Read it aloud?
 

I remember very fondly me and my "Ex" reading Lord of the Rings aloud to each other. (Well, I remember other things fondly too, but that's a different story. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] )

It took us about two months. We tried reading other books aloud, but none had that wonderful feeling of sharing something special that reading LOTR did.

Have you ever read the book aloud to anyone?

[ February 14, 2002: Message edited by: Birdland ]

Haven't read LotR aloud to anyone (though I'd dearly love to; I even had a dream once that I read "The Hobbit" to some kids at the library). I've read several other books aloud to people, though.

(wistfully...) I wish I did have someone to read it aloud to, or to read it to me - problem is, I have the book in English, but all the people around me speak German. And I don't really like the translation - it doesn't feel the same. So, maybe I will just have to read it aloud to myself! The experience of reading aloud is magical, especially when a book is filled with the beauty of words the way LotR is. But I agree - sharing it with someone is much more satisfactory!

I'm desparately trying to read LOTR to my boyfriend, but he's more interested in re-running Harry Potter. Any ideas on how to convert? I think it'd be terrific fun to read, with all the songs and everything

I read the Lorien chapters and the Grey Havens out loud to myself and the dog, practicing different accents as I went along (I act, so you could call it training, or you could call it being weird). There are some passages that are too moving to keep all to yourself. Yes, I'm sure the dog appreciated them very much.

Having the book read to you is a great thing when the reader does it well. Who Im talking about is Tolkien. I downloaded his 7 minute reading of The Two Towers part where Gollum, Sam, and Frodo are in Ithilien. It was GREAT. If I had a choice between seeing the movies and having a CD where Tolkien reads The Hobbit and LOTR outloud, I would pick Tolkien anyday. I got so into the book when he read it, but sadly there was only 7 minutes of it. And Im happy to say that the way I thought Gollum spoke in my mind was the same way Tolkien spoke when he was reading Gollums parts.

The only thing that caught me off guard was Tolkien reading elvish. He is very intense when he reads elvish (I think it was Quenya).

Have all of you heard the recordings Im talking about? I have found 4 recordings alltogether. It is a shame he didn't do more. [img]smilies/frown.gif[/img] And I think its great that you would read it outloud to someone that you care about. I would not have the courage to do that, for fear of sounding stupid. I dont think I could emulate all the characters voices. It would need to be practiced alot for me to get it right. Maybe I will read it to my cat. He likes to listen. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

That must be so interesting, to be able to compare a book in two different languages.

Unfortunately, like most Americans, I don't know another language, except for some fractured Spanish.

I actually attempted to read a Spanish translation of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five once, but riffling through the dictionary every minute didn't do much for "the flow". [img]smilies/frown.gif[/img]

My bro and frequently read aloud the book.
Praise: my bro finished reading book 1 today! im so proud of him [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] Anyways, when i read i do full accents when i read (my bro needs to polish up on his tho) and its awesome.

&yet another useless post*
[img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] [img]smilies/cool.gif[/img] [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img]

I've read the "Fellowship" and The Hobbit twice now to my eight-year-old daughter, as well as the "Two Towers" and "Return of the King", The Silmarillion and excerpts from The Unfinished Tales. She loves them all. It's a source of constant conversation, and yes debate. Also, as the reader I found a much richer and deeper appreciation for the overall story, as well as noticing much more of the subtleties.

Hey Lush, we should get your dog & my cat together so they can discuss literature! And no, you are not weird, or alone! If you were to put a hidden camera in my house, you'd soon learn every line of MP's "Holy Grail", "Braveheart", And "Princess Bride". I really should have been an actress...(sigh).
I did have someone at church suggest that I go into radio broadcasting! Hmmm...

Hehe, that's what my mother did with me when I was little. One reason I'm so addicted to Tolkien. And since she had an English Accent it's a memory I'll hold forever. And I hope to read it to my children.

I am trying to talk my mom into letting me read them to her. Everytime I try to read to her, she falls asleep. I can't get more than three pages in at a time.

Hehe...

There are several audio recording that you can get at bookstores of J.R.R. Tolkien reading excerpts from LotR and "The Hobbit". I'm going to get one, maybe, next month when I have the cash.

Heh, reading aloud to them is the only reason I'd want kids. Hey, I have a microphone on my computer; maybe I can read outloud to someone who wants to hear it. Er, but no accents; I'm no good at that. I can't even read elvish... [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

I was introduced to Tolkien by my father, who read The Hobbit to me when I was little. Then when I was about 7 my mother went away to university, and only came home at weekends, so my father and I read Lord of the Rings. We used to take it in turns to read aloud (though he read more than me.) He was really good at the different voices. It was great, sitting by the fire for hours reading. My dad even let me stay up late to read another chapter, then maybe just another one [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who reads aloud to my cat [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] there are some parts that just have to be spoken out loud. My cat doesn't complain, I think she prefers it to the TV.

Cash? What's that? LOL!

I read LotR and the Hobbit aloud to three children ages 12 to 17. They especially liked any chapters about Gollum. They would often imitate his manner of speaking.

"Read us another chapter, precious. We wants it."

Hehe Elvish is very tricky for me to say too...
i tried to read teh song Frodo hears Galadrial sing as they leave lorien. IT was pitiful [img]smilies/frown.gif[/img]

If you want to hear the lament of Galadriel go to Namarie

Click on musik m.m. This site is in Swedish, I think. They also have the story of Tinuviel (Luthien and Beren) that Aragorn sings in "A Knife in the Dark." It is sung in Swedish or either Finnish. It is beautiful and easy to follow if you have the book.

Eh heh, it took me ages just to read it to myself. Gave me a bit of a headache, too.

Thanks for the links Joy! I'm going to check that out!

firstly: i hate reading with other people, so reading aloud isnt an option. I prefer reading to be private, and done in silence. Songs, poems etc i read aloud for some reason because i like to hear them, and when the mood strikes i might read aloud for a little, but i this stops your full concentration being on the book and its images because you have to think of speaking too. basicly: reading aloud spoils everything apart from the songs which were meant to be heard and not read anyway.

sorry if anything finds that rude [img]smilies/frown.gif[/img]

Ha ha! That is pretty much the same thing that is going on with my family! I convinced my bro to read TT befor he sees the film. He just loved the movie as did I but I thought it would be cool if after the film we could descuss the changes togethor. He is about half way through the book! Yay for the little brothers of the world!

And I say again
Hooray for little brothers too! WEll hes not "that" little---hes 13. Cool Mayla! [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

My mother been english was always reading Tolkien or C.S.Lewis to me.

And the way she would read Lord of the Rings, she really got into! Like I do now. I was reading the Hobbit to the group of kids I babysit on the weekends. It's a joy to watch their faces, so intent!

Master, I, for one, agree with you. As much as I love Tolkien's books, it would be pure torture to have to listen to someone read them aloud. For one thing, reading aloud is so slooooooow. Nor would I enjoy doing the reading myself.

*Unlike the_master, réd makes no apologies for her views.

-réd

When I was 8 my 16 year old brother introduced me to Tolkien by reading "Riddles in the Dark" to me. [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] I was hooked.

Later when I taught high school I read the same chapter at the school's art show. I got a great response. "Ooooh I loved the way you did Gollum!" It was fun. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

I'm in a writer's group where we read everything aloud. It reveals a lot about readability. [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] Makes me feel naked, too. [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img]

My guess is you guys who don't like it have never heard it done well.

I enjoy reading aloud. I'll follow my mom around the house reading to her as she is trying to work. Hey, at least she can't fall asleep on me there. LOL

I can't wait to have children so I can read to them. I want to read all the classics to them as they get older.

You know, I even love having children read to me. It is so sweet when they do, even through their mis-pronunciations.

I find it interesting, though annoying, that some folks can't imagine someone not enjoying the same things as they do. I wouldn't care if Bilbo himself read it aloud, I'd still fall asleep. I do not enjoy listening to human voices drone on and on about anything. For that very reason, I despise talk radio. I can't leave the television on unless I am watching a specific show. Drives me batty. Voices... ahhhhhhhh!!! I wish more people in this world appreciated silence. *sigh* [img]smilies/frown.gif[/img]

-rêd

I believe you've found your cure for insomnia, red! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] I don't recommend the LotR audio drama to you. (I love it but I'm not very visual, as I've stated before.)

You guys should hear Tolkien read from "Riddles in the Dark"! It's creepy; he's so good! Too bad he can't read some of my college text books for me... (Text books were made to be dull, it's a known fact, and when un-paid, bored volunteers read them it's even worse.)

I had The Hobbit read to me, I believe when I was ten. I'd read it once before, but I somehow failed to really catch the magic. Probably never read attentively enough. And I still didn't get too excitred about it first...not until they met the goblins. The scene with the wargs had me shaking in excitement, and after that point, I was totally hooked on Tolkien. Past that I would get angry whenever a reading session was over.

I'm rereading LotR, as I always am, when I have nothing better to do, or on days like today, when I'm too sick to really move much. I constantly find myself reading aloud, whispering, really, everything that the characters say. Not thew narration, just the quotes. And especially Gollum's . (And wouldn't you know it -- his 'Gollum' voice in the movie was exactly as I'd always spoken it myself! I wonder, will the 'Smeagol' voice sound stangely familiar, as well?)

I just wanted to say that I found more Tolkien recordings a few days ago. I didn't like them though. For some reason I only like Tolkien reading the Two Towers bit.

[ February 18, 2002: Message edited by: Elendur ]

I can understand the naked part. My lit. class, we read anything we write out loud and I always have butterflies in my tummy cause I love writing fantasy or fiction.

That's another advantage to being visually impaired. Whenever I get flustered and can't read out loud, I just say I can't read my own handwriting and ask the teacher if he/she would mind reading it for me. But they always get the names wrong. I honestly didn't think "Yeeri" was a hard name to pronounce...

I had to studey FOTR in my English class so my teacher read the first chapter or so aloud to us...but I think that's it. I enjoy reading it in my head more, because then my imagination can take over for me and I can create my own narrator. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

I have one question...what is that symbol on the message icon between the ring and the great eye? Is it in the Silmarillion because I haven't read that yet. *ducks head down to avoid angrily thrown tomatoes* Can anyone tell me? thanks.

THat's Tolkien's symbol.

Anyway, I do like to read it to myself, too, cause you can place your own voice to the character. I always thought Gandalf had my grandfather's voice, for he's got this deep wizard like voice. And he stands 6 foot and has white hair and a white beard and I always thought when I was a child that he was Gandalf.

Is it a literature course or a series of ritual humiliations? I don't remember ever being made to read out my compositions to my fellow sufferers. Mind you, I gave up my official literary studies in favour of history for higher education, so perhaps that's why.

I think she's just cruel. We come into class ans she says. Wirte a paper, so and so pages and you'll read it out loud tomorrow. She'll either tell us if it's a fiction writing or an essay. I think she does it because she's lazy, We have yet to cover much of anything that was talked about at the start of the class.

My college Lit prof read to us everyday. She is the one responsible for my love of The Heroic Quest style of literature. She read Beuwolf, Sir Gawain, The Battle of Maldon, The Last Survivior's Speach, and many other great Early British literature to us.

I think of all my teachers in school, the ones that read to us where my favorites.

The miracles of modern technology have made a new way of sharing the experience of reading aloud with others possible - voice chat! I have recently tried this out and found it to be fascinating. Several friends decided to read passages from Tolkien's works with distributed roles, chose a time (taking time zones into consideration) and a messenger service and off we went. Well, we would have gone off if everyone had been there and if the miracle of modern technology had worked... [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] But finally everyone was set up and could be heard - and it was great!

Of course, sitting together, seeing the facial expressions and gestures would have been even better - but hearing the voices made the people and the words of the book come alive. It's an experience that those involved would definitely like to repeat.

Maybe I wouldn't dare rreading it to others, cause it makes me feel uncomfortable, but I often read aloud to myself, especially the LOTR, cause it's so poetic and ... well you know all its qualities. I just like the sound of the words flowing, like a stream over the rocks, or... like an ancient song... shoot me, please