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Annotating

Crystalship

New Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2026
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Just joined and have been a life long Tolkien reader. I have read and re read so many time with a large gap of 23 years. I have just decided at 75, I need to re read the Silmarillion and LorR, but differently than before. Therefor I am annotating them myself. I am halfway through The Silmarillion, and have just bought a box set of LotR, for this purpose. My big plan is to follow the Elven journey and references to Starlight and sea. Always been an Elven nerd, always will be. My question is has anyone on here ever annotated any of Tolkiens body of work. I'm soon looking forward to re reading with a different focus. I would love to know how it went if anyone has done this and what areas you chose to focus on. X
 
I imagine most of us here have done something similar. I recall marking words and lines I had questions about in my first paperback copy, many years ago. When the drafts came out in HoME, I noted corrections in a large one-volume paperback copy, until it eventually fell apart. 😄
 
I was brought up never to deface books. I never did even as a young child. I started annotating this year. The Iliadd first, and was shocked at how much fun it was and how much I slowed down and read the words in front of me. I am an extremely fast and prolific reader. I'm sort of hooked now. Plus I don't want to do quizzes, jigsaws ,crosswords to keep my mind intact. Annotating Tolkien seemed the right thing to do. Especially following an Elven flow and nature flow. And yes after I posted I realised many would gave done similar. I have re bought a discounted box set as I find holding the one volume hardbacks to difficult nowadays. X
 
I can make notes in a separate notebook, compile them, make cross references etc...but I am unable to make marks in a book, or dog ear the pages.
The brain does not permit it...the hand just freezes...no marks allowed.
(And no, I have never annotated any works of The Professor)
 
Thanks Deimos. This is why i have bought a discounted box set. When i first wrote in the Ilyadd it felt quite shocking. As if I was going to be told off 🤣. But im now finding it very enjoyable and awfully addictive. X
 
Crystalship said:
Thanks Deimos. This is why i have bought a discounted box set. When i first wrote in the Ilyadd it felt quite shocking. As if I was going to be told off 🤣. But im now finding it very enjoyable and awfully addictive. X
Click to expand...
Vandal. 🤨
 
Choices are made. I certainly don't mark up my Folio Society books! I stumbled across a hardback of Frye's Anatomy of Criticism a few years ago, which I don't intend to write in, even though a few pages have a bit of yellow highlighting from a previous owner. On the other hand, nearly every page of my paperback copy is so covered with underlinings, arrows, and footnotes that it's now more a collection of loose pages than book. I recently noticed I can no longer read some of the miniscule notations made back when my eyes were better. 😥


Crystalship said:
Especially following an Elven flow and nature flow.
Click to expand...
I've done something of the sort with various recurring symbols, though not in a systematic way. One that has both exercised and frustrated me over the years is Tolkien's use of masks and disguises. I believe I had a thread on the subject some time ago.
 
Well I would never mark my Folio books either. In fact I dont intend to do this with most of my books. Just these four, plus The Odyssey. All bought especially for this purpose.
Ive just had cataracts removed and implants put in. Can see a lot better now, which is good as this set is regular paperback size.. I would have struggled.
 
Erurávennë said:
Using pencil always feels less criminal...
Click to expand...
I bought (sight unsees) a used copy of the Riverside Shakespeare (2nd Ed.) which the owner assured me had only a "few" underlines in pencil.
I spent the better part of an afternoon erasing those "few" underlines.... at least 40 pages were marked; some only a line or two, some almost the whole page.

 
Ha, ha. 😄 I guess that is a possible downside I hadn't thought of.
 
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