The Fellowship of the Ring discussion, part I

Posted by: Redhead on: September 10, 2011

• In: JRR Tolkien | Lord of the Rings | read along
• 34 Comments

Welcome to our Lord of The Rings read along!  This discussion follows the first 8 chapters of The Fellowship the Ring.  Post your answers in the comments below and/or leave a link to your blog.

on twitter? use #LOTRreadalong

It’s not too late to join in!  leave a comment or tweet me or Geeky Daddy.

This is my first time reading Lord of the Rings, my only experience being the films, and being married to a LOTR super-fan. So I’ve gotten little bits and pieces here and there about what to expect, but I’m new to everything else.  I’d been warned that the first portions of The Fellowship of the Ring are on the slow side. Sure, it felt a little episodic, but not slow by any means.  So far I’m really enjoying the book!

Other blog discussions:
Geeky Daddy
Stainless Steel Droppings
All Booked Up
The Written World
Blue Fairy’s Bookshelf
Mithril Wisdom

Newly added discussions
A Lonely Quiet Concert

and on to the discussion starters. . .

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

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?

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

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?

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

my answers, after the jump!

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

I love a good musical on tv or on the stage, I love being able to hum a long and all.  It kills me that most of the songs in Fellowship just aren’t doing it for me.  The meter seems off?  The funniest part is that Tolkien’s characters seem to almost, just barely be sometimes speaking in a pentameter of sorts, but the songs are weirdly and stumbley put together.  I’d have a tough time putting them to music. Maybe the songs will get better, or I’ll get used to them.

It did crack me up that the Hobbits are always drinking beer. I guess you can’t drink the water, who knows what’s it in.  Every time I picked the book up in the evening, I wanted a beer out of the fridge!

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?

I’ve only ever seen the movies, so only now am I learning that the films put everything out of order!  I do loves me some dark, so when Gandalf starts telling Frodo about Gollum, my thought was “oooh, goodie, some dark and scary stuff!!”. I was so happy to get to those portions so early on.  The Ring is a scary piece of work.  I appreciate that we find out early on what it is capable of doing to someone. . .  and what it’s already begun to do to someone else.  someone just like Bilbo, who at his party didn’t want to leave the ring behind.  I do loves me some dark and scary.

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

Seems like people either love or hate Tom Bombadil? I’m not quite sure what I think of him, he strikes me as a sort of  forest spirit/demi-god who is suffering from amnesia and alzheimers. I don’t think he’s capable of leaving the forest.  Would I trust him?  If i was walking through a forest and a tree ate my best friend, I think I’d beg help of any weirdo who happened to walk by!  I would trust Tom to help me, but I don’t trust him to tell me the truth.

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?

oh, I thought it was hilarious!  Frodo is being all maudlin and making bad attempts at being secretive . . .  and his friends can read him like an open book. That’s how you know who your friends are, because it doesn’t matter if it’s a lie on your lips, they know the truth by looking at your face.  Frodo is a lucky duck.

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

When Gandalf tells Frodo about Gollum and the history of the ring.   for me, that was pure gravity.   this isn’t some dumb magic ring that does a magic trick. This is the ring that will control the world and destroy it’s wearer.  It needs to be destroyed or imprisoned, but the ring has a will of it’s own, and doesn’t want to die. It doesn’t really get much more epic than that.

Tags: fantasy, read-a-long