TAMPA – “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit …” That famous first line, now 70 years old, introduced J.R.R. Tolkien to a small readership, and so began the cult of Middle-earth. After his “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy hit bookstores in the mid-1950s, Tolkien was fast becoming a worldwide cultural phenomenon. As complex as they appear, Tolkien’s literary fantasies all grew from kernels, branching out into an interconnected family tree. But where did these ideas come from and how did he develop them? [More]
Category: LotR Books
Henery Gee writes: Just to let you know that I’m still on the road promoting my book ‘The Science of Middle-earth’ here in the UK. I’ll be at the Brighton Science Festival on 23 February and the Cambridge Science Festival on 18 March. For full details you can visit my website henrygee.org.uk.
As you probably know, The Science of Middle-earth started life in the ‘Green Books’ section of TORn. Tom Shippey chose it as his book of 2005 in the Times Literary Supplement, and in the New York Review of Science Fiction said that it was “the most unexpectedly Tolkienian book about Tolkien that I have ever come across”.
Order ‘The Science of Middle-earth’ on Amazon.com today! [US] [CA] [UK]
LOS ANGELES, January 3 — LearnOutLoud.com, an online resource for audio and video educational products, presents the J. R. R. Tolkien Audio Resource Page (http://www.learnoutloud.com/tolkien). This web page is a one-stop portal for every audio book by the author. Included are multiple audio book editions of the books in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King). In addition, other popular Tolkien titles such as The Hobbit and The Silmarillion are featured. “J. R. R. Tolkien has produced such an amazing body of literature and we wanted to do our best to highlight the titles that are available in audio format,” said LearnOutLoud.com CEO and Founder Jon Bischke. “We’ve searched high and low to find 60 titles including multiple versions of The Lord of the Rings titles. It’s a great way to experience his work.” [More]
‘Why, Sam,’ [Frodo] said, ‘to hear you somehow makes me as merry as if the story was already written. But you’ve left out one of the chief characters: Samwise the stouthearted.’ “I want to hear more about Sam, dad. Why didn’t they put in more of his talk, dad? That’s what I like, it makes me laugh. And Frodo wouldn’t have got far without Sam, would he, dad?”
One of the most beloved characters in Tolkien’s trilogy is without question, Samwise Gamgee. That ordinary hobbit, representative of all that’s sound and sane against a background of darkness and despair, who was able to do the extraordinary, even the impossible, and live to tell the tale.
Do you see Sam as a faithful friend and kind hearted companion, or the dim-witted klutz and comic-relief, sort of Sancho Panza to Frodo’s Don Quixote? Or is he the “everyman” of Middle Earth, the character Tolkien himself said he most related to? Or is Sam the true, courageous hero of Lord of the Rings? Was Sam just an ordinary hobbit? Was he tempted by the Ring? Was he the cause of Gollum’s ultimate damnation? These questions and more will be explored as we look at this amusing, confusing and delightful character.
Come join us and our special guest moderator, SamGamgee7, this week in #thehalloffire as we discuss “Samwise Gamgee, Hobbit Hero”.
Upcoming Topics:
Sept 4-5: The Hobbit: Chapter 13: Not At Home
Sept 11-12: Middle Earth’s Greatest Hero
Sept 18-19: The Hobbit: Chapter 14: Fire and Water
Sept 25-26: The Downfall of Numenor
Oct 2-3: The Hobbit: Chapter 14: The Gathering of the Clouds
Place:
#thehalloffire on theonering.net IRC server. Need instructions? Go here: [here]
Chat Times:
Saturday Chat:
5:30pm EST (17:30)
[also 11:30pm (23:30) CET and 7:30am Sunday morning AEST]
Sunday Chat:
8:00 pm (20:00) CET
[also 2:00pm (14:00) EST and 4:00am Monday morning AEST]
EST = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast
CET = Central European Time, Central Europe
AEST = Australian East Coast
From the “errr, I don’t think so” mailbag comes this blurb from the Daily Star via Ananova which says, “The fantasy novels are a big turn-off for girls, warns a new survey by publishers Penguin, who say Potter and The Lord Of The Rings books are the worst reads to pack in your suitcase this summer.” [More]
Thanks to Rebecca for sending in the link!
After Eru created the music that spawned his Children, he offered the creation of their home to his immortal, angelic beings known to the Elves as the Valar. After Arda’s creation, dissension erupted between the Valar who stood for goodness and beauty and the jealous, destructive Melkor, and the land became their battle ground. Eventually, the Valar retreated from Arda to their own lands in the West. Once the Elves awakened, they became the new battle ground between the two sides.
The Valar’s Intervention in ME: Adequate or Abandonment?
To protect the newly awakened Elves from Melkor, the Valar persuaded them to leave Middle Earth. What resulted was the most fruitful and enlightening time for the Elves who followed them but the darkness in their departure estranged them from the Valar. Led by Manwe, the Valar hid themselves and most discontinued their involvement with the Elves.
What was the Valar’s actual responsiblity in Middle Earth and it’s affairs? Did they abandon the Elves and Men to Melkor’s evil, or was their involvement more subtle? Why couldn’t they strike a balance in their intervention, that seemed neither too much nor too little? Who was more responsible for how the races of Middle Earth evolved through four ages, Melkor or the Valar?
Come join us this week in #thehalloffire as we discuss the Valar’s Intervention in Middle EArth.
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Upcoming topics:
Aug 28-29: Samwise Gamgee
Sept 4-5: The Hobbit: Chapter 13: Not At Home
Sept 11-12: Middle Earth’s Greatest Hero
Sept 18-19: The Hobbit: Chapter 14: Fire and Water
Sept 25-26: The Downfall of Numenor
Oct 2-3: The Hobbit: Chapter 14: The Gathering of the Clouds
===
Place:
#thehalloffire on theonering.net IRC server. Need instructions? Go here: http://www.theonering.net/barlimans/instructions.html
===
Chat Times:
Saturday Chat:
5:30pm EST (17:30)
[also 11:30pm (23:30) CET and 7:30am Sunday morning AEST]
Sunday Chat:
8:00 pm (20:00) CET
[also 2:00pm (14:00) EST and 4:00am Monday morning AEST]
EST = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast
CET = Central European Time, Central Europe
AEST = Australian East Coast