When was the last time you read The Lord of the Rings?

[Narkalui]

I was trying to explain Bombadil to my brother-in-law a year or so ago. He is a real filmy but doesn't read much ie he's seen the films but not read the books.

Through my rambling attempt at an explanation, including Bombadil's origin as a home made soft toy belonging to Tolkien's children, I arrived at the conclusion the he was a deliberate anachronism. A deliberate attempt by the author to subvert the readers perception without explanation. Without even an explanation in Tolkien's perception...

 

[Adam Collins]

Read The Hobbit and then read LOTRs after. That was around 1995 or so. Read LOTRs again about three years ago...still loved it.

 

[Faye HG]

And which reading was it? Your first? Second reading? Twentieth? For that matter, when did you first read it?

For purposes of this discussion, I take "have read The Lord of the Rings" to mean that you've read the main story. You might not have read or reread the appendices. I like the appendices, but I don't reread them every time.

My last reading was 1 June-3 July 2012, which was my 12th reading of the complete book. To my regret, I don't know when I began my first reading, but I'm virtually certain that I finished my first reading sometime in 1967.

 

[Faye HG]

My first read was in August 2013. Loved it! I think Tolkien is the greatest writer of an age/generation. I do like his descriptive style and yet do respect how he holds back to let the reader use their own imagination when needed. I did like the darker quality of the book over the films.

 

[Anushka Mokosh]

Last time? Earlier this year. I revisited almost the entire Tolkien universe.

 

[HanaBi]

First read of LOTR was probably back in the late 70s. And this was more through chance than choice. I think I was still at school at the time, and during one of our English Lit classes we had to write a comprehension on "The Hobbit"

So enthused was I with this "children's book", that I quickly went to the local library and checked out LOTR, and read all the three books within a couple of weeks.

Have probably read LOTR 10 times since then. Doesn't quite have the same attraction as it once did, and neither is it quite so challenging on the mind. The last time I read all three books in full was perhaps 3 years ago, and even then I skimmed a number of chapters.

 

[Paul_C]

I've read LOTR a number of times and every time has been different, no doubt as I've aged and my world-view has changed.

Last time was probably ten years ago, but I doubt it'll be my last.

 

[Sard Harker]

I read it in full every couple of years or so. But I dip into it occasionally. Particularly the Moria chapters. During this summer I dipped in and read the Old Forest and Tom Bombadil chapters as the notion just took me.

 

[Vince W]

I'm 100 pages into Fellowship of the Ring at the moment.

 

[zlogdan]

I read "The Fellowship of the Ring" three times. First in 1990. Second in 1994 when I actually read the three books.

In 2000 I read "The Fellowship of the Ring" again followed by my second read of "The Two Towers". I should have read "The Return Of The King" again I admit, but I have been too lazy lazy to read it since the films came in. That explains it partially, all these 16 years without reading my favorite book I must say. Since 2000 I have been unsuccessfully trying to read "The Silmarillion" which I seem not to enjoy at all.

 

[TWErvin2]

About two decades ago, the hobbit about a decade ago.

 

[Sard Harker]

I read "The Fellowship of the Ring" three times. First in 1990. Second in 1994 when I actually read the three books.

In 2000 I read "The Fellowship of the Ring" again followed by my second read of "The Two Towers". I should have read "The Return Of The King" again I admit, but I have been too lazy lazy to read it since the films came in. That explains it partially, all these 16 years without reading my favorite book I must say. Since 2000 I have been unsuccessfully trying to read "The Silmarillion" which I seem not to enjoy at all.

I thought Return of the King was the one film that they really botched. It's no substitute for the book for me. The Battle of the Pelennor Fields in the book is wonderfully detailed and epic while the film version is very watered down and too easily resolved with the Scooby Doo version of the Army of the Dead turning up.

Shelob is too small too!

As much as I adore Tolkien, I didn't enjoy The Silmarillion either. And I read it twice to see if I'd missed something the first time. It does have some wonderful parts to it. Particularly the beginning. But overall it left me cold. It's like reading The Midnight Folk after The Box of Delights. The writing and tone are so different between the two works it almost feels like a completely different writer.

 

[Ladymage]

About a year and half ago when I took a tolkien course and wrote a twelve page page paper on Frodo and Galadriel.

 

[BAYLOR]

20 years ago .

 

[Extollager]

I'm giving this thread a poke -- there might be some new comments to be made. I read the story again in April and May of last year (i.e. 2019). That was my 13th reading. (This year, I read most of The History of The Lord of the Rings, Christopher Tolkien's account of his father's writing of the great romance.)

 

[Vince W]

I'm about halfway through The Fellowship of the Ring. I'm reading it in between other things. I think this will be my sixth reading.

 

[farntfar]

its a niggle only, is that Tolkien is too repetitive

I really think you should leaf such Niggles aside, Bick. (Sorry it took me so long. I've only just relooked at this thread since I lastposted)

I rewatched the films of the Hobbit earlier in the week with my daughters. I thought it was mainly Tauriel that wound me up about it when I first watched it. I've sortof got over that.
But actually it's a problem you see with a lot of prequels; that they have to surpass the originals.
So you get the Mirkwood spiders being bigger and scarier than Shelob, and the battle of the five armies putting the Pellenor fields to shame. Sigh!

 

[AE35Unit]

Last year I read all 6 books for the first (and last) time. I didn't read the appendages though.

 

[reiver33]

The last time I read all the way through was shortly before the first film came out, however long ago that was. I’d just intend to read Fellowship - and each prior to the appropriate adaptation - but ended up going all the way to “Well I’m back.” he said.

 

[Extollager]

I thought Return of the King was the one film that they really botched. It's no substitute for the book for me. The Battle of the Pelennor Fields in the book is wonderfully detailed and epic while the film version is very watered down and too easily resolved with the Scooby Doo version of the Army of the Dead turning up.

Shelob is too small too!

As much as I adore Tolkien, I didn't enjoy The Silmarillion either. And I read it twice to see if I'd missed something the first time. It does have some wonderful parts to it. Particularly the beginning. But overall it left me cold. It's like reading The Midnight Folk after The Box of Delights. The writing and tone are so different between the two works it almost feels like a completely different writer.

It’s seemed to me that The Silmarillion is sort of a book that has to be reread, and that every time I reread it, it impressed me more (actually I’m referring to the First Age material, I suppose). I probably oversimplify.