"Aragorn sped on up the hill."
-- The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien.
This is Part II of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I read The Hobbit as a child, but never the trilogy, and have been meaning to turn to it for years. I finally read the first book, The Fellowship of the Ring, last year. I hope to get this one and the final volume, The Return of the King, finished this year.
Finishing the trilogy will let me scratch this off several lists:
You're going to love this trilogy! The Two Towers is actually my favorite of the three.
ReplyDeleteI've finally started reading them too :) I read The 1st a few months ago & I read this one last month :) I'll probably read the last one in the following months, too :)
ReplyDeleteI'm really embarassed to say I haven't read this series. The movies were fantastic! (And I gagged a bit when I said that...I'm a big read before see or read instead of see person!) But I NEED to read this again.
ReplyDeleteMichele
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This trilogy is definitely a must read! You won't regret it! Found you via the book blog hop..
ReplyDeleteWith three children between 12 and 32, I've read these books (and "The Hobbit") more times than I can count, and usually out loud. They're very rhythmic, so reading them aloud is a plus if you can take the time. There's also enough literary and cultural depth that you really can get something fresh every time you read them. Last time I finished them (last summer, as I recall) I found myself concentrating on Tolkein as an environmental writer. Really. He was a fervent conservationist -- he believed in stewardship of the land -- and he seemed to equate strip-mining, clear-cutting and the like with evil. More evolved creatures just don't do stuff like that. (Although he never mentions what effect all of those tobacco fields back in the Shire might be having on the soil, which was probably getting pretty thin and played out.)
ReplyDeleteWhitney -- So far, I am enjoying Two Towers more than I liked The Fellowship of the Ring. I like them fine, but not like I think I would if I had read them as a kid.
ReplyDeleteAleksandra -- Good to know I am not the only person who hasn't read them already!
Michele -- You too! I also have a "read first" rule, but watched the movies. That delayed my reading for several more years! I wish I had gone straight to the books.
audio -- Thanks for hopping by! I'll return the visit.
Bob -- You are who I have in mind while I listen to the audiobook version of this -- a dad who has read the trilogy out loud, multiple times. We did Narnia as a kid, but never LOTR. Which is one of the reasons I chose to listen to these instead of reading them with my eyes. They are so often read aloud, and I wanted to have that experience.
I happened to get the same ecology vibe today and then saw your take -- spot on!
I read that series in college. It took me two years to finish.
ReplyDeleteMy beginning is from Northward to the Moon by Polly Horvath.
I tried to read LOTR once and wasn't successful. I know I'll probably give them a try again someday, but I'll have to really psych myself up for it. I know I'll be picturing Aragorn (and everyone else) from the movie when I read it. :)
ReplyDeleteSounds so good!
ReplyDeleteMy beginning is from Stolen by Lucy Christopher.
Hooray for plunge-taking! I am so glad you are working on this book!
ReplyDeleteRather than blathering on and on about how great these books are, I'll just refer you to the LOTR read-along site for some excellent review/discussion posts: http://shelflove.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/lord-of-the-rings-readalong/