Re-Reading with the Discussion Project

[Valandil]

Don't know about anyone else, but I'm going to make the effort to re-read 'The Lord of the Rings' along with our Discussion Project. It's a nice easy pace, so I think I can work it in along with everything else and even other readings (what does it come to - just about 12-15 pages per week?).

In fact, I've been wanting to do a re-read with highlighters in hand for some time. I'd like to highlight a certain color all the 'wise sayings' of Gandalf, Elrond, Aragorn... and others, which can carry over into 'real life'. Then I might use other colors to pick up certain other things (one for forshadowing, one for historical information, etc.).

Several years ago, I had sort of set myself to re-read the books about every 5-7 years. It turned out I was already in a re-read when I heard about the movies in 1999, so I finished that one and then did another complete re-read in 2001, before seeing FotR to get it all fresh in mind. For the last two installments, I just re-read those particular segments (TT and RotK).

So... anybody else with me? I thought it might help make our discussion much more informed and intelligent (at least on my end... I get rather forgetful these days! )

[Bombadillo]

I will do that. It's terrible, but I think I might actually have to to remember a lot of the information and know what I'm talking about in the thread. I've always wanted to annotate, too, but when I pick up the book I feel like I just can't deface it so.

It sounds difficult for me to read so slowly, but come to think of it I've ussually read at that pace anyway. A bunch of chapters, lose the book for half a month, a couple more chapters, lose the book for another while, find a good part and read a lot of chapters at once and kind of marvel at it for a month, and so on. This should be good.

[Artanis]

I was already in the process of re-reading it when this project came up. I've read LotR every year for 7-8 years now.

[Valandil]

Originally posted by Artanis
I was already in the process of re-reading it when this project came up. I've read LotR every year for 7-8 years now.

So you're gonna just 'lap' the rest of us a few times around, while we're at it, eh?

[Earniel]

I'm in! It's the perfect excu- er opportunity to reread LoTR.

[Valandil]

Originally posted by Eärniel
I'm in! It's the perfect excu- er opportunity to reread LoTR.

Er... was I THAT transparent??

[Earniel]

Neh neh neh. If you are, then there's two of us.

[azalea]

I plan to do that. It's what I had hoped for, that everyone would be reading it at the same time, just because I thought it would be fun. I'm glad some of you are actually going to try it!
But I admit it may get hard not to read ahead at some parts.

[brownjenkins]

i've read it an awful lot of times, but still plan to do the read-along, paying a lot of attention to detail

i plan to read each part along with the discussions (though, i'll probably read other books at the same time)

[Earniel]

Originally posted by azalea
But I admit it may get hard not to read ahead at some parts.

Ooh, you're right. Very difficult. That's going to demand some self control and dicipline, I'm afraid. Darn, just the thing I don't have...

I'll probably do like brownjenkins and read several books at the time.

[hectorberlioz]

im in!
I've been slacking off lotr and reading other books (crime & punishmnet, david copperfield, evenings with the orchestra; by youknowhwho). but its high time to refamilarize myself with lotr.

[Lady Ravyn]

12-15 pages doesn't sound too hard; that way i can keep reading the other book i started already
when do we start? this week?

[Nurvingiel]

That sounds fun! I really should be reading textbooks, but I'm sure I can keep up.

[The Gaffer]

This is a great idea, and indeed, the perfect excuse to re-read for, in my case, about the 5th or 6th time. (How sad is that?)

One of my friends is reading it for the first time. It made me think that we might want to label these threads "beware of spoilers" or something so that we can discuss things that haven't happened yet, if you see what I mean.

Why do we get so much out of this book by re-reading it? Every time I've read it I've got something new and different out of it.

[Artanis]

Originally posted by The Gaffer
Why do we get so much out of this book by re-reading it? Every time I've read it I've got something new and different out of it.

Perhaps it's because the book is so complex, so full of details, and subtle hints to the old mythology. And every time I read it anew I know a little more of Tolkien's world and tend to see things in another way.

[azalea]

Originally posted by Lady Ravyn
12-15 pages doesn't sound too hard; that way i can keep reading the other book i started already
when do we start? this week?

Yes! Start now. I read (and made notes on, since I'm intro'ing it) the Foreword last night, and plan to read the Prologue tonight and tomorrow night (taking longer than it normally would because I'm taking notes for the intro). I'm going to be posting the intro Thursday, if all goes well.

[Radagast The Brown]

Well, of course I'll re-read it. I thought it was obvious. I might even try to read it in English, but it would take me much more time.

[Artanis]

Just one thing - why are you calling it Forward, and not Foreword? I thought first it was a typo, but it seems to be consequent.

[Nurvingiel]

Don't you mean consistent? I think you're right about "Foreward" though.

[azalea]

Oh, yeah, just point it out to everyone, now!
It's a spelling error on my part. It's happens sometimes. I don't think it looks right a certain way, so I keep spelling it the way I think it should be. I'll change it, though. I guess it's something about the e being in the middle like that. I always want to drop those es.