Don't worry, I'm going to work on him. >:-)
But back to Chapter 7...
What a scene it must have made, Gandalf and the hobbits wandering into Bree, clad in battle gear.
Interesting that Frodo's shoulder wound still aches, and that Gandalf predicts that it will never wholly be cured. Not a happy souvenir from their adventures together, but I suppose at least Frodo will get some warning if any of the Bad Guys come around again.
Wow, has it really been a year since they were there last? I don't think I paid attention to the clues giving passage of time. For some reason I had assumed the whole adventure took place in shorter a time.
Glad to see Butterbur and the unfortunately-named Nob are still okay.
Was amused by the Bree locals asking Frodo whether he had written his book yet. :-)
And YAYYYYYY, Bill the Pony is okay! Mightily pleased about that. I had wondered what had happened to poor old Bill. A pity Bill can't talk; I would have liked to hear about HIS adventures as well More and more intrigued by Gandalf's plans to retire. Or is he going to be starting a different type of adventure? I'd love to be a fly on the wall when he has his long talk with Tom Bombadil. And what's Tom been doing all this time?
What, no bursting into song? That's not a good sign...I was sure we'd be into spontaneous song mode again. What's going on with the Shire? I guess I'll find out soon...only two chapters left!
Replies: 52 comments
Am I first?
Posted by Katerina Str @ 2001 Jun 19 07:30 AM EST
Only two more chapters? Whatever are we going to do when you've finished, Debbie?
Posted by Andrew @ 2001 Jun 19 07:33 AM EST
Hooray for Bill!
Hooray!
Posted by Gurnsy @ 2001 Jun 19 07:44 AM EST
Hi, Debbie!
Excuse such a short post of me up here but I desired to be the first at least once :o))) (I’m such a competitive person......:)
I had to laugh yesterday when I read following Sam’s quote:
„...I'd like to know what became of that poor pony. He's been on my mind many a time and the wolveshowling and all.“
LOL! That‘s as if Debbie spoke, not Sam :o)))
I like your expression “Gandalf is going to retire”... and yes, I’d like to hear Gandalf’s conversation with Tom too, indeed.
Ah, and I like your Ode to Bill the Pony!
Posted by Katerina Str. @ 2001 Jun 19 07:50 AM EST
Hi Debbie,
A large part of that year is spent after their adventures. I don't have the book with me, but I think they spend many months in Minas Tirith and various other places before they wind their way slowly back to Rivendell.
I like your comments about wondering what Bill went through and about being a fly on the wall when Gandalf speaks with Tom. I feel the same. It's one of the reasons why the book is so good, the ever present sense that there are many other things going on that could fill trilogies on their own. It adds a lot to the feeling of depth of the book, IMHO.
Posted by Pepijn Schmitz @ 2001 Jun 19 08:00 AM EST
For much of the book it's possible to keep exact track of the date with a close reading of the text.
Frodo left Bag End on Sep 23/3018. He got the knife wound on Oct 6th
He left Rivendell on Dec 25th. The ring was destroyed on March 25/3019 (and March 25th used to be the first day of the year, just as Gandalf said.) Aragorn was married on midsummers day. This chapter ends on October 30th.
The main adventure lasted 3 months. They've just spent 6 months celebrating and winding down.
Posted by Robert @ 2001 Jun 19 08:56 AM EST
For much of the book it's possible to keep exact track of the date with a close reading of the text.
Frodo left Bag End on Sep 23/3018. He got the knife wound on Oct 6th
He left Rivendell on Dec 25th. The ring was destroyed on March 25/3019 (and March 25th used to be the first day of the year, just as Gandalf said.) Aragorn was married on midsummers day. This chapter ends on October 30th.
The main adventure lasted 3 months. They've just spent 6 months celebrating and winding down.
Posted by Robert @ 2001 Jun 19 08:57 AM EST
Bill The Pony. Ta da! Bill's happy. Sam's happy. Deb's especially happy.
Now you can be amused to learn, Deb, that nothing has so fired up this Fellowship here as much as your affection for Bill the Pony. This group seems to have been divided into two sections- those who couldn't resist hinting to you that Bill was coming back and those who were angsting over the Bill The Pony spoilers :).
Back in Book 2, long before I had editing control, I was firmly in the second camp, amused to see you so attached to Bill and very annoyed at those people who couldn't keep silent about Bill's fate. It would have been more fun if everyone had kept quiet on whether Bill disappears from the story or not and let you be totally surprised when you walked back into Bree at this point. But it was too late for that...
Now, once I had editing control, I didn't even consider further Bill The Pony comments to be spoilers anymore, figured that surprise had been sprung. But then the letters started reaching me... "Someone's hinted at Bill The Pony's fate again! Please edit that comment out!". "But Deb already knows about that, it was given away back in Book 2." "Oh, but she may have forgotten! You should still take it out." And these kind of exchanges went on anytime someone made mention of Bill in the comments section. So, I've edited out three Bill hints in Books 5 and 6 alone.
So it seems I wasn't the only one who's been awaiting your reunion with Bill with great anticipation. It was fun. Yay for more Bill poetry!
More later...
Posted by Allison @ 2001 Jun 19 09:05 AM EST
I forgot something that belongs to another chapter but hope you don’t mind:
Frodo says in this (?) chapter that he was hurt by knife, sting, teeth and burden. The teeth remind me something: have you noticed, Deb, that Frodo had lost his ring in the same way as Sauron? They both lost their finger. It is quite interesting.
OK, that’s it. It was short :o)
Posted by Katerina Str. @ 2001 Jun 19 10:21 AM EST
Finally you made it back to Bree and Bill. I love that it says that Bill might have learned to talk had he stayed longer in (Rivendell)?
It really leaves you wondering about the characters when the last 6 months go by so fast. After being so close to the hobbits now the story is more of a narative than as told from the perspective of one of the hobbits. Or maybe that is just the feeling I get. The next chapters are great so keep going.
Posted by Big Mike @ 2001 Jun 19 10:22 AM EST
Probably many of you have seen this, since it's posted on TORn, but it looks like Bill Amend, writer of "Foxtrot" and a big LOTR fan, may have borrowed some inspiration from Debbie and "Waiting for Frodo." He just started a series about Jason and his friend going to line up and wait for the movie six months in advance. The first strip is posted here:
http://www.theonering.net/movie/scrapbook/large/1360
Posted by Kevin @ 2001 Jun 19 10:41 AM EST
No offense to Deb, but it is highly doubtful that Bill Amend borrowed inspiration from Deb. He's an uber-geek in his own right, and he even had a fantasy sequence where Jason was going to play Frodo in the movies.
Posted by Huan @ 2001 Jun 19 10:51 AM EST
Besides, it's probably a one-shot, as the theme of the week is Peter working at the cineplex, not Jason and Marcus.
Posted by Huan @ 2001 Jun 19 10:54 AM EST
To Debbie:
"Must read" parts of the appendices. Depending on what your interests are, there are many (if not all) parts of the appendices that are worth reading.
But, in my humble opinion, the following three sections are "must reads" for anyone who has enjoyed the main story. All three directly pertain to what happened to various main characters before/after the story proper.
First, the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen, found in Appendix A, section I, subsection (v). (I think).
Second, elsewhere in Appendix A there is a section all about the history of the Dwarf kings. (I forget which number this section is, sorry). But the last page or so of this section is definitely worth reading, because it talks about Gimli.
Third, the last page or so of the Appendix B: The Tale of Years. The last couple pages of this appendix deal with what happened to the members of the fellowship after the events of Lord of the Rings.
Posted by Don @ 2001 Jun 19 11:23 AM EST
Creating humourous responses to the folks who line up for days for anticipated movies is a fun and well-known theme. Doonesbury had good fun with it when Phantom Menace came out. Here's a verse from a song Deb wrote two years ago that Urban Tapestry sings:
Four days, seven hours, eighteen minutes we've been waiting,
Look at that line, it goes 'round the block, where does it end?
People stop and stare, they say I'm nuts, you know the video will come out soon.
And I tell them...
Hey, hey, you don't understand,
This is not just another movie,
It's a cinematic history in the making, it's a cultural phenomenon, you know, and it's earth-shaking and it's cool,
'Cause it's The Phantom Menace.
(from "Four Days" by Debbie Ridpath Ohi)
"Waiting For Frodo" is a fun variation on a popular theme.
Posted by Allison @ 2001 Jun 19 11:27 AM EST
Deb: Yay, you finally got to find out about Bill the Pony! I've been waiting with bated breath. Love both your Odes.
When I was a kid I used to laugh and laugh at the look on Butterbur's face when they told him who the King was. I used to have to close the book and wait until I was done laughing before I could go on. Funny: I remember it as such a visual thing; I can see it so clearly. I hope Jackson includes that look.
If you do read the Silmarillion I'll come along and give it another shot. I read it once, twenty-five years ago or so, after waiting and waiting and waiting for it to be published. I was pretty disappointed at the time, because I wanted the rich descriptions that are driving Reid up the wall, and it was more like reading the Old Testament. But I'd like to try again in this company. I'm sure Deb's comments would open my eyes to some of what I missed before.
As I mentioned earlier, I'm re-reading LoTR for the 21st time, and taking it out of order this time. I skipped from Book 2 to Book 4 and then to Book 6, following Frodo and Sam all the way to the Field of Cormallen. I finished that up at midnight last night. Now I'm back with Aragorn agonizing over whether to try to find Frodo and Sam, or to rescue Pippen and Merry. It was a powerful experience to stay in Mordor so long. And to my surprise I found myself noticing things I never had before, mostly about the geography. I had always pictured the meeting with the orcs that mistake Frodo and Sam for deserters as happening farther south. For some reason I never studied the map carefully enough to see them at the gate whose name just slipped my sleepy mind. (Not Morannan, the other one. Oh, Isenmouth!) I think that was because Mordor is so painful I didn't want to linger over the geography before. It always amazes me that I keep finding new things, even after so many readings.
I was talking to another friend yesterday about how the Colorado scenery would fit the story, and without any prompting he told me about being on the Boulderfield of Longs Peak at sunset and seeing the last light of the setting sun shining through the Keyhole (it's really called that.) (That won't make sense to Deb until she reads the Hobbit, I guess.) We'd never discussed Tolkien before, but it seems like everyone I know who likes to hike is also familiar with the books. There must be a doctoral thesis in there somewhere.
Posted by Karen @ 2001 Jun 19 11:30 AM EST
Not sure I agree with that. Bill Amend has said on his webpage, http://homepage.mac.com/billamend/ that he surfs over to TheOneRing.net several times a day, so it's quite plausible that he's read "Waiting for Frodo" (which has been plugged there along with Debbie's journal about three times). Of course, just the idea of lining up for the movie is fairly generic, and there's no doubt he's making it his own. I wouldn't be surprised to see a few more strips on this topic, Bill frequently uses a unifying theme for a week of six strips (not counting Sundays, which are produced on a different schedule).
Posted by Kevin @ 2001 Jun 19 11:34 AM EST
Debbie, Don is right.
The appendices are a "must read". It may be hard to get through all of it without being a die-hard fan but it should all be read at least once. Of course the best parts are the parts that tell of the Fellowship and thier friends. I really like the parts about the hobbits and thier families. Also, as has been mentioned before, there is a time line that recounts the events in the story.
I hope this does not sound like a spoiler. I'm just trying to perk Debbie's curiosity.
Posted by Big Mike @ 2001 Jun 19 11:39 AM EST
This is a little off the topic, but if any of you harbor ambitions to write about Tolkien in a more formal way, the Science Fiction/Fantasy area of the Popular Culture Association has just issued a call for papers for its conference in Toronto in March 2002. If you are interested, please email me and I'll send you the details. Independant scholars (that means people not connected with a college or university) are quite welcome. There are even some graduate student prizes available for the best paper. Papers need to be about 15-20 minutes long. Don't be shy! Here's a hint: this whole web-community that's sprung up around Debbie's reading would make a good topic!
Posted by Janet Croft @ 2001 Jun 19 11:52 AM EST
"And what's Tom been doing all this time?"
My guess is that Tom has been singing for the last year. Just like the previous 10,000 or more.
Posted by Royce @ 2001 Jun 19 12:05 PM EST
Here's another line in this chapter that amuses me:
"Then one of the younger folk called for a song. But at that a hush fell, and he was frowned down, and the call was not repeated. Evidently there was no wish for any uncanny events in the Common Room again."
Hee hee :).
And Frodo riding quickly past Weathertop "with his head bowed and his cloak drawn close about him", refusing to look at the hill, especially after his pain in the first paragraph, always gives me a chill.
Big Mike: Oh, yes, I agree, once Deb gives us reports on the Aragorn and Arwen's story and the last two pages of Appendix B, she should read all the rest of the appendices for fun. I especially like the hobbit family trees in Appendix C- it's fun to trace them backwards and forwards and make all the connections between the characters in the book.
Posted by Allison @ 2001 Jun 19 12:10 PM EST
Thanks Allison,
The family trees are one of my favorite parts. I can't remember if this one is in LOTR or just in The Silmarillion, but it is one of my favorite. It shows how close Galadriel is to the original elf king and how Elrond and Aragorn fit into the tree. It also shows that there is some linage to Melian, who is one of the (angels) from the Blessed realm. I just love that part.
http://fan.theonering.net/middleearthtours/houseofolweandelwe.html
I guess it might have been better to discuss this when Debbie is done the book but since it came up....
Posted by Big Mike @ 2001 Jun 19 12:22 PM EST
Janet: I'm definitely interested in hearing more about that Pop Cultural conference that's right here in my hometown. It sounds fascinating. And I agree with you that a study of this Tolkien community that has sprung up around Deb's reading would be a very intriguing study! Not that I think I have nearly the background in pop cultural studies needed to prepare such a paper :). But I'd certainly be interested in going and hearing some of the presentations at the conference next year. When is it?
Big Mike: As far as I can see there are only hobbit family trees and the tree of the dwarf kings in the LOTR appendices. The other trees you're talking about must be in "The Silmarillion" (which I don't have handy here at work).
Posted by Allison @ 2001 Jun 19 01:03 PM EST
The other thing I'm enjoying about Deb's Book 6 reports is how she's learned to like and even miss the hobbits' singing :). Remember the "Are they singing -again-?" comments from Book 1? Now we're more likely to get "And I was both amused AND horrified when Sam burst into song whilst in the heart of Mordor, with bad guys all around. How hobbit-like. :-D But it seemed to do the trick in getting Frodo's attention." (ch. 1) and "I know I made fun of the hobbits' tendency to "burst into song" at inappropriate moments earlier in my journal, but I'd almost welcome that now, just to cheer up poor Frodo and Sam." (ch.3) and in this chapter, "What, no bursting into song? That's not a good sign...I was sure we'd be into spontaneous song mode again. What's going on with the Shire?".
Sigh, and it's true, it makes you realize that the hobbits really don't do that much singing in this latter part of the book, they're more experienced, more world-weary. Makes you nostalgic for those simple songs about food and drink and bathtime and the adventure of the open road from early in the saga. Makes Book 1 seem very idyllic and charming forever after.
Posted by Allison @ 2001 Jun 19 03:27 PM EST
One of the strongest feelings I get at this part of the book is sadness because of the loss of innocence of the hobbits. When they left the Shire it would be hard to imagin Pippin being serious at all. Now all the 4 hobbits are all too serious, it seams. They have grown up but have grown up beond where they would have ever been if they had not left the Shire.
Posted by Big Mike @ 2001 Jun 19 04:38 PM EST
Big Mike: Sadness because the hobbits have lost their innocence. Yes i agree, I too get that feeling. But also a growing sense of pride, that they have matured so well that now Gandalf is completely confident that they will settle The Shire's affairs themselves...
Karen: I still have the same sense of humour that you had as a kid! One of my favourite moments of LotR is in this chapter: "'Strider!' he exclaimed when he got back his breath. 'Him with a crown and all and a golden cup! Well, what are we coming too?'"
Posted by Katarina @ 2001 Jun 19 05:35 PM EST
Good point Katarina,
There is alot of pride for the hobbits. I love the image of Merry and Pippin decked out in suits of royal armor and a few inches taller to boot. Struting back to the Shire. I guess the sad feeling is mostly for Frodo who has been greatly affected by the ring and the knife wound.
I have to wait till Debbie reads the next chapter before I say any more.
Posted by Big Mike @ 2001 Jun 19 05:58 PM EST
The line that makes me smiles the most is: "Ah! But he says your beer is always good."
Even now the king isn't so very high and remote.
Posted by Susanna @ 2001 Jun 19 06:19 PM EST
Yes, poor Frodo. My heart aches for him... :(
Hey, I just want to tell you all something nice that happened to me today... I went to see my 75 year old father, who is recovering from a mild heart attack. He's the one who introduced me to The Hobbit and LotR when I was eleven. I told him about the movies and the hype on the Internet (he doesn't have a connection yet, but he has learnt to use a computer - Mac - these last few years), and also about Debbie's site. And when I finally showed him the trailer, he decided to first reread LotR, ant then go see the movies in december. :)
*Then* he dug out an old yellow newspaper article. I turned out to be his own review of the Swedish translations of TFotR and TTT from 1960! The review was overwhelmingly positive, of course. He thinks it's great that he has inspired me to read the books, but he thinks I'm a bit crazy to have read them so many times... :)
He finally turned to his bookshelves and took out Tree and Leaf and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, both George Allen and Unwin first editions from the sixties, and gave them to me. Some good old Gaffer, isn't he!! :))))
Posted by Katarina @ 2001 Jun 19 06:20 PM EST
Susanna: Yes, i like that line too! :))) Sam is being nice and ironic at the same time, having a ball. I can just see him hardly being able to stop himself from laughing out loud! :D
Posted by Katarina @ 2001 Jun 19 06:26 PM EST
Yea! We get to celebrate Bill the pony. I always liked that part. I wonder what tales Tom had for Gandalf. He had to have had encounters because the orcs and men from Orthanc wouldn't have respected anyone's boundaries. I've always wondered about the dwarves, elves, and men around Lonely mountain and Beorn. I think they mention just a little, but I feel it would have made a good story too. I like the way he let's us know something is happening. It adds to the scope of Middle Earth. It's also the opposite of normal stories which will take part of one of the world wars and pretend only 2 parties were involved and not the whole world. Of course, they know most of the audience already knows they are only seeing a small piece without being told.
Posted by dave @ 2001 Jun 19 08:10 PM EST
First off thank you so much for these journal entries. I have had a blast reading them and am a bit bummed that they will soon be coming to an end L
Secondly, I can’t believe you held out hope for Bill that long!!!!!! Man when I first read LOTR I assumed him long dead by the time they first entered Moria. In all your previous posts about Bill you made me feel so guilty about giving up hope so early on.
I remember distinctly when I first got to the point where you are now. I was camping at Rocky Mountain National Park and was eagerly trying to finish up LOTR while sitting at a picnic table. When I read that Bill was still alive literally fell to the ground and laughed myself silly!!! I didn’t see it coming at all. Writers bring back characters from the dead all the time in Movies, TV and comic books but it is hardly ever done in novels. I’m glad you were rewarded for holding out for Bill for so long!!!
Posted by Eric @ 2001 Jun 19 08:37 PM EST
hey! today is exactly 6 months until the release of FOTR! i hope they're as good as the books.....please god.......
Posted by aurora @ 2001 Jun 19 09:38 PM EST
I cheered out loud when Bill turned up too!
My favorite part in this chapter was Butterbur saying that he worried about them going off into the wild with that Strider and then when he discovered Strider was the King. (I like Butterbur in general. He reminds me a bit of my Mum! :-D)
Debbie, after you read the appendices, please go back and revisit the Council of Elrond. I think you will get so much more from it now.
Posted by Silmarien @ 2001 Jun 19 09:50 PM EST
Eric: I've been amused by my husband John's theories about Bill The Pony (right now John is in the middle of Book 4 and more concerned about whether or not Frodo should be trusting Gollum).
Like Deb, John took to Bill The Pony right away. He was really upset that Bill took off just before Moria and he's always been convinced that Bill will be back. He kept asking about Bill, saying he was sure he'd make his own way across the mountains. My favorite theory of his was that Bill would come back with Gandalf, who John never believed for a second was dead. I laughed when he got to Book 3, Chapter 5 and commented, "Yup, Gandalf's back! But no Bill...".
So, finally in amusement one day I said, "He's just a horse! How do you know Tolkien didn't just send him bolting into the wild and never think of him again?". To which John answered, "Ah ha! Do you know -why- I know? It's because Tolkien gave him a -name-, he's not just a horse! He isn't just some pack animal travelling with Sam, he's BILL THE PONY. And you just know any animal he cared about well enough to name is coming back again. So, where is he?".
Hee hee. So John will be smug and satisfied when he gets back to Bree eventually and finds Bill there.
You know, I can't remember for the life of me if I gave Bill The Pony a second thought after he bolted the first time I read LOTR. Heck, far as I can recall, I was far too pre-occupied throughout the book worrying about Frodo and Sam and Merry and Pippin (four hobbits, hmmmm, that's a lot... please, JRR, I beg you, don't make one of them disposable no matter how tempted you are by the pathos you could get from the scene!) to be worrying about a horse from back in Book 2 :).
Posted by Allison @ 2001 Jun 19 09:52 PM EST
With all the comments recommending things for Deb to read after completing LOTR, it might be good to remember that some of the appendices (and especially the prologue, which some have suggested she re-read) give spoilers for The Hobbit. It would probably be better if she read a limited number of the appendices, such as the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen, skipped the tales of the dwarves for now, and did NOT re-read the Prologue until she finishes The Hobbit. (I doubt she remembers little of the detail from the prologue now, but if she re-reads it at this time, too much of the simple joys and surprises in the Hobbit might be lost. Also, the tone of the prologue, even regarding events in The Hobbit, is by intention very dry; the same tale, as told in The Hobbit itself, is so much more engaging: Why deny her that pleasure?)
Posted by Brian @ 2001 Jun 19 10:52 PM EST
P.S. BILL ROCKS!
Posted by Brian @ 2001 Jun 19 10:54 PM EST
Ah, the heartaches of endings. Go read the Appendix. I've never cried at the appendix of any book but this one.
And don't write TOO many songs. Leave a few for the rest of us.
Posted by Judith @ 2001 Jun 19 11:31 PM EST
Whoa, Brian, you're right, I never considered it before. The section of Appendix A called "Durin's Folk" should be avoided by Deb at all costs if she wants to avoid spoilers for "The Hobbit". There's also timeline info in Appendix B, "The Third Age", that would be spoilers for "The Hobbit", too.
You know, I was just glancing through the Prologue, too, and it is just -amazing- how many spoilers for LOTR I saw even just flipping through those pages, especially towards the end in "Note On The Shire Records". It's a really good thing that people can never remember or connect the info in the Prologue to their first reading of LOTR, so much would be given away. From here on in I think I'd tell any newcomer to LOTR to avoid the Prologue like the plague until they finish the book (at which point it does have fascinating information that actually makes sense).
And I agree, Deb is best to avoid the section on finding the Ring in the Prologue and read it in "The Hobbit" first, instead. Though enough is told in LOTR that it probably wouldn't be a huge spoiler for her to read the Prologue again first.
But I still want to see Debbie reports on the Arwen/Aragorn part of Appendix A and the last two pages of Appendix B right after she finishes LOTR. She says she plans to do a retrospective report on "The Council of Elrond", too :). That'll be fun.
Posted by Allison @ 2001 Jun 19 11:50 PM EST
Allison,
I reread the Prologue some 3 weeks ago and found out the same: there are many LotR spoilers there and I absolutely agree that it is good that people never remember all the names and connect them with the story later. But I think it is not necessary to warn people to avoid the Prologue. They will not remember the spoilers, I'm quite sure :o) They couldn't know what are the spoilers actually.
Posted by Katerina Str. @ 2001 Jun 20 02:22 AM EST
I'd say: Read the Hobbit first, but not because of spoilers but because it's funnier.
The story of Arwen and Aragorn is okay, and it's good to have a timeline to help you keep trace of the events in the LotR, but who really cares for a history of Gondor? Kings and battles, and more kings and more battles. No history teacher would get through with anything like this.
Posted by Susanna @ 2001 Jun 20 05:28 AM EST
Katerina: About The Prologue, I agree that most people won't remember the LOTR spoilers, but that actually is another reason why I'd continue to warn the newcomer away from the Prologue. If you go back and re-read that last section called "Note On The Shire Records", it is incomprehensible to anyone who doesn't have LOTR under their belt. I can see why Deb complained so bitterly at that point and why she'll be amazed how interesting that section is -after- she's read LOTR. I still think I'd have a newcomer avoid the Prologue just to keep them from being bogged down in pointless information they can't possibly process until after they read the book.
The other thing that occurs to me is that the Prologue will contain deadly spoilers for anyone who might decide to read LOTR after seeing the first movie in December. By then they'll have enough of an understanding of the story and the characters that the Prologue will give away a lot about the ending of the story. But I guess that's the risk they take for reading the books after seeing the movie :).
Posted by Allison @ 2001 Jun 20 07:01 AM EST
Debbie:
How about a shirt with a Bill the pony poem on it??? That would be fun!
Posted by Terri @ 2001 Jun 20 07:15 AM EST
I check this site daily to see if you've posted a new chapter, Debbie. Yet I'm dreading to see the ending. I've really enjoyed the journey with you!
A note on the prologue: The unabriged reading of LotR (on cassette or CD) is, very sadly, missing the appendices. The prologue is included, but only *after* the entire story. The posts here seem to give a good reason for that, don't they?
Posted by Sandy @ 2001 Jun 20 07:41 AM EST
Debbie,
was your latest Waiting for Frodo inspired by the chapter "Many Partings"?
Posted by Katerina Str. @ 2001 Jun 20 08:43 AM EST
Katerina Str:
I agree with what you said about which sections of the Appendices I'd like to see Debbie comment on.
However, I'd also add the last page of "Durin's Folk" to the end of that list, since it expands a little bit more on Gimli and Legolas.
Posted by Don @ 2001 Jun 20 11:19 AM EST
So Eric was reading LoTR in Colorado. Hmm.
Posted by Karen @ 2001 Jun 20 02:31 PM EST
Bit of Tolkien-related fun at my house last night:
My wife (lovely woman, but lacking in the "imaginative fiction" department) was on a tear last night, telling me how fat she is (Note: she isn't). She simply would not let up(Ladies, if you engage in this demented hobby with your husbands and boyfriends, please stop now). I informed her that if she did not cease and desist, I would have to retaliate as only a practitioner of geekery such as myself could. Cease and desist, she did not. I looked at her with cold bombardier's eyes, reached for our copy of "The Riverside Anthology of Children's Literature", opened it to the "Riddles in the Dark" chapter from "The Hobbit", and, in a deep declamatory voice, like a wasteland preacher prophesying the impending Apocalypse, began to read.
She left me in peace.
Moral: Never tell a geek guy that you're fat, because he'll get even.
Posted by Chris H. @ 2001 Jun 21 03:26 PM EST
So happy for Bill the Pony! I just want to know why he didn't go back to Rivendell instead of Bree? Given the choice myself, I'd head for Rivendell where it was always nice, rather than where I had that miserable owner Bill Ferny!
I've been a fan for (ack!) 20 years. My wife is trying the Hobbit once more, having read it a long time ago & not liked the 'wordiness'. She just got to Rivendell & seems to be enjoying it! Yay! Hopefully by the time the first movie is out she will have finished 'Fellowship of the Ring' & be hooked. Then we can enjoy the movie together. At each song, she stops & hands the book to me, asking me to sing it. I prefer the dwarf songs - they seem to match my deep voice best.
Re: hobbit singing. Culture sure has changed with the advent of the radio & phonograph. Now, instead of people singing together at home & the pub, they have professional music played & few people sing. How sad. That transformation was taking place during Tolkien's time & he portrayed how it was before the transformation well.
Posted by Chipper @ 2001 Jun 22 11:43 AM EST
Chipper - yes, I remember as a kid whenever the family got together, it meant gospel singing. Everyone just enjoyed raising their voices together to make sweet music. I always felt a little different because I can only sing in company with those who can sing well. By myself, I can't carry a tune and always get the wrong pitch. I still sing in the bath like Bilbo, however. I also remember how people used to be quiet in theaters, and now it's like they are at home watching tv. Culture change is one of the few certainties of life.
Posted by dave @ 2001 Jun 23 10:12 AM EST
What is curious is that Debbie is apparently involved in filk singing but was initially surprised at the singing in LOTR. A lot of the Lays etc in Middle-Earth would probably fall under the domain of filk within that realm itself.
Posted by brian @ 2001 Jun 24 03:57 PM EST
I didn't think of this at the beginning, when Debbie didn't like the songs (actually, I probably didn't think of it BECAUSE Debbie didn't like the songs, but people do still sing when travelling. On the School coach trip? In the car with the kids in the back? My sisters and I have been known to sing a round for 20 minutes to drive our parents mad, and in less irritating moments our repetoire is Andrew Lloyd Webber via folk songs, Puff the Magic Dragon, Christmas carols, and TV themes. We also sing when washing up,and none of us would be considered more than a decent casual singer (i.e. we can all sing in tune and I can hit the high notes).
Oh, and on the Tolkien virgin theme, after years of resisting LoTR, my sister saw the Fellowship trailer and instantly demanded the book.
Posted by Catherine McKiernan @ 2001 Jun 26 11:21 AM EST
