Books I Read and Other Assorted Oddities

 I feel a little like I read this out of order a bit. I picked up The Hobbit  after I started The Lord of the Rings  trilogy because I didn't realize that it too had been recorded by Andy Serkis. I thoroughly enjoyed his reading of the novel. I had never read The Hobbit . I had only seen the Peter Jackson films. While I loved The Lord of the Rings , I found myself loving The Hobbit  films less. From the community reactions to those films when they came out, I knew that Jackson had embellished the story. I finally dug into the novel to find out how much. Bilbo Baggins is a Hobbit: respectable, normal, and non-adventerous. Gandalf is a wizard who decides to change all of that. After meeting Bilbo in the Shire one morning, Gandalf secretly invites 12 dwarves to come to Bilbo's house. Once there, they discuss plans to reclaim their ancestral home: The Lonely Mountain. The Mountain is now home to Smaug, the dragon, and they need a burgler to help them find the dragon's we...

 I finally finished The Lord of the Rings  trilogy! I listened to this one as an audiobook as well, and loved Andy Serkis as the narrator for this novel. The Return of the King  finishes the story of the One Ring. Frodo and Sam continue their perilous journey to Mordor. Gollum leads them into the lair of Shelob, the ancient, giant spider. There, Sam narrowly escapes, while Frodo is pierced by her venom. Thinking him dead, Sam vows to continue Frodo's mission on his own. He takes some of Frodo's belongings, including the Ring. He watches as Frodo is taken further into Mordor by Orcs who proclaim that he isn't dead. Sam rescues Frodo, and they proceed on through Mordor. They reach the volcano, where the ring is destroyed. Meanwhile, their other friends are defending Middle Earth from the onslaught of Mordor. Minas Tirith is attacked, and Gandalf works to protect it. He is joined by Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli with the army from Rohan. Once the Ring is destroyed and Mordor c...

 To continue my reading of The Lord of the Rings , I listened to this one on Audible. I listened to the Andy Serkis recording which was AMAZING! He is such a good narrator and voice actor. I enjoyed his narration thoroughly. The Two Towers  picks up the story of the fellowship of the ring (now divided) practically where it left off. Frodo and Sam are desperately headed toward Mordor to dispose of the One Ring, while Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas pursue the Orc army who took Merry and Pippin toward Isengard. Frodo and Sam meet an unlikely guide, Gollum, the wretched creature who once possessed The Ring. Gollum agrees to lead Frodo to Mordor, and having no one else to guide them or trust, Frodo and Sam follow him through the dangerous lands leading to Mordor. Meanwhile, Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas hunt down the orc army in Rohan, eventually finding that the men of Rohan have already decimated the army for them. Merry and Pippin have escaped, and the trio meets a familiar friend: G...

 I read The Fellowship of the Ring  a long long time ago when I was in middle school or junior high. I loved the stories then, and have always loved the movies, but I couldn't remember much of what I'd read from it. So when I found them narrated by Andy Serkis, I HAD to have them and listen to them. Let me tell you... this was a DELIGHTFUL audiobook from start to finish. Frodo Baggins has inherited a ring from his uncle, but unbeknownst to him, it is the ultimate ring of power, forged by the dark lord Sauron. Gandalf urges Frodo to take the ring to Rivendell, where the elves will know what to do with it. Ultimately, it is decided that Frodo must take the ring into the dark land, Mordor, itself. He is to be accompanied by a fellowship of companions: Aragorn, Legolas, Samwise, Pippin, Merry, Boromir, Gimli, and Gandalf. Will Frodo be able to get the ring to Mordor? Without a doubt, Tolkien was more interested in describing Middle Earth than the actual story, which makes some rea...