# Where to begin?



## Lord Vetinari (Feb 12, 2002)

So tell me...
I'm quite new to Tolkien (I've spent time with Pratchett's books more, though), and now I wonder thatwhere should I begin?
Should I start from the Fellowship of the Ring or something else?
And more importantly, in which book is told how Sauron lost the Ring?
That whole war (that Sauron led) that was shown in the movie?


----------



## Tar-Palantir (Feb 12, 2002)

I would start with the Hobbit. The tone of it is as if it was written for children - which it was, but don't get discouraged! Then move on to the Lord of the Rings (FOTR,TTT,ROTK). Next on our hit parade is the Silmarillion. 

Reading the books in that order (the order in which they were published), IMO, makes it easier to get into Middle-Earth.

If you still thirst for more Tolkien after those books, move onto Unfinished Tales and the HoME series.

Hope this helps.


----------



## Talierin (Feb 12, 2002)

I agree with Tar-Palantir. You'll find Sauron's first defeat in the Silmarillion, but you really should read the Hobbit and LOTR before it. The Sil is written like the Bible.


----------



## Lantarion (Feb 12, 2002)

Well, I don't know about that. It is certainly _the_ Bible for all Tolkienites, but it does not hold any painfully obvious moral teachings or such. It is much more precise and explanatory than the Bible, and less humble and full of sh*t: it doesn't swerve around the point, or hide the point in abstract and idle phrases, but explains everything as thorougly as is needed.
Heh, sorry. I have to wade through the Bible for my confirmation school, and learn SIX incantations. Damn foolish religious ritual ceremony, I think. But you gotta do what you gotta do.


----------



## Talierin (Feb 12, 2002)

Well, it's still somewhat close to the Bible. 

You must be Catholic, right?


----------



## Lantarion (Feb 12, 2002)

No, it's not the kind of thing you're thinking of. This is a thing all 14-year-old Lutheran Christians undergo. It gives us the right to a church wedding and a burial place in a graveyard, and it gives us Finns a chance to get to grips with God and the Bible.. It's not all that religious, really, because it has become such a molded part of Finnish Lutheran society. But it's a pain in the 'you-know-what' anyway. I have to learn six prayers for homewrok, including the Lords Prayer.. _Isä meidän, joka olet taivaassa, pyhitetty olkoon sinun nimesi, tulkoon sinun valtakuntasi..._ blablabla.  hmm, not a great attitude I know, but it'll all be over soon.


----------



## Talierin (Feb 12, 2002)

Lutheran was my next guess. My mom was raised in a Lutheran church, but now we go to a Disciples of Christ church (it's a western US denomination, doesn't have a whole lot of rules and order). All you have to do to join is confess Jesus as Lord and Savior. Same thing with baptism.


----------



## Lord Vetinari (Feb 13, 2002)

Oh, I remember what pain it was to learn "Isä meidän" and "Uskontunnustus" for homework, and I never really managed to learn the latter one. 
But I´m glad to see there´s another Finn around here....
There was only one Finn (besides me) in the Pratchett forums, 
but I´m getting out of subject here...
Well, I´ll read the Hobbit first.


----------



## Lantarion (Feb 13, 2002)

*No tervetuloa!*

Wow, there seems to be a pilgrimage of Finns to this place! I think there must be at least five Finnish people here at the moment. Gloer seemed to be the smartest out of the others, but he hasn't been around for a loooong time.
_Niin, no tervetuloa vaan! Kuinka vanha oot, kun olet kerran käynyt riparin? _


----------



## Lord Vetinari (Feb 18, 2002)

I´m so glad there are Finns here...
I´d hate to be the only one.
But I am 18, and I remember those prayers like yesterday..
What a pain in the *ss it was!
well anyway, I found Silmarillion but haven´t found The Hobbit yet..
I hope I can find it at the bookstore where I´ve bought all Terry Pratchett´s books.


----------



## Thorondor (Feb 18, 2002)

After the movie came out, there seems to be a new surge in the number of tolkien books available, so I would think you will be able to find them. 

Ponti~I feel sorry for you. I went through Lutheran confirmation a ways back, but I don't remember having to all memorize that. Of course I am in one of the American synods, not Finland. All I remember is we were supposed to memorize the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and maybe the Apostles Creed, but I don't think we did. It was all just busy work, not at all enlightening.


----------



## Lantarion (Feb 18, 2002)

Don't worry about it. I have learned them all now, and it wasn't even that hard. It's not uncomfortable or painful in any way, it just feels to me like a waste of time. A superfluous religious ceremony that was created by weak, 'couldn't-be-bothered'- type people who made up stories instead of trying to find out the truth of things. 
Heehee. Well, OK, it wasn't exactly like that, but sometimes it feels like it. It is more of a moral amplifier, which reminds people of their inhumane or 'evil' behaviour and often makes them think again and change their ways. Hooray.
But, as I said, this thing is both religious and social. A lot like the bar-mitzvah for the Jews.


----------



## Beleg Strongbow (Feb 22, 2002)

If i was u this is what i would do.
1 hobbit
2 lotr
3 lotr
4 silmarillion
5 hobbit
6 Unfinished tales
6 sil
7 history of middle earth
8 lotr

I think that would give you a good general knowlege


----------



## Anduril (Feb 22, 2002)

I support the tour designed by Bereg..

I will add
"Tree and leaf" as the "finale"...

If this idea doesn't bother you Bereg


----------

