Nuradar writes: Harper-Collins Canada has announced the winner of its 2011 March Madness book contest. This year’s winner is THE HOBBIT! It beat out Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express to win the top place as best book of all time. hccmarchmadness.ca
Category: Books Publications
[See below for info on two upcoming events with TORN blogger Ethan Gilsdorf]
I recently had a conversation with a man who scoffed at gaming and fantasy. The guy was a sports fan. So was I. But we didn’t see eye to eye. “That isn’t reality,” he said of my years reading J.R.R. Tolkien, playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, and my other interests in so-called “escapist” hobbies.
Fantasy and gaming are pointless, he said. Useless. What’s the point in playing them? Waste of time. But he’s wrong. Continue reading “When a Fantasy (Game) Is Better Than Reality (Baseball)”
Harper Collins Canada has been running their own version of March Madness over the past month and they are down to two finalists: The Hobbit vs. Murder on the Orient Express. We had NO idea this was taking place until today, but boy are we glad we found out for the finals. What better way to start the week then to overwhelm a poll. Not that we are trying to influence your vote or anything *wink*. [Vote Today]
J.W. Braun is back with another book review. This month, Braun reviews a biography of J.R.R. Tolkien and shares a bit of LOTR movie trivia that might surprise you!
Order ‘J. R. R. Tolkien: Architect of Middle Earth’ on Amazon.com
In an article written by Tony DiTerlizzi for The LA Times, we get a rare glimpse at what could have been the 30th Anniversary Edition of The Hobbit, illustrated by renowned artist Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are). But with thanks to a mislabeling error by an editor, and Sendak’s first heart attack, then project never came to fruition. A great read for the start of the week. [Read on]
Today is the annual Tolkien Reading Day where fans from around the world celebrate J.R.R. Tolkien and his works by simply reading. Some schools around the globe participate as do bookstores and coffee shops but many more take part in their own way, by themselves or with friends and family. How did you celebrate? There are excellent responses on TORn’s own Facebook page (and we like to be “liked”) or you can share your experience on our message boards by following the “discuss” link below. It is also an excellent time to check our our own Reading Room including this post. If you didn’t have a chance to read Tolkien today, its not too late in many time zones (and we promise not to tell if you do it a day late.)