Friday, August 31, 2012

Abducted by Fellowship Friday: The Council of Elrond


I have learned there is actually a silver lining in having nobody else sign up to do a readalong with you!

When you get stuck on a chapter, and it takes you two weeks to read it, and you miss a post...who cares!!!

So, I was reading along in the Lord of the Rings, and having an awesome time with it, until I got to the chapter that was the Council of Elrond. My reading came to a screeching halt! I was supposed to read through the next 100 pages and write about them last Friday, but that deadline came and went and I was still stuck on the same chapter.

It was hard because so much information is contained within it. They don't go into much detail in the movie because you don't really need to understand all the information right up front. But because I have seen all the movies and read through these books in the past, I know that this information comes up later. So, I really was trying to pay attention. Today, I started over with this chapter and forced myself to get through it. Of course, by the time I was done I had so many notes I knew that I wouldn't be able to write about anything else for this post.

So, today, we are going to get through all the information given to us during the council and next week we will get back on track!


Gloin, father of Gimli, speaks first. And he tells about how the Dwarves came to live in the Mountains of Moria and how they came to the city of Khazad Dum. All of this information I found to be important. I don't want to compare the movies and the book too much, but I did think that this part in particular was interesting. Mostly because, in the movie version the Fellowship are so shocked to find the Dwarves of Khazad Dum in the state that they do. But in the book they are told here and now that things aren't going well there and that the Dwarf Lords are worried.

But I think I will save more of that information for when the Fellowship actually make it to the Mountains of Moria and it all becomes more relevant.

After Gloin speaks, Elrond takes over. He tells about the first battle, when Sauron lost the ring, and about how the Elves and Men used to be united, but after that great battle their alliance was broken. Then we learn about the three cities that make up Gondor. Minas Ithil (Tower of the Rising Sun), Osgiliath (Citadel of the Stars), and Minas Anor (Tower of the Setting Sun). Again, none of that really comes to any importance for us until at least The Two Towers. But when the history of Gondor is being explained, Elrond does talk about how after their alliance with the Elves is no longer, the men of Gondor do become weaker and eventually lazy. Darkness creeps into the cities and because of this Osgiliath is deserted, and Minas Ithil and Minas Anor get new names! Minas Ithil becomes Minas Morgul (Tower of Sorcery) and Minas Anor becomes Minas Tirith (Tower of the Guard).

Hmm...I wonder if those "two towers" become important in the next book...

Anyway, moving on!

So, Boromir hears all this talk about Gondor not being as strong as it once was and he gets pissed! At first he is all "Just let me tell you what Gondor has done to keep you all safe."  He kind of comes off sounding like one of those grouchy old veterans that are all "If it wasn't for me you'd all be speaking German right now!"

Then he opens up about this crazy dream that he and his brother had. Darkness was to the east, a pale light in the west, and a voice that cries out telling him to look for the sword that was broken and a token that will signify that doom is at hand.

And Aragorn brings out the pieces of his sword and was all "BOOM! SWORD!"

Then Boromir is all "SAY WHAT!!!"

So then Frodo jumps in with "Dude! You've got the sword! Let me give you the ring that matches it! They'll look so great together!"

And Boromir goes "It's the token that brings doom! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"

And even though I wasn't there, I can still picture Aragorn rolling his eyes at this before he finally plays the trump card by saying, "Shut up, this is not about you! Here is the Sword that was broken. Which could help you to protect your people. But if it is to be reforged then the House of Elendil (meaning me) gets to reclaim the throne."

To which Boromir throws up his hands in surrender saying "Whoa, now, calm down! I just came to understand a riddle in my dream. That's all man. Let's just be cool, alright?"


And then Aragorn totally steps up and goes "Well, my people, the Dunedain, having been keeping the lands around your borders safe for ages and you'd be nothing without us. And I'm coming back to Minas Tirith, period!"

Which is shocking because, according to Peter Jackson, it takes Aragorn all three movies to come to that conclusion!

Then Boromir tries to back track and say that he doubts that the Ring Frodo presented was really "the Ring".  Even though he practically wet his pants at the sight of it. So, in order to give more information about how the Ring came to the Hobbits, Bilbo tells his story, then Frodo tells his story, and then Gandolf tells his story. Gandolf also goes on to tell of Saruman's betrayal and Gollum's journey.

After all this talking, finally Elrond says...
Well, the Tale is now told, from first to last. Here we all are, and here is the Ring. But we have not yet come any nearer to our purpose. What shall we do with it?
and then they talk a whole bunch more before Elrond then says...
There lies our hope, if hope it be. To walk into peril - to Mordor. We must send the Ring to the Fire.

DUH!

Now, at first Bilbo offers to take the ring himself, which I thought was incredibly sweet! I think I am paying more attention to his character because I am preparing myself to reread the Hobbit and ultimately see all the movies. Plus, I now have an even bigger soft spot for him because he is being played by Martin Freeman!


But of course Bilbo is too old. A silence falls because no one wants to be the one to take the Ring. And then our beloved Frodo steps up! Followed, almost immediately by Sam.


And that is where the chapter ends.




Life Lesson # 4

To be a hoarder, or to not be a hoarder? That is the question...

Basically this entire chapter was dedicated to a bunch of people putting way to much importance on a silly old ring! Not everything needs to have such sentimental value you guys!

And may I remind you that this is a ring that is not adorned in any way! It is a plain simple gold ring that no one even has the ability to wear anymore because it drives people crazy! 

Why? Oh, Why do people hold on to such things! 

Of course, it could just as easily be argued that because Aragorn's ancestors were such hoarders and passed down that stupid old broken sword, he was able to reforge it later. But still! I would say that if Isildur hadn't been such a hoarder in the first place and gotten rid of the Ring when he had the chance no one would have  been in this mess!

I know a lot of women (and men too) who have closets and jewelry boxes filled with things they can't use anymore. Clothes they are holding onto just in case one day they can wear them again...

But let me give you this simple rule of thumb...if the article in question can no longer be worn, whether because it does't fit anymore or because it will turn you into some black enraged evil spirit...

JUST GET RID OF IT!

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Abducted by Sundays in Bed With...8.26.12

Sundays in Bed With is a meme hosted by my friend Kate over at Midnightbookgirl and it is a great opportunity for us to share what books we are reading (or wish we were reading) on this lovely Sunday morning. 

And now is a great time to participate because she is also currently hosting a giveaway! So be sure to check her out!



This Sunday I am trying to quickly finish...


I'm trying to get through through this one for my book club that meets tonight. It is a very different kind of book for me, but it should make for very interesting conversation. 


Thursday, August 23, 2012

Abducted by The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell


My friend Kim, over at Onthewingsofbooks, was able to pick up an ARC for Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell, but she graciously waited for me to get my pre-ordered copy to read it so that we could read it together!

What follows is our joint review of the book! Enjoy!


Chris Colfer, who plays Kurt on Glee, recently released a book called Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell. The book is a middle grade book about two twins named Alex and Conner. They are having a difficult time at school and at home, but that all changes when they find themselves transported into a book of fairy tales. Now Alex and Conner must navigate their way through the Land of Stories collecting the different ingredients needed to create the Wishing Spell, which they need in order to find their way back home.

Courtney: I was really looking forward to this one. I’m not a huge Glee fan, I haven’t watched the show in a really long time, but I do like Chris Colfer and I wanted to support him.

Kim: I had no real interest in reading this book until I saw him at BEA in June. He was so excited and passionate about this project that it made me want to read it, even though I don’t usually like to read middle grade books.

Courtney: I don’t seek out middle grade books, but I don’t usually have a problem with them.

Kim: What I sometimes find with middle grade books is that they “talk down” to the reader a bit, and it can be hard to identify with the characters. Although it helped with this book that so many of the characters were based off fairy tales which reminded me of the Disney movies that I love.

Courtney: I know exactly what you mean about being “talked down” to. I felt that a bit in the scene when Alex and Conner first put together the list for the Wishing Spell, and they just kept repeating it over and over again. After the third time I was like “Yeah, okay, I get it!”

Kim: I did try hard to keep it in perspective when I read it that he didn’t actually write it for someone in there 30’s. So I tried to focus in on what happens after the fairy tale part and getting to know Alex and Conner.

Courtney: Ugh, Alex was such a goody goody. I tried to hold out hope for her but by the end she was really wearing on me.

Kim: I consider myself a “good girl” and for the sake of all good girls out there, I wanted to smack her upside the head! It was annoying that she was so completely perfect at the age of eleven. So, I couldn’t stand Alex but I loved Conner.

Courtney: Conner was my absolute favorite character! I just loved him because he had so many funny moments! Like when he wished to make that one creature a vegetarian so that it wouldn’t be tempted to eat them! That was genius! As far as the fairy tale characters go, I didn’t particularly care for Red Riding Hood at first, but by the end she had grown on me. I’m glad that Colfer made her the princess that was bratty. I’ve always thought that Goldilocks was the most greedy of the fairy tale characters but I think that might have been more on the predictable side so I’m glad that he gave those qualities to Red

Kim: I agree, and I also really enjoyed the “love triangle” that Colfer created for Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, and Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk. Goldilocks was my favorite but I did like the fact that Red Riding Hood had issues.

Courtney: Yeah, but Red Riding Hood did get to rule over my favorite kingdom in the book. It had so many of the different fairy tale elements in one place and I loved the different monuments all around town. Like the sign the sign that read “In Memory Of The Boy Who Cried Wolf. You Were A Liar But You Were Loved.”

Kim: My favorite kingdom was Red Riding Hood’s too.  It had more fun elements in it.  I was disappointed that Charming Kingdom was so boring. Cinderella is one of my favorites and I wanted a little more of her. As far as the ending goes, I did feel it was a bit too predictable. Overall, I would say that Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell was cute, though probably a little too cute for me. I only rated it a two.


Courtney: I think one of the things we both said was that we wanted the book to be amazing, but it was really just average. It was fine for what it was but it definitely wasn’t epic. I gave it a three. 


SPOILERS:

Neither Kim or I like to include spoilers on our reviews, but we both had certain issues with the ending for some of the story lines that we just could not ignore. 

Read on at your own risk....



Kim: Well neither of us liked the ending with the Evil Queen.

Courtney: No. Colfer tries to set up a theme of “villains are mostly people villainized by circumstance” but I wasn’t buying it. That is fine for the minor criminals but not for the ones that are truly evil.

Kim: I hated that whole story line. It was way to message-y in such an obvious way that I literally rolled my eyes. Sometimes bad people are bad people, and that’s ok. But I would say the ending to the Goldilocks story line probably bothered me the most. It didn’t make any sense to have her whole story come down to the fact that she was on the run for breaking into the home of the three bears.

Courtney: I know what you mean. Goldilocks has a moment with Jack where she says that she can’t stop running because it doesn’t matter what initial crime she committed because since then she has robbed and cheated and even killed. I think it is fine in stories when authors use the angle of “you accused me of lying and that forced me to become a liar” “you accused me of cheating and that forced me to become a cheater.” But to say “you accused me of breaking and entering and that forced me to become a killer”, I mean that is just ridiculous!

Kim: Exactly!!!!  It just did not make any sense to do all those bad things rather than be punished for a simple B&E.  

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Abducted by Sundays in Bed With...8.19.12

Sundays in Bed With...is hosted by future Olympian Kate aka Midnightbookgirl!



And here is how I spent my Sunday...

I just woke up from a Sunday afternoon nap and I am feeling all hot and sweaty from falling asleep on the couch under a blanket that I didn't really need because it is probably 80 degrees in my apartment.

Why was I lying down with a blanket then?

Well, because I was watching the very last episode of the second season of Sherlock if you must know!


I am a huge fan of this show, to the point where when I am watching an episode for the first time I allow for absolutely no interruptions. Because of this, even though I have had this season on BlueRay for quite a while now, today was the first afternoon that I had free to curl up on the couch and watch the last episode all the way through. And it was AMAZING!!!

If you have not seen this show yet, I sincerely can not recommend it enough!

And if you finally get around to watching it and want to call someone after you get through the Season 2 finale, Kate will apparently sell you my phone number for a very reasonable price.

But don't worry, before the nap and before Sherlock I was able to spend some time listening to the audio book of...


I read through Shiver, the first book in the Mercy Falls series, a few weeks ago and I was severely disappointed. It was not what I was expecting at all and I had a lot of issues with the characters.

However, I already had the next two books in the series downloaded through audible.com. So I went ahead and started on Linger, and I am LOVING it!

I think now, I am going in with a better idea and acceptance of who these characters are and the purpose of their story and so I am able to just sit back and enjoy it.

I hope everyone else is having a great weekend, and I hope you all had an opportunity to spend some time with your books today!

Friday, August 17, 2012

Abducted by Fellowship Friday ch. 10 - ch. 1


In case you are wondering; No, I did not make a mistake on my post title! This week I read through the last few chapters of Book 1 in The Fellowship of the Rings and finished the first chapter in Book 2! And let me tell you, I could not be more excited to be already half way through this book! Whooo Hooo!!!

We left off in chapter 9 at the part when Frodo and his band of merry hobbits had arrived at the Prancing Pony. Frodo had a brief conversation with Strider and then an "accident" occured that resulted with the Ring slipping onto Frodo's finger and he vanished!

Now we all know that this was a big mistake on Frodo's part. If you are on the run from Black Riders and you are trying to remain incognito, vanishing out of thin air just might give away your cover. Fortunately, all the commotion does eventually spark the memory of the barkeep, Mr. Butterbur, and he remembers that Gandolf had left a letter for Frodo. Of course, all the letter really says is, "Frodo, you are in danger, Get out of the Shire as fast as you can!"

While that piece of advice is a little on the late side, the letter also tells the hobbits that they can trust Strider. So, the hobbits take him on as a guide and they set out the next morning.

In chapter 11 we get this really long poem/song about an Elf queen named Luthien Tinuviel who falls in love with a mortal named Beren. I knew while I was trying to read through this that it was important and that it was foreshadowing what we learn about Strider later on, so I was trying really hard to grab hold of this poem/song and plow my way through it without getting lost. But Oh, Dear God seriously! These poems are ridiculous and this is only the beginning!

I'm not sure if I am the right one to give JRR Tolkien advice on how to write music, but hasn't he ever heard of a chorus? Some form of repetition that makes songs easier to learn? I'm not sure what they call it in poetry but I just know that when learning a song the chorus is at the heart of it. No matter how badly you stumble over the verses once you get to the chorus you can drive it home!

All I am saying is that if I was responsible for memorizing these songs to entertain people with at the next party we would be in series trouble! Luckily I come from a time when people believe in making songs easy to memorize. So if you ever need me to tell you a little ditty about a couple named Jack and Diane, I can do that because Mellencamp knows how to write a song.

After the really long poem/song Strider comes in with an equally long explanation for the story within the song. Of course that eventually turns into a paragraph that reads like those chapters of the Bible that are all "And David beget Matthew who beget Gabriel who beget Susan who beget Clementine".  I think all of that was supposed to eventually prepare you to learn that Arwen (Strider's love interest) was beget from Luthien and Beren, but it all starts to get a little fuzzy when they go on for so long.

After all that, the gang finally make their way to Weathertop where Frodo gets himself stabbed by one of the Black Riders but Strider saves the day by wielding fire. And it is an Elf named Glorfindel (not Arwen) that comes to their aid, puts Frodo on his own horse and sees that he gets safely across the ford and then on to Rivendell.

Once they get to Rivendell we get to meet Elrond and Arwen. Bilbo comes back into the picture and after a big feast Bilbo entertains the group with a four page long poem about some guy named Earendil and a Silmaril, which I think was supposed to be a boat.

In the next hundred pages we have the Council of Elrond to look forward to. And the forming of the Fellowship of the Ring in its entirety. Whether or not all of the Fellowship will make it through those hundred pages...we will have to wait and see!

Now for the Life Lesson:


Life Lesson #3

This week our Life Lesson comes not from Tolkien but from another very wise and epic author, Rowling, and her character of Arthur Weasley...

Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain.

After getting stabbed on Weathertop, Frodo feels an overwhelming feeling of quilt. He knows that by putting the Ring on he was only obeying the desire of the Enemy. He feels that the Ring was calling to him and he can't believe he was so weak as to bend to it. Then when Frodo is trying to prepare to cross the ford into Rivendell and the Black Riders are calling out for him to wait, Tolkien writes that a strong hatred rises up in Frodo because he knows that the Ring is what is making him hesitate.

Those of us who are fans of this series (whether it be via the books or the movies) know that this is not the last time the Ring will tempt Frodo. But since this is the first time that Frodo realizes that the Ring might just have a mind of its own, I thought it was the perfect time to address this all too important life lesson!

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Abducted By Sundays in bed with...8.12.2012


I know this is getting posted rather late for this meme (hosted by Kate at midnightbookgirl) but I really have been reading all day!

I posted two weeks ago that I was starting The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer. Well, it took me a little longer then I would have liked to finally finish it, but finish it I did!

I came home from Mass this morning and spent the entire afternoon curled up on my couch getting through the last 100 pages!

And here are some pictures showing my favorite things to do after I finish a book...


Making room for my newest novel on my "have read" book shelf in my living room! Most people may think I'm crazy if I tried to describe the feeling of satisfaction I get from this simple act, but I know my fellow avid readers will totally understand!


And I add the total page count to my 15000 page challenge for the year! I know a lot of people who signed up for the challenge are keeping track of their total page count on goodreads or their blogs or professional spreadsheets. But me, I like to keep track of mine the old fashion way! A long strip of paper going down the back of my bedroom door! You may notice my current total is only 7300, I'm very very behind! But I have a good shot at hitting 9000 by the end of the month and then I believe that will put me back in the game!

Have a great week!

Friday, August 10, 2012

Abducted by Fellowship Friday: ch 4-9

Welcome back to Fellowship Friday! This post is going up right in the nick of time and I do apologize for that. For some reason I just could not get the hook for this post and I have been struggling with it all day. So, I do apologize if it comes off a little disjointed.

This week I read the next 100 pages in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings.


In Chapter 3 (Shortcut to Mushrooms) Frodo, Pippin, and Sam have just left the company of Gildor the elf and are continuing on their way to Buckleberry. And of course the Black Riders are still on their trail.

Basically this is what happens; the three of them go walking, and walking, and walking some more. They run into Farmer Maggot who visits with them, feeds them, and then takes them by wagon to the Buckleberry Ferry. Once there, it becomes the moment in the book when all the readers who are avid lovers of the movie adaptations can now take one big collective sigh of relief because Merry joins the group which means our four favorite hobbits are together at last!

After they meet up with Merry they all go back to Crickhollow, where Frodo finds out that not only did all of his friends know exactly what he had been up to this whole time but they also knew a great deal more then he would have ever guessed about the Ring. This was a nice part of the book because I really liked one of the speeches that Sam makes...

You can trust us to stick to you through thick and thin - to the bitter end. And you can trust us to keep any secret of yours - closer than you keep it yourself. But you cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone, and go off without a word. We are your friends, Frodo.
Aw, good old Sam!

Anyway, after they decided to all stick together, they leave Crickhollow by way of the Old Forest. While there Merry and Pippin fall asleep leaning against The Great Willow and the Willow nearly kills them and then it is TOM BOMBADIL TO THE RESCUE!!!

All you really need to know about Tom is that he is not quite man, not quite hobbit, he is the master of the forest, and he sings absolutely everything! Oh yeah, and there is this moment where we learn that Tom can hold the Ring without being overtaken by desire for it, and he can wear it without becoming invisible. The moment may seem odd because in the books it was never quite explained. It was really barely even mentioned. But Tolkien later wrote that Tom was an entity older then time and his origins were meant to be a mystery. Because of being an entity and all, it then becomes Tom's job to visit with the hobbits, feed the hobbits, give them a place to stay for a bit, and then take them by pony out of the Old Forest and on their way to the Prancing Pony.

Once they get to the Prancing Pony, the hobbits visit with the barkeep and then Frodo does get to visit very briefly with Strider, but we don't get to hear more about him until chapter 10.

A funny thing kept happening to me when I was reading through this section of the book. Each time the hobbits had the oppurtunity to stay with someone (either Farmer Maggot or Tom Bombadil) I seriously kept thinking it was a trap! I thought for sure they were going to try to pull something Xenophilius Lovegood style! Especially Farmer Maggot! I mean that scene seriously read as if Frodo was trying to think of every excuse to get on the road but Farmer Maggot just kept insisting and insisting. I thought for sure that was going to be a trap and the Black Riders were going to rush the hobbits out of there!

I thought, for a moment that my Life Lesson was going to be that I need to be more trusting. But then I thought about it some more and my conclusion was...Hell No! I embrace my jadedness! I embrace my skeptical and cynical side! So, instead, here is my lesson I decided to take away from these chapters...

Life Lesson #2

Never trust the trees!

I'm telling you guys now, those people over at Disney who created Pocahontas lied to you! Not all willow trees are like the kindly grandmother to Pocahontas (*News Flash* this is not the only lie that can be found in Pocahontas). They don't all sing songs and charm animals and give guidance and blah blah blah... Some of them, like the Whomping Willow, will literally try to bash your skull in! And the rest of them are like The Great Willow in Fellowship of the Rings, where they enjoy kidnapping and swallowing and trapping those individuals that fall asleep on their roots! 

I know my love of the movie My Girl always left me with the impression that weeping willows were terribly friendly and somewhat sad kind of trees, but now I am learning that they are lethal, deadly, wolves in sheep's clothing kinds of trees. They are not to be trusted!

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Abducted by Sundays in Bed with...8.5.12



Kate over at Midnight Book Girl hosts a meme on Sundays for us to share what books we are reading. Here is mine...


I have about 50 pages left and I really want to finish it today! To be honest, things aren't looking to good for me and this one and so I am hoping that the ending will make it all worth it.

I didn't have to be at church today until after 10 so I got up early and took my book to have breakfast at Subway!


YUM!

Now, that I am back from church I'm going to go grocery shopping because I have invited my parents over to my apartment for dinner. So between cleaning and cooking I will try to find time to finish Shiver and get farther in The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend and I can't wait to see what everyone else is reading!

Friday, August 3, 2012

Abducted by Fellowship Friday P - CH. 3


Hello to all! And welcome to the first of my five Fellowship Friday Posts!

I know I originally said that we would only have to read three chapters a week to finish The Fellowship of the Rings in August, turns out I was waaay off! I don't know what I was thinking! So I have decided, instead, to break it down by page number since there are five Fridays in August and just over 500 pages in the Fellowship.

Now I didn't have that many people sign up to read through this with me, and that is Okay! There will be prizes given to anyone that finishes all of the books, or to whomever just hangs in there the longest! But, don't worry about keeping pace with me. If you want to jump ahead feel free, and if you fall behind don't sweat it! 

So here is my post for ...

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS
prologue - chapter  3

In the prologue I learned that it just might be possible that I am a hobbit. Not only are they short and fat, they avoid wearing shoes, and appreciate the joy of leading a "simple" life, but they also avoid technology where at all possible! 
 "They do not and did not understand or like machines more complicated then a forge bellow."
 Sound familiar to anyone else?

Another thing I learned from reading the prologue was that Meriadoc Brandybuck grows up to become a writer! I always knew that Frodo did some writing, and Bilbo of course, but I had forgotten that after all their adventures Merry goes on to write many books. Including one titled the Herblore of the Shire where we learn that hobbits were the first creatures to put their weeds into a pipe, thus creating pipeweed.

When the actual story begins Bilbo is getting ready to celebrate his 111 birthday and Frodo, who shares a birthday with Bilbo, is getting ready to turn 33. A large party is to be thrown, and this is when I realized that even if I had been a hobbit in a past life, I'm sure glad I am not one now! Their partys are CRAZY!!!!

So, Bilbo throws his party and there is good food, good drinks, and of course fireworks! After delivering a speech Bilbo uses a special Ring to vanish and travel back to his hobbit hole completely invisible. Not long after arriving home Gandolf joins him and they have a very famous conversation in which Bilbo tells Gandolf:
...I feel all thin...like butter that has been stretched over too much bread...
 And Gandolf tells him that after Bilbo is gone, he will keep two eyes on young Frodo, as often as he can spare them.

After Bilbo leaves, the story picks up again when Gandolf returns in the spring before Frodo's 50th birthday, after a rather long absence, just to tell him that the Ring his uncle left him is cursed and he now has to leave home or very bad things will happen! This is when we first get to hear the story of how the Ring came to be.


The rings of power were made in Eregior, some were mere trinkets but others were great. Of the great rings the Elves got three, the Dwarfs got seven, nine were given to Men, and one was for Sauron the Dark Lord of Mordor. Sauron's ring is the greatest of them all and has power over the others. When the Elves realize this they go into hiding and are not touched by Sauron's darkness. Things don't go to well for the Dwarfs though, Sauron's minions are able to find three of the rings but the rest have all been consumed by dragons. As much as it sucked to be one of the Dwarf Lords at that time, it sucked even more to be one of the Men! They were so consumed by the power of their rings that it turned them into Ringwraiths (a.k.a. Black Riders).

One day Gil-galad (an Elven King) and Elendil (from the men of Westenesse) are able to defeat Sauron in battle however they parish in the process. Elendil's son, Isildur, cuts the ring from Sauron's hand. Sauron's spirit is then forced to flee and takes shape as a shadow in Mirkwood.

 Eventually, Isildur is incredibly careless and looses the Ring in the river of Anduin. I was always told to remove my jewelry before going into the water, but hey, it is not like Isildur had his dad around to remind him of this, so what are you going to do?

The Ring is later found by a hobbit-like creature named Deagol, who gets killed by his friend Smeagol because Smeagol wanted the Ring as a birthday present. Which, I have to admit, is pretty much how I would act if I didn't get what I wanted on my birthday!

After years upon years upon years spent with the Ring Smeagol turns into the creature Gollum and then looses the Ring to Bilbo and Bilbo leaves the Ring to Frodo. And now that Frodo knows the Ring is dangerous he is on his way out of the Shire with his good friends Pippin and Sam. By the end of chapter three they have already run into two Black Riders (or the same Black Rider twice) and met up with an Elf named Gildor and his friends. After staying the night with them, I believe Frodo, Sam, and Pippin will be meeting up with Merry at his home in Buckland, so there is much more to come!

Recently my friend Steph did some posts over at Thefakesteph.com, where at the end she included the life lessons she was learning from this vampire series. I'm not sure if that was her idea or someone else's but I thought it was great so I am going to adopt it for my Lord of the Rings posts.

LIFE LESSON #1

People really need to learn to register for their birthdays!
Think about it, if Frodo had simply registered for his gifts on his 33 birthday, then when Bilbo tried to leave him the Ring he could have been like "No, thanks Uncle!"

And if Smeagol had registered for his birthday then when he tried to take the Ring from Deagol, Deagol could have shown him the copy of his registry and been like "You didn't ask for it therefore you don't get it. Now, back off and quit trying to choke me you greedy midget!" 
 
Blog Design by Imagination Designs all images from the Winds of Change kit by NatashaNaSt Designs