It's the last Sunday Sum-Up of 2020. Here's to hoping that 2021 is a better year than 2020 was. I had a good Christmas, as far as Zoom Christmases go. We got online together around 9:30 on Christmas morning, and once my parents got their laptop oriented so that they weren't silhouetted by the sun's … Continue reading Sunday Sum-Up, December 27, 2020
Lord of the Rings
LotR Reread: You Can’t Go Home Again
Chapter VIII: The Scouring of the Shire Of all the things that Peter Jackson left out of his Lord of the Rings films, I've heard the most complaints about the exclusion of 'The Scouring of the Shire'. I get it. This is where we see just how much the four traveling hobbits have grown during … Continue reading LotR Reread: You Can’t Go Home Again
LotR Reread: The Road Home
Chapter VI: Many Partings Time has passed. It's after mid-summer and things are great. Aragorn is king, Arwen is queen, and the world is rebuilding and making itself anew. But Frodo and the hobbits want to go home. I can't blame them. Who wouldn't want to go back to the Shire? But Frodo wants to … Continue reading LotR Reread: The Road Home
LotR Reread: “Here at the end of all things…”
Chapter III: Mount Doom This installment is early. Why, you ask? Well, it's March 25th. For Tolkien fans, that means it's Tolkien Reading Day! And why is Tolkien Reading Day on March 25th, and not on September 22nd (Frodo and Bilbo's birthdays) or on January 3rd (Tolkien's birthday)? Tolkien Reading Day occurs on March 25th … Continue reading LotR Reread: “Here at the end of all things…”
Lotr Reread: The One Where Sam Simply Walks into Mordor
Book VI Chapter I: The Tower of Cirith Ungol So. There Sam was, below Cirith Ungol having knocked himself out by flinging himself against the orc door in a desperate attempt to get into the tower to rescue Frodo, who wasn't actually dead, just comatose from a massive dose of monster-spider venom. Fortunately for everyone … Continue reading Lotr Reread: The One Where Sam Simply Walks into Mordor
LotR Reread: The King Returns! Sort of.
Chapter VII: The Pyre of Denethor We're stepping back in time by several hours to the morning of the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, and heading back into Minas Tirith. The Lord of the Nazgûl has just left the city gates. Gandalf is about to head out into the battle, but Pippin stops him with … Continue reading LotR Reread: The King Returns! Sort of.
LotR Reread: “But no living man am I!”
Chapter V: The Ride of the Rohirrim Now that he's been riding through the gloom for days, being carried along like a bit of baggage, ignored by the Marshal of the eored, Elfhelm and everyone else, Merry is completely miserable and questioning why he disobeyed King Théoden's orders to stay behind. What can he do … Continue reading LotR Reread: “But no living man am I!”
LotR Reread: “So we come to it in the end…”
Chapter III: The Muster of Rohan We return to Rohan and Merry's perspective. He is riding with King Theoden through the mountains toward Dunharrow, where the Rohirrim is gathering before they ride on to Gondor. There is a spectacular description of the landscape with its craggy mountains, dark forests, and waterfalls. It's more than a … Continue reading LotR Reread: “So we come to it in the end…”
LotR Reread: On the Move
The Return of the King Book V Chapter I: Minas Tirith From the cliffhanger ending of The Two Towers, we got back in time a few days. The great horse Shadowfax is carrying Pippin and Gandalf to the city of Minas Tirith. To Pippin, these days of travel pass in a blur. He sleeps through … Continue reading LotR Reread: On the Move
LotR Reread: Along Came a Spider
Chapter IX: Shelob's Lair It might be daytime at the top of the Stairs of Cirith Ungol, but it's still dark. Dark and smelly, and the stink gets worse as Frodo and Sam head toward the tunnel Gollum has been leading them toward. A few steps in and the darkness deepens, beyond anything they've known … Continue reading LotR Reread: Along Came a Spider
Traveling in Books 