A Long Expected Party (FOTR) By Hildie

T what a wonderful post! I really enjoyed reading it, and if you have any of the "old material" you have read or written in the past especially from your magazines or society I would love to see it as I'm sure the other two would as well! Perhaps you could scan it in or something like that? Anyway, all your Tolkien talk practically made me drool! I'm such a junkie, I know it!

So let's see... I have told you all a little bit about my own Tolkien background though probably not in full detail. My father is the one who got me hooked on the books, and all the fantasy genre basically. The first book he ever read to me was The Hobbit. I remember Mom reading to me out of a traditional kid's book and then saying, okay while I get everything ready for tomorrow your Dad will finish with a story. So Dad decided it was time to introduce me to his favorite author. He started reading me The Hobbit well before I was ever in kindergarten , and I remember being absolutely engrossed. Each night he would read a chapter and I would beg him to read more but he'd always say "No, we'll save it for tomorrow." I used to love all his different voices for the characters and I adored all the songs, which he would sing for me in the style of the type of character. He had a "hobbit song" voice, and a "dwarf song" voice... and a terrifying "orc song" voice. My father has a very low voice and would make the most of it on those. He read that to me so many times I practically have it memorized. Then he moved on to Lord of the Rings. Same type reading time, same type enthusiasm. He taught me how to translate his writings, and instilled in me every bit of love he had for the books and the genre. So I guess I've been raised a Tolkien fan. Heck, it even inspired my "favorite foods" because Dad used to tell me "Hobbits love mushrooms, try them... you'll like them too!" So as you can guess... they're one of my favorite foods. I'm like T as well, I've read the books so many times I can't even count... I know it's well over 10 times. I still find it fascinating each time, and the movies have made my reading experience all the more visual. I love both the books and films.

As for the chapter "A Long Expected Party" I often wondered if it was related to the first chapter of The Hobbit. Glad you cleared that up T!

I remember feeling/knowing instinctively that The Lord of the Rings was going to be for a more "grown up" audience when I read it the first time, and now as I read chapter one looking closely it's quite obvious that it's not going to be such a kids' book as The Hobbit is. When I was young I tried to get my Dad to read me TFOTR much earlier than he would... I suppose it probably would have scared me.

I liked the character descriptions (there were so many new characters introduced) that Tolkien came up with. I especially enjoyed the vileness of the S-Bs (Sackville-Baggins). Actually that bit in the movie was done well with Bilbo's ears always twitching when they were anywhere around! Hurrah for Peter Jackson to put that twist on it!

The simplicity of Gandalf in this chapter I find very endearing. The hobbits don't know him as a wizard, or a powerful sorcerer. They just know him as a meddling old fellow who makes good fireworks. Knowing what happens as a whole(as everyone does if they've seen the movies, even if they don't know the details of the books), we know that Gandalf is one of the greatest and most powerful of Middle-Earth... the hobbits are spared that image of him because of his kindness and the fact that he tries to allow them a part of the world where they can keep their innocent and childlike qualities. I'm sure I'll mention this again later on as we read the books...

I do so love the idea of Bilbo being off on another journey. What a great way to move on in your life!!! I thought that when I first read it and I still do, I hope I am able to go out on such a bang and I'm not referring to his disappearance as much as the fact that he, even late in life, just went for it!

T you mentioned that you will probably add a little movie and book commentary together here (I just watched FOTR this afternoon by the way), so I thought I could do the same. Merry is seen in a much more responsible light here than he is in the films! He actually was very helpful and able to control and handle situations. Here I'm referring to the time when they were giving Bilbo's presents out and Frodo left him in charge. The Merry of the movie would have totally blown it and been useless in that situation. Oh and I think the tags are brilliant too! They make me smile! Could definitely have used some more of those!

Tolkien does a really great job here reinforcing the hobbits non-adventureousness. I think the descriptions and conversations in chapter one with relation to this makes it seem all the more urgent, stressful, and brave when you see those four little hobbits on the rest of the quest in LOTR. Very well set up!

Can any other author even remotely begin to write such fantastic descriptions? Honestly, I always feel like I'm in The Shire when I read this chapter. My favorite bits are the description of Bilbo's Garden at Bag End, and the fireworks at the Party. Awe inspiring!

Love the foreshadowing about the meanings and severity of the ring, and what it REALLY is! Again just great writing! You can already see Gandalf's suspicions and the fear he's got just lurking under the surface! I noticed the same thing you did as well T with the "Keep it secret, Keep it SAFE!" line. Previously I hadn't put such weight on that line, now I can't help but do it! Well spotted!

I think you've probably hit the nail on the head with the "other odd (queer) folk" at Bag End. The men of Dale are most likely, though a few Rangers may have been about as you said Bilbo did a lot of wandering, though since Tolkien hadn't mentioned the Rangers before then maybe not?? Bilbo did know the Bardings and was friends with their leader after all... Quick question from me... I may have remembered incorrectly or perhaps I'm making things up in my own mind, but didn't someone mention later that the Rangers hadn't really started patrolling the Shire until Gandalf told them he suspected Bilbo's Funny Magic Ring to be something more than funny? Jeeze, I'm horrible I can't remember for sure and I read this very recently (only last year) as well!

Can hardly wait to see what our other two readers think! Sorry for the "long ramblings" but it's Tolkien and once I get started it's so hard to stop! Next up "The Shadow of the Past" If you're interested in finding out about dates for readings and everything, I've added a calendar feature on the left (have I said that already?) which should help us stay on track! Cheers everyone!