Bunny Boo's Blog

So.

So.

So…

 

The Two Towers has possibly the best cliffhanger ending I’ve read in a long time.

 

( Spoilers for a 60-year-old book within... )

Hey, everyone! I’ve gotten halfway through The Two Towers and am just about to start Book IV. As usual, things got more interesting when the hobbits started popping up. This is kind of a mess. I’m trying out a new way of recording my thoughts by writing them down in a Word document as I come across them in the text and then coming back and filling in details later.

 

( Spoilers for a 60-year-old book within... )

Let it be said that I waste no time. Well, honestly, The Two Towers took about five minutes to pick up—gosh, I love having such a convenient library.

My hopes for this? I want to see more Sam/Frodo relationship stuff with the addition of Gollum into the mix. I thought their dynamic in the movies needed expansion, so I’ll be glad to see it in action here. Hm. I also want to have some time with Aragorn; he seems interesting but he didn’t have much time to shine other than his introduction in Bree. I would like less elves, please. Legolas seems alright in a sort of jokey, light-hearted way, but elves mean long lectures on history about people I don’t care about. I’m expecting something darker and more serious—less hobbits being silly and hobbit-y. That’s fine as long as it gets replaced with some good character moments. I also assume that Sam will play a bigger role, something that I’m really looking forward to.

One thing of note that I wanted to bring up is, in my edition, there’s a little note from Peter Beagle. I’m pretty sure it was in Fellowship too, but I ignored it in favor of Tolkien’s preface. I think this quote is worth bringing up:

“I’ve never thought it was an accident that Tolkien’s works waited more than ten years to explode into popularity almost overnight. The Sixties were no fouler a decade than the Fifties - they merely reaped the Fifties’ foul harvest - but they were the years when millions of people grew aware that the industrial society had become paradoxically unlivable, incalculably immoral, and ultimately deadly. In terms of passwords, the Sixties were the time when the word progress lost its ancient holiness, and escape stopped being comically obscene. The impulse is being called reactionary now, but lovers of Middle-earth want to go there. I would myself, like a shot.

For in the end it is Middle-earth and its dwellers that we love, not Tolkien’s considerable gifts in showing it to us. I said once that the world he charts was there long before him, and I still believe it. He is a great enough magician to tap our most common nightmares, daydreams and twilight fancies, but he never invented them either: he found them a place to live, a green alternative to each day’s madness here in a poisoned world. We are raised to honor all the wrong explorers and discoverers - thieves planting flags, murderers carrying crosses. Let us at last praise the colonizers of dreams.”

It's kind of funny that this is right before Tolkien saying that he doesn’t want anyone interpreting his work as being based off real-life events. There’s environmental themes in The Lord of the Rings, even I picked up on that, but Beagle seems to be taking this as a political statement. I don’t think it is. At least, it wasn’t intended to be. Death of the author and all that. I do find that last paragraph meaningful, though. It is the characters we connect with, the world we want to imagine was real. And Tolkien is drawing on common mythology and themes, tapping into real human struggles and emotions. That last sentence seems very modern to me—a rejection of the historical myths of virtuous colonizers and conquerors. I’m not sure how I feel about it in relation to Tolkien. I might have to come back to that.

Less of a progress post and more of some musing on an overarching theme. We’ve reached Rivendell!


( Spoilers for a 60-year-old book within... )

Gandalf’s talk with Frodo is probably one of my favorite parts of Fellowship.

 

( Spoilers for a 60-year-old book within... )

I have a rule that I don’t read the forewards of books before I’ve finished them, but I make an exception for ones written by the actual author—and what a foreward The Fellowship of the Ring has!

 

( Spoilers for a 60-year-old book within... )

I very strongly considered calling this post "Reading The Hobbit every few years - there and back again" but then I'd lose my lovely consistent naming scheme.

Well, what can I say that hasn't already been said? The Hobbit was my introduction to one of the well-known and greatest fictional universe of all time. Having only read Fellowship once and none of the following books or supplemental material, I have to say that it's my second favorite fantasy book ever - if Watership Down can truly be called "fantasy."

It's cozy and comforting, even throughout all the danger, because I know (and knew) just from the experience and atmosphere it creates that everything is going to turn out fine. Good triumphs over evil; good exists and can be found everywhere. That's just refreshing after a lifetime of stories that are edgy and dark and "realistic" - sometimes specifically in contrast to Tolkien. That's not to say that they don't have value - I like those kinds of stories in moderation - but when it seems like 99% of western fantasy is a subversion of or response to The Lord of the Rings, it's nice to go back to what started it all.

( Spoilers for an 80-year-old book within... )


Anyways, I'm slowly running out of books to read at home but I have a few more up my sleeve before my stash runs dry. See you next time!

One thing that a lot of The Lord of the Rings clones forget about Gandalf is that he's actually kind of arrogant (or at least projects the image of being so) and quite sassy. I like that about him. I think the natural inclination is to make your wise, powerful, magic user just generically a "good guy" with very few personality traits - all the better for them to be plot dispenser to your heroes. (Harry Potter fell into this hole with Dumbledore and then climbed out again with the last few books, something I really appreciate.)

Specifically in The Hobbit, Gandalf serves as the kind of person that Thorin Oakenshield wants to be - powerful, really all that - but isn't quite there yet and doesn't have the skills to back it up. Both those personalities are also a foil to Bilbo who's more humble and less forceful - serving to highlight him when he does impressive things or shows bravery.

...I am having a hard time remembering the names and details of all these darn dwarves though.

Welcome back! Snowflake Challenge #6 is:


One of my favourite things about fandom is screaming, "Did you see that amazing thing!" to someone and having them scream back at you (hopefully positively) that they have now. Sometimes, it's about the canon itself, but a lot of the time it's about fan works our community has made. In that spirit, today is the day to sing the praises of our fellow fans' hard work and creativity.

In your own space, rec at least three fanworks that you didn’t create.

I don't engage much with fanworks anymore, but here's some recs for various fandoms and media!

Like dark fic? Like Harry Potter? Want to see some time travel shenanigans? Try Sisyphus by esama. I'm sure most people have already read it, but I come back to it now and again.

Want more Harry Potter time travel shenanigans? Try A Question of When by vlad the inhaler. Romilda Vane tries to get Harry's attention - over and over and over again.

Want something lighter, something fun, something that isn't quite a fanwork but a "hatework?" Try Noiseless Chatter/Philip J Reed's ALF retrospective where he slowly devolves into madness over a forgotten 80s show.

Not necessarily a "fanwork" as it is a channel dedicated to a community, but I recommend Muñecas, Poupess, and Dolls' channel where she discusses dolls of all kinds. It's interesting - at least to me! I specifically recommend her "Why are BJDs Expensive?" video.

Another video link - check out Foxcade's Futurama Retrospective | A Turbulent Past if you're a fan of the series. It's a great explanation of the rise, fall, and rebirth of one of the most iconic sci-fi shows ever made.

One last video, I promise. Even if you're not a fan of Persona or Persona 4, check out Hiimdaisy's comic based on the series in video form!

Like The Lord of the Rings? Want to see it through the eyes of a group of D&D players and a worn-out DM? Try out Shamus Young's DM of the Rings webcomic. I especially recommend the rest of his blog as well for video game and programming content.

Finally, I have to give a shout-out to two sites - Ranch Story Blog and Ushi No Tane - for their coverage of the Harvest Moon, Rune Factory, and Story of Seasons games over the years. Ushi No Tane was one of the first sites I remember ever visiting as a kid, and Ranch Story Blog has been around long before their tumblr account. I'd gladly recommend them for gameplay guides, artwork, and interview with the developers!

I think that's all I have for this challenge. Thanks for reading! Feel free to share your fanwork recs in the comments. I'd love to see what people, well, love!