#100 - The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

I did not want to read The Lord of the Rings. At all. I was glad it was the first book on the list so I could get it over with. I’m not into fantasy/weird/nerdy/boy kinds of books with creatures and battles. I mean, sure, the movies were entertaining, but hardly the same as forcing myself to read this gigantic book. So I decided that in order to satisfy the terms of my agreement (with myself) to read all the books on the list -- even the yucky ones -- I would read The Fellowship of the Ring, the first of the three books that make up the LOTR epic. Yeah, it was sorta cheating, but still. No way.

I started reading, and it was awful. The first 60 pages or so were the most tedious history of all things hobbit in the most excruciating detail. It was mind-numbingly boring. I found that it helped to drink a beer before trying to read.

Then, once I got through that prologue and was finally introduced to Frodo and Gandalf and The Shire and embarked on this wild adventure story, you know, something happened. The next thing I knew, I had read a hundred more pages, and then I didn’t want to put it down. I didn’t want to sleep. I didn’t want to watch tv. Maybe I had unleashed my inner nerd. I found myself craving more. I HAD to know what was going to happen to these characters and this world that I found myself actually caring about. After only a couple days I went back to the library and picked up The Two Towers and then a few days later The Return of the King. Basically, I was hooked.

J.R.R. Tolkien is an exceptional story teller. All the rich detail that was such a killer at the beginning turned out to be what kept me interested once the story started. When I could really picture the characters and places -- things that don’t even exist in real life but which were described so well they seemed possible -- I was compelled to keep reading. (It also helped that I kept the IMDB page open on my computer to the LOTR movie pages so I could remember, now which hobbit was played by Dominic Monaghan? And what did Boromir look like? Was it cheating? Meh.)

I’ve gotta say, there is a lot to keep track of when it comes to characters and places in these books, with impossible-to-pronounce names and words that look similar -- Mordor and Gondor, Sauron and Saruman -- and multiple names for the same person -- Aragorn/Strider/Elessar/Elfstone. Reading requires a fair investment of time and concentration. However, it’s a commitment that I found relatively easy to make. The adventure aspect of the story in combination with the imagery is so engaging it’s hard not to find yourself wanting -- needing -- to continue, and the characters themselves keep your attention. I found myself cringing whenever creepy little Gollum entered the scene, and likewise maybe sitting up a little straighter when Aragorn was around. Ok, so maybe I had a bit of a crush on Aragorn. I can’t help it! He kept saving the day! And he’s all tall and strong and kingly!

I think my little adventure in reading is off to a promising start. I went in with low expectations and was very pleasantly surprised. Turns out I really liked The Lord of the Rings and would recommend it to anyone who isn’t a fantasy fan but who likes a good old-fashioned story of adventure, friendship and good versus evil. Just skip the prologue... It’s ok to cheat a little.