# The Lord of the Rings is actually even better on reread



## Asgemsuponasilverthread (Jun 14, 2020)

Hey, i am new here. I am permanently suspended from Reddit and so i wanted to join another community where i can meet fellow Tolkien fans, hopefully i have come to the right place 

I just wanted to say that i am rereading LotR right now and it's even better than doing the first reading. I read it last year, and i liked it but thought Silmarillion is better, and that some parts were tedious. I decided to reread it and it's completely taken me aback. I am now able to appreciate some elements of the book which i disliked or ignored, like poetry. I have come to really like Tolkien's songs. I think this is the best book i have ever read. It's amazing.

I think it might be because Tolkien is way better at worldbuilding that the majority of other writers and so his works are capable of capturing my attention way better. There have been a lot of books i tried to reread, and in most cases i ended up abandoning them because i know the plot already. However, Tolkien is clearly able to give the reader more than just the story.

I don't know why, but it was the other way for Silmarillion, i liked it more during my first read but only slightly.

I think LotR has moved ahead of Silmarillion in my hierarchy of favourite books.


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## Starbrow (Jun 14, 2020)

Welcome! LOTR is my favorite book and I have reread it too many times to count. You can get something out of it with each rereading.


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## Erestor Arcamen (Jun 15, 2020)

Yup, every time I reread it I learn or notice something different 🙂


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## Ithilethiel (Jun 15, 2020)

Same here. Each time I re-read the trilogy I learn something new I missed previously. It truly is amazing and I agree, Tolkien is the #1 Wordsmith! I too enjoy the Sil but LOTR is a close second.

Btw, welcome!


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## Olorgando (Jun 15, 2020)

Yes, there is so much in the book that it's practically impossible to remember all of it on the first reading. Or even after the second, third, fourth - I'm somewhere beyond 15, including three reads of the German translation: my very first reading at all back in 1983 (English original in 1985). I also must have gotten the three LoTR volumes, "The Hobbit", "The Silmarillion", "Unfinished Tales" and "The Book of Lost Tales" volumes 1 and 2 (being the first two History of Middle-earth volumes) not long after 1986, as that is the latest reprint date I find in any of them (and the spines of the books all have the same design, while starting with HoMe volume 3 "The Lays of Beleriand", the spines change in design every once in a while). After reading the Sil, or UT, some things became clearer that had been unclear before. It may be the most re-read book of all times, I at least have not re-read any of my books (well over 1000) nearly as often as LoTR - I think i read the "silver medalist" perhaps five times.


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## Elthir (Jun 15, 2020)

And it can read differently (in some measure), but still awesomely of course, as one ages.

Ahem. I assume


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## Sir Eowyn (Jun 15, 2020)

I cannot say it's my FAVOURITE book --- that is likely Wuthering Heights, or Women in Love, by D. H. Lawrence --- but yes, I've read it a few times, and each time I come back to it, new abysses of depth open up, and I gaze upon them in wonder. 

Little descriptions, like the eyes in the hill up beside the Black Gate, or the hobbits bidding their late farewell to Goldberry, almost forgetting --- Tolkien makes a lot of fantasy look so formulaic, so by rote. His is truly inspired. It's like he is actually seeing this world, and telling the tale that's come down to him.


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## Aramarien (Jun 15, 2020)

I also have read LOTR too many times to count. I have gone through perhaps 2-3 sets of the paperbacks until they were falling apart. (back when they were sold as 3 separate books in a box). I do like the edition where it's one book, as Tolkien originally meant it to be, not a "trilogy". 
Every time I read LOTR, I see something different. Sometimes I read it through for the story, Sometimes, I take my time and savor the prose or marvel at the character interactions. 
In addition, since I've been reading LOTR since I was a teen, and now am "old", I also see many things from a different perspective.


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## Alcuin (Jun 16, 2020)

In the past several days, I have begun re-reading _The Hobbit_ in preparation for reading _Lord of the Rings_ again. I lost count of readings twenty years ago. Every time I read it, I find something new, and see the story in a new way. It is a masterful work of craft!


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## Olorgando (Jun 16, 2020)

Elthir said:


> And it can read differently (in some measure), but still awesomely of course, as one ages.


JRRT was very much in favor of the applicability which resides in the freedom of the reader.
But the "applicable to what" also changes over the years, or in my case, decades since my first readings in 1983 and 1985.
I must say I have found few if any "new Gandalfs" or "new Aragorns", perhaps slightly more Hobbits (like in the mirror 😬).
Orcs, Trolls and Sarumans, on the other hand, seem to multiply with the ease often shown in Middle-earth …


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## Tulukastaz (Jun 16, 2020)

This is actually true to reading in general... re-reading anything helps you understand it. That's why C.S. Lewis was so famous or good because he was an excellent fast reader with good memory.

the Lord of the Rings is one of the better stories out there... that's why it naturally is actually better on re-read.

Greetings!


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## Rivendell_librarian (Jun 16, 2020)

I also found that being in this forum and being guided to books like Fonstad's Atlas has helped me appreciate Tolkien's books all the better. I've reread The Simarillion and The Hobbit recently and they have both improved a lot on rereading. I'm planning to read Unfinished Tales before returning to the LOTR.

Now reading Unfinished Tales. Better than expected - rather like Schubert's symphony they don't come across as unfinished.


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## Shadow (Feb 11, 2021)

I am re-reading the books again after a long time. The world building is what I enjoy the most. Tolkien tells such a complex tale so effortlessly and once the story starts its hard to stop reading. The Jackson movies are good but the books are the true experience.


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## Olorgando (Feb 11, 2021)

Elthir said:


> And it can read *differently* (in some measure), but still awesomely of course, as one ages.
> 
> Ahem. I assume


Needing reading glasses with age comes to mind spontaneously ... 🤓


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## 1stvermont (Feb 11, 2021)

Asgemsuponasilverthread said:


> Hey, i am new here. I am permanently suspended from Reddit and so i wanted to join another community where i can meet fellow Tolkien fans, hopefully i have come to the right place
> 
> I just wanted to say that i am rereading LotR right now and it's even better than doing the first reading. I read it last year, and i liked it but thought Silmarillion is better, and that some parts were tedious. I decided to reread it and it's completely taken me aback. I am now able to appreciate some elements of the book which i disliked or ignored, like poetry. I have come to really like Tolkien's songs. I think this is the best book i have ever read. It's amazing.
> 
> ...



I think I am the opposite. I loved the third age writing at first read, they did get better each time but not drastically. The Silmarillion confused me and I only really enjoyed certain parts. But I liked that it was the history to the third age so that alone kept me interested. But each time I read the Silmarillion it becomes that much better to where now it is right behind the third age in my enjoyment I get from reading it.



Rivendell_librarian said:


> I also found that being in this forum and being guided to books like Fonstad's Atlas has helped me appreciate Tolkien's books all the better. I've reread The Simarillion and The Hobbit recently and they have both improved a lot on rereading. I'm planning to read Unfinished Tales before returning to the LOTR.



I always thought I would recommend the Atlas as a good summary of the first two ages if someone did not want to invest in reading the entire Silmarillion.



Rivendell_librarian said:


> Now reading Unfinished Tales. Better than expected - rather like Schubert's symphony they don't come across as unfinished.



Same opinion.


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## GaladrielAdmirer (Feb 12, 2021)

Our impressions of books can definitely change on different readings. I've read LOTR several times now, and I notice different things about it, have different feelings about parts of it and characters each time. It's fascinating.


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## Shadow (Feb 12, 2021)

GaladrielAdmirer said:


> Our impressions of books can definitely change on different readings. I've read LOTR several times now, and I notice different things about it, have different feelings about parts of it and characters each time. It's fascinating.


Indeed. Tolkien’s world building is impressive but the connection we make with the characters is huge.


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