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I have no idea how long this has been available, but Amazon popped up an ad for me today for the Silmarillion available on Audible!!!!! I know when I looked a year ago, the only language you could get it in was German (I think).

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016N9U37Q

We cancelled our audible account a while back, but I think I'm going to have to buy this one flat out because it's one I've wanted for my husband for forever (it's one of his top two favorite books of all time). And quite frankly, I'd like to listen to it as well.

I'm actually listening to the Silmarillion right now! I got a 3-month Audible deal at the end of the year and happened to see that it was available. I like it--the narrator does a good job with it. Still kinda depressing, though.

I've also been reading Tolkien: Maker of Middle Earth that I happened upon on the new book shelf at the library, and last night I read an essay on the Norse mythology influence Tolkien used. It was encouraging to see that he took the very depressing "we're definitely gonna lose but we'll fight really hard anyway" mentality from that mythology and infused it with some victory and hope for his works.

fantasia and hogglestock! The Sil is a favourite of mine too, fk. How great this is now available!

And, hogglestock, ahhh, Tolkien's term "the long defeat" has always seemed quite pessimistic to me on the surface too, but then, yes! he does imbibe his writings with the final victory, bringing such hope—a eucatastrophe out of deep darkness. Not that I have that term all figured out. Here is a interesting related article on this very subject.

I just read that a longer trailer of the Tolkien movie is out. the film releases May 10, the day after my birthday!

Interesting article! I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I think the author meant by his use of the term, and also exactly what I think Galadriel meant.

I have to say that the longer trailer makes me a little more optimistic about the Tolkien movie. The first one just made me cringe--way too Lord of the Rings-ish. But maybe it'll be ok after all.

hogglestock wrote:I have to say that the longer trailer makes me a little more optimistic about the Tolkien movie. The first one just made me cringe--way too Lord of the Rings-ish. But maybe it'll be ok after all.

I felt the same about the newest, longer trailer. I was pleased to see that they do indeed cover the fellowship of four young men who want to make the world a better place through art, which they want to contribute themselves. How sad that half of them (or was that three?) were lost in the war graveyards in France.

A slightly off the beaten path post here.

The other day I was driving along thinking of the Fellowship of the Rings movie, and think of the two most adorable hobbits in there that happened to be PJ's kiddos. It suddenly hit me that that movie has been out for a while now, and after doing some math in my head, I realized those two would have to be... adults.... by now. *brain explodes*

But just for fun I went and did a google search tonight and low and behold, I found pictures from when the Hobbit movies came out.

I thought it was fun and that I ought to share with you all.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1116175/med ... 1895759360

Oh, and I saw that Season 1 of LotR on Amazon will be filmed in Scotland....

It sure is fun to see PJ's kids as adults now, wow!

I just read Michael Ward's review of the new Tolkien biopic, entitled "This Tolkien biopic is woefully unconvincing". That sounds encouraging. But, seriously, this is exactly what I have been concerned about all along. I really trust Michael Ward, so presume his review is right on the mark here. I may see the film (when it releases on DVD), or I may not. I must admit that I am not eager to jump at it.

I wonder if for someone like me who knows very little about Tolkien's life, if I might enjoy it? Probably not as I've been pretty critical of almost all of the movies I've seen recently that are based on real life events.

I might take a look at it when it comes out on DVD just to see if it's a halfway decent movie, even if it's not all that accurate.

I don't think the film was ever meant to be accurate. It's more of a fanciful biodrama. Kind of like how Tolkien's own life has some similarities to parts of Beren and Luthien.

Part of what makes me think it was never meant to be accurate is the Estate's recent statement about how they weren't involved in the production. TheOneRing did a pretty good article on that.

I'm not planning on seeing it in theaters, but I was never planning to in the first place.

There has been mention on Facebook in the Norwegian Tolkien society, called 'Arthedain', about seeing it together when it comes. If I can see it with them, I will - the chance of then going somewhere and discuss it afterwards, seems like a better idea than just seeing it on my own.

Btw, here is a reviewer who liked the movie.

He focusses on how it develops the friendship between the four friends in their school-/college days.

I read a review yesterday by one of the people who originally set up The One Ring Net. He'd been reading LOTR since he was 13, but over the last decades hadn't touched it, and had lost touch with the whole thing. Now he found that the Tolkien film really refreshed him, seeing the young Tolkien and understanding something more of him.

Well, good that it helped him. But I don't think it's for me. If it comes on TV sometime, I may look.

Yes, good that it helped him. Hopefully it will introduce him to The Silmarillion as well, if he'd only been reading about Hobbits before? I was introduced to the Silmarillion by people who loved it and loved to discuss it, so I've never lost touch with Tolkien's world, and don't need the movie for that purpose.

I'll see it if I can see it with people who want to discuss it, like those in Arthedain - but I guess that otherwise I'm not going to make it a very high priority.

fantasia wrote:Oh, and I saw that Season 1 of LotR on Amazon will be filmed in Scotland....

That's now been updated.

It's going to be filmed in New Zealand, and the director was announced today:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/t ... s-director

So, after the Hobbit movies parts 2 and 3 left me largely disinterested in Middle-Earth for years, I have finally been drawn back in thanks to Lord of the Rings Online. I downloaded the game years ago, thought it had potential, and then was unable to make it work for years. I finally got obstinate about it this autumn, tried various things to get it to work again and finally succeeded! It is so nice to be able to wander the landmarks of Middle-Earth. It is also inspiring me to read the books finally. I’ve read The Hobbit two or three times, The Fellowship of the Ring once, and, don’t judge me too harshly, haven’t read the rest. Well... I started The Silmarillion years back but quickly got lost or bored after not many pages.

I got The Adventures of Tom Bombadil from the library and began reading it last night. It is fun to see Pauline Baynes’ illustrations for Middle-Earth after years of seeing her work on Narnia.

Is that its own separate book? I would love to read The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. I love illustrations, they still capture my imagination.

Recently I have been reading The Tale of Beren and Luthien, its probably one of my favourite stories from The Silmarillion, probably due to the romance and adventure involved and what the real life inspiration was. I think the Fall of Gondolin was similar in that way in that it drew from Tolkien's real life in some way which I have always thought made the story all the more interesting.