EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club discussion

This discussion is for the February 2019 Classics group read of the The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien.

*SPOILERS NOT ALLOWED* Please see the Spoiler thread for the spoiler discussion.

Who plans to join this read? Will it be your first time or a reread?

Oh gracious. I'd forgotten about this. I have it checked out from the library... I hope to succeed on this, my second attempt, to read it. ... but it will be at least a few days before I start.

Really be careful on no spoilers, ppl please! I've not even seen the movie. And though I loved the book of The Hobbit, it was decades ago that I last read it, so I really know very little of this world.

Just wanted to say thank you for choosing this book! I have not read it since the sixth grade and am very much looking forward to rereading it as an adult.

I'm joining; the last and first time I read The Lord of the Rings was a couple of years ago in middle school, I've never watched the films and sadly, can't remember much of the plot now. So many people around me seem to be big fans or view the series as classics, and it can get a little frustrating when I've read the books but never, ever get my dad's references. I'm seriously starting to question my reading methods back then.

There's a Chinese copy in my house, but I borrowed one in English from the local library and was much amazed by the watercolor illustrations by Alan Lee (my copy had them, but they were downsized and printed in grayscale)!
It's a big, fat brick of a book and looks quite daunting, but guess I'll read a little every day and hope, fingers crossed, to finish it before the end of the month.

I have not read the books or watched the movies either so keeping this spoiler free is appreciated! I am not sure if I will join yet, though.

I’ve never read the books and it’s been a while since I’ve seen the movies. Pretty sure I’ve attempted reading this and the Hobbit once and have up.

I have not read this in many years. I was fascinated y first time through. I am looking forward to revisiting it.

I attempted to read the books right after the first movie came out, but I think it was a bit much for my ten-year-old self. Looking forward to this!

I've never read Tolkein's books before, and I'm excited to finally start. I watched the movies when they were new. It'll be interesting to see if I can remember any differences. I had a friend in high school who spoke Elvish (Sindarin, I think?). Pretty neat that the book has such a dedicated following.

I’m ready to attempt the Lord of the Rings series! I really liked the Hobbit so I hope I like this book just as much.

I used to re-read this every five years or so. Has been awhile, since the movies came out when I last read this. Will be interesting to see if my mental picture of the events is now colored by the films.

A pleasure to read and enjoy, will be glad to start it again.

I first read this book in high school so I am excited to be rereading it!

I attempted to read this one years ago but must admit always got stuck after the first few chapters. I can't remember why but always just seemed to have a block.
I love the story though so I will give it a go this time (when it arrives)!

I haven't read Fellowship since the movies came out. I did read all three in the series as well at the time. Classics for sure. Glad to be re-reading it. But memory is funny - I don't recall much as I started it last night. So it's all kinda new ;) . I do know that it's so much more detailed than the films (of course) and the films changed many details as well.

It's been quite a while since I read LOTR. I've convinced my wife to read along with me, after which, we'll watch the movie. She's never read or watched anything Tolkien so it'll be a nice treat. Looking forward to it.

This is my edition, my dad bought it for me when I was in elementary school.

Love this trilogy and am looking forward to revisiting not just the first book, but parts two and three as well, especially part three. And rewatching the movies.

This dates me but here is what my original copy looks like
https://images.gr-assets.com/books/14...

I'm kind of intimidated by the Lord of the Rings series. I'm not a big fantasy reader, and I've heard the books are really dense. I'm debating starting by reading the Hobbit. Any thoughts?

Well, it didn't help me, as a teen I loved The Hobbit and as a young adult fresh out of college I could not get through Fellowship. But I wasn't really the best reader back then.

I just listened to the Hobbit audiobook before starting Fellowship. I found it delightful.

I think I began with the Hobbit and it helps with some of the elements of the story, Gandalf, the elves and dwarves. I would imagine the audio might help if you are put off by the lengthy dialogue but that is the charm for me. These books were nothing like I had ever read (started them in junior high) and they enchanted me.

Thank you all for the feedback! Just ordered a beautiful copy of The Hobbit. Looking forward to this reading adventure :)

This has been a series I've wanted to read for a long time. I have a nice leatherback edition of the books. I "watched" this movie (fell asleep :\ ), but hoping that is just because it is a very long movie and it was nighttime.

So excited to start reading.

Is it weird that I don't want to read these because I've seen the movies? I just feel like since these books are so long, I'd rather spend that time reading about stories that I've never experienced. Idk... I get weird about books that are made into movies because one is always way better than the other, so I can never enjoy them both.

Naomi wrote: "Is it weird that I don't want to read these because I've seen the movies? I just feel like since these books are so long, I'd rather spend that time reading about stories that I've never experience..."

I agree with you on that. There's like a 50/50 chance the book is way better or not as good as the movie. It's a long movie, so they might have been able to really do the book justice.

My track record for reading and watching fantasy books, the books are better. From what I hear about how good the movie is, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the book is even better.

I read this one a few years back along with the rest of the trilogy. Although The Hobbit is a favorite of mine, I thought the LOTR series was just OK, and I enjoyed the movies more than the books. But there's no denying that the books had an incredible influence on the fantasy genre, not to mention popular culture.

Yes! I've had The Lord of the Rings trilogy on my TBR list for a couple of years now. My family members LOVE the movies. I've only seen the whole set once, and thankfully it's been a while. The audio book for The Fellowship of the Ring is 20.5 hours long, and the movie not quite 3 hours long. So, I'm about 1/3 of the way into the book and much of it has not been familiar. (Obviously, not everything could be included in the movie.) It's still be quite enjoyable. I've just had to remind myself to be patient. A 20 hour book is going to take some time to get through, especially 20 minutes at a time!

Kamilah wrote: "Naomi wrote: "Is it weird that I don't want to read these because I've seen the movies? I just feel like since these books are so long, I'd rather spend that time reading about stories that I've ne..."

I completely agree. The only movie I've ever liked better than the respective book is Gone Girl, and I love Gillian Flynn's writing style. It just made a much better movie in my opinion. I just know that since I know how it ends already I'll be so bored reading this extraordinarily long book.

Been enjoying this a lot so far, it's rather relaxing, and yes a bit meandering. I love the dry humor quite a bit, reminds me of another favorite author of mine, Terry Pratchett. Hah.

I've loved this book (and the series) for a long time. As soon as I finish another book, I'll be picking up this again.

I haven't seen the movies and just finished The Hobbit, so I am curious about the first book. So I'll join the reading :)