# Round three and still no avail



## Firawyn (Jul 6, 2005)

Hey guys.

I am fully aware that my Tolkien education will not be even near complete utnil I read the Sil. I HAVE the book. I've TRIED to read it three times. Then I get board and put it down, and three months later, I've forgotten it all. Is there a good pace to read it? Like if you had to break it down into a bunch of sections, how would it be done. 

I'm actually wondering if I could get them on CD. Does anyone know if/where I can do this. 

I really want to get through the Sil, but it's just not working!


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## Valandil (Jul 6, 2005)

I have to admit I had the same problem - I even had that very problem with Hobbit and LOTR the first time I tried to read each. Somehow it was worse with the Silmarillion - or at least it was MUCH longer before I ever finally got through it.

When I finally read it, it was part of something bigger I set out to do. Remembering all the ancient things referred to in LOTR, I decided to try to read all three of those works in their proper chronological / historical order. So I read through The Silmarillion, then moved right on to The Hobbit, then LOTR. It was pretty cool doing it that way, because all the Sil stories were pretty fresh when I got to the others - and maybe looking forward to 'the project' as a whole helped me keep moving.

May not work for you, but... I guess that's how I did it.

(an observation about Tolkien's writing - I think the pace of his stories is slower than our lives - we have to sort of force ourselves to slow down and absorb them in their entireity)  

Good luck!


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## Confusticated (Jul 6, 2005)

At which points have you gotten bored of it?

Are you put off by having to try to keep track of too much information?

You can get it on CD, but I am not sure where. I wouldn't think it would be too hard to find though if you look online.

If the problem is too much information too fast, you might try starting a thread like a Sil journal where you post a summary of what you read or your thoughts or questions on it. If you have the problem of trying to remember every tiny detail then myself and other posters could help by telling you, as you go along, which few things of the many it is most important to remember.

But if you just find the tales boring, I see no use in foring yourelf. I think a lot of readers Try to enjoy the Sil but maybe it isn't for every LotR fan, the books are different.

If you are only reading it to get certain information about the First Age, then there are easier ways than by reading a book that bores you.

You might try just reading a single tale, such as the tale of Beren and Luthien, and before you start just have someone give you a brief background that summaries any vital information to understanding story or who you can ask questions of during or after reading it.

And last of all did you find all of it boring or just parts? If you love parts then don't give up, but if it is all bore and you only read it for the purpose of having a more complete Middle-earth "education", I'll just say that to me the great thing about these books is that they are enjoyed as beautiful and imaginative stories, and to make work out of them would seem like a sad mistake, at least in my opinion.

Do you think it would help if you have some kind of read-along, where there is a short summary of vital information for each chapter? And maybe with other information like reminders or something?


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## Alatar (Jul 6, 2005)

Well, ship the first two books and go on to the Quenta silmarilion.
Beginning of days sums up the first two pretty well though.


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## HLGStrider (Jul 6, 2005)

Another bit of advice, if you are reading it just for information, try picking up Robert Fosters guide to Middle Earth, or the almost exactly like it "Complete Guide" by Tyler. 

I actually was unable to find a copy of the Sil for several years after reading the Lord of the Rings and I have never been in the position to get my hands on a complete _Unfinished Tales_. I hate my library. However, I was able to absorb almost all the information by reading Foster's guide, which my library did have. After that I came across Tyler's guide in a used book store for a reasonable price, and I read that. THEN I got the Silmarillion for my birthday. 

It is somehow easier to read the Sil if you know the story before hand. Then you can read it slowly, for the writing, and not lose track of your place. I think the Sil IS one of those books that demands long breaks between chapters. There have been three or four books like that for me in my life. _War and Peace _was one. I have read other books of similar size in a week. _War and Peace _took me nearly four months. I would sometimes go two weeks between sections, and in the time I read _War and Peace_ I finished a half dozen smaller novels.

The Sil was a very similar reading experience, but when I read it I was younger (probably fifteen because I first read the Lord of the Rings when I was twelve, and like I said there was a significant gap). I think the Sil is shorter than WaP. I had a friend who teased me for months straight with "Are you still reading that book?" I ended up loaning it to him, and he took about the same length of time I did. Mu ha ha ha.


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## baragund (Jul 6, 2005)

The Silmarillion is not like a regular novel. Each chapter is kind of independent of each other and they don't necessarily have to be read in order. Like Nom said, pick a chapter that appeals to you and take your time with it.

For me, the biggest challenge was keeping track of the names of all the characters and places. To keep them straight, I would have a copy of the map of Beleriand nearby so I can look at it easily, and then refer to the glossary a LOT to keep track of who's who.

It took me several tries to get through the whole thing as well.


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## Astran (Jul 6, 2005)

how to read it? 
Just go on an extremely boring holiday with your parents (Your nephews cancelled at the last moments).
The only thing you can do then is read books or swim. But swimming is boring too after a while, so The Silmarillion is your only option


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## Thorondor_ (Jul 6, 2005)

> Is there a good pace to read it?


Read Tolkien's comments on how myth is a path towards the Light.. that should get you started


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## ingolmo (Jul 7, 2005)

I still have the same problems, and to say the truth, I skipped chapters not related to the story, such as the Lay of Beleriand, and the Noldor in Beleriand. I think that reasons of getting bored of the Silmarillion are that it's of course very slow, and some parts are not related to the story at all. It's more of a myth which describes all the details about the culture it belongs to, rather than giving the story in one piece. I wish I could read the Silmarillion in one bit. I took almost five months reading it. And that, leaving out some parts.


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## Firawyn (Jul 7, 2005)

Wow, that was a better respond than I expected. Thanks for your advise, all of you.

i read the Lord of the Rings, then the Hobbit, then the Unfinished Tales. I had been putting of the Sil, because I knew it was harder than LotR, but when I got through the Unfinished tales (I loved the part with Mim the Dwarf), I figured the Sil would be no problem. 

Boy was I wrong!!  lol

I'll be back to post later..


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## Ingwë (Jul 8, 2005)

*Bored? While reading the Silmarilion? *My mother didn't like the book, too. She stopped reading the book because there were a lot of names and she cannot remember them, blah, blah, blah...  I need 3 days to read the Silmarilion. You can begin reading at the morning (don't forget the coffee) and read, read, read till midnight. This is how I do it!


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## Firawyn (Jul 8, 2005)

lol, yeah well....some of us have lives and cant read from dawn to midnight three days streight!!


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## Ingwë (Jul 9, 2005)

Well, I don't mean reading three days... If you read so hard as I you will finish the book for 2 days max. It is easy to read the Sil if you have enough time. It was easy to me to read the book in Bulgarian because I am Bulgarian. It will be easy to you to read the bok in English


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## Confusticated (Jul 12, 2005)

How did you enjoy the story of Tour's journey to Gondolin? Are you curious what happened after? If so, reading "Of Maeglin" and then "Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin" might be a good start.

Did you enjoy the UT information on Numenor? Is so, maybe try reading the Akallabeth first.

Are you curious about the history of Turin's father, or what happens to Thingol and Doriath later? If so, try "Of the Ruin of Doriath" Or "Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad". Nirnaeth chapter tells of the battle where the heroic Hurin was taken by Morgoth. If you want further Doriath history "Of Thingol and Melian" and then "Of the Sindar" are the chapters to read.


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## Ingwë (Jul 13, 2005)

I read the Sil and later the Unfinished Tales. You can read about Turin in the Sil but if I was you I would read about Turambar in the Unfinished Tales. You may read the two books because the UT is like an addition to the Sil (I mean part one of the UT). 

The description of Gondolin is great. The gates, gold, Elves... 

Nóm, is the Sil you favourite book?


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## Inderjit S (Jul 13, 2005)

> Nóm, is the Sil you favourite book?



Don't be silly- of course it is her favourite book! She especially likes the story of Beren and Luthien, especially the part when Finrod is captured by Sauron (she despises Finrod) and she especially likes Celegorm and Curufin, claiming they are, or were, the "noblest, handsomest and cleverest of all the Elves."


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## Ingwë (Jul 13, 2005)

Hehehe...
When I posted in the thread The Silmarillion Ch.#2: Of Aulë and Yavanna I found this thread: *The Silmarillion: What it is, should you read it, and advice for troubled reading*
Fyr, you must read this thread! I think it will help you  
And you must say 'Thanks' to Nóm


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## Confusticated (Jul 13, 2005)

It was my pleasure Ingwë, and yes it is my favorite. But I love the archaic style and more wonderful & magical _The Book of Lost Tales_ as well.


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## AraCelebEarwen (Jul 22, 2005)

I think any one who tries to read it will soon find themselves sinking. It is very much a history book! Lots of disjointed stories filled in with time. I will admit to not having read through most of this thread so I hope this hasn't all been said.  Tolkien 'wrote' the Sil. as a way to keep his history notes and ideas. It was his son that pulled it all together and gave it a cover.  I also am trying to read through it... it's taking a long time...  There are always spots that I go slower and drink in the ideas, feelings and words. After all, if you don't read, it is very hard to wright! Yes?!


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## yhwh1st (Jul 22, 2005)

I am about half way through the Sil too and am having a bit of trouble, but it seems to me as though you are having a lot more trouble than me! The fact that I'm a fast reader, and that it takes me a long tome to forget where I left off, work for me. I have read _The Fellowship_ in one day, but that was when I had an entire Saturday to myself . Ha! Like that ever happens anymore!


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## AraCelebEarwen (Jul 22, 2005)

I was never that fast!  But I can read well enough to get lost if I put my book down and my wonderful little siblings take the bookmark out!  Thankfully they are learning though!  I've managed to get most of the way through it, but just don't pick it up much...  Perhaps I'll need to try taking on my next 'family trip' as someone said, that is, as long as they don't ask me to drive.


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## Greenwood (Jul 23, 2005)

My advice, if you are having trouble with The Silmarillion, is to not worry about it. Put it back up on your bookshelf and forget about it for the time being. LOTR is a complex book and can be read and reread for years with great enjoyment and new discoveries every time. Try The Silmarillion again at some future date after you have reread LOTR a few times. If you still find it boring then, put it aside again. The LOTR is too wonderful a book to mar by forcing yourself through The Silmarillion. I suspect that at some point you will pick up The Silmarillion for another attempt and find yourself wondering what your earlier difficulties were about. In the meantime, enjoy LOTR. This is all supposed to be something you are doing for enjoyment, not an assignment.

Ellgee,

I don't think anyone reads _War and Peace_ in a few days. LOTR is the only book I have read more times than _War and Peace_ and even on rereading it, _War and Peace_ does not go quickly. I sometimes skim the last hundred pages or so which is primarily Tolstoy's philosophy of history. Another important factor is the translation you read. The older, Victorian era translations are probably much harder to deal with. There are modern translations that are easier going.


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## HLGStrider (Jul 24, 2005)

Have you ever seen the Cheers episode where Sam reads W and P in two days or so to impress Dianne? 

How the heck could he?


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## Aiglos (Jul 24, 2005)

I was at a Russian Orthodox wedding yesterday and the liturgy sounded just like the Sil....  

That's because the Sil is basically the Old Testament translated to Arda and Eru and The Valar.

So and so who begat so and so who was the father of such and such etc etc etc


Still great, although unfortunately it does at points begin to sound like Monty Python's Holy Hand Grenade sketch from The Holy Grail.


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## HLGStrider (Jul 24, 2005)

The style is very Biblical, but I think harder to understand because most people nowadays read NIV rather than KJV. 

Mu ha ha ha. I love confusing people who may not know what those acronyms mean.


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## Telëlambe (Aug 8, 2005)

Well when i was younger i loved the hobbit and lord of the rings, and i loved them, so my mum got me The Sil because it had Tolkien on the front of it. I opened it and read one paragraph and thought it was crazy and far beond me. but after a year or two i got very hungry for more tolkien. so i picked it up and gave it another shot, and i absolutly devoured it! a companion with a family tree is absolutly essential for all the fin's and cele's. so just dont push it, your love for the tales of the elder days will come and after that you will be able to read it in under a weak. 

the histories however do require a lot of push and effort.
but thats in another thread.


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## GuardianRanger (Aug 9, 2005)

When I read the Silmarillion, I tend to keep one finger in the map section, one finger in the family tree section, and one finger near the index. It makes it a little difficult to read, and I'm constantly flipping pages; but it helps reinforce what's going on.


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## Aglarband (Aug 25, 2005)

Read Of Beren and Luthien, it's my fav. chapter in the Sil. I also like Akelbeth. Numenor was cool, and its downfall rivals that of Feanor.


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