So what kind of fan were you?

[Bêthberry]

from the comic: Fan-spotting

Hahahahaha!

[mark12_30]

Snowdog, the comic was cute; but I like your other categories from Before And After The movies far better (Eldar, Edain, etc.) I was hoping this was a new thread about them...

(hint)

[Encaitare]

Amusing comic; I don't think I really fit into any of the categories though. Perhaps 3. What got me was the name of the site: "Ctrl-Alt-Del," since my friend is in a band of the same name.

As mark said, though, I prefer your categories, they make room for everyone!

[Snowdog]

Originally Posted by mark12_30

Snowdog, the comic was cute; but I like your other categories from Before And After The movies far better (Eldar, Edain, etc.) I was hoping this was a new thread about them...

(hint)

Should I put it here? I didn't want to spam multiple forums .
Ok, per Mark12_30's & Encaitare's request.....

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I break down Middle Earth fans thus:

• Old-School Book Fan:
  They read Tolkien’s books sometime between the release of the Hobbit (1937) & the Silmarillion (1977). They came to know the world of Middle Earth through the released writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, and awaited the release of The Silmarillion to relieve their hunger to know more of Middle Earth. Yet were apprehensive as to whether Christopher Tolkien would do justice to the beloved realm of Middle Earth in print, and were even more reluctant with the Bakshi, Rankin/Bass, & Peter Jackson films.
  
• The New-School Book Fan

Of the New-School Book Fans, there are two sub-groups which I call:

• ~The First-Born ~ This group originally discovered the world of Middle Earth after the books Christopher Tolkien released beginning with The Silmarillion in 1977. They include also Unfinished Tales and any of the HoME series. These are the book readers and would have been Old-School Book fans had they been old enough, or had discovered the Hobbit and/or the Trilogy of Lord of the Rings before the Silmarillion came out.
• ~The Edain~ Also known as The Adopted. They are the ones from the groups below who were motivated to seek out and delve deep into the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien & Christopher Tolkien and learn and love the true history of Middle Earth.

The Edain are the cream from many of the groups below.

• The Bakshi Recruit: They first discovered Middle Earth by seeing the Bakshi and/or the Rankin/Bass cartoons. Many went on to read the books and delve ever deeper into Tolkiens writings, and essentially become one of the Edain.
  
• The “Pre-Movie” Book Fan: They heard there was a Lord of the Rings movie in the making, and after looking into it, decided they wanted to read the books before the first movie came out in Dec 2001. Many go on to become Edain New-School Book Fans.
  
• The Movie Recruit: They went to the theatre and saw Fellowship of the Ring, and loved it so much they were inspired to go and read the books, finishing the Two Towers and Return of the King before the release of the movie of the same name. Many go on to become Edain New-School Book Fans.
  
• The Peter Jackson Recruit: Different from the Movie Recruit in that they did not start to read the books until after they saw all three movies. Their viewpoint of Middle Earth is seen through the eyes of Peter Jackson, and they note the differences in the books. Some may go on to become Edain New-School Book Fans, but to most their reading of the books are more an afterthought and of a desire to fill in some of the gaps in the movie, leaving the movie as the cannonized definitive word on their concept of Middle Earth.
  
• The Hardcore Movie Fan: They went to the movies and loved them! They have no desire to read the books or inclined not to do so anytime soon. The movie is Middle Earth, and they like it as presented. Books are boring. They take too much imagination. Who needs to imagine what Middle Earth is like when Peter Jackson already did it for me? Who reads books anyway?

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[mark12_30]

Old School Book Fans-- How about subgroups:

60's: Gandalf For President

70's: Pre-Sil

I'm pre-Sil, myself, having read the trilogy roughly around 1972 or 3.

[Snowdog]

Yeah, I'm 70's pre-Sil. By the time I read the books three times and covered every line of the Appendices, I searched out other books and found a lineparty organizing for the release of Silmarillion. Of course the first part of the Sil I read was The Rings of power bit.

Oh yes, another sub-group here would be: 30's - 50's, The originals

[mark12_30]

OK. So:

Old-School Book Fan:
They read Tolkien’s books sometime between the release of the Hobbit (1937) & the Silmarillion (1977). They came to know the world of Middle Earth through the released writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, and awaited the release of The Silmarillion to relieve their hunger to know more of Middle Earth. Yet were apprehensive as to whether Christopher Tolkien would do justice to the beloved realm of Middle Earth in print, and were even more reluctant with the Bakshi, Rankin/Bass, & Peter Jackson films.

"Sometime Between" means:

30's-50's: The Originals
(does anybody know one?)

60's: The Gandalf For President Party: Child, Pio....

70's: Still Pre-Sil: Lots of us

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Include me in the 70s category of old school book fans - I read LotR in '73, shortly before Tolkien's death, but since I moved to Germany in the fall of that year, I lost touch with the mass phenomenon of fandom. I do remember seeing (a) calendar(s) in that year and being disappointed with the pictures, since they didn't coincide with my own mental images. Years later, I checked out the Sil in German from my local library, but didn't enjoy it until I got an English copy. I've never liked the translations of JRRT's works - they lose too much magic.

Credit the movie hype with my introduction to this site and the renewed interest in the books - being on the Downs has been most inspirational!