Sea Posts: 8,093	I read it for the first time around eight or nine years ago, I was eight ears old back then. That wasn't, however, my first LotR experience; I had seen the Bakshi cartoon before and the book had been read aloud to me a few years earlier. It took me from late spring to early autumn to read the book and still bears marks from being carried everywhere. I also remember reading it in my grandparents' place and falling asleep on the book since I was so tired and it was so late, but I didn't want to stop reading. I still remember that the chapter which I was reading was The Great River. __________________ Like the stars chase the sun, over the glowing hill I will conquer Blood is running deep, some things never sleep Double Fenris