Rating 4 out of 5
Type: Fantasy
I first read The Lord of the Rings in the 1980s. Since then I’ve watched the movies multiples times but never reread the books. This year I decided to read the books again since I’ve always said collectively they are one of my 10 favorite books.
The quest is split into three books which movie goers know are the names of the three movies:
- The Fellowship of the Ring
- The Two Towers
- The Return of the King
The movies are remarkably true to the main themes of the book. However there were differences.
The movies omitted parts of the saga, I assume, in order to keep the movies to a manageable length. For example, Tom Bonbadil was not in the movies. This may have been to rein in the movie length.
The movies included a few stories not in the books. For example, the love story between Strider and Arwen, the elf maiden. Omitted, that is, until you read the appendices and discover they have been lovers for decades.
Which – the books or the movies – do I prefer? Even though I am an avid reader I’d have to say the movies.
Hint: Be sure to read the appendices. They are a must read and fill in many questions concerning before and after the story.
Every year I try to read at least 12 non-fiction or favorite books a year. To date (2025-04-17) I’ve read:
| # | Title | Author |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Right Thing, Right Now | Ryan Holiday |
| 2 | Einstein in Kafkaland | Ken Krimstein |
| 3 | Meditations | Marcus Aurelius |
| 4 | Tiny + Wild | Graham Gardner |
| 5 | The Lord of the Rings | J. R. R. Tolkhien |
Number 6's Blog 