A few questions about a new reader
 

Hello all. I'm a 15 year old kid who recently started reading Lord of the Rings. I've read the Hobbit twice (loved it) but, I'll be honest, The Fellowship is getting a bit overwhelming for me to read, the characters do tend to ramble in my opinion! Any ideas how a snobby teenager can make their reading more enjoyable?

Btw - HOLA MY SMEAGOL! [img]smilies/cool.gif[/img]

Where are you at in the book? Things pick up a lot after leaving the Shire and even more after Bree.

This is gonna sound odd, but just stop. Put it down. Then go and read the Silmirilion. I wish i had done that. You will read it and think "What the hell?". And it will come slowly, but stick with it. And eventually you will adjust to it and start to love it. Then read the Lord of the Rings. And you will love that even more for it, plus you will be firmly in the JRRT style.

Well I wouldn't be surprised if this got moved to the novices and newcomers section.

I think that you just need t be patient. The plot and the suspence is building up. In FotR, the pace is kind of slow. It's teh beginning and its just setting up for TTT and RotK. Once the plot gets started, it starts moving along faster. And mainly in Book I of FotR, its not really action and wars and fight scenes. Its really just enchanting and journey. You can figure out enchanting I'm sure, but what I mean by journey, is leaving your home (Shire) and in a sort of unguided fasion, travelling into unknown lands. Once Aragorn comes, the plot thickens, and there is a guide. So mainly, FotR is more suspense. Just be patient. And if you still feel you're not ready, then try what Galorme said. It might work. Or you could try putting down LotR and coming back in a few years to read it or whenever you feel ready. Just don't rush it. If you don't feel ready, then don't read it. No one's forcing you to read it now. I'm just glad that you're trying to read it. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

I really like the beginning of FotR, it's all happy(ish) I get quite sad when they leave the Shire. You could try the Silmarillion but I found that I ended up listening to the radio (I can't stand silence while I'm reading) while my eyes scanned the page, then suddenly realising when it came to turning the page I hadn't actaully read any of it.

Ah, Cibbwin, you remind me of a previous version of myself. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] I have two suggestions for you:

1) Read carefully what these kind Barrow Downers have already told you. Take their suggestions seriously, because they know what they are talking about. Try each method, and see which one(s) helps you out.

2) Click here. It is a thread I started a few months ago, stating a similar problem that I had. Lots of people gave me brilliant suggestions there, so I suggest you thumb through them and try some of them out.

Happy reading! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Thanks for the advice everyone, but what IS the Silmarillion?

It is another book by JRRT, and it explains what happened thousands of years beforehand, like how the earth was made, etc. It always kinda reminds me of the Bible...(no offence, anyone who would be offended [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]) I'm still about 1/3 of the way through, but I'm getting there...slowly. I think Fëanor is a complete idiot, which doesn't help much, I guess.... [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

~LePetit, Your friendly neighbourhood cabbage!

well feanor is not an idiot just proud and well young. he is foolish not an idiot after all he did make the simirals. anyways dont read the sil first. it just is to tought to read if you havent gotten used to tolkien in the lotr.

Don't feel bad. I am in my first year of college and I found getting used to JRRT's writing style a bit challenging at first. Here are some tips:
1. DON'T Rush. Read at your own pace. The book isn't going anywhere.
2. Go One Chapter at a time. After you finish a chapter. Go over it again in your head, like your watching it. It helps you relate to it and remember what's happened.
3. Have fun! This isn't schoolwork, it's supposed to be enjoyable. Don't feel bad if it takes you weeks to read or a year. Just have fun exploring Tolken's world.

~I hope I was helpful. Good Luck and Happy Reading!

Mae govannen, Cibbwin! Welcome to the Downs, and may your rest be long and peaceful.

Like everybody has said, don't rush yourself. Reading isn't a race, and the beginning of Fellowship is rather tough the first time around. (Second time around it flits past like a memory of happiness...le sigh.) Just pace yourself, and if need be, put it down! Leave it be for a while. If you rush, you won't enjoy it, and that would be a shame. It's a wonderful book, and once you get past the Council of Elrond it really breezes by. But take heart: you're not the only one whose feet dragged in Book I! It took me what felt like ages.

As for the Sil., lol, the only reason I can think of to read it as a respite after LotR is to make you think "wow, Fellowship wasn't has hard as I thought it was!" I'm a fairly fast reader, but it took me two months. Ai, Elbereth.

Namarie!

~*~Orual~*~

Hi Cibbwin! Welcome to the downs! There are a couple of slower parts in LOTR. I would suggest that you just force yourself through it. If it gets confusing, keep track of all of the characters and where they are. Find a good map of ME and keep track of them on there. Hope that helps. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Hi Cibbwin! Have fun here!
As everybody already said, don't rush.
I got through it (and al other books, I "have to read" though I find them a bit "slow") by forcing myself to read at least a couple of pages each day. And whenever a geographical name was mentioned I tried to find on the map on the back of the book. (The result: I can almost remember every spot on the Middle-earth map by name. And I once drew it by memory. Okay, that doesn't sound really attractive, but I'm havingfun with telling people weird details and questions about the location of Angmar...)
Sorry for getting off topic - I have a bad habit doing that sometimes... [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]
Anyways, just work on the book; I hope you get through it [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

Thanks again everyone, I won't deny, I do tend to read too fast for my own good. Hehe, I had a problem with it when I was younger. I'll take everyone's advice, thanks again!

Try the Audiobooks. They´re really good, especially if you have problems concentrating on books.

Or just, put it down, try something totally different (I recommend the Princess Diaries) and then pick it up again. Give yourself a break.
Or, on the contrary, put yourself under pressure. That´s what I did when the FotR movie came out. I was like, ok, you have to go see it, but you´ll read the books first. I called my friends, fixed a date for the movie, and started reading. And I finished it in THREE DAYS!!!!!1

This sounds a lot like a problem i had. I too, happen to read very fast. When i read i pass important plot enhancements without even being aware of it. This also happened when i started reading Lord of the Rings when i was 14. I understood very little of it. But after i finished it, i did some research on other works of J.R.R Tolkien and i came across a book called The Silmarillion. I started reading it when i was nearly 16, and i loved it! I found it absolutely fantastic. But for you, i think the Silmarillion is a bit too advanced since the literature style is very Elizabethan times/Old english.
Now i have finished the Silmarillion and im reading Unfinished Tales. But in this process i havent forgotten Lord of the Rings. Im currently re-reading it for the second time. And this time im understanding it [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] So why dont you try reading it a bit more. You dont have to grasp every detail of the novel with one read,(dont push yourself too hard). And if you still get annoyed with it, try waiting a couple of years until you will be mature enough to grasp the literature.
Hope i've helped in a way [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]