Re-visiting LOTR

[Varda-Me]

Okay, say you're like me and you take time off between reading LOTR the first time and then rereading it the second time. Or third. Or fourth. Whatever. What is new for you? Do you notice something new every time? I usually do. I can't explain it, because I'm a very good reader, but there's usually something I missed. How about you?

[Renille]

I miss the little details. At first, I almost skim over the pages while not really skimming. (Kind of strange to explain, I know.) But on the second or third time, I always get nitpicky and pay attention to every single little quote, etc.

[Eldanuumea]

The complex scenes.....battles such as Helm's deep, the Pelennor, etc......come into clearer focus with each reread. I have a tendency to want to skim long descriptive passages, and when I slow down and reread those carefully, I tend to notice a wealth of detail, some of it quite significant.

[IronParrot]

First reading: plot
Second reading: characterizations, foreshadowing, etc.
Third reading: minor characters, details of setting, etc.
Fourth reading: hard-to-remember names become second-nature

And so on and so forth.

[Khamûl]

The second time I read it, I remembered stuff that I forgot had happened. (If that makes any sense) I had forgotten all about stuff like the meeting with Ghan-buri-Ghan and some other things. I'm sure that the third time I read it, I'll discover things I never knew and some other things that I forgot that I knew.

[BeardofPants]

I'm terrible for remembering things at the best of times, so everytime I re-read it, there's always some detail that sneaks up on me. The biggest one for me was the second time I read it, and I forgot about the Grey Havens! That was so sad.... Now it's more the little details that I pick up on. I'd like to read it again for the 8th time (with the Sil in mind) and see what else I've forgotten (or haven't noticed!), but my reading list is too big at the moment! And if you think that's bad... just wait 'til I re-read the Sil!

[Cirdan]

I've just started the third reading. I just book the Collector's Edtion (go ahead, hate me ) to replace my decrepit old paperbacks. I have committed to reading it thoroughly and slowly this time.

I last read LotR before the folm, so partly I am looking at things I would have liked to have seen and also appreciating the richer detail of the book.

Since I've read the Silmarillion again recently, I want to keep it handy while I'm reading the legend bits to make sure I see all the links.

I suppose I'll read "The Hobbit" again soon. I'll read it to my son as an excuse. He likes the fastasy stories anyway. He has his limits. I was reading the "Lost Tales Vol 1" and he asked me to read it to him. After two pages he was sound asleep.

[Valacirca]

I notice something new every time, it´s usually the little things that I have read before too but that I have forgotten - I read the book about once in the year (or two), but I don´t want to read it TOO often so that it wouldn´t get too familiar, if that makes any sense. I like the feeling that something surprises me there. I just recently re-read it, and what felt totally new to me now, was the way how Ghan spoke, his lines were so beautiful and I hadn´t paid much attention tothat before, I think.

[sun-star]

I notice the descriptions more the second time round, so the landscape and people's faces become more clear in my mind.

[osszie]

yes I definately find hidden treasures on a re-read
At the last time I only just realised how important a character Imrahil the Swan Knight appears to be

[katya]

i always find new things. i understand everything so much better. i skim songs usually but they are so cool to read carefully. i know all about remembering things you forgot happened. that happened to me in a different book, anna karenina. i forgot all about a suicide attempt (and a lousy one at that) not that thats anything to do with lotr. i like to read out of order because when you already know what happens, you can. like if some war chapters are boring to me, i can read say mt. doom instead. then go back and read helms deep or whatever. i like that.

[markedel]

I think that if one delves deeper into Tolkien (i.e if I ever read the history of the Lord of the Rings) reading the book gets far more interesting. Then one can compare what one sees in the story to the rough drafts. Seeing what vestiges of trotter remian in Strider, seeing how the kingdoms in exile evolve etc. I think that is the most interesting part. People forget that as a work of literature the author has to create not just the concepts and world of ME, but also the plot and characters. Proper literary analysis is always interesting.

The older you get the more depth one can find, from personal things about the author, to views about God etc.

[Rána Eressëa]

Not very much. Just little things I forgot. The first time I read it I was as thorough as possible, and I wrote down all the quotes I liked as I went along; it helped me remember events and such with more ease.

[Rían]

I've read them 8 or 9 times now over the last 20 years, and I still cry at the end of "The Ride of the Rohirrim" chapter, when the king leads the charge, and in "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields" when Eowyn is defying the Nazgul over Theoden's body.

My son just finished reading LOTR for the first time, and I read many of the chapters aloud to him (we had some long car trips over the summer ), but I couldn't read the Pelennor chapter to him - I knew I would just break down and bawl!! My husband read it to him while I just listened and sniffed quietly to myself!

Occasionally I'll notice something new, and after 9+ readings, I skip over some descriptive parts, but I still love to read them.

Be sure and try the Silmarillion, the History of Middle Earth (HoME) series, (esp. Morgoth's ring), and Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien - they're really good and help with background info.

[Celebrian]

Each time I read it I can visualize each seen better. It probably sounds weird, but it was only on the fifteenth or so time reading the series that I got a good picture of Shelob. Before she had just been a black blob, but that time it was like Wow! that's what she looks like.
Each time I read it I am sadder at the end. Each time I get there it only gets better!
I only ever notice the descriptive parts after I have read them tons.

[Khadrane]

Originally posted by Renille
I miss the little details. At first, I almost skim over the pages while not really skimming. (Kind of strange to explain, I know.)

I do that too. It's quite annoying.
Anyway, I think I pick up new details every time I read it. I also read the poems better every time I read it.

[mirial]

most of y'all have little pictures under your names...how do you do that?

[Darkraven]

Not only do I get more out of it every time I read it (I'm on my fourth read now), but it is easier to become emersed in the land of Middle earth. When the names of people and the descriptions of people become more and more familiar, one can become more and more a part of what Middle earth is, and a part of the stories which describe it. The arts of the elves, the evil magic of Sauron, the simplicity of the hobbits, all bring one into the marvelous land that Tolkein has written so many stories about. Basically, I believe that more knowlegde about Middle Earth and its inhabitants allows one to become more enchanted by what it is.

[Rían]

Originally posted by Darkraven
Not only do I get more out of it every time I read it (I'm on my fourth read now), but it is easier to become emersed in the land of Middle earth. When the names of people and the descriptions of people become more and more familiar, one can become more and more a part of what Middle earth is, and a part of the stories which describe it.

Very true! It took me about 3 reads to stop getting Sauron and Saruman mixed up!! Maybe I'm slightly dyslexic ... Now after 8 or 9 reads, all the characters are like old friends.

[Nilvasaien]

I've lost count of the number of times I've read LotR. I always seem to pick up on small details I missed earlier. Lately I've come to appreciate the poems and songs. Not being much of a poetry fan, I tended to skip most of them. Now I can appreciate them, and enjoy the richness they lend to the tale.