{{ “B001AX11LI” | amazon_mediumleft_image }} The ending of the story in book form is far different than the movie version. Both are good, but the original is darker and more poignant. I’m glad to have reread the entire Lord of the Rings again, especially right after watching the movies. It is still one of my all-time favorite books and one of my all-time favorite movies.
Not that anyone should be surprised by this, but the amounts of money some of the SOPA/Protect-IP supports have received from the movie/television/music industry is staggering.
Well worth the time to read. I rarely go to Best Buy any more. They are loud, uncomfortable places filled with annoying help, or no help at all.
Fascinating read about the true costs of “free parking”. This ties into some possible unintended effects of Driverless Cars .
{{ “B003BS18PY” | amazon_mediumleft_image }} The Two Towers has always been the hardest of the three Lord of the Rings series to read. It’s darker, and with the split story line and new characters, harder to follow. As with The Fellowship of the Ring the movie version of this book is dramatically different. Several of the characters are wholly different between the two tellings. In the movies Frodo is a victum, and Strider is unwilling to accept his fate. In the books Frodo is stronger and wiser and Strider is almost eager for his fate. I am not one to analyze what I read, but it has been fun to see the vast differences between the movie version and the printed version of this tale.
I’ve linked to the edition I own even though it is currently unavailable for sale. If you want a copy you’ll have to select a different edition.
I love maps and this one looks like a beauty.
{{ “B000MGVFWY” | amazon_mediumleft_image }} I first read The Fellowship of the Ring in about 1974 or 1975. My father, who traveled for work, brought home a copy of The Hobbit which he had picked up in an airport but didn’t like. I devored it and then went in search for more by J. R. R. Tolkien. The entire Lord of the Rings series has long been one of my favorites. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read these books. My copy of The Fellowship was broken in two with pages falling out until Sibylle mended it for me.
The movies are an entirely different telling of the story. One that I enjoy very much. I have fallen into the habit of watching all three extended movie versions somewhere during the Christmas break. This year I watches all three in one marathon day. Rereading the Tolkien books so soon after watching the movies I can see where Peter Jackson and company altered the story to fit their needs. I know many Tolkien purists bristle at these changes, but I find the movies enjoyable and well done. Yes, they dramatically altered the story. But who’s to say that Tolkien’s version of the story is accurate either?
There are newer editions than the one I’ve linked to here. This happens to be the edition I own.
And mine comes on February 9, 2012.
While I have always identified myself as male, I have never identified with the classic male stereotype. Kudos to this teacher for educating young students about gender. As my mother-in-law Virginia used to say, “There are enough ways in the world for everyone to have one of their own.” Hopefully, someday, the human race will be mature enough to recognize that each person will express their gender, sexuality, personality, intelligence, physicality, spirituality in their own unique way.
If every child in the United States left Santa two cookies and a glass of milk, how many calories would he consume? 19 billion.