Ain't it grand?

[mmu1]

Survives? Its only been what 65-70 years tops. Look at the wealth of literary history out there and then talk about surviving. Come back in 6,000 years that you can talk about how well it has lasted.

Not even, LotR wasn't finished until after WWII, IIRC.

Still, it means a hell of a lot more for something to "survive" 60 years in this day and age when we can pick and choose what we'll call great than some piece of tripe being hailed after thousands of years not because of any inherent merit but because it happened to survive that long and people have been fixating on it for the last few hundred years.

Which is a view Tolkien would probably consider me an idiot for. Hmm...

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

I have to say that some of my FAVORITE parts of the books are Tolkien's songs and "useless background" information. I never found any of it boring, and I've plowed through those books(including The Silmarilian and The Hobbit) once every year since I was 13(only 4 years now...but still!).

This I'll never get. I'm always coming across people who boast about reading it every year. Why not read something new? I've got a few favorite books that I've read maybe twice in 10 years, and I still feel like I should have been reading something new in that time.

 

[Alaric_Prympax]

I've read LotR completely through 3 times but some parts I've read... well I can't count that high. It wasn't till last year that I finally enjoyed reading Book IV. That part really bored me alot and I had trouble getting through it. But last time, probably because the movie was coming out, I thought it was great. Just giving my opinion on the subject.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

This I'll never get. I'm always coming across people who boast about reading it every year. Why not read something new? I've got a few favorite books that I've read maybe twice in 10 years, and I still feel like I should have been reading something new in that time.

Its not just LotR I do this with...so its probably just a personality thing. I read a lot of my books every year or so depending on things.

 

[Gnarlo]

This I'll never get. I'm always coming across people who boast about reading it every year. Why not read something new? I've got a few favorite books that I've read maybe twice in 10 years, and I still feel like I should have been reading something new in that time.

Do you ever watch the same TV show twice? The same movie? Listen to the same record twice? Even though you could be listening or watching a totally new thing? Sure, it's a bigger time committment than any of those, but it doesn't have to be to the exclusion of everything else; just like I hardly ever watch only one TV show a day, it's very rare that I'm reading only one book at a time.

I don't really look on it as boasting, more of an affirmation of a long and loving friendship I have shelves full of favorite books that I've read time and again. Sometimes you want to have old friends come over for a night of gaming and movies and conversation instead of being out at the bar chatting up strangers.

 

[Teflon Billy]

the books are awful
the movies are great
therefore the movies are better than the books

i know at least 4 other people who feel the exact same way
(not counting the savages who dont read)

so mark down 5 more...
retitle the thread "are the movies better?" and you will get MANY more responses from those who agree with me.

Giving a kid these books to read is asking him to grow up hating books.

Add me to the "Movies are better" list.

I know it makes me a philistine wit the attention span of a gnat, but ther is so much "Dead Air" in those books, that it was nice to see someone stick to the basic themes, get the imagery right and just tighten the whole thing up a bit.

 

[Teflon Billy]

i would never call this an attention span problem.
i also have read all THREE THOUSAND pages thus far of A Song of Ice and Fire.

A Song of Ice and Fire buries Lord of the Rings if you ask me.

Martin understands all of the things Tolkien does ("trivia builds a world"), but also undertands things Tolkien did not (Pacing)

Lord of the Rings was great for it's time, but I think it's akin to a guitarists appreciation for th technical wizardry of Jimi Hendrix: Amazing when it first came out as ther had been nothing like it before, not such a big deal now.

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

Lord of the Rings was great for it's time, but I think it's akin to a guitarists appreciation for th technical wizardry of Jimi Hendrix: Amazing when it first came out as ther had been nothing like it before, not such a big deal now.

Whoa there. You had me 'til then. Listen to a non-classic rock radio station sometime. Hendrix could still school most of these hacks.

Do you ever watch the same TV show twice? The same movie? Listen to the same record twice? Even though you could be listening or watching a totally new thing? Sure, it's a bigger time committment than any of those, but it doesn't have to be to the exclusion of everything else; just like I hardly ever watch only one TV show a day, it's very rare that I'm reading only one book at a time.

Emphasis mine. I don't feel guilty about losing a half-hour to a Scrubs rerun I've already seen. I can even abide a couple hours to look for nuances missed in a film I've seen before - or sometimes just for the heck of it My rationale is that there are so few good television shows or good movies that sometimes one is forced to re-watch one just for lack of something better AND new to you. But why on Earth, with the entire library of the English language out there, would you go back and read the same books all the time? Unless you're some kind of speed reader, don't you have anything better to do in that time? Are you really gleaning something new from it after the sixth time reading it?

NOTE: My negative opinion of Tolkien's writing doesn't come into this argument. If you said you read my favorite book every year, I'd still say the above. Unless it's something I've written .

 

[Viking Bastard]

Ditto the readin'-multiple-time thing. I *love* LotR, but I
find the urge to read them again and again. I've read
them twice, in different languages. That's fine. I'll tackle
'em again in a decade or so.

As for Movies-vs-Books debate, I actually like the FotR
movie much better than the book. Of the three books, it
was always my least favourite. Now, TTT, I prefer the
book, but you never know, my feelings might change
when I see the Extended Edition.

 

[Gnarlo]

But why on Earth, with the entire library of the English language out there, would you go back and read the same books all the time? Unless you're some kind of speed reader, don't you have anything better to do in that time? Are you really gleaning something new from it after the sixth time reading it?

NOTE: My negative opinion of Tolkien's writing doesn't come into this argument. If you said you read my favorite book every year, I'd still say the above. Unless it's something I've written .

Oh, I have no problem with a negative opinion of Tolkien, everyone is entitled to their tastes While it is my favorite book, I don't believe it is best written piece of English literature and some parts grate on my nerves. Unless I'm very motivated, I generally skip from Old Man Willow straight to the Barrow Downs; unlike the purists out there, I was happy to see Tom cut from the movie. I like the concept of who he is; it's just the image as presented in the book of this prancing, singing hippy that wrecks the suspension of disbelief for me.

But to answer your question, just write it down to differences in personality and wiring. I'm never, even if I had a dozen lifetimes, going to make it through all the worthwhile books written in this world and I don't have the compulsion to try. Yes, I have far better things to do in that time; I could be out working in homeless shelters or building houses for the poor, but I choose to spend it selfishly reading books for pleasure, at least part of the time. I know that's not what you meant by that, but that is my personal opinion of how I spend my free time, I suppose it makes me neutral by some alignment charts

It's not a question of gleaning something new from it; it's a matter of relishing and anticipating the pleasure I know I will get from it. It's a stable and known entity, it's comfort food for the brain. It's the difference between bar hopping back in my college days and being married now; back then it was all about variety and how many different positions and techniques and body types I could experience, now it's about enjoying the company of someone who is loving, cuddly, and who after 10 years knows just how to nibble the back of my neck.