Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Finally Done!

I finally finished the book The Silmarillion (by JRR Tolkein, author of Lord of the Rings, to which this is a tie-in - a prequel, if you will).
It was probably the longest haul book-wise I've ever endeavoured in. It probably took me a good two months to finish - and that's reading some of it most nights before bed.
I don't know what kept me going - whether it was interesting on some level, the hope that some of it would start to make sense eventually, or just plain stubbornness that I wasn't going to be bested by a book.... But I can't particularly say that it was a memorable read, other than how tedious it was.
It goes the two "ages" (each thousands of years long) of Middle Earth prior to the age that the Lord of the Rings is set in. It begins with the creation of Earth. And that's when it gets confusing. There are so many names to remember - add to that that for some there are the given names, then the names they call themselves, then the names that others call them! I recognized some names here and there, but nothing really snapped to me until it got to the "present" age that was the setting for Lord of the Rings.
Anyhow. This is kind of a rant, kind of an excuse for not changing my "currently reading" box - it's because what I'm currently reading hasn't changed for so long!
I'm rewarding myself by watching all 3 movies, and I've started on the 3 books (which I've already read... twice, I think).

3 comments:

JC said...

Well, I found it fascinating on some levels. I loved the
And two months?! I think it took me a solid 4. Granted, I take a lot longer to read a book than you do. Not like you have anything else to do...

JC said...

I meant to finish the "I loved the" part with "Beren and Luthien part"

carrie said...

I read about a fourth of it and gave up. Kudos to you.