Tolkien reading day

Yes, we have another special day today. It is Tolkien Reading Day. So grab your favourite Tolkien book and share your favourite quote or moment.

Mine is towards the end of Lord of the Rings. Sam just got Frodo out of the hands of the orcs. And both little hobbits are struggling on their way to reach mount Doom. The rest for the evening. And than Tolkien writes this:

Frodo sighed and was asleep almost before the words were spoken. Sam struggled with his own weariness, and he took Frodo's hand; and there he sat silent till deep night fell. Then at last, to keep himself awake, he crawled from the hiding-place and looked out. The land seemed full of creaking and cracking and sly noises, but there was no sound of voice or of foot. Far above the Ephel Dúath in the West the night-sky was still dim and pale. There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach. His song in the Tower had been defiance rather than hope; for then he was thinking to himself. Now, for a moment, his own fate, and even his master's, ceased to trouble him. He crawled back into the brambles and laid himself by Frodo's side, and putting away all fear he cast himself into a deep untroubled sleep.

And why is this my favourite part of the story? First of all the description of it. I think that anybody wherever in the world has seen this scene. The clouds breaking in the night and that one bright star twinkling there. And besides that, it is such a strong scene. Surrounded by ugliness and despair, in a land where there is no hope, no beauty. And the one ruling that land is trying to destroy all that you believe in and see as beauty. But in that land, when all hope is gone, there is that one moment, showing there is still beauty, there is still reason to hope. Giving Sam the courage to take a rest, so he will be strong enough to help Frodo with that hopeless task of destroying the ring. A little spark that will turn evil into good, the eucathastrophy, as Tolkien himself described it.

So now it is to you, what is your favourite part of Tolkiens writing? 

The Hobbit - the book

Before there was the movie (or right now two, and next year even three), there was the Book - The Hobbit. Written by J.R.R. Tolkien, published by George Allen & Unwin in 1937. And why? Because the proof reader of the book, Rayner Unwin, aged 10, liked the book. He gave it the okay because he thought the book was entertaining for kids and the images and map in the book helped also.

What a great way to give a childrens book a go. Let your kid read it, and if they like it, it is okay.

And it actually is a childrens book. Hard to believe when you have seen the first two movies, because they are not a typical Disney movie.

The book starts with the very famous line: "In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit.". This Hobbit is Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who has never any adventures. But Gandalf, the wizard thinks he can use an adventure and sets it up so 13 dwarves come together at Bilbo's house and take him with them on a quest to their homeland, Erebor. To reclaim it from Smaug the dragon, who has taken it, together with all the treasures inside.

As if that isn't already exciting enough. On their way they encounter trolls (with a talking purse), goblins, get rescued by eagles, sleep in the home of a skin changer (man and bear), get lost in an elvenwood, almost eaten by spiders, trapped in the dungeons of the elvenking, have to escape in barrels to a lake city. And than find a way inside a mountain where there is a live dragon.

The books is a classical heroes adventure. To set out, get in trouble, with some help get out of the trouble, and in the end, all ends well. With a narrator, telling the reader what is actually happening, what Bilbo is thinking or what the dwarves are actually doing.

An exciting book, fun to read, even for adults. And if you want to get an easy introduction into the world of Middle-earth, start here!

The tales that really mattered

or the ones that stay in the mind."

Some people reading this line will recognize it immediately. It is from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Samwise Gamgee is talking to Frodo when they struggle on their path in Mordor.

They are talking about the important stories. How people in those stories had chances to change their paths, back out so they wouldn't get into trouble. Being in a situation like Sam and Frodo at that moment. But they didn't, they kept on going. Making it in the end a beautiful story. A story to be told: "Let's hear about Frodo and the Ring!" And they"ll say: "Yes, that's one of my favourite stories."

Lord of the Rings has become one of those famous stories. Still being told after almost 60 years. Read by millions of people. And turned into three billions earning movies. It is one of the first fantasy novels recognized as literature. Most fantasy books afterwards have their roots in The Lord of the Rings.

But all stories can learn from what Sam is saying. Make your story so that it really matters to your readers. Or make sure it stays in the mind of your readers. With those ingredients you have a good story to tell.