07/02/22

Serkis is fabulous. Fantastic to go back again guided by his versatile voice. ( )

I'm really glad that I finally decided to re-read this series, and equally glad that I decided to listen to Serkis' audiobook version. For one thing, this was a great way to experience the songs that Tolkien wrote; Serkis sings them (and sings well) and given that I had a habit of skipping them in the past, this was a refreshing experience.

This is the first time I'm revisiting the trilogy since the movies came out, I think. There are things I had forgotten about the books that were surprises... for one, even though I love all the hobbits in the movies, I had forgotten that Pippin is the best book hobbit. Also, I had forgotten that book-Boromir is really not a sympathetic character. Honestly, I think Sean Bean does a better job of portraying Boromir than Tolkien himself did.

Tom Bombadil was never a character I appreciated much before. I think it's partly because Tolkien's songs have always annoyed me in prior readings of the books... they've seemed pointless and boring. However, hearing the songs actually SUNG helped me appreciate them, and the characters, a lot more. And in this version, I have determined that Tom is a wonderful character, and though I understand why he was left out of the movies I greatly miss seeing him portrayed.

It's been amusing to me to see how many lines of dialogue from the movies were lifted straight from the books. I love that part. Even though the movies deviated from the books in a handful of ways, they really did remain true to the spirit. ( )

Lydbok i 2023

Wow, five stars to this? Betcha didn't see that one coming ...

You know, it's really great that the LotR movies exist, not because I would not be as big a fan of the books without them or because they're particularly good, but because whenever I'm wondering what I'm gonna listen to while reading the book ... the answer is right there. The soundtrack. Of course.

I used to think that every time I reread them I got a new fave character, and while that isn't really true, I tend to appreciate different characters every time. A couple of years back I started to really love Pippin (mostly because of the line "thinking? At breakfast? Good heavens!"), but this time it's all Sam.

Now, of course, I love Sam as much as anyone (and EVERYONE loves Sam), but I've always thought he was a bit of a dork too. Suddenly I find myself really enjoying his dorkiness, almost relating to it. I definitely relate to all his love of plants, and I think he got the best gift from Galadriel tbh, even better than both Frodo's and Gimli's. Galadriel just gets him, I guess.

Oh well, reading this book is like coming home, in the best of ways. ( )