Lord of the Rings Read-Along: February Post

I'm posting the February LOTR post a day early because I have another read-along post scheduled for tomorrow - this week looks to be the week of read-along posts, actually, as I wrap up two and start another. While I'm mentioning read-alongs, I should say that my read-along posts will contain spoilers, but my reviews never will! I'm thinking when I wrap up a read-along, I will put a review at the bottom for people who haven't read the book but want to know my general thoughts on it. Sound good?

Also, my awesome sisters-in-law gave me a shout-out on their fabulous blog, Bee in Our Bonnet. I highly recommend checking them out. *Waves at people stopping by via Bee in Our Bonnet*

So, on to the read-along.

Honestly, I don't have much more to report. At this point in The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo and the other members of the Fellowship have just had to turn back from "cruel Caradhras" and take another route to get to Mordor.

One of the things I love about Tolkien is the fact that he is not so much telling us a story as he is letting us peek into a corner of his world. I really can't believe how much detail exists and how thoroughly he has imagined everything. Rereading the book has satisfied questions that have come up in my mind since I saw the movies. One thing I have always wanted to know more about were the Wise - We know about Gandalf the Grey and Saruman the White, but what about other wizards? I was glad to be reintroduced to Radagast the Brown, whom I had forgotten about. I do wish that there were other wizards that we had the chance to learn about. Also, how did the wizards come to be? Who are they? That is one of the disadvantages of peeking into the world instead of being told the story - sometimes questions are left unanswered.

I also am loving Tolkien's imagery. I have heard many complaints about the long, descriptive passages, but to me they are word-chocolate. Because I am reading this so slowly, I can luxuriate in the passages and poetry instead of skim them over. Here's a passage I underlined:

The firelit hall became like a golden mist above seas of foam that sighed upon the margins of the world. Then the enchantment became more and more dreamlike until he felt that an endless river of swelling gold and silver was flowing over him, too multitudinous for its pattern to be comprehended; it became part of the throbbing air about him, and it drenched and drowned him.

*Sigh*. Honestly, I love reading about Rivendell, period. Even in the midst of turmoil and violence, it is "a perfect house [...] Merely to be there was a cure for weariness, fear, and sadness." I like that image of Rivendell as a temple of tranquility in a world of darkness - even though Lord of the Rings is a fantasy tale, there are all kind of parallels to real life. We all need our own Rivendell where we can escape for a little while.

I think those are all of my read-along ramblings for this post. If you are participating in the LOTR Read-along, please leave a comment with a link to your post and I will add it to the bottom of this post. I'm excited to see how everyone else is getting along. :)

Pepca
Bahnree
Fat Books, Thin Women
Tracy's Space