When did you first read Lord of the Rings?

[Pitchwife]

Originally Posted by Lastande Took

On one thread about going on a date with Sherlock Holmes, someone used an LotR quote, which sparked about three pages of quotefests, sharing LotR activities (writing in Tengwar, scaring siblings with your Gollum voice, etc.), and ended up with the suggestion of starting a "On a Date with Gollum" thread. We eventually did wind up back on topic.

And I was thinking it might have been someone drawing a scholarly parallel between Reichenbach Falls and Sammath Naur! (Yeah, I've assimilated some particles of SH lore via the usual hearsay channels...)

Originally Posted by LT

I'm finding Quenya to be a fascinating language

It is. Have you been to Ardalambion?

Originally Posted by LT

I include Star Wars in 'fantasy' because in my twisted mind, science fantasy, as opposed to science fiction, generally gets lumped in with regular fantasy.

OK, see your point - and Lucas did rely quite heavily on fantasy tropes, of course. (While we're talking genre terminology, I've long thought that 'fantasy' should perhaps more properly be called 'magic fiction', analogous/opposed to 'science fiction'...)

Originally Posted by LT

Doyle's fans are every bit as devoted as Tolkien's, and just as crazy.

I've noticed that - a good friend of mine belongs in both categories, and SH has long been on my 'should read' list. Thanks for the recommendations!
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Originally Posted by Guinevere

Alas, in no way does the translation justice to the original! Much of the charm of Tolkiens wonderful language is lost.

Which German translation did you read, Carroux/von Freymann or Krege? The former rocks (it's not the real thing, but it comes very close for me), the latter deserves to rot in the same purgatory as Peter Jackson.

[Lastande Took]

Thanks for the link. I'm accumulating a lot of language-related sites on my favourites bar.

Sorry for the Doyle/Holmes plug. I know it's off topic, but I like my detective. You might want to check out this forum: http://holmesian.net It's the one I was talking about above.

[Guinevere]

Originally Posted by Pitchwife

Which German translation did you read, Carroux/von Freymann or Krege? The former rocks (it's not the real thing, but it comes very close for me), the latter deserves to rot in the same purgatory as Peter Jackson.

Well, my boys have the newer (Krege) translation. You can imagine how puzzled/appalled I was at certain things!!
But in a German Tolkien forum where I was a member there was a lively discussion about the old and the new translation. This interested me so much that I finally bought a copy of the Carroux translation just for comparison! It's better than Krege, but still a long way from the original!
If you're interested see this old thread of mine on Tolkien Translations .

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

I read them in 2001. I had been putting it off but I knew the films were coming out so the pressure was on.

I liked them immediately; but the second time I read LotR was better. I caught much more of the story.

[Rhod the Red]

When I was 12 or 13, in my early high school years.

[Galadriel]

Originally Posted by Eomer of the Rohirrim

I read them in 2001. I had been putting it off but I knew the films were coming out so the pressure was on.

I liked them immediately; but the second time I read LotR was better. I caught much more of the story.

Yeah, my second time was better, too

[Lastande Took]

Originally Posted by Galadriel

Yeah, my second time was better, too

I'm starting in on my third read-through and am enjoying it even more.

[Blind Guardian]

I started reading it in 6th grade and never finished. Now I'm reading the Silmarillion and the Hobbit.

[Rhod the Red]

On a relate note, I read once that Christopher Lee reads TLOTR TWICE A YEAR because he's such a fanatic