📔Book of Lost Tales part 1

[Finglas]

okay, the book is really cool, but i can't concentrate, and then i get lost, then i stop reading it and forget everything and have to read it over again. so all in all, i've read the first couple chapters at least 8 times, but i'm still confused on what's going on. does anyone have suggestions on reading this book. i'm not saying it's not good, it's just hard to pay attention (and awake) while reading it. I have a very small attention span.

 

[Niniel]

I don't really have a suggestion about that; when I read BOLT I liked the stories so much that I just read them as fast as I could. How do you read other books if you can't concentrate?

 

[Finglas]

i sit in a room and just read when no one is around. but lately everyone in my family is around, all the time. and i find that now that i'm in high school i have less time, especially since i'm trying to get a job

 

[Baruk Khazad!]

Music helps me read.

 

[Turin]

okay, the book is really cool, but i can't concentrate, and then i get lost, then i stop reading it and forget everything and have to read it over again. so all in all, i've read the first couple chapters at least 8 times, but i'm still confused on what's going on. does anyone have suggestions on reading this book. i'm not saying it's not good, it's just hard to pay attention (and awake) while reading it.

I can relate to you, its hard for me to read it, I started it a couple years ago then just dropped it and I haven't given it another try yet. I read unfinished tales instead, I find it much easier to read and to understand.

 

[Finglas]

well, now that we've finished finals, i thought that i'd have more time to read, but now of course, all of our semester projects are starting, so i don't exactly have a whole lot of spare time. I will try though. I'm trying to go through the history of middle earth, and i don't want to go out of order. I have horrible reading comprehension, so it takes a little bit longer. oh well, i'll try again.

 

[Baruk Khazad!]

its understandable, the BoLT is very difficult to read sometimes, all the names, references
it took me almost 2 months to finish it because I had to research every single reference and name, and Im ridiculous when reading


but stick with it
the BoLT 2 is MUCH better

 

[Inderjit S]

The BoLT is written in a archaic style, which can be difficult for us 'modern' readers.

 

[PaigeSinclaire88]

okay, the book is really cool, but i can't concentrate, and then i get lost, then i stop reading it and forget everything and have to read it over again. so all in all, i've read the first couple chapters at least 8 times, but i'm still confused on what's going on. does anyone have suggestions on reading this book. i'm not saying it's not good, it's just hard to pay attention (and awake) while reading it. I have a very small attention span.

That's happened to me several times while I was reading that book too. I was able to finish the Simirillion but with the lost tales books I had issues paying attention and I felt bad for it because I adore Tolkein.

 

[Amon Rudh]

I am currently reading BOLT1 (just read the Theft of Melko) and yes, initially it seemed slightly nonsensical and very hard to follow. But then as I read a few more chapters, stuck with it and with the excellent narratives at the end of each chapter by CT, I have begun to realise just how incredible this work is.
It is, to me truly stupendous the depth of knowledge CT absorbed and he is just as talented a writer as his father.
My approach is to carefully and as slowly as necessary, read the narrative and then the discussion, paying little attention to the notes or name changes on what is my first reading of these volumes. I anticipate that the knowledge and enjoyment will only increase on subsequent readings but it's amazing how much you recall of the rather archaic text during the subsequent reading of CT's summary at the end of each chapter.
As well as being brilliantly enjoyable and rewarding to read, I feel that the reading of the Silmarillion will also be enhanced in due course.
I'd definitely recommend BOLT1 (and I presume other early volumes of HOME - not read them yet!) for anyone committed enough to read 'only' Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. Naturally as your obsession builds so will your enjoyment of these more challenging texts (or so I believe).

 

[Radaghast]

okay, the book is really cool, but i can't concentrate, and then i get lost, then i stop reading it and forget everything and have to read it over again. so all in all, i've read the first couple chapters at least 8 times, but i'm still confused on what's going on. does anyone have suggestions on reading this book. i'm not saying it's not good, it's just hard to pay attention (and awake) while reading it. I have a very small attention span.

I recently finished this myself, after two previous attempts. It was kind of slog but I persisted and got through it. Not my favorite of Tolkien's works by a long shot. I especially disliked the origin of the Sun and Moon; very overelaborate and not very captivating. I'm glad Tolkien shortened this later (though I'm still not a fan of it).

But the book overall is an interesting look at the development of the mythology.

 

[Grima]

I read about this in an article by one sociologist. This is called the “clip thinking” trap (but maybe the name is not accurate, I don’t remember). In general, the point is that modern man receives much more information than his ancestors. In order to somehow cope with this avalanche, he tries to snatch the essence of information. Such an essence is difficult to analyze - it flickers like frames. Readers want to quickly get to the point and move on in search of interesting information. Search turns from a means into a goal: we scroll and scroll - sites, social media feeds, instant messengers - looking for smth “more interesting”. We get distracted by exciting headlines, navigate through links and forget why we opened the laptop.
It happens to me too, but I noticed that it happens when I spend a lot of time on social networks. If you take a break for 3-4 days (or at least minimize the time), then attention span grows. This is for sure works for me.

 

[Frandîr]

You can check out a class from Mythgard Academy offered by Prof. Corey Olsen. You can find it on YouTube or Spotify. He breaks down the chapters and does a pretty comprehensive analysis of both volumes.