I'm having trouble reading the Silmarillion

[Varnafindë]

I'm pleased to hear that you found an approach that worked for you.

Happy to have been part of your helpers!

[Rían]

You're welcome - enjoy!

And I recommend "Unfinished Tales" for your next reading adventure

[Laurelin the Younger]

Another random tip - I'm on my third try and I am fully engrossed this time and not really finding it that difficult at all. I've become pretty pro at using the index with character/place definitions in the back, but I find I need it less and less. Also, after each chapter I read I browse the forums. It helps to see other people giving in-depth analyses of what I just read. You definitely have to approach it from a more academic standpoint.

[Thenichir]

I am trying to read the Silmarillion again, but I keep losing interest. I guess I have a problem with the idea of creator gods. They tend to lose themselves in their creation, according to the Kybalion. I don't know. It's fine to read about it in a novel, but quite another thing when it makes you think about our own reality.

[Galenavar]

Interesting you should put it that way. I think I enjoy a novel most (and anything, really) when it does make you think about your own reality, instead of simply providing an escape. Not that simple escape isn't good and sometimes very necessary. But the best books resonate on a 'real' level as well, I feel.

Anyway, all that aside, when I read the Silmarillion, I approached it as if I were about to tackle an epic from Greek mythology, such as the Illiad. It helped me get into a frame of mind that made the -"academic-ness", I guess is as appropriate a descriptor as any even if I just made it up- much more accessible. I loved the creation myth, and was hooked right away. Experience reading epics of science fiction and fantasy had trained me well to constantly reference all the material in the back (genealogies and such), which helped.

If the creation myth doesn't do it for you, skip it and move on to the next story. Once you get a little more immersed in the history, maybe the creation of it all will be a bit more interesting.

[Mark of Cenla]

The last time I read it, and it probably will be the last time, I took notes. It really helped. The closest thing I can compare it to is the Old Testament in the Bible. Taking notes really helped me. Good luck.

[Olmer]

Hi, everyone! Long time no see.
Couldn't help to add to Mark of Cenla comment. Taking the notes is a really helpful way to get a close acquaintance with the story.
I plunged into " The Silm" right from the beginning, making notes after sentences if I saw a hidden meaning in it, putting down my thoughts about some events. Something like:

There was Eru, the One…and he made first the Ainur, the Holy Ones, that were the offsprings of his thought…
If such evil, as Motgoth, sprang up from his thought, does it means that not all his thoughts were benign ?

…for Iluvatar made visible the song of the Ainur, and they beheld it as a light in the darkness.
This was the world's first sonogram.

Some of these thoughts he(Melkor) now wove into his music, and straightaway discord arose around him, and many that sang nigh him grew despondent, and their thought was disturbed…
Discord in the offsprings of Eru’s thoughts - the first well documented case of schizophrenia.

Well, you know me...
Any way, for me it was like reading a detective story. Slow, but captivating.

[ASmileThatExplodes]

Haha, Olmer, I really laughed with your notes, truely genius.

-
And yeah, I also had a lot of trouble with the Silmarillion. When I first began to read it, I thought: 'WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST BUY?!?!?' But after a couple of times re-reading the first chapters, I didn't have a problem anymore. (:

Now I love The Silmarillion even more than LotR.

[Mark of Cenla]

Originally Posted by Mark of Cenla

The last time I read it, and it probably will be the last time, I took notes. It really helped. The closest thing I can compare it to is the Old Testament in the Bible. Taking notes really helped me. Good luck.

I am now thinking about reading it again!

[Varnafindë]

I'd say it gets better with each new reading

[Logkhya]

We need some more details in explanation of the book. Some reference will be helpful

[Valandil]

You should check out our Silmarillion Project Subforum!

[Lotesse]

At first, EVERYbody has trouble reading The Silmarillion, but fear not! There are people here, especially Valandil, who can help you along in the effort, but, BUT: Let me tell you what MY secret key to opening & loving the Sil was.

It was when I special-ordered The Silmarillion hardcover illustrated by Ted Nasmith, back in '07 I think. Published by Houghton-Mifflin. Something about those incredibly lush, emotionally evocative illustrations and the way they go along with whichever storyline/chapter you're reading, makes it sooooooo, so much easier to love & comprehend.

It was like 20 or 30 dollars, can't remember, but oh, so worth it. It's one of my favourite books in my precious, gigantic personal library. Absolutely beautiful tome.