I was messing around online, trying to come up with an idea for blog posts, when it occurred to me that I might get some inspiration if I searched "[book/series] + Book Tag". I decided to do that, which was how I found this tag, the Tolkien Book Tag on BookWormMuse's blog. It looked interesting, and Lord of the Rings is my favorite series of all time, so I decided to give it a try. With all of that (over) explained, I'm going to start completing the tag now.
HOW DID YOUR JOURNEY TO MIDDLE EARTH BEGIN?
It's actually a funny story. When I was in elementary, my teacher informed my parents that I was having problems reading aloud in class. My reading level was fine, but when I needed to read aloud, I'd stutter and stumble over words, even though I knew how to read what I was reading. She suggested that one of my parents have me read aloud at home regularly to improve. My dad volunteered to be the person to read with me, and since he didn't want to listen to me read The Cat in the Hat or other kid's books aloud, he got to pick the book. He chose The Hobbit. We started reading it together, my reading improved and by the time my teacher said we didn't need to do that anymore, I was already invested in the story. So, I kept reading the book. And then I read The Lord of the Rings.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE MIDDLE EARTH BOOK?
The Hobbit will always have a special place in my heart and it's the obvious answer. At the same time, I will say that my favorite Lord of the Rings book is The Fellowship of the Ring. There's just something about that book, about the very beginning of this amazing story, that stuck with me more than The Two Towers and The Return of the King.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE?
Return of the King, hands down. I love the way it's paced. I love the battle scenes. I love the way it was shot and how the plotlines all come together. Also, Aragorn's speech in front of the gates of Mordor gives me chills every time. And the extended edition of Return of the King is amazing and worth the four hours of time it takes to watch it.
MOVIES OR BOOKS?
Books. The book is always better. However, I have watched the movies more often than I've read the books. Also, the movies are pretty true to the books, which is probably why I like them so much. The films are visually stunning. You know you made a good adaptation when a complete Tolkien nerd (aka my dad) watches the films and the only complaint he can come up with is annoyance that Tom Bombadil doesn't appear in the film.
WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTERS?
The better (easier) question to ask would be what characters don't I like, but I digress. I love Frodo and Samwise Gamgee. I'm also a big fan of Pippin and Merry. Also, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Eowyn. And Gandalf and Arwen and everyone else. However, if I absolutely have to pick one character, I guess I'd have to say Sam.
WHAT MIDDLE EARTH RACE WOULD YOU BE?
A Hobbit. I feel like a lot of people would say "elf" or "wizard" because they can do cool things, but if I'm being realistic, I'm more like a Hobbit than anything else. They eat all the time, they don't usually get involved in the shenanigans of the outside world and they build their homes for maximum coziness. Sounds like the perfect life for me.
BEST ACTOR/CHARACTER CASTING MATCH?
Oh, this is a hard one. They got so much of the casting right with these films that narrowing it down to just one choice is hard and I'm not good at making decisions. I feel like a lot of people would say Ian McKellan, and I'd agree, but thinking back, I'm going to go with Richard Armitage as Thorin. That was an excellent casting choice.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE IN MIDDLE EARTH?
Rivendell, because it's absolutely beautiful. A runner-up is defintely the Shire, for how quaint and quiet it appears to be. I also really liked the design of Minas Tirith, so if I could go to Middle Earth, I'd definitely visit there.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE FROM THE BOOKS OR THE MOVIES?
Another difficult question. I could start talking about how pumped I get when I see/read one of Theoden's epic speeches. Or mention a few lines that make me laugh, but then that's not really answering the question. So, I'll pick three, a favorite and two run-ups.
My favorite is Gandalf's speech when Frodo says he wished the ring had never come to him.
My second favorite is the scene in Return of the King when Eowyn kills the Witch King of Angmar and their exchange. You know the one. Very Macbeth inspired.
Third choice is Pippin and Treebeard's conversation in Fangorn Forest, when he convinces Treebeard to head south, since "the closer we are to danger, the farther we are from harm". I feel like that moment is underrated, even though it shows how smart Pippin can be.
And that's the tag. I hope you enjoyed. I hope I haven't bored anyone who doesn't like Tolkien. I don't know how many of you are Tolkien nerds like I am, but if you are a Tolkien fan and haven’t been tagged by anyone, consider yourself tagged.
