What 📔book are you reading right now?

[Starbrow]

Did you decide to read it because of the movie (A Man Called Otto)? Which is remake of the Swedish movie a Man Called Ove, which is a dramatization of the book you are reading. (Wow., what a chain of causality 😬).
Anyway, just curious as to what prompted you to read it.
I have no interest in the Tom Hanks remake, but I might watch the original Swedish movie (with subtitles, of course), but I am leaning toward reading the book first.

It was on my Christmas list because several of my friends recommended it. I didn't know it was being made into a movie until I saw a trailer last week.
I'm not sure if I will see the movie. I think much of the charm of the book comes from author's style of writing - slowly revealing details of the character's life. Besides, much of the book is about Ove's thoughts, which I think is hard to translate into film. I'm sure Tom Hanks will do a wonderful job, though.

 

[Maeglin]

I'm currently reading (and almost finished with) "The Silmarillion" for the first time in 20 years. I'm loving it and much more able to keep track of it, but I must say it's still a mess of names and places that keeps me going back to the genealogies and maps. It's also extremely depressing, which I knew but had somehow forgotten. Lastly, it makes me even more angry at how horribly Amazon has butchered their series (I know it's not based on Silmarillion, but still...). Part of me hopes the rights to it will be sold to some decent studio (so much awesome material in it for lots of seasons worth of awesome drama), while another part wants it untouched.

 

[Deimos]

I'm currently reading (and almost finished with) "The Silmarillion" for the first time in 20 years. I'm loving it and much more able to keep track of it, but I must say it's still a mess of names and places that keeps me going back to the genealogies and maps. It's also extremely depressing, which I knew but had somehow forgotten...

I can't recall where I read it but someone (maybe JRRT himself in one of his letters) said that at base his stories are about loss or decline; the loss (or decline) that occurs slowly over millennia, or rapidly (relatively speaking) in a lifetime.

 

[Olorgando]

Part of me hopes the rights to it will be sold to some decent studio ...

Hasn't that category gone the way of the dodo? 😟

 

[Deimos]

Ok, I found the JRRT quotation (and somone may have posted this quotation elsewhere in the forums) ... he didn't say it directly of his stories but I think that it can be inferred:

Actually I am a Christian,” Tolkien wrote of himself, “and indeed a Roman Catholic, so that I do not expect ‘history’ to be anything but a ‘long defeat’— though it contains (and in legend may contain more clearly and movingly) some samples or glimpses of final victory” (Letters 255). (Emphasis added)

ADDENDUM: There is a fascinating Wikipedia article about the "Decline and Fall" narrative that permeates all of Tolkien's works.
It is extensively documented/footnoted: Decline and Fall in ME

 

[Elbereth Vala Varda]

About to embark on Unfinished Tales. Any advice for getting the most out of it?

 

[Deimos]

I would read the book first because then you’ll see the differences and stuff. The book is definitely better (of course) because it has more details and you can really dive into it. The movie is pretty good, but it’s nothing compared to the book. I’m sure you’ll enjoy reading it because it’s very touching and also pretty funny.

Thank you. Yes, when a [written] story has been dramatized in some way (movie, play, musical etc) I typically will read the book first, if I can get a copy of it, which is not always possible. I will use the public library or borrow a copy from friends, because I don't want to spend money on something I may not like.
As a last resort I will get a copy from a second hand bookseller, the cheapest copy available.

Whether I will see the dramatization upon finishing the book is not necessarily determined by my like** or dislike of the story.
Other factors come into plays, such as who directed it, the music , the actors etc.
But I do want to know the original story, good or bad, before seeing the movie.

There have been maybe a dozen times where I saw the movie prior to reading the story on which it was based because:
(1) I did not know there was a book,
(2) I could not acquire the book,
(3) It was written in a foreign language and no translated version was available,
(4) The story was written in an era that the English was too archaic [for me] to understand (which is almost like #3 😄)

**If I DO like the book I will buy a good copy of it (second hand if possible)🙂

 

[Hisoka Morrow]

Has anyone read "Carnage and Culture" yet? It's really a deep research about how recent world's powers' situiation was formed. ^^

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Have it, haven't read it yet, though I have read two or three of his others. My problem with Hanson is that he's basically been repeating himself-- with slight variations -- for decades.

About to embark on Unfinished Tales. Any advice for getting the most out of it?

It depends on your area of interest, really. Fortunately, UT is divided by Age, which makes it easier. I'd certainly recommend "Of Tuor" to get a glimpse of what the full "Fall of Gondolin" would have looked like, had Tolkien finished it.

The Galadriel section is fascinating, if frustrating. "Aldarion and Erendis" is more or less complete as a self-contained story, and of course heartbreaking.

For me, "Cirion and Eorl" is as moving as anything Tolkien ever wrote. But I wouldn't want to miss any of the rest of the collection!

 

[Elbereth Vala Varda]

Thanks, Squint! Good place to start!

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

You're welcome-- but you might also want to check out some of the threads in the Unfinished Tales forum. 😉

 

[Elbereth Vala Varda]

You're welcome-- but you might also want to check out some of the threads in the Unfinished Tales forum. 😉

Yeah... I probably should have started with that --- Oh well!

 

[Deimos]

It was on my Christmas list because several of my friends recommended it. I didn't know it was being made into a movie until I saw a trailer last week.
I'm not sure if I will see the movie. I think much of the charm of the book comes from author's style of writing - slowly revealing details of the character's life. Besides, much of the book is about Ove's thoughts, which I think is hard to translate into film. I'm sure Tom Hanks will do a wonderful job, though.

According to IMDB the original version is pretty good (decent ratings); the Tom Hanks remake, not so much.
If I decide to see the movie after I read the book, I will watch the original movie made in Sweden.

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

During the pandemic Brandon Sanderson was bored so in 2020 wrote four novels without telling anyone and then ran a kickstarter to self-publish them. The first one was released on January 1st as an ebook so I'm currently reading that, Tress and the Emerald Sea.

On another note, his kickstarter raised over $22 million. He also used some of the money to back every other author who had a kickstarter running at the time, which I found nice. https://winteriscoming.net/2022/03/...cked-every-publishing-project-on-kickstarter/

 

[Maeglin]

According to IMDB the original version is pretty good (decent ratings); the Tom Hanks remake, not so much.
If I decide to see the movie after I read the book, I will watch the original movie made in Sweden.

The original Swedish version is fantastic - watched it a few years ago with my wife. I still haven’t read the book but have been meaning to since watching the film and on my wife’s recommendation. I will add it to the list for this year!

 

[Maedhros_Nelyafinwë]

I'm currently reading The Silmarillion for the first time, and I must say it's becoming quite possibly my favorite book ever! I was nervous to try reading it at first, because my attention span for reading is short and people kept telling me they think it's dense and boring. I'm finding it anything but boring, though! The stories are all so epic and beautiful and I love that each page is packed out with fascinating stories. It always gives me something interesting to think about.

Part of me hopes the rights to it will be sold to some decent studio (so much awesome material in it for lots of seasons worth of awesome drama), while another part wants it untouched.

I feel similarly, but I lean towards wanting them to leave it untouched. With Hollywood's values being so opposite of Tolkien's values, I just don't see how they could do a faithful adaptation of The Silmarillion. As much as I'd love to see these epic stories brought to life visually, I think there's too great a risk of them ruining it. So for now, I'm content to look at Silmarillion artwork (and create some myself!)

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Be sure to post it! 🙂

 

[Maedhros_Nelyafinwë]

Be sure to post it! 🙂

I will! It's about 33% done and I've been working on it for like five weeks now... it's huge, 18x24" paper, and realistic in style so it's a lot of work.

 

[Elbereth Vala Varda]

I will! It's about 33% done and I've been working on it for like five weeks now... it's huge, 18x24" paper, and realistic in style so it's a lot of work.

Of what?

 

[Maedhros_Nelyafinwë]

Of what?

Maedhros, post-Thangorodrim! I started it before I even joined this site, actually.