General Discussion

[BetaB17]

Seems like it. Considering chips are dry and rough to begin with.. and the sodium certainly doesn't help it goes by no supprise superficial damage to the tissue occured, unless of course it may of been dyed from any food colors but unlikely considering their chips<_< anyways Dovah got that -itis going on

[Linkuya]

I'm not kidding when I say The Silmarillion is hands down the worst book I ever read. It is the most obtuse thing ever. If you thought LOTR got a bit dull at some points, you cannot read The Silmarillion, your eyes will start to bleed looking at the monstrosity.

As someone who's hobbies include being alone in dark rooms, sitting quietly listening to classical music for hours, and generally being very boring, even I must agree with you. I've read every dusty and old book I've come across, poured across every elongated and long-winded sentence, but the Silmarillion took a new kind of dedication to finish.

[BetaB17]

I kind of now want an audio tape of AKB reading the Silmarillion now

[AKB]

Yes, that describes my experience with it. Do not remember a page either. Most people have to write out a journal to figure out what's going on, and I understand why.

So, as part of our newly formed book club, we have come to an agreement that The Silmarillion is dreadful.

I kind of now want an audio tape of AKB reading the Silmarillion now

I might do that if my current tasks are sorted out sometime this lifetime.

[VirtualWeasel]

IIRC the Silmarillion wasn't really even written by Tolkien anyway, it was written by his son who based it off Tolkien's original notes and stuff, so, evidently Tolkien's son is an ass writer and should've just paid someone to do it for him.

[Sav]

I thought Tolkien's son edited some of his writings then published them?

[VirtualWeasel]

I mean, maybe, but I was under the impression the kid wrote the bulk of the book.

[Alarra]

I thought I read that most of it was fairly complete, but his son threw a bunch of notes and stuff together so it doesn't always transition smoothly from one topic to the next. Not 100% sure though.

[BetaB17]

Alarra.. grab my time machine =__= and the hatchet.

[The SheoDovah]

I don't think I will pick up the Similarion untill i've made it past LOTR because i doubt i would be able to tolorate the padding. Seriously, why did he pad out the first book so much!? I understand giving us an insight into the Hobbits but the book pretty much stalls for a few chapters(if i remember correctly) because of the shire stuff! I think on this occassion, i prefer the films over the books. That and who doesn't want to watch Gandalf being a badass by destroying the bridge and fighting the Balrog as they fall?

[Aarah]

I liked the chapters in the Shire, it gave a nice feel for what the hobbits were all about and what they valued in their lifestyles. The film had little about them before they were thrown in with other races. (which is fine for a film)

[leroybrown]

IIRC the Silmarillion wasn't really even written by Tolkien anyway, it was written by his son who based it off Tolkien's original notes and stuff, so, evidently Tolkien's son is an ass writer and should've just paid someone to do it for him.

Now that's very interesting, never heard that before. You may want to watch your back though cause Tolkien fanatics will be coming after you John Lennon style. Be wary of Peter Jackson.

[Linkuya]

I thought I read that most of it was fairly complete, but his son threw a bunch of notes and stuff together so it doesn't always transition smoothly from one topic to the next. Not 100% sure though.

Alarra is right; it was mostly finished, just jumbled together with some parts missing. So Christoper went and filled in the blank parts and arranged all the content in chronological order.

[SM-Dreamer]

I believe Linkuya is right, I remember reading that Tolkien had most of it done but not quite... finished? Presentable, perhaps? Needing to be gone over and edited, perhaps?

I mean, seriously, as a writer, if you tried going through my binders and journals of worldbuilding, it would not make any sense whatsoever.

Oh, and TLD: when I first tried reading LOTR in 7th grade, it was padded to the point that I put it down and walked away. And I was an avid reader even then - you gave it to me, I'd generally read it. Couldn't read that then. Had to wait till I got older to sit it.

[AKB]

Christopher Tolkien did piecemeal the book together, but it still has JRRT's writing style all over it that I do not doubt the majority was by his hand and not his son's hand. As SM said, even LOTR is a very hard book to read for all but the most dedicated of readers or the clinically insane (Peter Jackson).

[The SheoDovah]

*insert joke about even the insane Dovah being unable to make it past the first book*

I've heard that Jackson wanted to use parts of the Similarion for the hobbit films but due to him having no rights to it, he was unable to.

[Dohva.]

I love Tolkien's style. Reading the Hobbit was like having my grandfather tell me a story. His style is padded but I like that it adds on to the imagery of his message. We have to remembee that he wrote for a society that didn't have cable tv or internet. Books were one of the ultimate forms of entertainment. So a writer in today's society might approach that story differently.

[AKB]

Let me be clear, I love The Hobbit, but that's the only one that I can absolutely say is a good book in basically every regard. Still, LOTR was commercially and critically panned when it was first released for a reason, the books are monstrosities. And his publisher refused The Silmarillion without even finishing it.

[Dohva.]

The books were actually meant to be published as one, I believe. But the work was so huge they separated it.

[AKB]

Yes, the book got too long that they had to be split. Basically, JRRT needed a better editor. I'm not sure he had one, truly, but he could have used one.

[The SheoDovah]

I have seen an edition of LOTR which combines all of the books into one book. You have to be insane or have a lot of time on your hands to be able to read all of the books in one big book.

[SM-Dreamer]

I loved The Hobbit. You're right, Dohva - that one was like being told a story (and since I read it outloud to my client, it especially had that feel to it). But the style of The Hobbit and that of LOTR are different, with the second being... I don't know. Excessively dry? Rambling? (and coming from someone who tends to ramble...) I liked the history, but none of it felt well-placed in the story. Like he just dumped bits here and there that at that point didn't feel relevant or necessary.

In fact, tbh, I only finished the books because I was reading them to my client. It gave me something to do at work. And I manage to push through each of them. Except the Silmarillion. I had to give it up (I do like the beginning of it, the creation myth, it's all the stuff after that started to get... how many pages are left? who's this guy again? why are these elves different from those ones?)

[The SheoDovah]

I'm liking the Hobbit so far. The style is simple and it's not padded out! It knows it's a simple(by tolkien standards) tale and goes with it. It reads like an adventurer! And i can easily picture someone telling the Shirefolk this at a tavern.

[Dohva.]

Yeah, I haven't read the other books so I can't judge those. It also takes a lot for me to devote myself to a literary series. Agatha Christie being one of the few examples of someone who's done it right enough to keep me interested.

[Alarra]

I enjoy The Hobbit, have read it a good 3 or 4 times so far. Lord of the Rings I've read once, but it took me a couple tries to get through the series. I had started The Silmarillion but only got about 1/4 through the book before I couldn't renew it anymore at the library, and haven't checked it out again since.