The Lord of the Rings Reading Logs 3

It seemed I forgot to mention the name of the author of The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien. I'm sure most people know that but I hadn't known that until after I've seen the movies. I've finished The Fellowship of the Ring and it only took two months. Here are my thoughts. Please note, there are spoilers.  (Logs 1 link, Logs 2 link)

01 - I'm usually a continuous reader meaning, I continue reading the same book in the same time period but I didn't do this with The Fellowship of the Ring because the slow pace kind of puts me off so I had to read little bits at a time so in between I read other books which means it takes longer to finish the book but at the same time, I think it keeps me from quitting. I'm not sorry I read this. I think even if I have forgotten almost everything, I had no regrets reading this. (And I don't care what people say, The Lord of the Rings is not a series. It's a book that is divided in six parts and separated/printed in three books.)

02 - Still more singing/chanting. I want to like them but my mind refuse to.

03 - Why do ocrs announce themselves with drums? Isn't it dumb to let people know you're coming to attack? I suppose ocrs aren't quiet creatures but they don't seem too smart either.

04 - The group of travelers (Frodo, Gandalf, Aragorn, Sam, Pippin, Merry, Boromir, Gimli and Legolas) is called the Company which I find a bit too modern for the setting but I don't mind it but I also don't like it all that much.

05 - I like Gimli and Legolas's very few banters. In fact, I find there is little talking between the Company as they need to keep out of sight and quiet. It's hard to get interested in any of the characters when most of the time, they are all in despair. It's a rather grim adventure, I should say.

06 - Even if I hadn't seen the movies, I still wouldn't believe Gandalf had died in this last part of the book. A powerful wizard like him can't just fall into whatever that pit was called and not survived. That would be a dumb way to kill off a powerful character.

07 - I don't know why but this little bit annoyed me. Lord Celebron, a leader of Elves of some sort said, "And if it were possible, one would say that at the last Gandalf fell from wisdom into folly, going needlessly into the net of Moria." (page 356) Then Lady Galadriel said, "But however if may be with the guide, the followers are blameless." All this after they heard of Gandalf's demise. Aren't they being a bit opinionated not having been there to witness anything? The Company are blameless because they are just following Gandalf? What the hell are they implying? Wise people do not give such opinionated thoughts. Then Lord Celebron just apologized though probably not for the Gandalf bit and the subject was changed to dwarf relations. Really? The Company (Frodo and Aragorn and the rest) said nothing in defense of Gandalf. I think Gandalf had no choice than to lead the Company through a dangerous route so I'm just a little pissed that they should speak badly of Gandalf.

08 - I wonder why there are so few females here. Perhaps it's those time period where females are not meant to do any traveling or moving about or doing anything interesting other than being a siren of sorts. I get the impression the few females that are mentioned seems like sirens to me. Lady Galadriel and the elf queen wife of Tom Bombadil (I forgot her name) certainly have some type of powers that hypnotize people. Arwen, I don't know much of as she is only mentioned in name only. It's the only three females that is mentioned that I remember other than Frodo's relatives but who remembers them since they are such jerks and are only mentioned in the beginning?

09 - So sad about Boromir. He seems like a good fellow. I don't like the way he died. One minute it's all quiet, and the next, we hear a horn sound and then Aragorn finds Boromir dying and surrounded by dead orcs and then he's gone. That's how you end a character who seems kind of important but somehow isn't? Even if he is a minor character, I still think it's kind of a shame readers don't get to witness what happened to him.

10 - I find it strange the Company didn't make a more definite plan after their stay in Lórien. It's a dangerous journey whichever way they go but they didn't make a definite decision until the last moment. Frodo decided he needs to go the Cracks of Doom alone which it took a long while for him to make his resolve because of his fear which I can understand but Aragorn and the others, they knew where they want to go but only when Frodo and Sam left them, did they made some decisions but not before. I guess I don't know why they took so long to make decisions.

11 - Sam continued to be a devoted friend/servant and sticking to Frodo like glue. "It is hardly possible to separate you from him, even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not," Elrond to Sam (page 271). Then toward the end, "It is no good trying to escape you," Frodo to Sam (page 406) just before they decided to go the Cracks of Doom together or rather, Frodo had no choice but to allow Sam to go with him but Frodo is glad for Sam's company, I guess. I think Sam is a great guy. He's like Frodo's more outspoken side because he seems to always say what he wants. If anyone Frodo should go to the Cracks of Doom with, Sam is good choice, although I would take Aragorn, he seems to know how to fight and have common sense and Gandalf because he's a wizard and I think he would give good counsel along the way and certainly his magic would come useful.

12 - This first book was't bad but I must be honest. I was bored for most of the book. I guess what I don't like most is that, readers don't get to witness most events first hand, that is, characters tell tales of what happened to them or to whomever in a second-hand sort of way. It's almost like the interesting events gets summed up (mostly in a long tale) while the boring parts/current happenings gets long detailed explanations. Maybe it's not like that the whole book but it sort of felt like that. I'll continue to the second book because I'm the crazy sort of person who likes to finish what they started, usually.

Have you read The Fellowship of the Ring? Or maybe the whole book, The Lord of the Rings?

Just a Few Complaints

My small complaints probably won't make any dents anywhere but it's just nice to say them even in a blog. Please note, I use google's Blogger which I had been using and complaining about for years because they like to make users angry and annoy for no reason, so here are my list of grievances in no particular order. (I'm sorry to say I do not know how to complain in a short manner.)

01 - Comment moderation is useless — More bloggers who uses Blogger are moderating their comments which I can understand but I have turned off comment moderations completely because I do not get notices when a comment is in moderation. I get email notices of comments but even if they are in moderation or are marked as spam, I wouldn't know without checking.
    I'm not saying this has caused me huge problems but it's a huge annoyance. In my old blog, there were comments that are under moderation for almost a year before I notice it because I didn't get any notice on them. And in this new blog, there were comments that were marked as spam or under moderation for a week or two before I notice it. If I didn't sign into Blogger's dashboard to check the comments, I wouldn't have noticed them for a long while. I don't want readers to think I'm ignoring their comments but it seems I did that without my knowing.
    I rather have the comments posted and then check to see if they are spam, than to always have to check the dashboard for comments that may or may not have been marked as spam or may or may not be in comment moderation. (I guess I should mention I do not get a lot of spam or comments which might make my complaints invalid.)

02 - A new spam filter that seems to just sit there — Why can't this new (not sure if it's new but it's new to me) reCAPTCHA feature work behind the scene instead of announcing itself like its doing us, bloggers, a favor? Yes, it's free but we're the ones advertising it unwillingly. reCAPTCHA is supposed to 'protect your site from spam and abuse' according to their website here. Honestly, I'm not sure it's doing anything at all.  

03 - Previewing comments was useful so why did they take it away? — You can no longer preview your comments (which was one of Blogger's nice features). I like this preview feature because I like to check for spelling errors or words I had omitted but often I make links in the comment and I want to check if they work because sometimes I mess up the code and with people moderating their comments, I can't check and I'm too lazy to check later since I don't know when the comment will be posted. (Not to say I can't check my comments without a preview (as often there is no preview if I'm commenting on other platforms) but seeing the preview just seems easier for some odd reason.)

04 - It was easier to get to a post before so why is that option removed? (insert a bitter glare here) — Another change, from the front end of the blog, you can no longer click on anything to get to it which was fine but the feature that really irks me not to have now is the pencil link for each post. This feature allows you to get to a post from the front end just by clicking on the pencil image without having to go to the dashboard, search for the post and then click on the post to get to it. It was really convenient for me to make corrections on older posts because I don't have to search for a post. So yes, it's only a few steps to get to a post but it was a really useful tool.

05 - Commenting is hard and too exclusive — Blogger has 3 options for readers to comment: (1) Sign into Google, (2) Anonymous and (3) Name/URL and #2 & 3 does work but it's a pain to use because of the various tests/captcha you have to go through to get a single comment through.
    When you are not signed into Google or Blogger, there is this notice in the comment area: "Comment with your Google Account if you’d like to be able to manage your comments in the future. If you comment anonymously, you won’t be able to edit or delete your comment..." - I must say, there is no way to edit your comment after you posted it other than deleting it and adding a new one - that's not a feature worth signing up for. Sure it's nice to have an identity (ie, an icon, a profile page) but not all of us want to sign up just to comment.
    It would be nice if Blogger adopts the way Wordpress does comments by using the Name/URL/Email option. Just spaces for people to leave their name, blog link and email and that's it, no signing in or no signing up nor any tests readers have to go through to leave a comment. I don't know much about Wordpress' various commenting options but often, I rarely have any issues with the Name/URL/Email option.
    I have notice some people who uses Wordpress also have a Blogger account to make comments on Blogger blogs. I guess it would be fair for me to get a Wordpress account to do the same for those Wordpress blogs that only allows comments if you're signed into Wordpress (and other options like Twitter or Facebook which I don't use).
    But at the same time, I'm wondering why anyone should have to sign in or sign up for any service just to leave a comment. It's silly to make such exclusivity since we're making it difficult for readers to comment. There are still people who have no blogs and even people who wants to remain anonymous, to those people, all this signing in, signing out, signing up, makes it nearly impossible to comment.

If you're a blogger, do you moderate your comments? Do you think you should moderate your comments? What do you think of the comment systems of most blogs?

The Lord of the Rings Reading Logs 2

The three books (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King) are divided in six parts which are titled Book 1, Book 2, Book 3 etc. at least with my copies. Currently I'm still reading The Fellowship of the Ring and so far,  I'm at the beginning of Book 2. Please note, there will be minor spoilers.  (First log is over here)

01 - Sometimes it feels like I'm reading a history book. It's not exactly boring but it's not exactly the most exciting read. I guess with these sort of books, there are usually a lot of history and back stories because there are so many people involved and so many places and so many of many things.

02 - That Tom Bombadil is a strange fellow. He's not big enough for a human (aka Big People) and not small enough to be a hobbit and has an elf queen for a wife and seems to have some sort of power over the forest. The way he is described as the 'Master of wood, water and hill' (p125) and kind of like a jolly fellow who is into nature, makes me think of a lumberjack. His character seems oddly out of place in this book. But then again, odd might not be the correct term.

03 - Until chapter 10, do we get some kind of description of Frodo - 'taller than some, fairer than most, and he has a cleft in his chin' according to Gandalf (page 168). As for Sam, Pippin, Merry, no descriptions that I can remember other than they are kind of fat because they all love a good meal but it doesn't matter because I end up picturing the actors from the movies.

04 - We are introduced tons of new characters but Strider aka Aragorn aka Dúnadan, is the one that stands out to me. He is one of the Big People and also a descendant of some great people. There isn't much about him at this point. Honestly, I'm just glad to see a familiar-ish character that I know other than Frodo, Sam, Pippin, Merry or Gandalf. There are tons of new characters but I don't know them since I've not read this series before and only knows what I remember from the movies.

05 - Sam seems kind of dumb but at the same time, kind of smart and wise. I guess people who aren't all that smart can be smart at times, right? I'm not putting Sam down but often, he keeps being described as not so smart.
    I don't get why Sam calls Frodo master considering they are about the same age and even if Sam works for Frodo and takes care of Frodo's garden, how is Frodo Sam's master? I guess master is a respectable term? Update: I might have been mistaken about Sam calling Frodo, Master but he did refer to Frodo as his master on occasions such as, "My master is sick and wounded." (page 211). From what I'm currently reading, Sam calls Frodo Mr. Frodo or sir most of the time, which I think in a way is similar to master.
    Sam is quite a devoted friend to Frodo but I think it's a bit much that he acts like Frodo's servant and seems quite passionate about Frodo's health and safety. I'm not saying it's weird or anything, well, it's a little weird. Even best friends can't be that overprotective of each other right? I guess I never got any sense these two were that close friends but hobbits lived a long time and they do know each long a long time since they are essentially in their fifties but they looked like they are in their twenties. I guess I can't understand since I do not have such a devoted friend as someone who is willing to go on a journey with me knowing they might not return or that they might die.

06 - At this point, I'm not attached to any of the characters. Say if Frodo and company gets hurt, I don't care all that much. I want to care but the writing doesn't seem to make me care. Although at one time, Sam threw an apple at someone (forgot his name) for being a jerk and that moment was amusing and it did make me like him more. It seems like 50% of the first half of the book, they are singing, telling tales and sitting down for a meal because that's what hobbits do and in between some history/back story and traveling.

07 - Is chanting better than singing? There is now chanting along with the singing. I don't know why but I still find these lyrics annoying. But since hobbits (and elves) are prone to singing, I should have expected this, right?

08 -  There are now footnotes but they are short and spare.

09 - So many names I can't pronounce. This is why I'm glad I never have to read out loud. For hobbits, their names are more simplified but all the other races, their names became quite complex with different diacritic marks here and there. I doubt I got any of the names correctly in my head.

10 - I don't want to say this book is boring but I keep wanting to put it down because it seems boring. But there is quite a lot of actions toward the end of Book 1. Book 2 seems to come down back to the more calming state. I guess people do not read these for the actions but for the characters and the places. I really do like the idea of a simple being saving the world from evil but maybe this is too far complex for me as a reader and also, I lack the patience to read through all the back stories and song lyrics and the slow pacing does not make want to read faster.

Have you read The Lord of the Rings?

Fiction: St. Felicity's Newest Arrival

This month's Words for Wednesday's prompts are provided by Wisewebwoman over here. This week's prompts are: withdrawal, pollution, embrace, prosecution, year, represent, cottage, overwhelm, and a this photo of a pit mine. The words didn't inspire anything so I didn't use any of them but the photo sure makes me think.

The other part is here. It gives a little background to this story but you don't really have to read it.

Fiction: St. Felicity's Newest Arrival
The island is named St. Felicity after somebody but nobody remembers who, not even Mrs. Hodge, who has lived on the island all her life. From time to time, the island has unusual arrivals, usually crash-landed on the shore or just floated in by the wind and water but steady inhabitants of the island have happily accepted these arrivals as normal. But at the same time, most of them have no memories of what they have seen especially if someone or something is particularly peculiar.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In the early hour of a quiet morning, Ben wakes to the sound of a booming noise. For a moment, he lies in bed listening. Then a tremor begins to shake the ground. Ben holds onto the edge of the iron bed with a tight grip. A loud boom follows and the tremor stops. After a moment of waiting and nothing happens, he rushes out of bed and makes his way toward the window and peers out.
    Early dawn's light illuminates a mushroom-shaped, semi-transparent dust cloud floating above the water. It soon dissipates to reveal a hole about sixty feet in length in the ocean. Ben rubs his eyes and look again. The hole in the water is still there, close to the shoreline but is surrounded by water as if someone has scooped out the water and everything in it. The hole is an elliptical shape with ladder-like layers for walls. Ben has only seen something like this years ago that had been a mine pit. This hole seems out of place in the middle of the ocean.
    Quickly, Ben runs down the stairs, puts on his boots and grabs a coat and runs out of the lighthouse while trying to put his coat on. His boots make a soft thud on the sandy ground. He stops just at the edge of the shoreline along with some ten or twelve islanders. Up close, he can see most of the top parts of the concave hole. Bit by bit, a ship begins to materialize to almost the same size as the hole itself. There is no one aboard. At the edge of the hole, water is slowly trickling in and falling onto the ship. The three white square-rigged masts flutter in the breeze and the rows and rows of silver and gold spoons that hang from them makes clinking sounds. Water clings to the nameless red-brown hull and drips down into the bottom of the ship. This seems impossible and yet, Ben must believe his eyes.
    The people around him are gawking at the sight as if in a trance. Mrs. Hodge and her dogs are doing the same. "Ben," she says with her wide eyes fix on the ship, "What do you make of this?"

The Lord of the Rings Reading Logs 1

I'm reading or trying to read The Lord of the Rings and I thought it would fun to keep a record of my reading or not reading. My wandering mind and eyes can't stay attention to the words too long so I decided to read a little bit at time so it might take a while to finish the first book and then maybe the rest. Who knows. I might quit just after the first book.
    A while back, I brought the paperback box set that included 4 books: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King and The Hobbit. I didn't start with The Hobbit because I just prefer to think of that as a long prequel that I might or might not read depending on if I like these books.
    The plot according to the back of the book: In a sleepy village in the Shire, a young hobbit is entrusted with an immense task. He must make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ruling Ring of Power - the only thing that prevents the Dark Lord's evil dominion.

Here's a my thoughts on my reading of The Fellowship of the Ring so far. My copy is the HarperCollins 2020 edition.

01 -  I started reading The Fellowship of the Ring in the beginning of April. The prologue is 16 pages and even have chapter breaks. It's all about the history of the hobbits which I find quite a slow start. I am doubting I'll remember reading any of this by the end of the book. I didn't read the two notes on the text nor the foreword. Does this still count as reading if I skip those?
    As of today, I read up to a little over 100 pages so you can tell by that how slow I'm going and we're still in the Shire and haven't moved an inch toward the journey that Frodo has to go on.

02 - So many details, so many back stories and every little thing is mentioned in detail. Okay, I'm exaggerating but it feels exactly like that. Most of the things mentioned might be better summed up but perhaps the details is what most people love but I don't quite care for them but at least the writing is enjoyable.

03 - I don't get why there is sometimes a space between paragraphs. Spaces between paragraph usually means time had passed or it's starting a new scene or something new but some of the spaces didn't make sense to me but who am I to question such decisions?

04 - The singing/lyrics annoys me. I never seem to have patience for them and I don't know why that is. I flipped through the pages and there seems to be more of them. It's probably a bad idea to peek forward because that creates expectations, bad expectation.

05 - Here's this passage that stood out to me and sort of sums up my reading experience so far:
'I should like to save the Shire, if I could - though there have been times when I thought the inhabitants too stupid and dull for words, and have felt that an earthquake or an invasion of dragons might be good for them. But I don't feel like that now. I feel that as long as the Shire lies behind, safe and comfortable, I shall find wandering more bearable: I shall know that somewhere there is a firm foothold, even if my feet cannot stand there again.'
- Frodo, page 62.

That's it for this first log. If you plan on reading along, let me know.

Fiction: Home at the Edge of the Ocean

This month's Words for Wednesday's prompts are provided by Wisewebwoman and Elephant's Child over here. This week's prompts are: white, painter, courtesy, recommendation, neighbour, disagree, traffic, ambition, conference, healthy and this lighthouse photo. I've managed to use all the words (some in different forms) except conference.

Fiction: Home at the Edge of the Ocean
At the edge of the ocean, toward the end of the island, the lighthouse stands gleaming in the morning sun. From within the lighthouse, Ben glances out toward the blue sky and then down below at the rocks and sand and the receding water.
    Some years ago, on a freezing winter night, Ben appeared from within the cold water and crawled out onto the sandy ground. He wore no clothes but he held a worn book in his hand. Mrs. Hodge, the owner of the lighthouse, found him and took him into the lighthouse saying he could only stay for one night. But Mrs. Hodge didn't throw him out the next day or the next. One sunny afternoon, she came in with a basket of bread and said Ben could live in the lighthouse but he must help her with her three foxhounds and occasionally, work at her lodging. Mrs. Hodge told anyone who cares to listen that Ben is one of her nephews though anyone with eyes can see no similarities between the two but it helps that Ben looks fifteen years younger than Mrs. Hodge's fifty years.
    The lodging stands a few feet away from the lighthouse where Mrs. Hodge houses seasonal sailors and a wandering tourist or two. Traffic at the lodging have been low as most people either dismissed the island or could not find it on most maps. From time to time, there would be disagreements between the boarders that broke out in fist fights and ended with broken dishware and furniture. Mrs. Hodge just lets them go at each other without a fuss. She have always said it is healthy to fight. No one can stay calm their whole life. As a courtesy, she does not take sides nor ask them to leave but she would add additional charges to their bills.
    Ben takes in a deep breath of the cool air with hints of fresh paint. Just yesterday, Mrs. Hodge, had Ben refreshed the exterior walls of the lighthouse and the lodging. Some time ago, the lighthouse had been painted white to match the lodging or perhaps the lodging had been painted white to match the lighthouse. Mrs. Hodge can no longer remember which is true. But her recommendation is always to trust your eyes and not your neighbor's words.
    In half an hour, Ben comes out of the lighthouse and feeds the foxhounds in their pen beside the lodging. They jump up on the fence when they sees him. A moment after, Ben enters the lodging for his usual breakfast which he makes. Aside from helping with Mrs. Hodge's dogs and other various chores, Ben had gotten into the habit of cooking for the boarders. Mrs. Hodge is a fairly good cook but she often hates the task.
    On the island, Ben has learned that one does not need to work up a sweat to fill up their days. Aside from helping Mrs. Hodge, Ben sometimes works as a healer though rarely anyone gets sick and even when the boarders fight, there is not much need for him. Ben often spends his days taking long walks or having inane conversations with anyone nearby. It is what he prefers.

April Books & TV Shows

April was a busy month since I was doing the A-Z challenge so I didn't really do much else aside from work. You could say I was a bit lazy even when it seems I was doing a lot. Is it better to fill all your hours and stay busy or is it better to do little and stay lazy? But I kind of just do what my mood wants to do. Here are the books and shows I consumed in April.

Books I read in April 2022

01 - The Girl Who Speaks Bear by Sophie Anderson > link
What's it about: family, home, belonging, bears, friendship, a house with chicken legs
This was good but I didn't quite like the way it was formatted - the main story mixed with stories. Even though the stories does have to do with Yanka (the main character) and the main plot, there could have been a better way to integrate them. Some of the stories seems confusing as they aren't linear and sometimes I'm not sure if the characters in it are the characters in the main story or just another story.
    I was a bit surprised the sudden appearance of the house with chicken legs and two new characters, almost as if, this turned into a different book. If you have read The house with chicken legs, you might think of this as a sort of companion to that book even though there are no similar characters aside from the house.
    Summary: This was a good read but maybe it was a bit slow at first and kind of turned into a whole different story toward the ending but in the end, it return to the main theme.

Reflection: Notes on the 2022 A-Z Challenge

Here are some of thoughts on the 2022 A-Z Challenge that I've just finished.

01 - I didn't sign up on the Master list. So technically, I'm not an official participant but I did signed up on the Theme list so maybe only half-official? I don't care anymore. Being on a long list seems superfluous.

02 - I think I spent far too much time coming up with ideas/writing/editing/making graphics/art for these posts. It's a bit exhausting and I don't think I was in the mood to write a new post every day. If we didn't get Sunday's off, I might have quitted the challenge.

03 - Somehow I just didn't have the patience to always leave comments even when I read a post. I have no idea where my patience went. I was just plain lazy. Maybe I'll catch up with comments later with the Roadtrip at the A-Z blog.

04 - Will I do this challenge next year? I'm thinking no for now. I don't think I have the energy anymore and my fickle mind won't really allow me to plan these posts.

05 - I did enjoyed the challenge when I'm not stressing/worrying about what to post. A-Z is a good challenge but I think I'm more of a post-once-in-a-while-kind of blogger.

Here is the list of my A-Z 2022 posts:

• Are you an Angel or a Devil? • Fiction: The Memory Bootlegger • Completing Book Titles For No Reason • One Difference • Excuses For Not Blogging • Fiction: Five A.M. • Good News From The Weird Wide World • Honest Confessions From a Longtime Blogger • Fiction: Intermission • Easy Jeopardy! • Keep Calm & Blog On • My Library • What's Your Motto?

• Fiction: Night Stroll • One Sentence Story • Paperback Favorites • Some Choice Questions • Ramblings on Reading • Fiction: Seven A.M. • Tweets From An Alien • Unicorn Philosophy • Very Short Reads • Words From Another Word • X Words Followed By Sentences • Fiction: The Yesterday Portal • The Z Master

Have you participated in the A-Z Challenge this year and did you enjoyed it? Or if you're simply a reader, did you enjoy my A-Z posts?