I finally did it!

[Manveruon]

I know this might be a bit of a small matter for an entire post of its own, but it's kind of a big deal for me, so I figured I kinda' had to share it with all you fine folks.
Dumroll please...

...
...

...I finally finished the ENTIRE Lord of the Rings trilogy for the first time ever!


That's right! After years of never being able for one reason or another to make it past the middle of the Two Towers, I have FINALLY gotten all the way through the end of the Return of the King! I am currently just starting on the appendices, but to tell the truth, I had already read a good portion of those before - some parts more than once. It just seemed to be the books themselves that daunted me.

In the end I did it in audiobook form, which was easier for me, as I don't actually own a copy of any of the books (save the Hobbit), and it was easier just to download the books as a torrent (as many of you already know, my "other" persona is a pirate, after all, heh).

At any rate, I'm very happy to have finally finished the series. The books definitely had a lot of things going for them that the movies did not, but overall I still think I'll always love the PJ adaptations very, very much for what they are. I definitely believe he got more right than wrong.


Anyway, that's all! Just thought you all should know!

[Gondian]

I remember the fist time I finished it, it is something you never forget. It is as if you had endured the sojourns and ordeals with all the chariters, and when it comes to an end you dont want it to.

[Willrett]

I am getting ready to start them again.

[Ringulf]

Congradulations Manveruon!
It truly is no small accomplishment. many of us gobble up books, I am actually a slow reader myself, I believe a lot of that is by chioce as technical material I read quickly. I try to savor the reading and make it last. of course there are many side trips and day dreams with me so it does tend to take a while, still I do remember getting through the Hobbit for the first time.

It was just before the sixth grade square dance and I got a huge zit on my forehead. I covered it with my hair but when my date comented on it, I told her it was my inner Gollum trying to come out!
(It was cool 'cause she had more acne than I did!)
She looked at me quizically and shook her head as she had never read the books,
I knew at that point I had arrived in the promised land!
I had achieved Nerdom!

[BrianGrubbs]

Well done! Definately worth the time to read them. Now for the Silmarillion!

Brian

[Mirimaran]

Congrats! You'll find the printed verision better in the end, I think. LOTR is such a unique work. I find that the older you get in your readings, the more it speaks to you. Weird, maybe but true.

I'm good with PJ until Return of the King. Too much changed in FOTR and TTT to really keep ROTK up, imo.

Ken

[kaelln]

Printed and audio both have their place. Audios main weakness lies in the reader usually. The reader in Stirling's Change series for example just absolutely mangles anything Celtic (which he usually calls "Seltic", even though the books have nothing to do with basketball! ) The reader for LOTR in the version I've heard makes Aragorn sound like this puffed up blowhard to my ears, and not at all nuanced. But, audiobooks are great ways to get your reading done if you're pressed for time, and to pass the time if you have to do a lot of driving like I do. Yep, having a nice leisurely read is the best, but audiobooks are a close second.

And Manveruon, ain't they great?

[Manveruon]

Kaellen: you're totally right. I've been doing a lot of "reading" in audiobook form over the last few years, and the narrator definitely makes or breaks it. Robert Inglis, who narrates the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, is a decent narrator, but not the best I've heard by far. Still, I was overall fairly satisfied. lately I find it difficult to actually take the time to sit and read, because I can't do anything else simultaneously. I like audiobooks because I can catch up on good literature while I do costuming or leatherwork, while I'm sketching, or while I'm driving.

Still, I think you guys are right, the print versions are probably the better option for these, and as soon as I can get my hands on a copy of them I'll probably have another go, because I know some of it didn't sink in this time around.

[caedmon]

...The reader in Stirling's Change series for example just absolutely mangles anything Celtic (which he usually calls "Seltic", even though...

Inexcusable pronunciation errors are well... inexcusable, and tend to kill any suspension of disbelief. Which, with a Stirling novel, is usually hanging by a thread in the first place.