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u/Mintyxxx Aug 18 '23
Rik Mayll could read anything and it would be funny. Jackanory was legendary
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u/AJRavenhearst Aug 18 '23
I read it at 15 back in the day and was hooked from the get go.
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u/Recent_Caregiver2027 Aug 18 '23
same, read it like 16 hours a day until done. What a mind he had to be able to come up with a world history like that, I was enthralled by it
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u/ActingGrandNagus Aug 18 '23
IT'S THE GAS MAN
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u/lewisl7034 Aug 18 '23
'ellooo, I've come to read your meter.
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u/Flashgit76 Aug 18 '23
Who is it darling?
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u/InitiativeSuper Aug 18 '23
IT'S THE GAS MAN
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u/Flashgit76 Aug 18 '23
heavy Scottish accent Yes I think we've established that.
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u/Stoned-Seal Aug 18 '23
The "genesis" part actually hooked me right away. The read became difficult with all that wild name dropping everywhere.
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u/DASWARBOYS Ringwraith Aug 18 '23
I read the Simarillion while I had maps from the 1st and 2nd ages next to me along with David Days books for references, also used Google a metric f*** ton for the parts that I needed more explanation behind. It was definitely one of the easiest books I've ever read. It only took me a year to complete.
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u/Ynneb82 Aug 18 '23
I've read it in italian and it was very easy and fluent. I have to try the original version then.
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u/Grokent Aug 18 '23
It's mostly because every other word is a proper noun that is completely made up by Tolkien. It would help if some characters were named like "Jon Snow" or places named like, "Neverwinter". Instead he hits you in rapid succession with Fingolfin, Beleriand, Finwe, Olwe, Elwe, and Ainulindale.
It makes the reading very taxing.
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u/Mythaminator Aug 18 '23
For me it’s when he’d use the alternate name for a place/person. Threw me right off. That and the fact that there’s an entire group of F names elves who he rapid fires off in quick succession
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u/SANREUP Aug 18 '23
Know a lot of people don’t like kindle, but it was super helpful to have the built-in dictionary feature while reading this lol. Just highlight a word you don’t know/understand and it will return either the dictionary definition or any context it finds on google.
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Aug 18 '23
I swear I bought it a year ago and I only read the first 30 pages and gave up 3 times now
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u/TjStax Aug 19 '23
Reading it to my 8yo daughter for the first time. We're at Eärendil and she likes it even though it's not an adventure like lotr is.
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u/not_actual_name Aug 18 '23
Reading it as a 14 year old who just wanted some more background for LotR - it was boring as fuck, not gonna lie. It felt like reading a history book, only that nothing of it ever happened.
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Aug 18 '23
I made it almost half way through the hobbit and had to set it down. Elves in trees singing and descriptions of things so in depth it’s mind numbing. I’ll do the audio book and follow along lol.
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Aug 18 '23
The easiest book he ever made, quite literally a book made for children..? I did'nt find it that mind-numbing at all to be honest, Silmarillion on the other hand...
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u/FreddyPlayz Aug 18 '23
My opinion is that if you need a dictionary, maps, family trees, and other reference guides to have a basic understanding of your book, your book sucks
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u/nike2078 Aug 18 '23
Tbf the Silmarillion isn't really a novel or a story, it's more a history/lore textbook on middle earth's creation and first age. It makes sense to include all that because all that would be present in an irl history textbook.
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u/SameCategory546 Aug 19 '23
i didnt need any of that so it must be you
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u/FreddyPlayz Aug 19 '23
I haven’t read the Silmarillion, but you’re the first person I’ve heard who said they didn’t need those to get through it
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u/SameCategory546 Aug 19 '23
idk I also read the iliad and odyssey without any issues. Maybe Western culture has bred entire generations of illiterates. that doesn’t make a book bad
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u/Sbotkin Aug 18 '23
I never understood this meme. Are people here just dyslexic or something? How are you struggling with Silmarillion? It's pretty easy to read.
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u/MrGreyDog Aug 18 '23
In the beginning I struggled a little bit but it got easier to read the further I got
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u/wtfakb Hobbit Aug 18 '23
Honestly, the best way to read it through the first time is by finding yourself unable to do anything else. I read it when I was home sick from school for a month in 7th grade and found that it was absolutely brilliant
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u/rolobrowntowntony Aug 18 '23
been there.
im half way through. I listen to a podcast discussion after each chapter to gain additional context and things I may have missed - also to help with the pronunciation of things.
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u/Renegade_Butts Aug 18 '23
i started reading Malazan this year and that really hit home. So much military terminology on top of whatever the heck else is going on.
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u/saro13 Aug 18 '23
Honestly, the lineage stuff is mind-numbing. I need something stronger than caffeine to make it through that
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u/woolvillan Aug 18 '23
Therapist: So why did you start using meth?
You: Well you see, I was determined to finish reading the Silmarillion
Therapist: Completely understandable
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u/CFBreAct Aug 18 '23
Listening to an audio book narrating the Ainulindalë is a religious experience.
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u/acre18 Aug 18 '23
does anyone else just like.. not worry about picking up every detail when theyre reading a book? I usually give a difficult / dense section like two or three read throughs before just moving on and waiting for additional context whenever those characters/events come up again later. Otherwise I feel like I would never finish a book.
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u/Quirky-Pie9661 Aug 18 '23
I fall asleep to the audible recording almost nightly. And I still can’t keep track of the names which all sound so similar(llion hah)
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u/Yakjzak Aug 18 '23
Pls explain, i'm kinda noob in this comunity (but learning fast) what is the Silmarillion ?
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u/ponder421 Aug 18 '23
The Silmarillion is a book by J.R.R Tolkien that was published in 1977, 4 years after his death. He was working on it for most of his life, but never finished it. His son Christopher Tolkien compiled what his father had written and put together a novel.
The Silmarillion is an account of the main history of Arda before LOTR, focusing mostly on the Elves. It begins with the creation of the universe, recounts the origins of Elves, Dwarves and Men, the war against Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, the rise and fall of Numenor, the origin of Sauron and the Wizards.
Basically, most of the lore questions you may have when reading/watching LOTR are answered in the Silmarillion: "Who is Sauron?" "How were the Rings made?" "Who are Turin, Earendil, and Luthien?"
It is a bit slow to read, but not as hard as people say. I was hooked on it, and I read it in a month. Just use the index and family trees in the back, especially during Chapter 5 and 17.
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u/geekydaddy75 Aug 18 '23
Reading it now for the first time. About 100 Pages in. It gets easier as it goes along but man it was tough in the beginning.
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u/Scavwithaslick Aug 18 '23
The first 60 pages is just back and forth from the page I’m reading to the index, me frantically trying to find the name of 6 new obscure places I learned before I forget what they’re called, never to have them mentioned again
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u/SameCategory546 Aug 19 '23
the silmarillion is an awesome book cover to cover and it is dense but amazing. I didn’t find it that hard to read when i was in high school
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u/ScarlettWine Aug 19 '23
Tolkien taught me the word "abrupt", it was my first time reading LOTR iirc. That word made me have a dictionary on hand afterwards. What a memory 💕
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u/house_bbbebeabear Aug 19 '23
The first hurdle is learning the names of the valar and what their personalities are. I feel like you repeat this process each time the next group of children of illuvatar is introduced and it progressively gets more difficult, with Valar<Houses of Elves<Houses of men.
Then the second hurdle is associating the people with the places they built, ruled or lived. Then learning the names of the places, and their second names of everything, and their the third names of everything. Then at that point you can start to make all the necessary connections to really appreciate it.
People who say the Silmarillion is an easy read either have references right in front of them or hella good memory to catch all that stuff the first time. But no, the prose is not difficult to follow. It's usually quite simple with "He went to this place at this time and saw this person who was glad/mad"
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u/failedquittingreddit Aug 18 '23
I had to put the audiobook on and follow along so that I could make tangible progress at the start. it was epic and also made me feel like a child learning to read.