I discovered it was J. R. R. Tolkien’s birthday today.
I read his books in seventh grade. At that time I was living in Iowa, and they seemed a fantastic and impossible alternative to the grey misery I felt. I dreamed of walking in lothlorien, and of living in rivendell. Little did I know that san francisco existed….
I started rereading them recently, prompted by a movie trailer that made me think “This time they might have got it right.” Me and thousands of others– LOTR holds half of amazon’s top ten list.
I’m now disturbed by the classism and luddite tendancies of the author’s work, but yet… elves. drwarves. darkest evil, and brave painful choices…. It’s still a great story. One of the great ones.
Happy birthday, JRR.