FOTR for the ... first/umpteenth time.

I’ve just finished listening to the unabridged The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring for the first time. I read the books yearly for probably 10 years starting in 2001. I have listened to the BBC dramatization several times. And I’ve obviously seen the films countless times as well as all the documentary features. I spent my high school years and most of my adult life steeped in Tolkien.

I love this version of the audiobooks. Andy Serkis narrates, and as you might imagine, he’s great at voices and accents. He also sings very well, and I love the tunes that were picked for the songs. It’s nearly like a dramatized version as well.

I think if I were to pick up LOTR right now for the first time, I might find it fairly dry. Generally I prefer sci/Fi and don’t usually gravitate towards high fantasy. It’s very binary: not very nuanced as far and good and evil. The races of beings are very delineated and rarely mix. I much prefer the gray areas, moral dilemmas, character arcs, conflict resolution.  There are definitely some parts that have not aged well as our society has progressed. Specifically  all the baddies being described as “dark”, “swarthy”, “squint-eyed” and the like.

But it’s so nostalgic, so I still love it. I’m still enthralled by the world he created. I love the languages and the history and the songs. It’s idyllic and simple, and lovely.  

And I love, love, love Tom Bombadil. The most amazing thing about Tom Bombadil is that even though he’s ancient and has seen the comings and goings of civilizations and woods and rivers, he’s still ridiculously joyful. He goes about dancing and singing and caring for the land and animals and the people who he comes across. How do I find that joy? 

 

New Year

 2023 had a couple big changes. 

I got a new job after 14 years at the animal shelter. I am now a federal employee, working admin for FEMA. It's.... fine. I like it in general, but not in specifics. 

I got married on paper. No wedding or anything, we just wanted to make sure all was legal for health insurance and next of kin stuff. Maybe someday we'll have an actual wedding. 

I also did not have surgery in 2023, which was not true of the three years prior. So that's nice. 

I don't really do resolutions, but I do like goals. Like writing more. And getting my cholesterol under control since apparently that's a thing I need to worry about now. 

I'd like to run more as well, but my body doesn't seem to really fancy that, so it will be a desire, but not a goal. We'll see what happens.

Fourth Wing

Uhh, this book maybe wasn't for me. 

I enjoy some fantasy (though I prefer sci/fi). I'm not against romance/erotica, but most of this made me eyeroll. A lot. 

The plot and storyline were okay, but the world was not well fleshed out. Not very believable. Yarros would often describe a rule or tradition that could not be questioned and immediately break it. There seemed to be a huge amount of needless death for a country at war, one who ostensibly needs soldiers to fight enemies. I understand it being very competitive, but maybe instead of killing off everyone who can't make the cut as a rider, just reassign them? It was hard to suspend the disbelief. 

I also feel there was a lot of ideas and world building borrowed from other authors. Some was a bit too blatant. Mostly this was sexy Dragonriders of Pern. 

I didn't mind the use of first person or present-day language and slang that some reviewers had a problem with. 

I did appreciate the disability representation. How hard it was for Violet to do the very physical things requited of her. I appreciated the inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters. I also liked the author's characterization of a young person who is smart, but also neive (though that occasionally warranted an eyeroll as well.)

Final thoughts: very long. A bit cringey. Not my favorite, and I won't be reading more of the series. However, if you like fantasy/romance (which is a legit genre), this might be worth the read.

 I wish to write more this year. Nothing specific, just in general. One thing to help me get started will be a monthly book report/review. I think I can handle that. 

So, uh, welcome back if anyone is still subscribed. I'll be around.