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?