At the beginning of Setptember, @g33ky_daddy asked me through GoodReads if I would like to participate in a Read-a-long of The Lord of the Rings that he and some friends were doing on their blogs. I accepted to join the read-a-long, but got really busy during the first week of posting. So here is my answers to the first posting and then this weeks post.

The Lord of the Rings is my all-time favorite fantasy series. My love for Tolkien’s works go far beyond The Lord of the Rings. It extends to all of his Middle-earth works. I have read The Silmarillion, The Hobbit as well as The Lord of the Rings. I have read The Lord of the Rings annually for the last 20 years. I was excited when I learned that Christopher Lee does the same thing as well:

Lee had met Tolkien once (making him the only person in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy to have done so) and makes a habit of reading the novels at least once a year.

In the year 2012, I plan on focusing my reading in Middle-earth, by reading much more of Tolkien’s legendarium, including The History of Middle-earth series (which I have never read), The History of The Hobbit, and the newest release, The Children of Hurin.

Tolkien’s vast history, languages and geography make Middle-earth one of the most complete fantasy worlds ever created. I love that one man’s imagination created it all (with the help posthumously of his son, as well).

Now, onto the questions for The Fellowship of the Ring read-a-long!

The Fellowship of the Ring Book 1, Chapter 1-8

1. Hobbits seem to have songs for everything! I didn’t realize this was a musical… . how are you liking all the songs?

I really do not mind the songs at all. My biggest problem is that I don’t what kind of tune they would be singing to so when I try to sing them in my head, they never sound as good as I know The Hobbits and elves would make them. I don’t consider Tolkien’s works as a musical at all. Song is very important to all the races of Middle-earth so the song verses are appropriate to the narratives.

2. I love that we learn about Gollum and his past so early on. It gives a dark and foreboding (dare I say, perilous?) feeling to the whole thing. Were you surprised that the story took a dive towards the dark and scary so quickly?

Not really. Every civilization has a dark period in its history. I don’t even think that the story of the One Ring and its path with Gollum is that dark and scary. Once we realize the immense power that Sauron infused into the One Ring, you would think that it would have a dark and destructive history. The Ring would not seem as powerful if it just acted like a ring. They fact that the One Ring seemed to take over its wearer added to its power and mystique.

3. Tom Bombadil! what and who is he??? If you met him in a forest, would you trust him?

He is a member of a race that is not one of the major races of Men, Elves, or Dwarves. I believe that he is one of the ancient beings (the maia) that are talked about in The Silmarillion. He has somehow survived the Ages by staying to himself and helping all that cross his path. Since he was not affected by the powers of the One Ring (as Frodo knew the power to be), I would have trusted Ole Bombadil. He also did nothing to hurt the travelers or impede their progress.

4. What did you think when Pippin, Merry and Sam told Frodo about their “conspiracy”, and that they pretty much knew what he was planning from the beginning?

It was the typical curious behavior that in in every Hobbit. They are very smart and are a close knit race, so it is not surprising that The Hobbit friends were able to figure out that something was up with Frodo. This is a HUGE difference in the movies where the Merry and Pippen are portrayed as silly, bumbling oafs, a way Tolkien obviously did not write them. In the book, they are obviously the closest of friends, whereas the movies have Sam and Frodo as best friends and Merry and Pippen as partners in crime.

5. What’s your favorite part of the book so far?

Chapter 2 (The Shadow of the Past) is by far my favorite part of this section. I love history and loved reading about the history and research that Gandalf did trying to find out about the ring in Frodo’s possession. Also, reading the realization of the task before Frodo was interesting to read. At the beginning of the chapter, Frodo has a ring bestowed to him from his adopted uncle. At the end of the chapter, Frodo has the most powerful weapon known to Middle-earth and the most evil being known throughout history is back and wants his ring back, and to destroy it, Frodo has to go to his neighborhood and throw it into a volcano. That is a bad couple of hours in Frodo’s life!

The Fellowship of the Ring Book 1 Chapter 9 - Book 2 Chapter 3

1. What was your initial thoughts of Strider/Aragorn when Hobbits met up with him in The Prancing Pony? Did you think that he was linked with the Riders?

I never thought that Strider was linked to the Riders. Tolkien made it very clear that the Riders were cloaked in black and were not likely to just hang around someplace. I thought that Strider was an interesting character. The fact that Butterbur knew of him as “one of the wandering folk - Rangers we call them” made me think that he was not evil. I think that Butterbur would have givenStrider a much more grim description if he knew that Rangers were of ill rupture. I love the way Tolkien introduced Strider to the story. It gives him a hidden sense of power format he start, then we learn that he is the heir to the king of all men, and we learn that he has legitimate power, but has turned away from the path…for the moment.

2. What was the biggest surprise to you during this section of The Fellowship of the Ring?

This is hard for me because I have read LotR for the last 20 years, but I would have to say that the lineage of Strider is one of the surprises of this section. To find out that your new BFF is the heir to Isildur, who struck down Sauron and captured the One Ring oh so long ago must have given Frodo some relief. Unless he really listens to the history and realizes that it was also Isildur who DID NOT destroy the One Ring when he had a chance and against Elrond’s advice. But Frodo still has to feel good that Strider (Aragorn) is along and pledged to him and the task of the destruction of the One Ring.

3. Do you like that Tolkien goes in depth and tells the readers of the history events of the war that is upon the Fellowship?

As I said above, I love history and the extensive history that Tolkien wrote for Middle-earth is one of the main things that I love about The Lord of the Rings. I think that the history needed to be told since the only ones that were aware of it were Elrond (because he was present) and Gandalf (because of who he ACTUALLY is that is not completely clear at this point). History is always used to teach those of the present the lessons that they need to learn. It was necessary for the future Fellowship to understand the importance of the One Ring and what it means to Sauron, and to what lengths Sauron will go to to get it back.

4. How far do you think you would have lasted if you were Frodo and nearly becoming a Rider?

I don’t really think that this is a question of pain tolerance (as the question seems to imply) but rather, I think, it is a question of willpower. Even though Frodo didn’t realize he was close to falling to the ‘nether world’ of the Ringwraiths, he knew that he had to be strong to continue his quest. Hopefully, he knew that with Aragorn’s help, and later Glorfindel’s help that he would be able fight the sickness that was overtaking his body. I don’t really know how I would have lasted with evil overtaking my body and soul. I would hope that I would be able to hold on until help could rid me of that evil.

5. As dangerous quest unfold to become, the other hobbits want to stick by Frodo til the end. Would you sacrifice yourself and stick with Frodo til the end?

I would stick with my true friends through thick and thin. I think that Hobbits did not truly understand what their quest entailed after the Council, but they knew that there friend was in trouble and needed help and they were going to help in anyway possible. I tend to be the same way with my true friends. I do whatever is in my power to help them.