LOTR

Today in History

1954

The first part of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien was published in the UK. The Fellowship of the Ring begins the story of Frodo Baggins and his journey to Mordor to dispose of the One Ring. You WILL like this book! Although I'm sure you've all read it at least once?

If I had to compile a list of my favorite books it would be pretty long. But if I could only choose one book it would have to be LOTR. Even though it was published in 3 volumes it is still one story so the whole thing counts as one book. I just wanted to clarify that for everyone. I've read it, I don't know, maybe 12, 15 times? I'm not really sure. I had a plan a few years ago to reread it every December (that is when the movies came out) and I did for a couple of years. Unfortunately the last couple of years I haven't read it. I'm thinking that to make up for that I'll read it now & then again in December. Pretty clever aren't I?

If you haven't read it, I'd suggest getting a copy TODAY. I have numerous copies and am happy to lend you one if necessary (I was in a bookstore once and saw a copy of The Return of the King (wow - this copy has Vigo on the cover - I need this!) sitting by itself on a shelf. I bought it because I thought it looked lonely). Anyway it is best to buy your own copy as you'll want to re-read it often and I keep scrupulous track of how long people have my books!

Three rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

Robin, the lonely blog mistress

One Final Poem

One final poem for you in honor of National Poetry Month. This one I didn't have to copy & paste because I know it by heart! Why do we say we know something by heart? That is kind of an odd phrase isn't it? Oh well

All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

From the Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
Written by Bilbo Baggins for Aragorn

An interesting note. I went to Amazon to get a link for the book and when I searched, the first thing that came up in the search results was the movie. Mind you (I used to have a boss that said that & I always liked it), I loved the movie but the book is far, far better (read it if you haven't already done so). I don't know if the search result is a sign of popularity or price - since the book costs less than the movie - or just a fluke. I found it interesting though.

By the way, speaking of hobbits. Did you know that a hobbit comes of age at 33? Next year, 2009, Jill will be 33. Jill is a hobbit - furry, distrustful of technology, loving the land. Consequently, there will be a huge birthday party planned for her 33rd birthday to celebrate her coming of age. Everyone is invited so be sure and hold that date. Well I'm not sure what the date will be yet but hold it anyway. Just as an incentive, hobbits do not receive presents on their birthday, they give them away to their guests. I think Jill is a bit worried about that part.

I've only seen one person, aside from myself, post. Where are you people? Let's get busy - I want to see posts from other people. I have so many boring subjects in my head that I could write about - I'm sure some of you can come up with something more interesting. And as an additional threat, remember that I have Jill. Now that the IRS audit is off her mind, all I have to do is suggest pretty much any topic, sit her in front of the computer and you'll be reading some esoteric treatise on plants or language or worse. POST!

Robin, the lonely blog mistress
(who wouldn't be lonely if more people posted!)