Thoughts on Re-reading The Lord of the Rings

It had been some years since I actually sat down and read The Lord of the Rings, so I recently decided to re-read it. I got more sucked in than I thought I would (I ended up reading The Return of the King in about two days), and I found some things especially striking me as I read:

(There will be spoilers, so if you don’t know the story and don’t want it ruined, please skedaddle.)

~ It would have been so, so easy for things to get ruined. It honestly seems rather unrealistic that the whole plan for the Ring worked, there were so many times where if things went just the tiniest bit different it wouldn’t have. Of course, one does definitely get the sense that there is an over-riding Purpose in all the events, which makes it make more sense.

~ Gandalf is awesome. Seriously.

~ So is Aragorn.

~ Gollum was so very close to redeemable. You know the bit where he comes back after chit-chatting with Shelob and finds Frodo and Sam asleep, and he feels touched and almost changes his plan about handing them over to Shelob?  It’s really rather frustrating, because if Sam had woken up feeling pleasant instead of snapping at him, Gollum could easily have had a sort of conversion there. (Of course, it might have all been wasted when he found out what they were doing with the Ring anyway. )

~ There’s not much context given for why Legolas and Gimli become BFFs, but I am so glad they do because I love their relationship.

~ I really don’t care for the movies. The books are so much deeper and richer.

~ It sounds kind of funny, but Goldberry – Tom Bombadil’s wife – was, in my opinion, the model homemaker. She did the work that needed to be done and made her home a place of beauty, peace, and refreshment, while being a beautiful, dignified woman who commanded respect and love. She was, in fact, a housewife, while being exactly the opposite of the bustling, worked-to-the-bone housewife stereotype.

~ There are some pretty savage quips in here.

“That’s what I meant,” said Pippin. “We hobbits ought to stick together, and we will. I shall go, unless they chain me up. There must be someone with intelligence in the party.”

“Then you certainly will not be chosen, Peregrin Took!” said Gandalf…

              – The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 2, Chapter 3

“As for that,” said the Rider, staring down at the Dwarf, “the stranger should declare himself first. Yet I am named Eomer son of Eomund, and am called the Third Marshal of Riddermak.”

“Then Eomer son of Eomund, Third Marshal of Riddemark, let Gimli the Dwarf Gloin’s son warn you against foolish words. You speak evil of that which is fair beyond the reach of your thought, and only little wit can excuse you.”

             – The Two Towers, Book 3, Chapter 2

~ The story was much faster-paced than I remembered. Perhaps this is just the result of  my maturing and (we hope) getting a longer attention span since the last time I read the books.

I could say more, but that’s probably enough random musing for one sitting.

Which book (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers or The Return of the King) is your favorite? Who are your favorite characters/relationships?