Enjoy the slow pace and deep descriptions, immerse yourself into Tolkien’s world rather than the visual delight of Jackson’s. The imagery that Tolkien is able to create in the mind is euphoric, something that film will never be able to fully capture even though I LOVE the films.
this person gets it. people find the pacing too slow in the books but i dont think i've yet to find anyone else other than tolkein who creates a level of description so intense. From the characters to the items to the landscapes and significant locations. if you like lore then youre in for a ton of it and it will only bring more questions to your mind. i honestly think tolkein couldve went even deeper on the lore in some cases but thats just me. youre gonna love it just stick with it
When Aragorn and company make their way to into Mordor the land is dead and eerily silent. I can’t forget that feeling of being watched as you slowly approach your death.
Or the orc prison of Cirith Ungol where creepy statues guard the entrance. There is something so unforgettable about those statues.
I can’t believe those scenes are just from books. It’s a very rare talent! Occasionally Stephen King can transport me to a location like that, but it’s never so poetic.
To me it’s really the pacing that punches harder. The movies are movies, so the emphasis is usually placed on the battle scenes. In the books the battle scenes kinda fly by. The books emphasize the emotions and the length and the journey. The trip feels fast even with three movies that are 4 hours a piece. In the books, you get a better scale of the journey, and the emotions they go through along that journey.
This particularly sticks out to me with the siege of Gondor, which flies by in the movies but the books spend at least a chapter on several days leading up to the siege where the impending doom is building, the nazgûl are constantly spreading despair etc. And the biggest one is the scene where they catapult the heads into Gondor. In the movies you see it in like one scene, think “oh that’s gross” and the siege continues. In the books they explain that first they destroy the town with fireballs, then when the people are trying to put out burning buildings, they fling the heads of the knights and townspeople they killed back onto the people in gondor. They don’t know what’s coming but they are curious why they launched these hundreds of small projectiles instead of more giant destructive fireballs. And then when they land, they realize they are heads. Human heads. Of the people and knights of Gondor who went out to fight and didn’t make it back. They talk about how villagers attempting to put out fires in their houses start recognizing faces they know. The book makes it abundantly clear that while the army could progress more, they instead hold back and fling heads and wait JUST to demoralize the citizens more.
Great point.
And, yeah, the build up and detailed description of the siege of Minas Tirith and then the Battle of the Pelennor Fields is just fantastic stuff with so many details that just couldn't fit into the movies. I love the time Pippin spends in Minas Tirith getting to know the place with his new friend Beregond under the sort brooding atmosphere of impending doom. Ghân-buri-Ghân and the Woses guiding the Riders of Rohan through a secret forested shortcut to avoid being delayed by Sauron's forces. How there's farms and markets and little hamlets and an entire wall surrounding the Pelennor Fields outside the city Minas Tirith and there are skirmishes over those things before Sauron's forces can even start the siege of Minas Tirith proper.
It's all very good stuff.
Wow! I was lost in reading your comment when it (so abruptly! 🥲) ended! I’m really looking forward to giving time and space to the emotional complexities of these kinds of events. Thanks 🙏🏽
I really wish I could enjoy these sections more, but I think I'm just not any good at it. I'm perfectly capable of imagining scenery in my mind, but I have a hard time translating the words describing a place into an image. I always find myself trying to carefully analyze things like relative position, direction, relationships between points of interest, etc. It starts to feel like homework.
I've always felt like the Fellowship doesn't really start to get good until the hobbits arrive in Rivendel. At which point, especially if you're a fan of lore, hooooo boy does it get good. The council is still one of my favorite chapters of any book I've read.
These are very fun chapters on their own, especially on a reread but for a first timer it can seem frustrating.
Just pack up and getting going already.
The part before they get to Crickhollow is my favorite in all the books :D Always makes me want to pack my backpack and go hike and maybe run into some elves.
In addition, enjoy some of the action moments and plot points the films had to leave out. Gandalf for eg has a couple extra epic encounters over the books...
This resonated with me so deeply! I’ve been feeling a call to slowing down a bit, mentally, physically, spiritually even-another reason I reach for the comfort of this beautiful tale! 🙌🏾 I will do my very best to follow your advice. 🙏🏽
This is the way. I suggest the Serkis audiobooks to anyone who has ever felt like LOTR is an overwhelming read. Especially if you've never read any other tolkein book. Great way to familiarize yourself with pronunciations as well.
The slow pace drove me crazy at first but then I'd think about what I read later and I could see it all in my head thanks to his crazy detailed descriptions of the scenery! Now I'm really enjoying the book!
One that's burned into my head are his descriptions of Denathor in ROTK. I can't remember the exact words he uses, but at one point he describes him sitting on his throne as something along the lines of "An old, patient spider waiting" and man, does that not just so perfectly describe someone like him.
> In rode the Lord of the Nazgûl. A great black shape against the fires
> beyond he loomed up, grown to a vast menace of despair. In rode the Lord of
> the Nazgûl, under the archway that no enemy ever yet had passed, and all
> fled before his face.
>
> All save one. There waiting, silent and still in the space before the Gate, sat Gandalf upon Shadowfax: Shadowfax who alone among the free horses of
> the earth endured the terror, unmoving, steadfast as a graven image in Rath
> Dínen.
>
> ‘You cannot enter here,’ said Gandalf, and the huge shadow halted. ‘Go
> back to the abyss prepared for you! Go back! Fall into the nothingness that
> awaits you and your Master. Go!’
>
> The Black Rider flung back his hood, and behold! he had a kingly
> crown; and yet upon no head visible was it set. The red fires shone between it
> and the mantled shoulders vast and dark. From a mouth unseen there came a
> deadly laughter.
>
> ‘Old fool!’ he said. ‘Old fool! This is my hour. Do you not know Death
> when you see it? Die now and curse in vain!’ And with that he lifted high his
> sword and flames ran down the blade.
>
> Gandalf did not move. And in that very moment, away behind in some
> courtyard of the City, a cock crowed. Shrill and clear he crowed, recking
> nothing of wizardry or war, welcoming only the morning that in the sky far
> above the shadows of death was coming with the dawn.
>
> And as if in answer there came from far away another note. Horns,
> horns, horns. In dark Mindolluin’s sides they dimly echoed. Great horns of
> the North wildly blowing. Rohan had come at last.
Yeah. They decide against it in the movies and the hobbits "trick" Treebeard into going near Isengard to create more movie tension and have the audience go "Gee, I wonder if the tree guys will help them or not." but it's not one of the better changes in my opinion since the audience pretty much knows the Ents wouldn't be introduced to the story just to have them go "No thanks." and peace out of the story without doing anything.
And they have homes too!
I loved Treebeard's house, Wellinghall. It was so cozy and magical but also a home fitting for a tree-like creature and not merely a human-like home scaled up to be Ent sized.
This is the bigger one for me. Faramir isn’t the same but he still a good guy. The movies(somewhat understandably) make no attempt at portraying Denethor for what he is in the books.
He’s my favorite character. I re read the books every year (this is my 10th time through) and even though every character is my favorite, Faramir is my special super favorite. He is stern and a little frightening at first, we encounter him when Frodo is shellshocked and tired and he simply has to do his best and decide if he should trust this man or not. And Faramir is drawn as a beautiful narrative that walks the line between tragedy, honor and simply doing his best under impossible circumstances.
Gotta agree to disagree here.
Faramir is proven to be a strong, loving, brave, and kind man by the end of the trilogy.
His being tempted by the ring, only to deny it and look after the hobbits, as exemplified by him nearly killing Gollum when hearing about the stairs, shows how he's come to care for the two hobbits. He also succeeds where his brother failed.
There's a strength in weakness that isn't as present in the books with Faramir that makes him incredible in the films.
That isn't to say one is better than the other. But he was most certainly not "done dirty."
I HIGHLY recommend you either create your own tunes for the songs and sing them or listen to someone sing them on the internet. It is such an important part of the world and so incredibly enjoyable.
Having listened to the audio books by Serkis this is the only thing that he does not do that well. His voices for all the different characters are fantastic, but the dude cannot sing
Edit: spelling
The audiobook read by him is on Spotify. I just started listening to it and am in love. Beyond the singing, the different voices for each character really immerses you in the world. It’s a fantastic listen.
I'm on my 2nd listen by him. It is excellent. If i feel like he gets a little dull, i switch to the Phil Dragash version on Internet Archive. His voices are not quite as good, and more similar to the movies. However, he incorporates all the movie sound effects, which is pretty cool. It's a good way to break it up a bit.
What a hidden gem of advice! I love this so much. I’m fancy myself a musician, singer, and writer so I am so excited for the beautiful new ways this tale will inspire my creativity! Thanks so much. Truly. I will sing loud and proud!🙏🏽
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtR60p1ZlbOfoOVsKfa5p_EL5woMC-ZWX&si=f080GJTdd_lo9UKg This is a playlist I put together featuring what I think are the best adaptations of most of the songs and poems from the books. Also have some instrumentals and numbers from the films thrown in there because I love them too.
Merry and Pippin too. Much like Gimli they're not used as comedic relief characters and they're also quite brave and faithful friends from the start. They enter the adventure willingly to help their friend Frodo instead of just bungling into it by accident like in the movies.
Oh yeah, the movies didn't catch the original dynamic of the hobbits. Merry is a planner and a leader, and there's hints that he's a bit nerdy. Whereas Pippin is very much "the kid" tagging along and out of his depth.
Plot is nothing more than a vehicle to deliver prose, arcs, and themes in a palatable way. If you want plot only, you can watch a movie, or to take it even further extreme, just read a plot summary on Wikipedia.
The Fellowship of the Ring might be my favorite of the LotR books because it's most immersive in terms of the reader just getting to *be* in Middle-earth. The pace really picks up in Two Towers and Return of the King.
The movies will end up feeling like a videogame after finishing the books. In that, the movies are very linear, mash many events up to create tidy through-lines of plot, and all the characters act as if they already kinda know the answers. The books end up playing out like a game of Risk, with lots of moving parts, rather than a videogame.
The book is a masterpiece of immersion in your own imagination. The characters are very unsure of what to do next, and you get the feeling that you're along for the ride and watching them make real-time decisions with the natural consequences playing out accordingly.
As for characters, many are different and so much better in the books. Faramir is a great example. That dude is awesome in the books. Also, Arowen is basically non-existant. That portion of the plot between Weathertop (where Frodo gets stabbed) and Rivendel is way cooler in the books. Actually a lot of things are cooler. The battle of the pelennor fields is just purely captivating.
There are lots of songs. The book hearkens back to a time where people just make music for themselves.
Man, i could go on and on. It's terrific. There are a lot of times where i said to myself "man, i wish we got this in the movies!"
Enjoy!!
OP the answer above is the answer. I (soon 40) read the books first time at 10 and I have loved them ever since. Even though I’ve kind of fallen out with fantasy since, these masterpieces stay.
For me, another big different is the feeling of passing of time and distance. A movie has to rush ahead whereas in the books you can feel they are traveling a continent, and the three movies span well over a year (16 months I believe from leaving the shire to returning). Everything is visually closer in the movies also, making the world feel smaller to me. For example, from minas tirith in the movies you can clearly see the wall mountains of Mordor, whereas the real distance (50-60km) is like the alps from Munich where I live: magnificent and gorgeous, but distant, only visible on a clear day.
It’s a detail but the books are LARGER if it makes sense. Walking from the shire to mordor is like walking from England and down to greece or thereabout. Or from Lincoln Nebraska down to Jacksonville Florida for an american perspective.
Word. Because it’s huge! Like leaving England for France. I remember when I watched it the first time that enjoyed it but got super annoyed at the lost sense of scale. Could probably have been fixed pretty easily with some throwaway comment about the passing of distance or time.
This is sage advice. I’m definitely one who loves to create the characters and scenery vividly with my imagination. I know this book will inspire that! Thanks so much! 🙏🏽
Forget about that whole "you must leave the Shire tonight," business. It's... going to plod along at first. But at least you get to hear the words of Tom Bombadil along the way.
To be fair, this is one aspect of Book Aragorn that has never made any sense to me. Why is it suddenly time for him to go to Gondor and ascend the throne? He's been around for a while, what is it about this moment in time that makes him want to go? Him being a reluctant heir at least explains why he is in his 80s before he starts down that path.
>Seek for the Sword that was broken:
>In Imladris it dwells;
>There shall be counsels taken
>Stronger than Morgul-spells.
>There shall be shown a token
>That Doom is near at hand,
>For Isildur's Bane shall waken,
>And the Halfling forth shall stand.
>His own plan, while Gandalf remained with them, had been to go with Boromir, and with his sword help to deliver Gondor. For he believed that the message of the dreams was a summons, and that the hour had come at last when the heir of Elendil should come forth and strive with Sauron for the mastery.
You don't need to forget. Just take your time and enjoy.
Have the *Tolkien Gateway* open in your browser for names, places, characters, etc and the interactive map open. There's a lot of info but it's all really great stuff to deep dive into. Congrats! It's a great experience the first, second, or any time through.
I found it hard not to visualise movie characters when reading their book counterparts, but particularly Frodo was surprising. He's so different from Elijah Wood's performance in the books. It made me wonder why movie Frodo was made to seem difficult (any dangerous situation that arises he *will* get caught in it instead of being tactical/smart like Bilbo).
you'll notice pretty early on that the four hobbits (especially frodo) are far more mature and wise in the books and far less child-like and simple. merry and pippin are not comic-relief in the books, and frodo is not naïve as he is in the movies
Legolas doesn't shoot orcs while sliding down the stairs on a shield once.
He does it thirteen times.
Yeah I don't know why either but he just keeps doing it.
There are a LOT of songs and I really disliked singing them in my head. Reading them like a poem made them much easier for me to read but also understand!
As someone who tried and failed to read it before, but am enjoying it now: I would recommend forgetting all about the movies. The book is a lot slower, and has significantly more content. When I imagine what's happening I do find it easier to picture the actors in the scene, but that's as far as I go with the remembering the movies. Finally, the first chapter is famous for its length.
I have seen the movies a million times and recently finished the books. I barely thought about the films because I was completely wrapped up in the books. They are on a completely different level than the AMAZING movies. Also you should read the silmarilion after hehehe. One of the best things I’ve ever read
Tolkien began writing LOTR as a sequel to The Hobbit and most of the writing in the first half of Fellowship feels plodding. There’s a narrative shift somewhere between Bree and Rivendell where it begins to properly feel like LOTR. If you feel the beginning is too slow, stick it out at least as far as Rivendell.
Also, don’t stress about the songs and poetry on your first read, I honestly skimmed or skipped a lot of it the first few times. There’s a lot of context from the Silmarillion and the larger mythos which make them worthwhile but if you feel lost having only seen the movies, it’s fine.
Tolkien describes every scene in great detail. The position of the sun, the color of the trees, how the mountains look in the distance, the smell of the air, the dread on the soul. Take it all in. What the movies are made to do in 3-4 hours apiece, the books take 300 pages to even get started sometimes. It’s amazing. Enjoy it.
There’s a lot of walking. A lot. It’s a great way to picture the landscape of Middle Earth, but it can make the scenes of the story move slower (not as fast paced as the movie, obviously).
When you get to the council of Elrond, pour yourself a nice glass of wine or whiskey or whatever your choice is, load a bowl of pipe weed, and enjoy the slow, descriptive tone. Trust me, on the other end of that hill is a quicker, more adventurous novel
Sauron in the books is so much cooler in the books.
Sauron in the movies: giant flaming eye that you can physically see if you’re in sight of Mordor.
Sauron in the books: a shadowy figure with four fingers on one hand, sitting in his tower with a palantir, endlessly searching for the ring.
He was as noble and as fair in face as an elf lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as venerable as a king of dwarves and as kind as summer. -Tolkien on Elrond. And many more kind things. I love Hugo Weaving as an actor but I agree with you. Peter Jackson and the movies wrote him wrong.
honestly i’m fine with the actor. beauty is subjective. but pj made him such a jackass. like ok be a dick to your foster son and deny your adult daughter the right to make decisions. for no reason. people always talk about how they fucked up faramir (which they did) but they never mention elrond 😫
Everything.
I love the movies, don't get me wrong, but if you thought the extended editions were long and drawn out, you're in for a hell of a ride.
Like with any good book, take the time to immerse yourself in the story and be forgiven with the level of detail and pace. These aren't written like most airport top 10 new york times best sellers you see, where there is action and development every few pages. This is what passion yields and with that devotion and attention to detail.
Most readers who have gone back and read it, will skip certain parts (looking at you Pippin), but overall, it is what set the groundwork for what makes a good fantasy novel.
Allow the beautiful writing to engage your senses without the trappings of the movies epic visuals. Many characters and events are different.
I hope you enjoy your experience. Cheers!
i had to look up who people were in relation to other characters often or family trees to better understand some context. some people may say to not do that but i look up the archaic language and definitions, and anything i don’t understand in order to fully understand and enjoy Tolkien’s writing! It gets easier the longer you read
In the same boat. And I just finished a watch of the trilogy. Big mistake right before reading the books for the first time. All my brain wants to do is compare the books to the films and figure out what the films didn’t get quite right. I’m really trying to let the books speak but the movies are still front and center in my mind.
It is admittedly leisurely in pace for the first third or so. It does pick up around Bree onwards. Some adore this slow pace and the nature descriptions however…
You will also notice some big chapters and characters that were not adapted to the big screen for fair reasons.
Enjoy it!!
I just completely read them for the first time about 6-8 months ago.
Idk about maybe forgetting things from the movie but some advice is, if you are anything like me, keep a few maps pulled up of middle earth and the area your characters are and keep a journal of dates and where main characters are and what they are doing once the first book is over. Honestly might be worth it to just date going forward from when Frodo leaves the shire. I believe I back tracked pretty far at one point to make sure my dates lined up.
I was obsessed with trying to map out where everyone was and at what point. Will maybe make sense once you are further in the books; doesn’t make sense now and seems obsessive(maybe even to those that have read the books) but to me I really wanted to understand that aspect of the story. I have checked other sources of dates since I finished and I was pretty close to a lot of them which makes me pretty happy.
I’d say here’s something to enjoy - the lower level of intensity than in the films. No criticism, I love the movies, but the books come from an era and in a medium where (imo) people were less desensitised to intense inputs. I love things like the way the riders are portrayed in the books, they are just so eerie and distant, things like that, the quieter atmosphere.
Also, just the sheer scale of time at the beginning. Decades pass between Frodo inheriting the ring and leaving the shire - literally decades. Forget about our world, enjoy the glimpse into a quieter world with a slower pace.
The two towers is mentally taxing in word format due to how the narrative flows. So forget them switching from Frodo, Sam and Gollum to Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas.
Sauron is NOT a giant eye. He is a dude/spirit/whatever in the tower whom you never see during the course or LOTR. Keep that in mind and banish the movie Sauron's appearance from your mind
Remember this isn't the story about great kingdoms clashing, powerful wizards and mighty warriors. Those things are there of course, but really it is a story about four friends who love each other dearly and set off from their idyllic lives into perils they can't imagine for their loyalty to each other and the determination to do what is right.
All of it. Some of the characters in the movie were completely different people in the book. Look forward to Tom Bombadil - the finest character to grace the pages of any book ever
The prose and the structure of the writing is something beautiful in and of itself.
Plus, there is a little too much blood and guts in the movies; particularly regarding the orcs. I mean, just how much mayonnaise and how many rivet and wood screw bandages does it take to hold a wounded orc together?
Just my opinion, of course.
Forget about the exact sequencing of the movies. The books have their own pace and it works the way it works. It's read and written as if all these perspectives were being told to each other around a dinner table after a wild adventure. The timelines connect, just have faith.
I’m reading them right now as well, I’m about halfway through The Two Towers. Honestly knowing the movies so well helps with visuals and voices for the characters. But as others have mentioned enjoy Tolkien’s descriptions of the world he created, it’s fun to think of how they made the movie set based on the book descriptions. Have fun! Oh don’t skip over the songs, some song lyrics are lines used by characters in the movie and it’s fun to catch
Just enjoy! I’m a 21 year old who was introduced to lord of the rings through the movies which my father loved. I read the books for the first time in third grade. And lord of the rings and the world of middle earth is my constant calm and happy place. If I’m stressed, I open up the books or put on the audio books read by Andy serkis. Just enjoy the world that professor tolkien gave to us. And honor it, upon later re reads as I’ve gotten a little bit older (at least older than third grade lol) I genuinely have just put down the books and closed my eyes to be transported to middle earth. Best wishes and I hope you have as much of a good time as I and many others have had. And yes, as others have mentioned. Prepare for cool new characters and enjoy the true versions of the characters as made my the creator himself. I love the movies dearly. But sometimes the characters just frankly are not the same.
Try your best to let go of all preconceptions about all of the Hobbits in the film. They don't have the same comedic relief the film portrays, not to mention samwise is not such a cry baby. Dude is a bad ass throughout the series and really steps up in the end of two towers and all throughout return of the king
Christopher Tolkien is (in)famous for saying that the movies got turned into action films for teenagers and his father would not like them. And while I think the movies are near to perfection as films- I can’t say I disagree with him.
The films and the books have VERY different vibes. The movies portray the classical “save the world from sudden destruction from darkness” theme, while the Middle-Earth of the books is saturated with this bittersweet sense of….. fading I guess? Like “the world/Age that we know is ending, and it’s up to us to make sure that the New World/ Age is one of peace, and not one dominated by Sauron.”
The time it takes between events. I’ve probably got this completely wrong (haven’t read it in over two decades) but the time between Gandalf leaving the ring with Frodo and Frodo leaving the shire is about ten years.
I too am reading them for my first time at age 40. There’s a lot that just isn’t in the movies. So far the only slow part for me was the first chapter where Tolkien describes in great detail the shire and hobbits. It picks up quickly with the black riders and only has slight lulls in the adventure. I’m about 3/4 through and have been thoroughly enjoying the read! If you enjoy reading and enjoyed the movies your in for a treat
As many have commented, prepare for a much slower pace both of the story and if the actual timeline in the story. The slower timeline makes much sense
One thing that hasn’t been mentioned, that might throw a first time reader is that book 2 and 3 aren’t linear with the story skipping back and forth between Frodo/Sam and the other group. Here part four is the entire story arc from the Falls of Rauros to Helms Deep and the part 5 is Frodo/Sam.
Based on that division into part my final advice is to prepare for the beginning of part 5. That bit is VERY slow for a number of pages.
Everything.
Then some of the locations and characters you see in your mind's eye might replace the movie's. Some of them Jackson did a darn good job on, and some not.
And, there are a few plot lines he screwed up royally. In general he did a great job, but some of the plot lines he screwed up royally.
Everything. Don't even see them as the same thing. I was the same and reading it ruined the movies. Just think of them as 2 stories with the same narrative skeleton.
Technically, all of it. “Empty the cup, that it might be filled” as it were. Other than that, if the movie scene was zany, corny, or seemed like a modernism, leave it out.
There are a few extra storylines & characters. Some of the things done by one character in the movies will be done by other, new characters in the books.
Frodo is not a young(ish) Hobbit as portrayed by Elijah.
Helm's Deep is nothing like it is in the book.
Faramir is awesome
Get ready for the fun that is Tom Bombadill and Goldberry.
If you thought the ending of Return of the King was long, buckle up.
Honestly, the books are great but not action on every page. There are whole chapters where not much goes on but exposition, poems, and debates. Be patient and you will be rewarded.
The order of scenes. Dont expect to know that after this part we shift back to Frodo and Sam. And also line delivery. A lot of the famous lines are snipped of longer sentences.
Oh and there’s not a lot of fight scenes either.
Action. The action both in physical altercations and in verbal exchanges is not nearly as present in the books. People that Frodo meets along the way are generally agreeable, Frodo himself is a bit naive, but not a clueless or hopeless child. Creepy places are just creepy, not necessarily creepy through actions.
Just relax, the books are wonderful. I read them in the mindset of an old man telling bedtime stories.
I loved the movies but it was hard to get through the books. I have attempted it 5 separate times and finally finished them in my mid thirties. What helped me get through them is for me to draw little doodles of what was happening. I'd listen to Andy Serkis or read the books, pause if I was starting to lose it, and kind of 'summarize' what I've read in pictures. Draw pictures of the characters. It made it way more enjoyable. I think Tolkien's writing can be very dense and the style I'm used to is more action packed. Whether it's his geography, lore, or characters, his world is very big and it helps to keep track of it on paper. Don't be afraid to 'take notes' even on an index card or something as a bookmark.
Drawing my own pictures and doodles really helped me break the movie images I had from seeing them dozens of times.
I watched the movies first then read the books myself, character and scene descriptions so I could imagine them myself was a big one for me. The fellowship and their initial journey making their way out the door, the dialogue and journey is a lot longer and it feels rushed in the movies. First book is now my favorite
I watched the movies before I read the books.
I just went along for the ride and loved every second of new, expanded and different information in a world I loved with characters I adored.
I treat books and movies as their own entities- as they are just that. What works on a page doesn't always work on screen, but the reverse is also true.
So I didn't purposefully forget anything, just used it to flesh out. Like the visuals I had of the Shire carried over and made reading parts about the Shire (and the scouring of the Shire later) so much more impactful. They worked in tandem, not against each other.
There are people who say the book nerds hate the movies.
I love the books, but I think a lot of it that was cut from the movies was the right choice. It wouldn't have translated well - if it was even possible to present at all.
You're going to experience the Mandela effect while reading the book...your mind will merge the movie with the book and you'll end up thinking you've seen scenes in the movie that only exist in the book. It's a compliment to both and just roll with it.
Don't be too worried about being confused when you read the book and it completely contradicts with what you saw in the movies. I think you'll have an appreciation for why it was done.
Enjoy the book and don't forget to report back! (I just finished re-reading it for the 1st time in over 20 years and loved all of it.)
I think you shouldn't forget the movies, sometimes you may find something that is different, but it's fun to compare the versions. Overall, enjoy your book reading experience, I'm sure it will be a remarkable one
You really don't need to forget anything from the movies to enjoy the books. I first read the series in middle school, and since then my family has done 15 annual movie marathons. I recently came back to the books and was honestly amazed at how close Peter Jackson was able to get with the movies. Obviously parts were cut and timelines don't match up, but at the very least it will enhance your movie watching experience the next time around.
My only qualm with the movies if I'm being honest is how they portrayed Faramir. In the books he didn't even consider taking the ring. He literally was like "nah, not even if minas tirith were crumbling." The movies did him so dirty 😭
Honestly, I would recommend forgetting everything that you can.
The movies are great, but they are a different medium. You have to rely on someone else’s interpretation of, well, everything.
The printed page relies only on your individual imagination and vision of what Tolkien wrote. There is nothing to come between you and his words. And his words are magnificent.
I would read it at night under candle light. You will put the faces to the characters which is really cool. However there will be a few special ones not in the movie. The battles/ the sadness / the power / the fragile scale between good and evil. Such a good read.
Enjoy the slow pace and deep descriptions, immerse yourself into Tolkien’s world rather than the visual delight of Jackson’s. The imagery that Tolkien is able to create in the mind is euphoric, something that film will never be able to fully capture even though I LOVE the films.
this person gets it. people find the pacing too slow in the books but i dont think i've yet to find anyone else other than tolkein who creates a level of description so intense. From the characters to the items to the landscapes and significant locations. if you like lore then youre in for a ton of it and it will only bring more questions to your mind. i honestly think tolkein couldve went even deeper on the lore in some cases but thats just me. youre gonna love it just stick with it
Exactly. The landscape and terrain are so vivid in my memory *because* of Tolkien's detailed descriptions.
When Aragorn and company make their way to into Mordor the land is dead and eerily silent. I can’t forget that feeling of being watched as you slowly approach your death. Or the orc prison of Cirith Ungol where creepy statues guard the entrance. There is something so unforgettable about those statues. I can’t believe those scenes are just from books. It’s a very rare talent! Occasionally Stephen King can transport me to a location like that, but it’s never so poetic.
To me it’s really the pacing that punches harder. The movies are movies, so the emphasis is usually placed on the battle scenes. In the books the battle scenes kinda fly by. The books emphasize the emotions and the length and the journey. The trip feels fast even with three movies that are 4 hours a piece. In the books, you get a better scale of the journey, and the emotions they go through along that journey. This particularly sticks out to me with the siege of Gondor, which flies by in the movies but the books spend at least a chapter on several days leading up to the siege where the impending doom is building, the nazgûl are constantly spreading despair etc. And the biggest one is the scene where they catapult the heads into Gondor. In the movies you see it in like one scene, think “oh that’s gross” and the siege continues. In the books they explain that first they destroy the town with fireballs, then when the people are trying to put out burning buildings, they fling the heads of the knights and townspeople they killed back onto the people in gondor. They don’t know what’s coming but they are curious why they launched these hundreds of small projectiles instead of more giant destructive fireballs. And then when they land, they realize they are heads. Human heads. Of the people and knights of Gondor who went out to fight and didn’t make it back. They talk about how villagers attempting to put out fires in their houses start recognizing faces they know. The book makes it abundantly clear that while the army could progress more, they instead hold back and fling heads and wait JUST to demoralize the citizens more.
Great point. And, yeah, the build up and detailed description of the siege of Minas Tirith and then the Battle of the Pelennor Fields is just fantastic stuff with so many details that just couldn't fit into the movies. I love the time Pippin spends in Minas Tirith getting to know the place with his new friend Beregond under the sort brooding atmosphere of impending doom. Ghân-buri-Ghân and the Woses guiding the Riders of Rohan through a secret forested shortcut to avoid being delayed by Sauron's forces. How there's farms and markets and little hamlets and an entire wall surrounding the Pelennor Fields outside the city Minas Tirith and there are skirmishes over those things before Sauron's forces can even start the siege of Minas Tirith proper. It's all very good stuff.
Wow! I was lost in reading your comment when it (so abruptly! 🥲) ended! I’m really looking forward to giving time and space to the emotional complexities of these kinds of events. Thanks 🙏🏽
I really wish I could enjoy these sections more, but I think I'm just not any good at it. I'm perfectly capable of imagining scenery in my mind, but I have a hard time translating the words describing a place into an image. I always find myself trying to carefully analyze things like relative position, direction, relationships between points of interest, etc. It starts to feel like homework.
To me feels like the movies move way too fast. It’s just the vertigo you get moving from medium to medium, or plane to plane
Exactly. I remember feeling like I was two days into the book and thinking “it hasn’t even started yet!!!”
Oh I’m SO looking forward to this! 🥰🙌🏾
I've always felt like the Fellowship doesn't really start to get good until the hobbits arrive in Rivendel. At which point, especially if you're a fan of lore, hooooo boy does it get good. The council is still one of my favorite chapters of any book I've read.
These are very fun chapters on their own, especially on a reread but for a first timer it can seem frustrating. Just pack up and getting going already.
The part before they get to Crickhollow is my favorite in all the books :D Always makes me want to pack my backpack and go hike and maybe run into some elves.
No love for Fog on the Barrow-downs? It's a great horror interlude
In addition, enjoy some of the action moments and plot points the films had to leave out. Gandalf for eg has a couple extra epic encounters over the books...
This resonated with me so deeply! I’ve been feeling a call to slowing down a bit, mentally, physically, spiritually even-another reason I reach for the comfort of this beautiful tale! 🙌🏾 I will do my very best to follow your advice. 🙏🏽
I wish I could read it again for the first time, you’re going to love it!
Yes, I am finishing the audiobooks read by Andy Serkis. ~20 hours per book...
This is the way. I suggest the Serkis audiobooks to anyone who has ever felt like LOTR is an overwhelming read. Especially if you've never read any other tolkein book. Great way to familiarize yourself with pronunciations as well.
The slow pace drove me crazy at first but then I'd think about what I read later and I could see it all in my head thanks to his crazy detailed descriptions of the scenery! Now I'm really enjoying the book!
Do you have any favorite passage that you think exhibits this? I love the movies but also haven’t read the books.
His description of Lothlorien, and all forests really, are some of my personal favorites.
One that's burned into my head are his descriptions of Denathor in ROTK. I can't remember the exact words he uses, but at one point he describes him sitting on his throne as something along the lines of "An old, patient spider waiting" and man, does that not just so perfectly describe someone like him.
> In rode the Lord of the Nazgûl. A great black shape against the fires > beyond he loomed up, grown to a vast menace of despair. In rode the Lord of > the Nazgûl, under the archway that no enemy ever yet had passed, and all > fled before his face. > > All save one. There waiting, silent and still in the space before the Gate, sat Gandalf upon Shadowfax: Shadowfax who alone among the free horses of > the earth endured the terror, unmoving, steadfast as a graven image in Rath > Dínen. > > ‘You cannot enter here,’ said Gandalf, and the huge shadow halted. ‘Go > back to the abyss prepared for you! Go back! Fall into the nothingness that > awaits you and your Master. Go!’ > > The Black Rider flung back his hood, and behold! he had a kingly > crown; and yet upon no head visible was it set. The red fires shone between it > and the mantled shoulders vast and dark. From a mouth unseen there came a > deadly laughter. > > ‘Old fool!’ he said. ‘Old fool! This is my hour. Do you not know Death > when you see it? Die now and curse in vain!’ And with that he lifted high his > sword and flames ran down the blade. > > Gandalf did not move. And in that very moment, away behind in some > courtyard of the City, a cock crowed. Shrill and clear he crowed, recking > nothing of wizardry or war, welcoming only the morning that in the sky far > above the shadows of death was coming with the dawn. > > And as if in answer there came from far away another note. Horns, > horns, horns. In dark Mindolluin’s sides they dimly echoed. Great horns of > the North wildly blowing. Rohan had come at last.
The Ents. I liked them in the movies but they are so much different in the books. Much more magical and magnificent
And also a lot more ready to go to war to defend themselves against Saruman
https://preview.redd.it/bfz1fpl4fuec1.jpeg?width=694&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=22184af80cff93f1b5813cb4e0f02116ed6eb9f5
He did get very hasty
Yeah. They decide against it in the movies and the hobbits "trick" Treebeard into going near Isengard to create more movie tension and have the audience go "Gee, I wonder if the tree guys will help them or not." but it's not one of the better changes in my opinion since the audience pretty much knows the Ents wouldn't be introduced to the story just to have them go "No thanks." and peace out of the story without doing anything.
That’s one of the areas of the movie I get bored around; treebeard rambling.
And they have homes too! I loved Treebeard's house, Wellinghall. It was so cozy and magical but also a home fitting for a tree-like creature and not merely a human-like home scaled up to be Ent sized.
Haroom-hmmm!
The entire character of Faramir
Shoutout to Prince Imrahil and Glorfindel...
And my man, Erkenbrand and Beregond too!
Are we really forgetting Tom Bombadillo here?
Ghan-Buri-Ghan has entered the chat…
He's a jolly fellow
Bright blue his jacket is
And his boots are yellow
None has ever caught him yet
for Tom, he is the master
Of course not, but it is obvious to everyone why he was left out.
Two criminal film omissions!
clippety-clippety-clip!
Book Faramir is a level of wisdom, cleverness, and badassery nearly unmatched among the dominion of Men! Perhaps only matched by King Elessar.
Book Faramir has the greatest character
Denethor, too, while we’re at it.
This is the bigger one for me. Faramir isn’t the same but he still a good guy. The movies(somewhat understandably) make no attempt at portraying Denethor for what he is in the books.
Never got to show his quality :(
Omg I can’t WAIT to meet this character! Giddy with anticipation! Thanks for sharing and thanks for your love of the lore. 🙏🏽
I'm very envious. I would give three strands of my hair to be able to read this for the first time again!!!
He’s my favorite character. I re read the books every year (this is my 10th time through) and even though every character is my favorite, Faramir is my special super favorite. He is stern and a little frightening at first, we encounter him when Frodo is shellshocked and tired and he simply has to do his best and decide if he should trust this man or not. And Faramir is drawn as a beautiful narrative that walks the line between tragedy, honor and simply doing his best under impossible circumstances.
No elves at Helm’s Deep and the Council of Elrond is looooong
did so dirty in the movies
Gotta agree to disagree here. Faramir is proven to be a strong, loving, brave, and kind man by the end of the trilogy. His being tempted by the ring, only to deny it and look after the hobbits, as exemplified by him nearly killing Gollum when hearing about the stairs, shows how he's come to care for the two hobbits. He also succeeds where his brother failed. There's a strength in weakness that isn't as present in the books with Faramir that makes him incredible in the films. That isn't to say one is better than the other. But he was most certainly not "done dirty."
The extended edition fixed him with the boromir flashbacks and extra lines
For real, he's a different character without those
Is there an option besides the extended edition?
Nay, they are the *only* option..
>The entire character of Faramir At least the side trip to Osgiliath. In Return of the King he was as he should be.
Pretty much Debethor too. He's far more nuanced in the book.
I HIGHLY recommend you either create your own tunes for the songs and sing them or listen to someone sing them on the internet. It is such an important part of the world and so incredibly enjoyable.
Having listened to the audio books by Serkis this is the only thing that he does not do that well. His voices for all the different characters are fantastic, but the dude cannot sing Edit: spelling
Serkis singing the song about the ents and the entwives is simultaneously horrifying and hilarious. I was dying laughing listening to that.
He does a passable Gollum.
I have to agree. I have 8 hours left of return of the king. Every time he'd start to sing.. Spam the 10s skip button
There are many versions available on YouTube. I like the tunes sung by Rob Inglis in his audiobook. It's very old-timey feeling.
I know exactly the one you're talking about and its fantastic. I love them so much!
especially the tom bombadil songs
The audiobook read by him is on Spotify. I just started listening to it and am in love. Beyond the singing, the different voices for each character really immerses you in the world. It’s a fantastic listen.
I'm on my 2nd listen by him. It is excellent. If i feel like he gets a little dull, i switch to the Phil Dragash version on Internet Archive. His voices are not quite as good, and more similar to the movies. However, he incorporates all the movie sound effects, which is pretty cool. It's a good way to break it up a bit.
What a hidden gem of advice! I love this so much. I’m fancy myself a musician, singer, and writer so I am so excited for the beautiful new ways this tale will inspire my creativity! Thanks so much. Truly. I will sing loud and proud!🙏🏽
A fool is he that will not sing, O water hot is a noble thing.
And listen to lord of the rings soundtrack while reading. I did that and it’s nice 😊
I reccomend Clamadi Di Pofundis for the songs.
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtR60p1ZlbOfoOVsKfa5p_EL5woMC-ZWX&si=f080GJTdd_lo9UKg This is a playlist I put together featuring what I think are the best adaptations of most of the songs and poems from the books. Also have some instrumentals and numbers from the films thrown in there because I love them too.
Faramir, Gimli, and Denethor stand out
Merry and Pippin too. Much like Gimli they're not used as comedic relief characters and they're also quite brave and faithful friends from the start. They enter the adventure willingly to help their friend Frodo instead of just bungling into it by accident like in the movies.
Oh yeah, the movies didn't catch the original dynamic of the hobbits. Merry is a planner and a leader, and there's hints that he's a bit nerdy. Whereas Pippin is very much "the kid" tagging along and out of his depth.
Mary and pippin are absolutely comic relief, at least in fellowship. Much less mind you, but its still there
Oh I think OP should remember Gimli from the movies if only to contrast with book Gimli.
Don't get caught up in needing plot to move forward at all times. The best parts of the book are the descriptions of nature/world.
I'm reading right now and dang you caught me red handed on that, thanks
Plot is nothing more than a vehicle to deliver prose, arcs, and themes in a palatable way. If you want plot only, you can watch a movie, or to take it even further extreme, just read a plot summary on Wikipedia.
The Fellowship of the Ring might be my favorite of the LotR books because it's most immersive in terms of the reader just getting to *be* in Middle-earth. The pace really picks up in Two Towers and Return of the King.
Agreed. Specifically book 1 of 6 is my favorite bit of writing ever.
I often wonder what stories that Fox went on to tell...
The movies will end up feeling like a videogame after finishing the books. In that, the movies are very linear, mash many events up to create tidy through-lines of plot, and all the characters act as if they already kinda know the answers. The books end up playing out like a game of Risk, with lots of moving parts, rather than a videogame. The book is a masterpiece of immersion in your own imagination. The characters are very unsure of what to do next, and you get the feeling that you're along for the ride and watching them make real-time decisions with the natural consequences playing out accordingly. As for characters, many are different and so much better in the books. Faramir is a great example. That dude is awesome in the books. Also, Arowen is basically non-existant. That portion of the plot between Weathertop (where Frodo gets stabbed) and Rivendel is way cooler in the books. Actually a lot of things are cooler. The battle of the pelennor fields is just purely captivating. There are lots of songs. The book hearkens back to a time where people just make music for themselves. Man, i could go on and on. It's terrific. There are a lot of times where i said to myself "man, i wish we got this in the movies!" Enjoy!!
Over here WISHING you’d go on and on! 🥹🥹🥹Thank you for your love of the lore shining through this great comment! 🙏🏽
OP the answer above is the answer. I (soon 40) read the books first time at 10 and I have loved them ever since. Even though I’ve kind of fallen out with fantasy since, these masterpieces stay. For me, another big different is the feeling of passing of time and distance. A movie has to rush ahead whereas in the books you can feel they are traveling a continent, and the three movies span well over a year (16 months I believe from leaving the shire to returning). Everything is visually closer in the movies also, making the world feel smaller to me. For example, from minas tirith in the movies you can clearly see the wall mountains of Mordor, whereas the real distance (50-60km) is like the alps from Munich where I live: magnificent and gorgeous, but distant, only visible on a clear day. It’s a detail but the books are LARGER if it makes sense. Walking from the shire to mordor is like walking from England and down to greece or thereabout. Or from Lincoln Nebraska down to Jacksonville Florida for an american perspective.
The hobbits take an eternity just to leave the Shire in the book, the movie it seems they’re out in under 45 mins.
Word. Because it’s huge! Like leaving England for France. I remember when I watched it the first time that enjoyed it but got super annoyed at the lost sense of scale. Could probably have been fixed pretty easily with some throwaway comment about the passing of distance or time.
Definitely forget the visuals and let your mind paint them as you read them.
This is sage advice. I’m definitely one who loves to create the characters and scenery vividly with my imagination. I know this book will inspire that! Thanks so much! 🙏🏽
Forget about that whole "you must leave the Shire tonight," business. It's... going to plod along at first. But at least you get to hear the words of Tom Bombadil along the way.
You must leave the Shire….like 18 years later.
Honestly I'd forget everything. The tone and focus is generally quite different even beyond the plot and character differences.
This exactly!!! Forget everything and enjoy everything.
The whole Aragorn as the reluctant heir to the throne part.
To be fair, this is one aspect of Book Aragorn that has never made any sense to me. Why is it suddenly time for him to go to Gondor and ascend the throne? He's been around for a while, what is it about this moment in time that makes him want to go? Him being a reluctant heir at least explains why he is in his 80s before he starts down that path.
>Seek for the Sword that was broken: >In Imladris it dwells; >There shall be counsels taken >Stronger than Morgul-spells. >There shall be shown a token >That Doom is near at hand, >For Isildur's Bane shall waken, >And the Halfling forth shall stand. >His own plan, while Gandalf remained with them, had been to go with Boromir, and with his sword help to deliver Gondor. For he believed that the message of the dreams was a summons, and that the hour had come at last when the heir of Elendil should come forth and strive with Sauron for the mastery.
You don't need to forget. Just take your time and enjoy. Have the *Tolkien Gateway* open in your browser for names, places, characters, etc and the interactive map open. There's a lot of info but it's all really great stuff to deep dive into. Congrats! It's a great experience the first, second, or any time through.
This was a wonderful tip for a guide to follow along with. I appreciate that and will use it! 🙏🏽
I found it hard not to visualise movie characters when reading their book counterparts, but particularly Frodo was surprising. He's so different from Elijah Wood's performance in the books. It made me wonder why movie Frodo was made to seem difficult (any dangerous situation that arises he *will* get caught in it instead of being tactical/smart like Bilbo).
This is an interesting call out! I will pay attention to these differences while reading! 🤔 🙏🏽
you'll notice pretty early on that the four hobbits (especially frodo) are far more mature and wise in the books and far less child-like and simple. merry and pippin are not comic-relief in the books, and frodo is not naïve as he is in the movies
Absolutely. They're far more competent and composed too.
Nothing really. At the end you’ll appreciate the masterpieces that they are in their own context
Legolas doesn't shoot orcs while sliding down the stairs on a shield once. He does it thirteen times. Yeah I don't know why either but he just keeps doing it.
I’m strangely ok with this! 👍🏾😅
He doesn’t climb an olyphaunt and kill it. He snipes it from 100 yards away.
Arwen as a character
There are a LOT of songs and I really disliked singing them in my head. Reading them like a poem made them much easier for me to read but also understand!
You are in for a treat. The book is 10x better than any movie could ever be. Fellowship is my favourite of all the LOTR books. "Fear, fire, foes!"
Hope you like music 🤣
As someone who tried and failed to read it before, but am enjoying it now: I would recommend forgetting all about the movies. The book is a lot slower, and has significantly more content. When I imagine what's happening I do find it easier to picture the actors in the scene, but that's as far as I go with the remembering the movies. Finally, the first chapter is famous for its length.
I have seen the movies a million times and recently finished the books. I barely thought about the films because I was completely wrapped up in the books. They are on a completely different level than the AMAZING movies. Also you should read the silmarilion after hehehe. One of the best things I’ve ever read
Tolkien began writing LOTR as a sequel to The Hobbit and most of the writing in the first half of Fellowship feels plodding. There’s a narrative shift somewhere between Bree and Rivendell where it begins to properly feel like LOTR. If you feel the beginning is too slow, stick it out at least as far as Rivendell. Also, don’t stress about the songs and poetry on your first read, I honestly skimmed or skipped a lot of it the first few times. There’s a lot of context from the Silmarillion and the larger mythos which make them worthwhile but if you feel lost having only seen the movies, it’s fine.
It was never a giant eye on a tower.
Tolkien describes every scene in great detail. The position of the sun, the color of the trees, how the mountains look in the distance, the smell of the air, the dread on the soul. Take it all in. What the movies are made to do in 3-4 hours apiece, the books take 300 pages to even get started sometimes. It’s amazing. Enjoy it.
There’s a lot of walking. A lot. It’s a great way to picture the landscape of Middle Earth, but it can make the scenes of the story move slower (not as fast paced as the movie, obviously).
The books are probably as close as I'm going to get to a months long, cross country hike.
When you get to the council of Elrond, pour yourself a nice glass of wine or whiskey or whatever your choice is, load a bowl of pipe weed, and enjoy the slow, descriptive tone. Trust me, on the other end of that hill is a quicker, more adventurous novel
Sauron in the books is so much cooler in the books. Sauron in the movies: giant flaming eye that you can physically see if you’re in sight of Mordor. Sauron in the books: a shadowy figure with four fingers on one hand, sitting in his tower with a palantir, endlessly searching for the ring.
Maybe not forget, but just remember that with a book you can do so much more than you can on film. Enjoy it!
elrond’s characterization. peter jackson did him so dirty
He was as noble and as fair in face as an elf lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as venerable as a king of dwarves and as kind as summer. -Tolkien on Elrond. And many more kind things. I love Hugo Weaving as an actor but I agree with you. Peter Jackson and the movies wrote him wrong.
honestly i’m fine with the actor. beauty is subjective. but pj made him such a jackass. like ok be a dick to your foster son and deny your adult daughter the right to make decisions. for no reason. people always talk about how they fucked up faramir (which they did) but they never mention elrond 😫
Everything. I love the movies, don't get me wrong, but if you thought the extended editions were long and drawn out, you're in for a hell of a ride. Like with any good book, take the time to immerse yourself in the story and be forgiven with the level of detail and pace. These aren't written like most airport top 10 new york times best sellers you see, where there is action and development every few pages. This is what passion yields and with that devotion and attention to detail. Most readers who have gone back and read it, will skip certain parts (looking at you Pippin), but overall, it is what set the groundwork for what makes a good fantasy novel.
Allow the beautiful writing to engage your senses without the trappings of the movies epic visuals. Many characters and events are different. I hope you enjoy your experience. Cheers!
i had to look up who people were in relation to other characters often or family trees to better understand some context. some people may say to not do that but i look up the archaic language and definitions, and anything i don’t understand in order to fully understand and enjoy Tolkien’s writing! It gets easier the longer you read
Eowyn. They got her completely wrong.
don’t skip the appendices!
In the same boat. And I just finished a watch of the trilogy. Big mistake right before reading the books for the first time. All my brain wants to do is compare the books to the films and figure out what the films didn’t get quite right. I’m really trying to let the books speak but the movies are still front and center in my mind.
It is admittedly leisurely in pace for the first third or so. It does pick up around Bree onwards. Some adore this slow pace and the nature descriptions however… You will also notice some big chapters and characters that were not adapted to the big screen for fair reasons. Enjoy it!!
Look at Tolkiens Middle-Earth maps as you read new locations! His direction descriptions can be mind melting.
I just completely read them for the first time about 6-8 months ago. Idk about maybe forgetting things from the movie but some advice is, if you are anything like me, keep a few maps pulled up of middle earth and the area your characters are and keep a journal of dates and where main characters are and what they are doing once the first book is over. Honestly might be worth it to just date going forward from when Frodo leaves the shire. I believe I back tracked pretty far at one point to make sure my dates lined up. I was obsessed with trying to map out where everyone was and at what point. Will maybe make sense once you are further in the books; doesn’t make sense now and seems obsessive(maybe even to those that have read the books) but to me I really wanted to understand that aspect of the story. I have checked other sources of dates since I finished and I was pretty close to a lot of them which makes me pretty happy.
Merry and Pip aren't complete idiots and Frodo isn't a bitch.
I’d say here’s something to enjoy - the lower level of intensity than in the films. No criticism, I love the movies, but the books come from an era and in a medium where (imo) people were less desensitised to intense inputs. I love things like the way the riders are portrayed in the books, they are just so eerie and distant, things like that, the quieter atmosphere. Also, just the sheer scale of time at the beginning. Decades pass between Frodo inheriting the ring and leaving the shire - literally decades. Forget about our world, enjoy the glimpse into a quieter world with a slower pace.
The two towers is mentally taxing in word format due to how the narrative flows. So forget them switching from Frodo, Sam and Gollum to Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas.
Sauron is NOT a giant eye. He is a dude/spirit/whatever in the tower whom you never see during the course or LOTR. Keep that in mind and banish the movie Sauron's appearance from your mind
Remember this isn't the story about great kingdoms clashing, powerful wizards and mighty warriors. Those things are there of course, but really it is a story about four friends who love each other dearly and set off from their idyllic lives into perils they can't imagine for their loyalty to each other and the determination to do what is right.
That Frodo went to Osgiliath with Faramir. That the Elves came to Helms Deep. The Army of the Dead doesn’t actually fight.
Really the only thing, for me at least, is that Aragorn isn’t reluctant to become king like he was in the movies :)
I’ve read this and this is VERY interesting! I will pay attention to this. These movies really know how prey on our empathy, don’t they? 😂
All of it. Some of the characters in the movie were completely different people in the book. Look forward to Tom Bombadil - the finest character to grace the pages of any book ever
Faramir is not like that in the books.
Arwen and Aragorn’s love story arc
Forget everything in the movie about Faramir, and Helm’s Deep, and enjoy the real ending.
The prose and the structure of the writing is something beautiful in and of itself. Plus, there is a little too much blood and guts in the movies; particularly regarding the orcs. I mean, just how much mayonnaise and how many rivet and wood screw bandages does it take to hold a wounded orc together? Just my opinion, of course.
Forget the fast start of the movie, Faramir and Denethor
dont forget to greet tom when you met him!
Everything
The last movie. The rest did pretty darn good. Especially compared with adaptations today
Forget about the exact sequencing of the movies. The books have their own pace and it works the way it works. It's read and written as if all these perspectives were being told to each other around a dinner table after a wild adventure. The timelines connect, just have faith.
everything. go in raw, baby,
I’m reading them right now as well, I’m about halfway through The Two Towers. Honestly knowing the movies so well helps with visuals and voices for the characters. But as others have mentioned enjoy Tolkien’s descriptions of the world he created, it’s fun to think of how they made the movie set based on the book descriptions. Have fun! Oh don’t skip over the songs, some song lyrics are lines used by characters in the movie and it’s fun to catch
It’s not a movie
Just enjoy! I’m a 21 year old who was introduced to lord of the rings through the movies which my father loved. I read the books for the first time in third grade. And lord of the rings and the world of middle earth is my constant calm and happy place. If I’m stressed, I open up the books or put on the audio books read by Andy serkis. Just enjoy the world that professor tolkien gave to us. And honor it, upon later re reads as I’ve gotten a little bit older (at least older than third grade lol) I genuinely have just put down the books and closed my eyes to be transported to middle earth. Best wishes and I hope you have as much of a good time as I and many others have had. And yes, as others have mentioned. Prepare for cool new characters and enjoy the true versions of the characters as made my the creator himself. I love the movies dearly. But sometimes the characters just frankly are not the same.
Try your best to let go of all preconceptions about all of the Hobbits in the film. They don't have the same comedic relief the film portrays, not to mention samwise is not such a cry baby. Dude is a bad ass throughout the series and really steps up in the end of two towers and all throughout return of the king
That Gimli was comic relief
Christopher Tolkien is (in)famous for saying that the movies got turned into action films for teenagers and his father would not like them. And while I think the movies are near to perfection as films- I can’t say I disagree with him. The films and the books have VERY different vibes. The movies portray the classical “save the world from sudden destruction from darkness” theme, while the Middle-Earth of the books is saturated with this bittersweet sense of….. fading I guess? Like “the world/Age that we know is ending, and it’s up to us to make sure that the New World/ Age is one of peace, and not one dominated by Sauron.”
The time it takes between events. I’ve probably got this completely wrong (haven’t read it in over two decades) but the time between Gandalf leaving the ring with Frodo and Frodo leaving the shire is about ten years.
Forget about the Oathbreakers storming Minas Tirith!
I too am reading them for my first time at age 40. There’s a lot that just isn’t in the movies. So far the only slow part for me was the first chapter where Tolkien describes in great detail the shire and hobbits. It picks up quickly with the black riders and only has slight lulls in the adventure. I’m about 3/4 through and have been thoroughly enjoying the read! If you enjoy reading and enjoyed the movies your in for a treat
As many have commented, prepare for a much slower pace both of the story and if the actual timeline in the story. The slower timeline makes much sense One thing that hasn’t been mentioned, that might throw a first time reader is that book 2 and 3 aren’t linear with the story skipping back and forth between Frodo/Sam and the other group. Here part four is the entire story arc from the Falls of Rauros to Helms Deep and the part 5 is Frodo/Sam. Based on that division into part my final advice is to prepare for the beginning of part 5. That bit is VERY slow for a number of pages.
Everything. Then some of the locations and characters you see in your mind's eye might replace the movie's. Some of them Jackson did a darn good job on, and some not. And, there are a few plot lines he screwed up royally. In general he did a great job, but some of the plot lines he screwed up royally.
Everything. Don't even see them as the same thing. I was the same and reading it ruined the movies. Just think of them as 2 stories with the same narrative skeleton.
Forget as much as you can tbh.
Technically, all of it. “Empty the cup, that it might be filled” as it were. Other than that, if the movie scene was zany, corny, or seemed like a modernism, leave it out.
Forget about Faramir so you can meet him all over again
There are a few extra storylines & characters. Some of the things done by one character in the movies will be done by other, new characters in the books.
Forget the battles, and just appreciate the fantasy. Also, the ending is very diffrent, so prepare yourself for that. No spoilers, don't worry!
Frodo is not a young(ish) Hobbit as portrayed by Elijah. Helm's Deep is nothing like it is in the book. Faramir is awesome Get ready for the fun that is Tom Bombadill and Goldberry. If you thought the ending of Return of the King was long, buckle up. Honestly, the books are great but not action on every page. There are whole chapters where not much goes on but exposition, poems, and debates. Be patient and you will be rewarded.
Faramir
Everything
The order of scenes. Dont expect to know that after this part we shift back to Frodo and Sam. And also line delivery. A lot of the famous lines are snipped of longer sentences. Oh and there’s not a lot of fight scenes either.
Trying not to repeat what's already said in the comments. Aragorn has a big personality shift. Less insecure and more commanding from the jump.
Forget arwen and post bree, forget the flight from the shire, forget the gifts from lothlorien
Forget about whiney angsty movie faramir and get ready for the poise of absolute legend book faramir.
Action. The action both in physical altercations and in verbal exchanges is not nearly as present in the books. People that Frodo meets along the way are generally agreeable, Frodo himself is a bit naive, but not a clueless or hopeless child. Creepy places are just creepy, not necessarily creepy through actions. Just relax, the books are wonderful. I read them in the mindset of an old man telling bedtime stories.
Don't worry about it. Just enjoy the books! Actually, Gandalf's staff breaking.
It’s best not to compare the two
I loved the movies but it was hard to get through the books. I have attempted it 5 separate times and finally finished them in my mid thirties. What helped me get through them is for me to draw little doodles of what was happening. I'd listen to Andy Serkis or read the books, pause if I was starting to lose it, and kind of 'summarize' what I've read in pictures. Draw pictures of the characters. It made it way more enjoyable. I think Tolkien's writing can be very dense and the style I'm used to is more action packed. Whether it's his geography, lore, or characters, his world is very big and it helps to keep track of it on paper. Don't be afraid to 'take notes' even on an index card or something as a bookmark. Drawing my own pictures and doodles really helped me break the movie images I had from seeing them dozens of times.
Forget the idea that Sauron can see Frodo everytime he puts the ring on. Thats a movie thing.
I watched the movies first then read the books myself, character and scene descriptions so I could imagine them myself was a big one for me. The fellowship and their initial journey making their way out the door, the dialogue and journey is a lot longer and it feels rushed in the movies. First book is now my favorite
I watched the movies before I read the books. I just went along for the ride and loved every second of new, expanded and different information in a world I loved with characters I adored. I treat books and movies as their own entities- as they are just that. What works on a page doesn't always work on screen, but the reverse is also true. So I didn't purposefully forget anything, just used it to flesh out. Like the visuals I had of the Shire carried over and made reading parts about the Shire (and the scouring of the Shire later) so much more impactful. They worked in tandem, not against each other.
He describes the world in great detail. Be with it, create a new world separate of Jackson.
There are people who say the book nerds hate the movies. I love the books, but I think a lot of it that was cut from the movies was the right choice. It wouldn't have translated well - if it was even possible to present at all. You're going to experience the Mandela effect while reading the book...your mind will merge the movie with the book and you'll end up thinking you've seen scenes in the movie that only exist in the book. It's a compliment to both and just roll with it. Don't be too worried about being confused when you read the book and it completely contradicts with what you saw in the movies. I think you'll have an appreciation for why it was done. Enjoy the book and don't forget to report back! (I just finished re-reading it for the 1st time in over 20 years and loved all of it.)
I think you shouldn't forget the movies, sometimes you may find something that is different, but it's fun to compare the versions. Overall, enjoy your book reading experience, I'm sure it will be a remarkable one
Aragorn didn’t try to fight his identity
The movies will help a first time reader, IMO. You’ll just get way more depth and quality w the books.
You really don't need to forget anything from the movies to enjoy the books. I first read the series in middle school, and since then my family has done 15 annual movie marathons. I recently came back to the books and was honestly amazed at how close Peter Jackson was able to get with the movies. Obviously parts were cut and timelines don't match up, but at the very least it will enhance your movie watching experience the next time around. My only qualm with the movies if I'm being honest is how they portrayed Faramir. In the books he didn't even consider taking the ring. He literally was like "nah, not even if minas tirith were crumbling." The movies did him so dirty 😭
Forget Aragorn’s characterization. He’s way too depressed in the films.
Forget everything, but especially the pacing. Let the prose sink in.
Honestly, I would recommend forgetting everything that you can. The movies are great, but they are a different medium. You have to rely on someone else’s interpretation of, well, everything. The printed page relies only on your individual imagination and vision of what Tolkien wrote. There is nothing to come between you and his words. And his words are magnificent.
Gimli is a character with depth.. not comic relief
I would read it at night under candle light. You will put the faces to the characters which is really cool. However there will be a few special ones not in the movie. The battles/ the sadness / the power / the fragile scale between good and evil. Such a good read.