Tolkien Blog Party Tag

The Tolkien Blog Party has started (see Hamlette’s kick-off post here!), and there’s a fun tag for it. I fear my tag answers will shame me, as I’m a comparatively light-ish Tolkien fan…I’ve read The Hobbit and LOTR multiple times, and obviously I enjoyed them or I wouldn’t be participating in this party, but I don’t dress up as the characters or speak Tolkien’s languages or know the route to Mordor blindfold or anything like that. But sometimes a little shame is good for us, so here goes.

1. The Shire:  What place in Middle-earth do you think you would feel the most like home for you?

I could be obvious and say the Shire, but I’ll say Bree instead. I would feel a little out of place being the only human in the Shire. And Bree seems like a very cozy place to stay; I always enjoyed the time spent there in LOTR.

2. Bree:  If you could create a Middle-earth-themed restaurant, what would you serve there?

Oh, good question…the Middle-earth dishes that really stick in my mind are lembas and ent-draught, but neither of those are very restaurant-like foods…I suppose I’d have to serve mushrooms to attract all the hobbits, and I definitely would need to wheedle Bilbo’s seed cake recipe out of him, because that sounds delicious.

3. Rivendell:  Where in Middle-earth would you like to hang out with your friends for a week or so?

That’s hard to answer…there are so many places it would be lovely to stay! I’ll say either Tom Bombadil’s house or Beorn’s house. Not only are they beautiful places, but befriending either of those two has distinct advantages.

4. Moria:  Have you ever delved into the history of Middle-earth (or the history of Tolkien’s creative process)?  If so, did you learn anything cool you’d like to share?

Not really…sorry. I do know a few interesting tidbits from living in the same house with more intense Tolkien fans…one is that Tolkien very strongly did not want the third volume of LOTR to be named The Return of the King, because he felt (reasonably so) that it gave the ending away. He wanted it to be named The War of the Ring instead.

5. Lothlorien:  Would you like to sleep in a tree?

No. I once slept on the floor by our Christmas tree for the aesthetics, and I don’t plan on repeating that or any similar experience. (I’m also like Pippin in that I’d be paranoid that I’d roll off.)

6. Edoras:  Do you like horses?

I do! Though I’ve rarely gotten the chance to interact with them. (Random horse-y tidbit for you is that apparently horses like hearing a human voice, so if you can’t hang out with your horse you can at least turn on the radio and he’ll feel less lonely.)

7. Minas Tirith:  Have you ever dressed as a Tolkien character, whether for a convention or Halloween or anything else?  (Bonus fake internet points if you share a photo!)

Once I dressed up as Goldberry for Halloween. Probably no one knew who I was, but I enjoyed it 😛

8. Erebor:  Do you have any Middle-earth merchandise you particularly treasure?

Er….no. I don’t have any Middle-earth merchandise.

9. Mordor:  Have you ever read anything by Tolkien that wasn’t about Middle-earth?

Yes, I have! I read his short stories Farmer Giles of Ham and Smith of Wootton Major, and enjoyed both of them.

10. The Grey Havens:  How long has it been since you last ventured into Middle-earth via book or film?

That depends on if you count Khraniteli, the Soviet TV version of Fellowship which is so laughably bad that it’s a delight to watch. I watched that not long ago…a few months ago, maybe? If you don’t count that, last year I re-read the books and also listened to my brother Wemmick read them out loud.

Hopefully I’ll get something more in-depth up for Tolkien Week, but this was certainly a fun start to the festivities! (If I have time for nothing else, maybe at least I can share a review of the wonder that is Khraniteli.)