Worthless and Weak

Chapters 1 and 2:

I was reading a bit about the Lord of the Rings lately, here and there, and noticed that there was a lot of stuff that I don't remember, and thinking about it, I have no idea when the last time I read the whole trilogy was. Probably not since before the movies. Therefore, last night, I started reading it again, and thought that maybe I'd blog my reactions to it.

One of the, problems, I had with the books, (which was amplified by the movies, I think), was that it seemed to me that the Shire was the only place where people actually lived, meaning that for everybody else it seemed that there were simply warriors waiting around for the next battle, or elves sitting around doing whatever it is that 1,000 year old elves do. In any event, I think the first chapter is excellent in setting up the Shire, in describing hobbit communities and customs.

The second chapter is about the Ring, focusing on Smeagol. It surprised me that there wasn't more detail given to Gil-Galad and Isildur, and their battle with Sauron. I also didn't remember Sauron taking residence in Mirkwood.

Overall, what I think I was missing when I read the books originally was that it wasn't about the story, it was about the stories within the stories, the histories that Gandalf and company tell.

While I'd ideally like to have some sort of more lengthy discussion about each chapter for the purposes of this project (which, if history is any guide, I will abandon long before completion), however I fear that I may have to settle for good enough, and just a few points of initial interest will have to suffice. Hopefully, I'll get a better post the next couple of chapters.

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