12-18-2010, 05:40 PM | #21 |
Princess of the Noldor (and Administrative Empress of the Lone Islands)
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Imladris (and sometimes Norway)
Posts: 3,304
|
I'm pleased to hear that you found an approach that worked for you.
Happy to have been part of your helpers!
__________________
Signature picture art - Bard the Bowman - by vigshane Avatar art - Footsteps of Spring (a young Luthien) - by Henning Janssen |
01-03-2011, 05:15 PM | #22 |
Half-Elven Princess of Rabbit Trails and Harp-Wielding Administrator (beware the Rubber Chicken of Doom!)
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Not where I want to be ...
Posts: 15,254
|
You're welcome - enjoy!
And I recommend "Unfinished Tales" for your next reading adventure
__________________
. I should be doing the laundry, but this is MUCH more fun! Ñá ë?* óú éä ïöü Öñ É Þ ð ß ® ç å ™ æ ♪ ?* "How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! ... For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside." (from Psalm 84) * * * God rocks! Entmoot : Veni, vidi, velcro - I came, I saw, I got hooked! Ego numquam pronunciare mendacium, sed ego sum homo indomitus! Run the earth and watch the sky ... Auta i lómë! Aurë entuluva! |
01-13-2011, 11:32 AM | #23 |
Sapling
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 2
|
Another random tip - I'm on my third try and I am fully engrossed this time and not really finding it that difficult at all. I've become pretty pro at using the index with character/place definitions in the back, but I find I need it less and less. Also, after each chapter I read I browse the forums. It helps to see other people giving in-depth analyses of what I just read. You definitely have to approach it from a more academic standpoint.
|
02-14-2011, 10:10 PM | #24 |
Sapling
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 4
|
I am trying to read the Silmarillion again, but I keep losing interest. I guess I have a problem with the idea of creator gods. They tend to lose themselves in their creation, according to the Kybalion. I don't know. It's fine to read about it in a novel, but quite another thing when it makes you think about our own reality.
|
02-15-2011, 02:36 AM | #25 |
Elven Warrior
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: WI
Posts: 129
|
Interesting you should put it that way. I think I enjoy a novel most (and anything, really) when it does make you think about your own reality, instead of simply providing an escape. Not that simple escape isn't good and sometimes very necessary. But the best books resonate on a 'real' level as well, I feel.
Anyway, all that aside, when I read the Silmarillion, I approached it as if I were about to tackle an epic from Greek mythology, such as the Illiad. It helped me get into a frame of mind that made the -"academic-ness", I guess is as appropriate a descriptor as any even if I just made it up- much more accessible. I loved the creation myth, and was hooked right away. Experience reading epics of science fiction and fantasy had trained me well to constantly reference all the material in the back (genealogies and such), which helped. If the creation myth doesn't do it for you, skip it and move on to the next story. Once you get a little more immersed in the history, maybe the creation of it all will be a bit more interesting.
__________________
Galenavar Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo If there's no magic, there's no meaning. |
04-10-2011, 05:30 PM | #26 |
Elven Warrior
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: central Louisiana
Posts: 105
|
The last time I read it, and it probably will be the last time, I took notes. It really helped. The closest thing I can compare it to is the Old Testament in the Bible. Taking notes really helped me. Good luck.
__________________
Mark Wellman ><> |
04-26-2011, 01:02 PM | #27 | |||
Elf Lord
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: LI-woods, NY
Posts: 653
|
Hi, everyone! Long time no see.
Couldn't help to add to Mark of Cenla comment. Taking the notes is a really helpful way to get a close acquaintance with the story. I plunged into " The Silm" right from the beginning, making notes after sentences if I saw a hidden meaning in it, putting down my thoughts about some events. Something like: Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Any way, for me it was like reading a detective story. Slow, but captivating.
__________________
Uruk-hai, or the journey to there. Last edited by Olmer : 04-26-2011 at 03:48 PM. |
|||
07-23-2011, 01:22 PM | #28 |
Hobbit
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Belgium
Posts: 24
|
Haha, Olmer, I really laughed with your notes, truely genius.
- And yeah, I also had a lot of trouble with the Silmarillion. When I first began to read it, I thought: 'WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST BUY?!?!?' But after a couple of times re-reading the first chapters, I didn't have a problem anymore. (: Now I love The Silmarillion even more than LotR. |
05-27-2012, 05:03 PM | #29 |
Elven Warrior
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: central Louisiana
Posts: 105
|
I am now thinking about reading it again!
__________________
Mark Wellman ><> |
05-27-2012, 05:56 PM | #30 |
Princess of the Noldor (and Administrative Empress of the Lone Islands)
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Imladris (and sometimes Norway)
Posts: 3,304
|
I'd say it gets better with each new reading
__________________
Signature picture art - Bard the Bowman - by vigshane Avatar art - Footsteps of Spring (a young Luthien) - by Henning Janssen |
07-12-2012, 05:49 AM | #31 |
Hobbit
Join Date: May 2012
Location: China
Posts: 25
|
We need some more details in explanation of the book. Some reference will be helpful
|
07-12-2012, 07:32 AM | #32 |
High King at Annuminas Administrator
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Wyoming - USA
Posts: 10,752
|
You should check out our Silmarillion Project Subforum!
__________________
My Fanfic: Letters of Firiel Tales of Nolduryon Visitors Come to Court Ñ á ë ?* ó ú é ä ï ö Ö ñ É Þ ð ß ® ™ [Xurl=Xhttp://entmoot.tolkientrail.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=ABCXYZ#postABCXYZ]text[/Xurl] Splitting Threads is SUCH Hard Work!! |
07-13-2012, 04:31 PM | #33 |
of the House of Fëanor
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 6,150
|
At first, EVERYbody has trouble reading The Silmarillion, but fear not! There are people here, especially Valandil, who can help you along in the effort, but, BUT: Let me tell you what MY secret key to opening & loving the Sil was.
It was when I special-ordered The Silmarillion hardcover illustrated by Ted Nasmith, back in '07 I think. Published by Houghton-Mifflin. Something about those incredibly lush, emotionally evocative illustrations and the way they go along with whichever storyline/chapter you're reading, makes it sooooooo, so much easier to love & comprehend. It was like 20 or 30 dollars, can't remember, but oh, so worth it. It's one of my favourite books in my precious, gigantic personal library. Absolutely beautiful tome.
__________________
Few people have the imagination for reality.
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
If Jackson made "The Silmarillion the Movie" | jerseydevil | Lord of the Rings Movies | 86 | 01-16-2004 08:53 PM |
Did anyone else see the Silmarillion as... | Tar-Palantir | The Silmarillion | 10 | 10-23-2002 04:57 AM |
Trashing the Silmarillion | Sister Golden Hair | The Silmarillion | 6 | 01-24-2002 01:00 PM |
a little orientation needed | DrFledermaus | The Silmarillion | 9 | 02-12-2001 05:48 AM |
Reading THE HOBBIT at the bookstore... | Gilthalion | The Hobbit (book) | 95 | 11-06-2000 04:01 AM |