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Forum Home » Tolkien Related Discussion » The Green Dragon Inn » Sharing Tolkien with everyone
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theladystardust
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Post Sharing Tolkien with everyone
on: June 28, 2017 11:04
Hi all!

Wasn't sure where to put this, so I hope here is ok

I've always loved LotR, as soon as I watched the movies, I fell in love. Now that I'm older, I'm diving deeper into the whole world that Tolkien created, going beyond the movies. I've just started reading the books (which I'm loving) and learning more about the lore and history of this beautiful world. Asides from my own personal endeavours (trying to learn some Quenya, reading into Tolkien himself, etc) I was thinking about how important it is to share and actively spread Tolkien with everyone, especially the younger people. I'm nineteen, and a lot of my peers only know of this wonder by the movies, but there is so much more. There's a whole world to discover! I think it's so important to share the books, discussing them, keep creating work inspired by Tolkien... I want more people being excited about this, more people meeting and discussing and creating and speaking and learning. I don't want this to ever die (not that it would) but I also don't just want it to live... I want it to thrive. I want this community to keep growing, adding to its numbers. I'm not sure what I want to accomplish with this post, I just want to share what's been going on in my brain the past few days. It's something I'm growing increasingly passionate about, and want to know if anyone else feels the same.

The excitement I feel is so real... I'm only on the tip of the iceberg with this world, and that makes me so happy.
“Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars.”
Gandolorin
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on: June 29, 2017 02:04
Hi, theladystardust, welcome to the site! A hint: you could give a little introduction of yourself in the thread Community » Newbies » NEWBIES INTRODUCTION THREAD - Please introduce yourself here!!. Our Newbies Mod gondolinian could give you some pointers, in case you have questions. I’m a relative newbie here, having joined end of November 2013, which would mean about ten years after the site was created. gondolinian is far more of a veteran of the site.

What you express is very likely what led to the creation of the site, which must have been towards the end of the LoTR movie trilogy being in the cinemas. From what I’ve read, the site suffered a hacker attack which must have caused a massive disruption. Apparently, not all of the damage could be repaired (if you look at the top of every page, there’s a message “Your last visit was: March 13, 2012, 21:15”. It was wrong at my first visit, and it hasn’t changed).

When I joined, The Hobbit movie 2 “The Desolation of Smaug” had not premiered yet, never mind the Extended Editions – "The Battle of The Five Armies" EE didn’t appear until November 2015! After that, by gut feeling, participation faded slowly for whatever reasons. The Games Forum is the most active part of the site. Languages also seem to be quite active, if not on a par with games. Off Topic » The Prancing Pony » Fans Over Forty ~ Part XXVI is sporadically active (I’m a “well-qualified” member, being more than three times your age …), as is Books Discussion » Discuss the Books, and Tolkien Related Discussion » The Green Dragon Inn.

In addition, there are (used to be) several Realms, all named after one of the Valar (if you haven’t read “The Silmarillion”, the term may not mean much to you). They are kind of sub-sites, you can only be a member of one at a time. I can only speak for the one I’m in, Realm of Vairë the Weaver, but that is quite active, including monthly chats through the site’s chatroom function.

As for the tip of the iceberg you mentioned above, you are very right. Now not everyone becomes such a JRRT nerd as I have become (I was “infected” in 1983, the “serious outbreak” started about 1985), but more than a handful of veterans – site-wise and / or per date of “infection” – can probably “talk” you into a stupor off the cuff and without notes as easily. Now what I call my JRRT “library” also includes some of the spoofs and some things a bit on the fringe, but still this library now tops 70 books. You won’t run out of reading material anytime soon!
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tarcolan
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on: July 02, 2017 01:17
Hi theladystardust, welcome to CoE. This site has been created by the members and is a huge resource for all things Tolkien. Check out Elrond's Library and the Tolkien section, and of course the Encyclopedia is very useful. Feel free to post new topics but check through the forum first to make sure the subject hasn't already got a thread.

I read the books back in the '60s when I was 12 years old, and I was hooked. Back in those days Tolkien's world became a backdrop for the hippie movement, so there were always a lot of Elves wandering about at festivals. I didn't really get back into it until I grudgingly watched the films. They were far better than I imagined, so then I read the books again, then got the extended DVDs and so on. Now I am a slave here at CoE, forced to work in the forum mines as a mod.

I don't think people realise the enormity of Tolkien's world when they see the films, many don't even know it's based on a book. Tolkien worked his whole life on the Secondary World and it's this wealth of material that makes the LOTR book and films so real and so deep. In fact he never really finished, and was always changing things; it's not easy creating a world. He drew together many strands from European myth and folklore, and beyond, and his work is a celebration of a fundamental part of what makes us human; storytelling.

I think its popularity goes in waves, much like folk music here in the UK. A new generation 'discovers' it every now and then, and I'm sure that will continue long after the Harry Potter's of literature have long been forgotten.

Heh, heh, Gando is right, we nerds could ramble on forever if allowed to, so I'll stop now.

To storytelling!
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