How did you find LOTR?? The movie first or the book.

[Daegwenn]

I was wondering, how many people were inspired to get into the stories by way of the movie? Did you do what i did and watched the movie once when you hadn't read the book, then when you did went back to see it over and over to compare it. Or did you find the books and just HAD to see the movies. Or, are there people here that haven't seen the movie yet?<P>I read 'The Hobbit' because I had to in school (it was manditory reading in grade eight) and I read it two other times, but never really figured that the Lord of the Rings had any connection to 'The Hobbit' except they were by the same author. I saw the movie, and realized Bilbo was in it so I picked up the book and immediatly fell in love with it.<P>What about you? How did you come across the LOTR??<P>Sincerely,<BR>Daegwenn

I went into the movie without reading the books, but I had seen them around our house for years while growing up because my mother was a big fan. But for some reason I never picked them up. It could be my mom handed me other books that seemed more interesting or that her editions looked pretty ZZzzZz. (50th anniversary) <P>When the rumors first came out I knew right away that I would love to see the movies and I admired the feat they were attempting with the three movies at once thing. My boyfriend dug up his books and read them because he hadn't really liked them before. He thought maybe he'd missed something but ended up with the same ho-hum feelings. So this kinda veered me away from reading them yet again. When the previews finally came out he told me that I should probably NOT read the books because then I'd have more fun at the movie. So I didn't until I'd seen it. I thought that I wouldn't be able to keep myself away from TTT but after I read FOTR I actually stayed away from TTT. I don't know if I'll last 10 more months, but I'll try to. I want to replicate the movie experience I had with FOTR, even though some would say I need to experience the book first. Besides, the books and the movies are two different types of experiences. I think I'll be able to enjoy them as their own works.

[Mayla Took]

I have been a fan of Tolkien for a while before the film. I was so excited when in FINALY came out! I was very glad that I had read the book(s) befor I saw the film. I don't think I would have understood half of the story or have a such a sence of knowing the characters if I hadn't read befor. I beleive Jackson did a wonderful job on the film but he ommited quite a few things (such as the naming of Isildurs Bane). As I said before, I would highly recomend to read the books befor seeing any film!

[Kuruharan]

I've been a fan of the books ever since I was in fourth or fifth grade (long time ago). <BR>I had always doubted that they could be converted to movie form, but PJ seems to have done a pretty good job (thus far).

[Mayla Took]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> PJ seems to have done a pretty good job (thus far) <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Ha ha! That is so true! We will see which way PJ turns through out the next film. I hope he does/did as well as he did on FOTR. I enjoyed it greatly.

[avarrogion]

Went to see the movie 7 times and read the books 2 twice now, very interesting !!<P>Thumbs up to PJ for making the book into flesh and bones...superb movie!!

[Joy]

Let's see,how should I put this...<P>I got into LotR through the moive, book, then the movie.<P>Let me explain. Before the movie came out, I had heard of Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, and the Hobbit. Never took any interest in reading them. Then the MOVIE... Well, I wasn't going to read them or see the movie, untill one day I was in the Christian bookstore and saw FotR. That made me wonder. So I went back in and bought the book the next day. I had it one my shelf for nearly 2 months before I began to read it. When I did, less than 3 days later I bought the rest of the trilogy. Then I bought the Hobbit, The Sil and UT. I finished reading the Hobbit and started to read the Sil then I saw the movie. BTW, it was last night.

[avarrogion]

Well duuno bout you but i can`t get The Sil here in Malaysia!! Can anyone tell me how was it?<P><BR>"There`s only one dragon in Bywater, and that`s Green"

I actually saw the movie first, and then my dad told me that he read the books and they were really great, so I went out and bought FOTR. I loved reading it so much I quickly ran out and bought the other two the next day!!

[Bad Fairy]

Ditto here regarding most of the other posts. Hobbit...Movie...LOTR book.....movie

[Daisy Sandybanks]

Actually like some poeple I saw the movie first, then I read the books. But before I saw the movie, I knew that my friend was reading FOTR, but some how it didn't click in my head that what she was reading and what I was about to see in theaters was the same exact thing. She even mentioned to me how the book ended, thought, luckily I completly forgot what she had told me and was surprised all the same by the end of the movie (and a little disapointed too). Overall, both the movie and the books were very good in my opinion!

[zifnab]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Besides, the books and the movies are two different types of experiences. I think I'll be able to enjoy them as their own works. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>You got it right there. Anybody who "waits" to read a book after seeing the movie is just plain silly to me. If you wait on reading a book(I could understand FOTR, but not TTT, ROTK) just so you don't ruin the experience of seeing the film isn't what I would do. You said "Two different types of experiences", you should'nt have to make a time-line on when to read the next book. If thats your choice, then great. <P>Anyways, I got into Tolkien after watching "The Hobbit" and "LOTR" cartoons that came out way back when.<P>Enjoy your reading....

[Maltagaerion]

Read the books long long looooong before the movie (sometime in the mid to late 70s when I was just a little guy )

[Jjudvven]

I read the books like 5 years before I HEARD about the movie.

[amyrlis]

It's been over 20 years since I saw The Hobbit cartoon, and over a dozen since my first reading of LOTR & the Sil. But my interest in it was really renewed when I heard of the coming of the movies about a year and a half ago. That's when I got myself a copy of UT, Atlas of Middle Earth, Guide to Middle Earth, and just about everything else Tolkien related I could get my hands on!

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by zifnab:<BR><STRONG>Anybody who "waits" to read a book after seeing the movie is just plain silly to me. If you wait on reading a book(I could understand FOTR, but not TTT, ROTK) just so you don't ruin the experience of seeing the film isn't what I would do. You said "Two different types of experiences", you should'nt have to make a time-line on when to read the next book.</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>The reason I'm choosing to wait is that I think the book can "ruin" my movie experience, but I don't think the movie can ruin my reading experience. No matter how much I tell myself that the movies are adaptations, I know I will end up being disappointed somehow if I have a set story in my head. So I guess to elaborate on what I said about two experiences, I think the order you do the two effects how much you can successfully enjoy the two separately.

[Elvenglass]

I discovered the Hobbit when I was like 8..Read LotR when I was about 10..and then I read it again, and again...and so on till 6 years later the movie came out, and now I'm reading the Silm.

[Jessica Jade]

I must admit that the movies inspired me to read the books. Before the movie, some of my friends had highly recommended the books to me, but i thought they looked too long and that i didn't have enough time to read them. (ah, i know how immature that sounds). After I saw the movie, though, i wanted to read the books because i could not get enough of Middle Earth. <P>I'm now on the last chapter of Fellowship, and i've developed an attachment to the Lord of the Rings...Tolkien is a genius;he has the incredible ability to bring the wide world of Middle Earth into the readers mind, down to the finest detail. I LOVEd the movie when i saw it (twice), but the old saying is true: the book is always better. I occasionally read over the movie script, and, although it contains very good dialogue and is very well-written, it seems so empty compared to the book...the book is so much more full and complete, and altogether satisfying.<P>I sort of regret not having read the books before i watched the movie, because i was sort of robbed of the chance to imagine the Tolkien's world all by myself. On the other hand, I am grateful ina way too, because, without having the book to compare it to,i was able to watch the movie for its own sake and appreciate how good the movie alone is, not just how well they adapted it from the book. The movie was INCREDIBLy beautiful-x0they did a superb job with everything! Although i think the book is a lot better, both it and the movie are wonderful in their own ways. It's almost like they are 2 separate things. <P>I can't wait to start Two Towers and Return of the King because now i have the chance to imagine everything on my own. It'll be interesting to see how the movie compares to how i imagine it.<P>I have a question for all of you who read the book before seeing the film: how did your interpretations compare? Was Middle Earth, and the characters in the movie at all like you imagined it?

[Balefalathiel]

I found the books because of my brother. (Thanks to him!) So I read the books before the movie.

[Daegwenn]

Funny you ask that, I was thinking about that the other day...about how I perceived the characters before I saw the movies. Honestly, I thought hobbits were like lawn gnomes...and the elves were little itty-bitty people that always laughed. ^.^ But I read 'The Hobbit' when I was little and probably understood like three words in the whole book--and besides the fact that we studied it to death at school and I'm sure that some people feel the same way--no matter how good the book is, if you read it in school you will most likely get sick of it within the first chapter. <P>~~Daegwenn

[Elven-Maiden]

I started reading <B>The Hobbit</B> before Christmas, actually before I'd even heard about them movie! One friend told me to read them, and another told me not to. Since I had a crush, at the time, on the one who told me to read it, I did. And I'm so glad I did! I was halfyway through FotR when I saw the movie on my birthday. And I finished RotK last night. I'm so sad!

[Elenglin]

I read almost the whole book, before seein' the movie.<BR>I think that the book was better before I had seen any pictures of the actors in the movie, then I could imagine all the looks etc.<P>Now I've read Lotr and The Silmarillion once, Hobbit twice, all in finnish. I'd like to read atleast Hobbit in english also

[Fingolas]

I first read the books in the early 70’s, 30 years ago. I’ve read them 6 or 8 times since. I’ve read the Sil once, but have gone back many times and read sections of it out of order, just to “bone up” on certain areas.

[Arwen Imladris]

When I was little, my parents read me the Hobbit and the LoTR. I saw the cartoon hobbit many times. I read the Hobbit acouple of times and then the LOTR when I was about ten. I am now 15 and saw the movie, then I read the book again, then I saw the movie, then I read the book again. I am now planning on reading the Silmarilion (if I can find a copy!) and unfinished tales.<P>I am not obsesed...really...

I read the Hobbit and FOTR, then I saw the movie 3 times. After seeing the movie, I read TTT, ROTK, and i'm about 1/2 of the way through Silmarillion (i plan on reading the series again, but anyone who has read the trilogy HAS to read the Silmarillion!)

[Daegwenn]

I was on a website a while ago and something struck me as odd...there were these people that were actually bashing the people who had been inspired by the movie to read the book...they actually had the gall to say that we have no actual appreciation for the books at all...but are oogling over the actors that portray the characters...this made me angry and after I sent a rather nasty note, I thought I should share my experiences with you all. <P>This isn't the only book that attracted me with a movie...Starship Troopers, Dune, and Interview with a Vampire...all of these books I found after I watched the movie. Although Dune sucked after the second book, Starship Troopers was nothing like it was in the movie (Dizzy is a guy in the book and has a shorter role to play) I keep wondering if maybe I am wrong...and they are right. <P>Comments? <P>~~Daegwenn

[Kalimac]

I came to the books 16 years ago (ouch! That long!) I was six years old and my dad read "The Hobbit" out loud to me and I loved it and read it to myself over and over. We didn't do "Lord of the Rings" until I was ten, though - not sure why, except maybe my parents thought I was too young. <P>As for the movies, though, I didn't even know they were making any until last spring (traveling a lot...kinda out of the loop). My only thought on the subject was to hope that they wouldn't absolutely desecrate the story, and of course that didn't happen (Arwen rescuing Frodo, forsooth! It could have been much, much worse. Arwen joining the Fellowship, for instance, or Frodo marrying Rose Cotton instead of Sam). The movie was great.<P>As for discovering the books through the movie, I think that's wonderful. The more Tolkien fans in the world, the better, no matter how they found out about it. These are stories, not marks of a caste system. Besides, who in his right mind would want to wait a year to find out what happens in TTT when the book is available now?

[Bruce MacCulloch]

When I was a kid, back in the mid 80's ('84 or '85) my uncle has this stack of books next to his bed that had been on his nightstand as long as I could remember. I was kind of afraid to look at them because they were obviously special to him. One day I got the nerve to ask him about them and he handed them to me and said "Go read them and then ask me about them again." I sat down and in the course of about a week I read <I>the Hobbit, Lord of the Rings,</I> and <I>the Silmarillion</I>. I've been hooked ever since.

[dragongirlG]

My English teacher always studies FOTR with her classes so I had to read it for English. I knew the movie was coming out, but at the time, I was obsessed with Harry Potter so I didn't really care. Then I finished reading FOTR and fell in love with the books. My sister went to see it on opening night and that increased my wanting to see the movie and finish the trilogy. The night before I saw FOTR, I finished reading the trilogy and then saw FOTR. I was amazed at the movie. From then on, I've been hooked. So, the movie and books both probably inspired me.

First read <I>The Hobbit</I> in 1966, then <I>Lord of the Rings</I> the year after. Reread the books many times in high school and college, then left them alone for nearly thirty years. I just read them again for the first time since seeing the movie, and must say that they are every bit as good as memory indicates. Never thought a movie could be made from the books, but Peter Jackson has done a good job. I could wish that his horror background hadn't led him to spend so much time on Saruman and the Uruk-Hai at the expense of many other story elements, but anyone who made this movie would have had to cut something.

[Gabo Darvas]

Do you know Farmer Giles of Ham? A good tale by Tolkien. It was the first for me.<P>I've read the LOTR when I was twelve. It was a wonderful experiance though I've found it a bit dark. <P>Years later The Hobbit were translated to Hungarian after that the Silmarillion and so on...<P>And now this movie. I've just seen once but I will see it many times! I'm proud of the makers they've worked seriously and faithfully to Tolkien's spirit though the book is different of course. We have also a dubbed version of the movie it's as perfect as the original. <P>And I'll read the books again.

[Glenethor]

I've read it once a year, ritually (I usually start it in September, which is A) the month I first read it and B) Bilbo and Frodo's birthdays) since 1977. I still have my original paperbacks of The Silmarillion and TTT, back when they were like $2.75.<P>I am really pleased to see more and more people pick up Tolkien's work. I think it a real stretch for some that they can hate the movie and at the same time sneer at the fact that the movie is bringing the books alive in our culture again. It is also seriously insulting toward women.

[twinkle]

LOTR the cartoon is a faded childhood memory for me.....all that remained was a remembrance that the black riders scared me back then.....<P>i got into LOTR and the hobbit by rummaging through my mom's old paperbacks as i have always devoured any and every book in sight....<P>i then experienced the hobbit cartoon during my two sisters' childhoods.....<P>then i was overjoyed and in awe when i heard about LOTR being filmed....i had always wished it would one day be so....<P>i didn't read the books again until after the viewing of FOTR, mainly because my mom's inherited old paperbacks were stolen from me <P>but i just had to revisit that old familiar world and so went out and purchased the books once more.....<P>i enjoyed both mediums and always will, they are both tops on my list <P>twinkle

[Weber]

I read them 1st. then they started the movie. (i didnt want 2 read them at 1st. )

[Brimstone Goldenwing]

To tell you the truth I only watched the movie. Well..when I was looking at the fantasy books at this store..I saw the Fellowship of the Ring..I didn't bother to read it tho. Soon I heard some of my fantasy-obsessed friends talking about the movie and I just had to watch it myself! Hehehe..I can't wait till I buy the books! I can't wait!

[Lyliac]

i'm sad to say that i only found the books after the movie. i'm just glad now that i didn't miss out on a wonderful story.

[Weber]

my dad got me into the books then i heard about the books later when i was reading them again

For me I read the books first. I'd say about a year before the movie came out and when it did I just couldn't wait to see it.

Well.. I first go to watch the movie and then just fell in love LOTR!! I bought the book and I have allmoust to read it now.. I have seen the movie 3 times and I go 4 time tomorrow!! And I just love Frodo Baggins!!! *Would be hobbit if just can be* <P> "Pedo mellon a minno" -Moria´s gate-<BR> "Elen síla lúmenn´omentielvo"

[Raefindel]

When I was 14 I had this "wierd" friend who didn't seem to speak English.She was always talking about Elves and Orcs and Hobbits... She was nice otherwise and being as I was so short on friends I thought I should at least try to understand her. I read LOTR to have something in common with her. I was HOOKED. I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN. It's been over 20 years and we are still best friends.