LotR Readalong - The Fellowship of the Ring Check-in

February is Fellowship month!

Not that you'd know it, from looking around here - but it's true. This month I'm reading Fellowship of the Ring as part of the LotR Readalong challenge. This month has been hosted by The Literary Omnivore!

Alas, I was only able to begin it this week - just in time really, as March will mean the start of Two Towers. I really must make a move-on!

The Hobbit vs. The Lord of the Rings?

I'll be honest and admit that when I first read the Fellowship... I was not a huge fan. This was before the film came out, and I must have been 9-ish. I had loved The Hobbit, and when I found out there was a sequel, I really did try my best to read it. It wasn't that I disliked FotR, but it bored me.

I tried again after the film came out but did not get very far that time either. Although I was a huge fan of the films - and gosh, am I still ever a fan - I never actually managed to read the trilogy! *shakes head in shame* I had thought that perhaps because Tolkien was such a genius at everything, it only made sense that he wasn't the most engaging of writers. After all, nobody's perfect.

Well, I was wrong! And I am very, very glad about it.

pacing... pacing... p a..c i n..g...

I am absolutely loving every minute of The Fellowship of the Ring - and can't wait for the "real" action to get going. Admittedly, Book One does drag on slightly - but I really appreciate the history and descriptions of the Shire. Knowing what Frodo is to face, it only makes me want to savour the environment even more.

In fact, I found the prologue was very much a part of the book you could only appreciate if you already knew the characters! Tolkien writes about Merry, Pippin, Frodo and Sam as though he were writing at the end of the book - and not the beginning. But still, reading that Merry had written a book concerning herbs weed really made me smile.

In fact, I am very much in love with Merry for some reason. Probably because he really is as clever as I had thought him. I particularly enjoyed the wonderful scene where Merry reveals to Frodo that he and Pippin already knew all about the Ring. What is the spying version of a kleptomaniac? A sneak-o-maniac? Well, whatever it is - that'd be Merry. Clever and slightly devious!

Illustrated edition

As I mentioned in my Hobbit posts, I purchased the lovely illustrated (by Alan Lee) editions of the books. Although the artwork has been stunning so far, I can't help wishing this edition was more similar to its Hobbit counterpart. The Hobbit had several lovely black and white illustrations included on the pages with the text. It was a lovely way of picturing some of the smaller scenes. Alas, The Fellowship of the Ring does not have any of these! Probably because it is not considered a "children's book" - hmph!