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Ar-Firiel
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Post Our LOTR obsession
on: August 19, 2014 08:45
Hey guys!
Firstly, I apologize if a thread like this has already been started. If you know of one, please inform me.
The reason I'm starting this is because none of my family or friends loves Tolkien the way I do. My siblings hate it and my parents don't really "get" it, and almost all of my friends haven't read it. The only one who is reading it and who is enthusiastic is not finished yet and I don't see her often. So I decided to ask my CoE friends!
What would you say is the thing that most sparked your interest in LOTR? Is there anything about it that bothers you?
Also, do you guys have any tips on how to get more obsessed? I know it's a strange question, but I went on vacation for a couple months this summer and seem to have lost a bit of my obsession. I'm thinking maybe I need to see the movies again, and read the books again. It makes me sad that I'm not as knowledgeable or enthusiastic as I used to be. I want to get that back. Any tips?
Thanks!

Ar-Firiel
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on: August 19, 2014 09:44
Hello Ar-Firiel! Umm lets see. The music from the movies. I heard it playing on Pandora and my interest was sparked. I would say to get more obsessed one needs to do all the things you mentioned and get involved in CoE . Oh and quote the books or the movies frequently.
Image "Every good pirate has an alias" Felix glanced down, looking at contraption around the stump of his wrist. "Hook," he answered. "My name will be Hook."
Lindarielwen
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on: August 21, 2014 06:28
Watch the movies...that always gets me going again. Most of us do not have friends who like LotR so that is why we have our friends here at CoE. We are a friendly lot so join us in the forums, make some comments and come play some games!

My interest started when I borrowed FotR from the library. That was it...this girl was hooked.

How to get more obsessed? Learn a few Elvish phrases and say them to store clerks. Get pointy ears. Carry one of the books with you wherever you go, someone might notice. Not a good idea to carry a sword.
My destiny is riding again, rolling in the rain, unwinding in the wind. My destiny is fighting again, secretly unwinding..what it was I was supposed to say...to say to you today.
Gandolorin
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on: August 21, 2014 11:09
Just reading the LotR in the original language (my first encounter was a German translation) got me hooked. I managed to keep reading for a nineteen-hour stretch the first time (ridiculously early on a Saturday morning for me all the way into early Sunday). I have read the LotR perhaps fifteen times by now.
Also, with that reading having taken place in 1985 (my original paperback edition is from 1984), I came in at the beginning of the History of Middle-Earth. My Hobbit is from 1985; Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, Book of Lost Tales Part 1 and Part 2 (books 1 and 2 of HoME) all from 1986. At that time, HoME books 3 and 4 were also available, though I only got them later. And so I followed HoME up to book 12, which is the only one I have in original hardcover, from 1996. And I just kept on hunting for books by or about JRRT (Farmer Giles, Smith of Wootton Major, Roverandom etc., respectively biographies or books dealing with certain aspects of his writing).
The smaller books are quite interesting, and some amusing (Farmer Giles).
But HoME is heavy going, each one probably the equivalent of a doctoral thesis, with no end of footnotes, end notes, and commentary. I have not read all of them completely, because some go into philology in a detail that I would guess you need a master's degree in philology to be able to follow them properly - those parts just went way above my head.

But there is a lot to be discovered and read about JRRT ...

[Edited on 08/21/2014 by Gandolorin]
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findemaxam48
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on: August 21, 2014 04:16
What sparked my interest was actually a dear friend. I was ten at the time, and when she told me about Sindarin and the complexities of the novels and series. I read the trilogy plus the Hobbit in a year and a half, and then watched the movies. I am 16 now and am working on spreading the love to my younger, ten year old sister.

Nothing with Tolkien really bothers me- some pieces and chapters are harder to get through, but you just have to keep going. If anything, what bothers me is that there isn't enough material in the world to fully keep me informed or entertained!

Read fanfiction. Because creative liberties are taken, it will fuel your imagination. On some sights you can even keyword a favorite character. Find recipes for the food you saw in movies. Make crafts to go along with favorite objects. Put the books on display in your room. IF you have a car, bumper stickers. If you are in school and use a locker, put up some LotR themed magnets. Listen to the music, and if you are a musician, learn to play the music. There is really no limit to what you can do.



We were one in the same, running like moths to the flame. You'd hang on every word I'd say, but now they only ricochet.
elven_fencer
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on: August 21, 2014 07:28
Also, in order to get more obsessed, you can have a look at this quiz:
http://www.arwen-undomiel.com/test.html
It has tons of ideas for obsession!
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Gandolorin
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on: August 22, 2014 01:07
@ elven_fencer: clicked my way through the questions but did not manage to get a result. What's to do to get a result?
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elven_fencer
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on: August 22, 2014 08:34
Down at the end of the questions, there is a button that says "Now hear my obsession." Click on that. You will get an "obsession percentage," ranging from 0% to 100%. If you scroll down the page a bit more, there are graphics that match up to obsession ranges. For instance, with the 6-16% (Hobbit) range, there's a picture of Frodo and Sam. I had a bit of a time figuring it out too at first.

[Edited on 08/23/2014 by elven_fencer]
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Gandolorin
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on: August 24, 2014 11:12
Did not help. I checked 32 of the 241 questions, including the first 21 straight. No response. Ah well.
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findemaxam48
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on: August 24, 2014 11:13
I am taking that quiz now, just for the fun of it.

I got 49.04% Seems low...

[Edited on 08/24/2014 by findemaxam48]

[Edited on 08/24/2014 by findemaxam48]
We were one in the same, running like moths to the flame. You'd hang on every word I'd say, but now they only ricochet.
Cenor
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on: August 24, 2014 01:18
Drat I'm a dwarf...I need to read up.
Image "Every good pirate has an alias" Felix glanced down, looking at contraption around the stump of his wrist. "Hook," he answered. "My name will be Hook."
findemaxam48
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on: August 26, 2014 05:48
I got Ent. Sorry for not saying that before.
We were one in the same, running like moths to the flame. You'd hang on every word I'd say, but now they only ricochet.
elven_fencer
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on: August 26, 2014 08:42
I get an Elf every time I take it... Yeah, I'm nuts.
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OneSizeFitsAll
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on: September 29, 2014 02:37
So jealous...I only got a dwarf... But I seriously cannot help it that my family is as crazy about Tolkien as I am!
Image"The Corrupteds are going to wake up and find that they are strong." -Cenor
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