What 📔book are you reading right now?

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

How far have you gotten in the story?

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

How far have you gotten in the story?

almost to halfway but not quite, or are you referring to the helmet killing the young prince?

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Yep. 😄

But don't stop looking up.

 

[Radaghast]

I started The Fall of Gondolin but it's been a bit tough going. The writing style strikes me as very strange. I get the sense that Tolkien was trying to write like William Morris or Lord Dunsany.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

You must be reading the sections from BoLT, which were written in a heavily archaizing style. Tolkien read both Morris and Dunsany, so yes, he was likely influenced by them. As was early Lovecraft, BTW. Interesting that as both matured, they moved away from those writers-- each in their own way, of course.

 

[Radaghast]

I started The Well at World's End by Morris and The King of Elfland's Daughter but just stopped and couldn't muster the will to start again (by contrast I enjoyed The Worm Ouroboros by E. R. Eddison; had no problem following the story). I almost have the feeling the same will happen with TFoG. I wasn't a big fan of Beren and Lúthien either, though I don't remember if that was because of the style of writing or because it just collected versions of the story, or both. IMHO, The Silmarillion still has the best versions of both stories.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

That's funny-- I tried Ouroboros several times, over many years, but just couldn't get into the style, where I followed Well very easily.

I guess it's similar to Clark Ashton Smith: some love his style, some can't stand him.

 

[Radaghast]

Hm. New 'Like' icon. Interesting.

 

[Áramandë Amaniel]

Hm. New 'Like' icon. Interesting.

Yes, @mazzly edited them to make them more Tolkien-related.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Yeah, that's mazzly and EA messing around again. 🙄 I still can't see them yet.

 

[Ealdwyn]

Just tried it. Looks the same to me

 

[Radaghast]

It showed for me as the One Ring, now it's back to a thumbs up.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

mazzly made a suggestion:
Post in thread 'Minor Updates' https://thetolkien.forum/threads/minor-updates.30665/post-566121

Which for a tech-dummy like me, reads as gobbledygook.

You may have to clear cookies, or even log out and back in again.

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

Clearing your browser cookies/cache (which may require you to log back in) should make them show up.

Shield Your Internet History: How to Clear Your Cache on Any Browser

Don't let your internet history fall into the wrong hands. It's a good idea to delete your browser history and internet cache on occasion. Here's how to do it on the desktop and mobile.

www.pcmag.com

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

One Ring to bring them all,
And in the forum "like" them.

 

[Deimos]

Currently reading The Castle of Ontranto by Horace Walpole. For as old as it is, I like it

Oh, I want to read that! It's on my list.
Want to read another one of the earliest Gothic novels?
The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe.

Don't read too much of the Wiki article because of spoilers.
I read it as a two volume work from the public library (Everyman ed).
She spends a lot of time describing the country , but it never bogged down the story.
Likewise with character descriptions... very deep, detailed.
But it works because when you know the characters so intimately it's easy to get drawn into the drama.
There is even "comic relief" when things get really bad for the heroine (who faints a lot 😁).
I thoroughly enjoyed it, so much so that I've been trying to find an affordable hardcover edition.

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

Oh, I want to read that! It's on my list.
Want to read another one of the earliest Gothic novels?
The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe.

Don't read too much of the Wiki article because of spoilers.
I read it as a two volume work from the public library (Everyman ed).
She spends a lot of time describing the country , but it never bogged down the story.
Likewise with character descriptions... very deep, detailed.
But it works because when you know the characters so intimately it's easy to get drawn into the drama.
There is even "comic relief" when things get really bad for the heroine (who faints a lot 😁).
I thoroughly enjoyed it, so much so that I've been trying to find an affordable hardcover edition.

I finished it and it was a really good read. Less than 200 pages too so not too bad. I'll have to check that one out too.

Today, I started reading Shutter Island. So far pretty good. I've seen the movie but never read the book.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Don't forget this one:

Possibly the original Gothic, along with Walpole.
Not to mention a number of later Victorian-era gothics, like

But be sure to read Jane Austen's parody of the genre, Northanger Abbey.

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

Don't forget this one:
View attachment 16408
Possibly the original Gothic, along with Walpole.
Not to mention a number of later Victorian-era gothics, like
View attachment 16409

But be sure to read Jane Austen's parody of the genre, Northanger Abbey.

Thanks, gothics are definitely a genre I haven't read a lot of but always like

 

[Deimos]

Don't forget this one:
View attachment 16408
Possibly the original Gothic, along with Walpole.
Not to mention a number of later Victorian-era gothics, like
View attachment 16409

But be sure to read Jane Austen's parody of the genre, Northanger Abbey.

I learned about Mysteries of Udoplho when I read Northanger Abbey.
Meaning, I unintentionally read the parody first.
Once I finished Mysteries I re-read NA and enjoyed it much more.

LeFanu wrote ghost stories too. I have a number of them in various collections.