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3 hours ago, Requiem said:

So I'm finally sticking with 'The Silmarillion' and now intend to read the whole thing after two or three false starts.

I've read 'The Hobbit' twice and 'Lord of the Rings' twice, and I figured it's a pity that I haven't bothered to stick with 'The Silmarillion'. It takes a huge commitment though to get through those first 50 pages that are so dense with names, places, and Tolkien's love for archaic phrasings. For those who haven't read it, it's more about the lore than a traditional plot as it explains the creation of the universe which Middle Earth inhabits.

I was turning to the glossary at the back after every second or third paragraph so that I was 100% clear on what was happening to whom. I didn't want to miss a detail. By page 65 I really got the hang of it and the whole picture is starting to form. I think I'm at about page 70 now. 

I can thank Blind Guardian for the impetus by the way. I figured if a bunch of Germans can write a whole concept album on it then I, with my fancy book learning, could at least read it! 

I'm glad I'm reading it because I'm actually finding it very relaxing as the last thing I do before sleep. Normally I'm storming through books with reckless abandon, but with this I'm taking it slow in order to savour it, like a fine wine or the courtship of a beautiful woman. 

I love the Silmarillion. If you're really a fan of Tolkien's world, it's indispensable. First bit is bone dry, but if you're over that hurdle you're in good shape. And it does take on more of a "series of short stories" quality as it goes along.

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On 2017-5-28 at 0:59 AM, FatherAlabaster said:

I love the Silmarillion. If you're really a fan of Tolkien's world, it's indispensable. First bit is bone dry, but if you're over that hurdle you're in good shape. And it does take on more of a "series of short stories" quality as it goes along.

This is what I'm finding. I can't believe I haven't read it until now. The scary thing is it's really drawing me back into Tolkien's world in a big way and it's taking on new heights. 'The Silmarillion' is enriching everything that I already know and love. 

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  • 2 months later...

I keep my copy of the Silmarillion on my bedside table, like other people keep their Bibles or porn. I've gone through about 7 paperbacks of it since I was 12ish I think, although the hardcover is always safe on a shelf. Other than Tolkien I enjoy science fiction, although haven't really felt like reading any for a few years (and can't really name any favorites right now).  I have an obsession with arctic, antarctic, and amazon exploration and collect books about that.

 

 

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12 hours ago, FreshPrinceOfBeleriand said:

I keep my copy of the Silmarillion on my bedside table, like other people keep their Bibles or porn. I've gone through about 7 paperbacks of it since I was 12ish I think, although the hardcover is always safe on a shelf. Other than Tolkien I enjoy science fiction, although haven't really felt like reading any for a few years (and can't really name any favorites right now).  I have an obsession with arctic, antarctic, and amazon exploration and collect books about that.

 

 

Your username gives some hint to your 'Silmarillion' admiration. Even as I'm passing the halfway mark it's still a struggle at times (in a first reading). I counted 9 separate names in one sentence including people and places. It's a tough read. I'm getting there, though and it's a very enjoyable late night text. Very relaxing in its own way, like good fantasy is wont to be. 

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  • 2 months later...

I'm in the process of building a proper book collection and here is my recent tripleplusgood order of dystopian fiction: 

Nineteen-Eighty Four

A Clockwork Orange

Fahrenheit 451

On 12/26/2014 at 8:08 AM, FatherAlabaster said:
Quote
Odd that he likes Dune' date=' but not David Lynch.[/quote'] Why? Because, among his many blunders, he directed a terrible movie adaptation of one of my favorite books? :D

Never read the book but as a huge fan of Lynch I can say that his version of Dune was a lot better than the Alan Smithee version at least ;)

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On ‎10‎/‎9‎/‎2017 at 3:39 AM, Vampyrique said:

I'm in the process of building a proper book collection and here is my recent tripleplusgood order of dystopian fiction: 

Nineteen-Eighty Four

A Clockwork Orange

Fahrenheit 451

Never read the book but as a huge fan of Lynch I can say that his version of Dune was a lot better than the Alan Smithee version at least ;)

Just started reading A Clockwork Orange (about 1/3 of the way through).  I like it, but I don't think it was good as 1984.

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On 10/9/2017 at 3:50 AM, natassja7 said:

Clockwork Orange is fantastic! I adore the film too!

I love the film!  

8 hours ago, Balor said:

Just started reading A Clockwork Orange (about 1/3 of the way through).  I like it, but I don't think it was good as 1984.

I've never read the book but I've always wanted to since I'm a big fan of the film. The novel of Nineteen Eighty-Four is outstanding and the film versions aren't bad either.   

 

 

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6 hours ago, Vampyrique said:

I love the film!  

I've never read the book but I've always wanted to since I'm a big fan of the film. The novel of Nineteen Eighty-Four is outstanding and the film versions aren't bad either.   

 

 

'Brave New World' may be of interest to you also, if you haven't already checked it out.

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11 hours ago, Vampyrique said:

I love the film!  

I've never read the book but I've always wanted to since I'm a big fan of the film. The novel of Nineteen Eighty-Four is outstanding and the film versions aren't bad either.   

 

 

If you read the book, make sure that it is the complete version.  The film and many other versions of the book do not have the final chapter, and do not end as the author intended them to.

I have never seen the 1984 movie.  I will have to look into it at some point.

 

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  • 2 months later...
On 5/27/2017 at 8:59 AM, FatherAlabaster said:

I love the Silmarillion. If you're really a fan of Tolkien's world, it's indispensable. First bit is bone dry, but if you're over that hurdle you're in good shape. And it does take on more of a "series of short stories" quality as it goes along.

Children of Hurin is similar but it's in regards to the race of Men during the 1st age ( about 6000 years before the council of rivendell). It also involves conflict with Morgoth much like the Silmarillion.

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Just read the Tao Te Ching today.  It was a very interesting book.

On 12/16/2017 at 12:25 PM, Ikard said:

Children of Hurin is similar but it's in regards to the race of Men during the 1st age ( about 6000 years before the council of rivendell). It also involves conflict with Morgoth much like the Silmarillion.

I read that years ago, and remember enjoying it.  However, I cannot remember that much about it.

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7 hours ago, Balor said:

Just read the Tao Te Ching today.  It was a very interesting book.

I read that years ago, and remember enjoying it.  However, I cannot remember that much about it.

It kind of adds definition to middle earth as a whole as it gives the race of men some additional lore. 

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I'm currently halfway through 'Conspiracies of Rome' by Richard Blake, which I'm really enjoying. It's set in Rome in about the year 600AD, so after the fall of the empire when everything is largely crumbling and uncertain. It's really fun. 

I'm also halfway through 'King Lear'.

I also just finished re-reading 'Watchmen' by Alan Moore because I wanted to make sure I was 100% across the lore of that world as DC Comics releases the 'Doomsday Clock' Watchmen/DC Universe twelve-part cross-over written by my favourite current comic book writer Geoff Johns (the Chief Creative Officer at DC). 

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  • 4 weeks later...
26 minutes ago, Balor said:

From what I have read, he appeared to be a man of his time.  Reprehensible now, but probably not too unusual for when he was alive.

I grasp that, but as someone who strays from the heteronormative persuasion it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Does it stop me from reading his work? Absolutely not. I can't fucking stand Varg yet I listen to Filosofem all the time. Same concept.

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1 hour ago, Ikard said:

I grasp that, but as someone who strays from the heteronormative persuasion it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Does it stop me from reading his work? Absolutely not. I can't fucking stand Varg yet I listen to Filosofem all the time. Same concept.

Fair enough I guess.

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