First Pages: The Fellowship of the Ring

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein was the first chapter book that Mini Me owned, I believe.  Mr. Bookworm gave her a used copy that happened to match his original set.  She was four years old, and she was delighted when he started to read her Daddy's book. 

Suffice it to say that The Lord of the Rings series is one of Mr. Bookworm's favorite series.  And, of course, we watched each film as it released, except we only saw the first Hobbit movie in the theaters. (Um, twenty minute Disney-esque singing filler in the middle? The action was a bit slow, likely because the novel was made into three films. )

First Lines/First Pages of The Fellowship of the Ring: this book is the first of the trilogy, though I know that The Hobbit takes place before LOTR, I decided to start with the trilogy.  Of course, it may also help that The Fellowship of the Ring starts off in the exact same way that the films did and that was my very first introduction to Tolkein. (No, I haven't read the books....)

We start off with the mystery of Bilbo Baggins' longevity, and his passing of the baton to his nephew, Frodo.  The joint birthday party is full of fun and intrigue.  And we know that the ring (My PRECIOUS) is involved somehow, right?  Tolkein pulls the reader in right away.  Why is Frodo Bilbo's favorite? What is the mystery surrounding Bilbo's eleventy-first birthday? And why do hobbits come of age at thirty-three years old?

Please note Tolkein's use of tween for in between years of childhood and coming-of-age.  Who knew that the term originated from him?

And, there's also 'second breakfast', a term that I use a lot, but I don't think it gets used more than 'tween'.  So Tolkein lives on forever in many ways.

I may also be partial to Frodo/Samwise as played by Elijah Wood and Sean Astin, respectively, because Samwise is the ultimate friend.  Also, I'm partial to Sean Astin due to Goonies, Staying Together, and Where the Day Takes You.  Let's just forget about Encino Man, okay?  And I had a few classes with him at UCLA.  I think only my sisters and I remember Staying Together with Astin and Dermot Mulroney as brothers.  (A fave for us to watch as well as Stand By Me and The Lost Boys, both of which include a young Keifer Sutherland.)

And now I may have to introduce the films to the Bookworm girls because I think it's high time for a re-watch.  Except for the Orcs part.  Maybe we'll fast-forward that part for Little Lion.

Tell Dr. Bookworm!

I have a series called Books Versus Film in which I compare which is better.  What do you think about the LOTR series? Books? Films? Hard to compare?

I started the First Lines and First Pages series in November 2017 as a homage to National Novel Writing Month.  In the tradition of one of my previous writing groups, I decided to 'share' the first lines of successful middle grade and YA novels in order to figure out what made them successful first pages.  I posted as many as I could in November, and now post the series on the first of every month.