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Boromir88 · 06-13-2020, 03:28 PM

Hey you did it!

As I said to Rune, I think perhaps after 10-15 years for most of us, our favorites and interests have probably changed. Boromir will always hold a place in my heart, but the last time reading The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, I really found Bilbo being my favorite character.

Not to speak of the dreadful Hobbit films, but part of the reason is I thought Ian Holm was an excellent casting choice in LOTR. A classically trained theater actor, when him and Ian McKellan are just reading their lines in Bag End and going off each other, they are my favorite and best scenes in all of the films. The younger actors struggle to get through a lot of the dialogue rather clunky. Not Ian Holm, perfect tone and delivery. So when I last read the books, I watched the films after, and it was like a match, I thought Ian Holm captured Bilbo in Lord of the Rings near perfectly.

Another factor is I had just bought a home, and found myself when I was working 50 hours/week, a lot of the time spending something like 8-10 days every month in a hotel room, just thinking about my "books and armchair." I don't even have a reading "armchair," but after buying a home, a place that feels like home to you, and being away from that a significant amount every month made me miss it, as Bilbo does.

Hobbits in general, I found myself liking more in the latest re-reading. Farmer Maggot for instance comes off as a rather intimidating presence, and immovable force. He is grounded in his land, and not even the Nazgul showing up to his house is going to move him from it.

As far as favorite chapter in Fellowship of the Ring? I think it has to be The Shadow of the Past. It's that transition point from The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings. A Long-Expected Party it's still "Bilbo's ring" and Bilbo's story. The most troublesome thing seems to be the potential of bad weather during a party and meddlesome neighbors. In The Hobbit, it's not "The One Ring," it "Bilbo's magic Ring." A Long-Expected Party, while underneath the surface we feel there's more to the Ring, it's still "Bilbo's magic Ring." The Shadow of the Past is mostly dialogue between 2 characters, but we make that transition. It is no longer Bilbo's story, it's Frodo's, and this is "The One Ring."

Favorite title for a chapter... A Knife in the Dark.

06-13-2020, 03:28 PM	#3
Boromir88 Laconic Loreman Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: USA Posts: 7,559	Hey you did it! As I said to Rune, I think perhaps after 10-15 years for most of us, our favorites and interests have probably changed. Boromir will always hold a place in my heart, but the last time reading The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, I really found Bilbo being my favorite character. Not to speak of the dreadful Hobbit films, but part of the reason is I thought Ian Holm was an excellent casting choice in LOTR. A classically trained theater actor, when him and Ian McKellan are just reading their lines in Bag End and going off each other, they are my favorite and best scenes in all of the films. The younger actors struggle to get through a lot of the dialogue rather clunky. Not Ian Holm, perfect tone and delivery. So when I last read the books, I watched the films after, and it was like a match, I thought Ian Holm captured Bilbo in Lord of the Rings near perfectly. Another factor is I had just bought a home, and found myself when I was working 50 hours/week, a lot of the time spending something like 8-10 days every month in a hotel room, just thinking about my "books and armchair." I don't even have a reading "armchair," but after buying a home, a place that feels like home to you, and being away from that a significant amount every month made me miss it, as Bilbo does. Hobbits in general, I found myself liking more in the latest re-reading. Farmer Maggot for instance comes off as a rather intimidating presence, and immovable force. He is grounded in his land, and not even the Nazgul showing up to his house is going to move him from it. As far as favorite chapter in Fellowship of the Ring? I think it has to be The Shadow of the Past. It's that transition point from The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings. A Long-Expected Party it's still "Bilbo's ring" and Bilbo's story. The most troublesome thing seems to be the potential of bad weather during a party and meddlesome neighbors. In The Hobbit, it's not "The One Ring," it "Bilbo's magic Ring." A Long-Expected Party, while underneath the surface we feel there's more to the Ring, it's still "Bilbo's magic Ring." The Shadow of the Past is mostly dialogue between 2 characters, but we make that transition. It is no longer Bilbo's story, it's Frodo's, and this is "The One Ring." Favorite title for a chapter... A Knife in the Dark. __________________ Fenris Penguin Last edited by Boromir88; 06-13-2020 at 03:32 PM.