How were you introduced to Tolkien? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Diane C · 09-25-2008, 05:56 AM

From the "LOTR" CD of the BBC radio play back in the 90s when I was about 12 and living in my home town of Bloemfontein, South Africa.

Listening to the play made it easier for me to pick up the LOTR books and begin my journey into all things Tolkien.

Faramir Jones · 10-02-2008, 08:08 AM

Like Mithalwen, I became interested in Tolkien when, as a child, I saw the televised Jackanory adaptation of The Hobbit. I agree that the voices were done really well, particularly that of Bilbo done by Bernard Cribbins.

Interestingly enough, though I liked the story, it was not until later, when I was 12, that I actually read The Hobbit. My family was moving house, and when we were packing up things, a copy my parents had turned up, which they let me read. The same was true of a copy of The Lord of the Rings, though it took me far longer to read that!

skip spence · 10-03-2008, 11:12 AM

I dunno, to be honest I can't remember exactly how it happened. When I was young, around 10 I suppose, I was briefly into RPGs like Dungeons And Dragons and also read LotR for the first time. I can't remember if I was into RPGs because I read LotR or if it was the other way around but I did like the books, especially FotR. There was much I didn't understand at the time though and it wasn't until I watched the Bakshi cartoon a few years later I realised Saruman and Sauron were different people for example. I'm not entirely sure if I made in through the whole thing although I believe I did. I also owned the LotR RPG and for a good many years I even thought that Balrogs had wings - god forbid! - due to a picture in that game.

Then came puberty and my attention shifted to other fields of study.

It was to be many years before Tolkien came into my life again. In my early 20's - a year or two before the movies came out - I lived in Spain for a while. During a lazy and stoned Sunday afternoon I decided to pick up that copy of the Fellowship of the Ring I had noticed on my mate's bookshelf and was immediately hooked. I finished it within a week then went cold turkey as I wasn't able to get hold of the other two books in English or Swedish - my Spanish wasn't good enough. I had to tell my parents at home to go and buy them for me and then send them by mail. After a what seemed an eternity they finally arrived and I haven't looked back since. The Silmarillion was a revelation when I first read it and Unfinished Tales was a wonderful fix as well. Now I'm digging into the HoME while wishing there were more works by the Tolkien out there. I'm not really a fantasy fan though and can't really bring myself to pick up non-Tolkien works (the few times I did in my teens was a disappointment). Should I?

Lindale · 10-03-2008, 11:29 PM

Once upon a time in a strict all girls Catholic school where even Harry Potter was infamous, a little girl called Lindale who would have her tenth birthday in two weeks saw in the Sunday paper a comparison of JRRT and the forbidden Rowling. She hounded her father, who never really was able to resist her when she was pouting, and three days before her birthday she had a copy of TH, bought at an insane price in the expensive bookstore because the local bookstore currently had none in stock.

The following Christmas, Lindale asked for her usual Harry Potter (number four, I think) and for the complete Lord of the Rings. She got so excited about her Christmas presents, she didn't really think that shoving FotR in her school bag might catch the nuns' attention. When a teacher of home economics saw the poor little girl reading a book that advocated wizards, she confiscated the book. Lindale already had a record of reading HP. She was in bad trouble.

During lunchbreak Lindale was very scared; her Christmas present was gone! She tried not to remember Gollum back in TH screaming about his birthday present. Struggling with whatever wits she had, she headed to the telephone booths and called her mother.

...and thus began the bothersome affair of this little girl's book, which included her father threatening the teacher and some of the nuns. And then Lindale thought, whatever trouble that book has caused! It must be good. When she got her book back, weeks later and with a formal apology, Lindale read it very carefully.

And that is how Lindale learned of JRRT, read TH and LotR, and learned about the Inquisition too.

Two years later Lindale hounded her aging father for a copy of Sil and UT. And a little over three months ago she had a tantrum again, claiming she was the last girl without a CoH. Predictably, that spoiled brat has all Tolkien books her father and she could find.

Andsigil · 10-06-2008, 04:23 AM

I first got interested in Tolkien when this came out in 1977.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077687/

I was 9 years old and ran around the house with a homemade Sting, made of cardboard and aluminum foil, slaying imaginary spiders.

mark12_30 · 10-06-2008, 11:27 AM

My fourth grade teacher read a lot of books to us; LionWitchAndWardrobe, JamesAndTheGiantPeach, Charlie&Factory, Charlotte's Web.. and a couple of others. Oh, and The Hobbit.

Two years later, I saw a friend wandering about with a copy of TH in her hand. "Bilbo?"

That was, roughly, 1970 AD.

FeRaL sHaDoW · 10-07-2008, 01:12 AM

It was my first year of school on one of our many visits to the school library I came across a comic version of the Hobbit, of course I couldn’t read it but I liked the pictures. A few years later I read the Hobbit and was pulled into the Tolkien universe.

09-25-2008, 05:56 AM	#1
Diane C Pile O'Bones Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: The other side of the rainbow! Posts: 22	From the "LOTR" CD of the BBC radio play back in the 90s when I was about 12 and living in my home town of Bloemfontein, South Africa. Listening to the play made it easier for me to pick up the LOTR books and begin my journey into all things Tolkien. __________________ *My Friends - You Bow To No One!"*

10-02-2008, 08:08 AM	#2
Faramir Jones Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Lonely Isle Posts: 706	It also started with 'Jackanory' Like Mithalwen, I became interested in Tolkien when, as a child, I saw the televised Jackanory adaptation of The Hobbit. I agree that the voices were done really well, particularly that of Bilbo done by Bernard Cribbins. Interestingly enough, though I liked the story, it was not until later, when I was 12, that I actually read The Hobbit. My family was moving house, and when we were packing up things, a copy my parents had turned up, which they let me read. The same was true of a copy of The Lord of the Rings, though it took me far longer to read that!

10-03-2008, 11:12 AM	#3
skip spence shadow of a doubt Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Back on the streets Posts: 1,125	I dunno, to be honest I can't remember exactly how it happened. When I was young, around 10 I suppose, I was briefly into RPGs like Dungeons And Dragons and also read LotR for the first time. I can't remember if I was into RPGs because I read LotR or if it was the other way around but I did like the books, especially FotR. There was much I didn't understand at the time though and it wasn't until I watched the Bakshi cartoon a few years later I realised Saruman and Sauron were different people for example. I'm not entirely sure if I made in through the whole thing although I believe I did. I also owned the LotR RPG and for a good many years I even thought that Balrogs had wings - god forbid! - due to a picture in that game. Then came puberty and my attention shifted to other fields of study. It was to be many years before Tolkien came into my life again. In my early 20's - a year or two before the movies came out - I lived in Spain for a while. During a lazy and stoned Sunday afternoon I decided to pick up that copy of the Fellowship of the Ring I had noticed on my mate's bookshelf and was immediately hooked. I finished it within a week then went cold turkey as I wasn't able to get hold of the other two books in English or Swedish - my Spanish wasn't good enough. I had to tell my parents at home to go and buy them for me and then send them by mail. After a what seemed an eternity they finally arrived and I haven't looked back since. The Silmarillion was a revelation when I first read it and Unfinished Tales was a wonderful fix as well. Now I'm digging into the HoME while wishing there were more works by the Tolkien out there. I'm not really a fantasy fan though and can't really bring myself to pick up non-Tolkien works (the few times I did in my teens was a disappointment). Should I? __________________ "You can always come back, but you can't come back all the way" ~ Bob Dylan Last edited by skip spence; 10-03-2008 at 02:35 PM.

10-03-2008, 11:29 PM	#4
Lindale Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: midway upon... in a forest dark Posts: 975	Once upon a time in a strict all girls Catholic school where even Harry Potter was infamous, a little girl called Lindale who would have her tenth birthday in two weeks saw in the Sunday paper a comparison of JRRT and the forbidden Rowling. She hounded her father, who never really was able to resist her when she was pouting, and three days before her birthday she had a copy of TH, bought at an insane price in the expensive bookstore because the local bookstore currently had none in stock. The following Christmas, Lindale asked for her usual Harry Potter (number four, I think) and for the complete Lord of the Rings. She got so excited about her Christmas presents, she didn't really think that shoving FotR in her school bag might catch the nuns' attention. When a teacher of home economics saw the poor little girl reading a book that advocated wizards, she confiscated the book. Lindale already had a record of reading HP. She was in bad trouble. During lunchbreak Lindale was very scared; her Christmas present was gone! She tried not to remember Gollum back in TH screaming about his birthday present. Struggling with whatever wits she had, she headed to the telephone booths and called her mother. ...and thus began the bothersome affair of this little girl's book, which included her father threatening the teacher and some of the nuns. And then Lindale thought, whatever trouble that book has caused! It must be good. When she got her book back, weeks later and with a formal apology, Lindale read it very carefully. And that is how Lindale learned of JRRT, read TH and LotR, and learned about the Inquisition too. Two years later Lindale hounded her aging father for a copy of Sil and UT. And a little over three months ago she had a tantrum again, claiming she was the last girl without a CoH. Predictably, that spoiled brat has all Tolkien books her father and she could find. __________________ The heart does things for reasons Reason itself cannot comprehend. - Blaise Pascal Legal Madness.

10-06-2008, 04:23 AM	#5
Andsigil Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: The Deepest Forges of Ered Luin Posts: 733	I first got interested in Tolkien when this came out in 1977. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077687/ I was 9 years old and ran around the house with a homemade Sting, made of cardboard and aluminum foil, slaying imaginary spiders. __________________ Even as fog continues to lie in the valleys, so does ancient sin cling to the low places, the depression in the world consciousness.

10-06-2008, 11:27 AM	#6
mark12_30 Stormdancer of Doom Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Elvish singing is not a thing to miss, in June under the stars Posts: 4,349	My fourth grade teacher read a lot of books to us; LionWitchAndWardrobe, JamesAndTheGiantPeach, Charlie&Factory, Charlotte's Web.. and a couple of others. Oh, and The Hobbit. Two years later, I saw a friend wandering about with a copy of TH in her hand. "Bilbo?" That was, roughly, 1970 AD. __________________ ...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.

10-07-2008, 01:12 AM	#7
FeRaL sHaDoW Wight Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: New Zealand Posts: 232	It was my first year of school on one of our many visits to the school library I came across a comic version of the Hobbit, of course I couldn’t read it but I liked the pictures. A few years later I read the Hobbit and was pulled into the Tolkien universe. __________________ God created night, but man created darkness....