Well, here we are at the end of another Tolkien Blog Party. Thank you so much for participating! If you've still got a post or two you want to contribute, it's not too late! You can add your link to the widget below any time still. And if you haven't had a chance to visit everyone's posts yet (like I haven't -- but I will read them all eventually!), here are all the links again, to make it easier for you to find them:
I've had such a wonderful time discussing J.R.R. Tolkien with you, playing party games, and so on. I hope you've had fun too. I'm already looking forward to next year!
This year's Tolkien blog party is winding down. Since it's the last day, it's time to pick the giveaway winners! Congratulations to these nine Tolkienites:
Prize 1 (mug) -- CC
Prize 2 (leaf pin) -- Samantha B.
Prize 3 (cards) -- Stephanie BMMR
Prize 4 (bookmark) -- Shire Rose
Prize 5 (sticker sheet) -- Eva S.
Prize 6 (3 b&w stickers) -- Kathy Eyre
Prize 7 (3 color stickers) -- Olivia R.
Prize 8 (Hobbit Companion) -- Ivy Miranda
Prize 9 (Letters of Tolkien) -- Mary H.
I'll be emailing all of you in a few minutes, asking where you'd like your prizes mailed off to. So, please check the email address you submitted to the giveaway widget!
To everyone who didn't win -- there's always next year! :-)
Most of these appear in the first chapter of The Hobbit, "An Unexpected Party." The others appear elsewhere either in The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings.
Basically, Tolkien did not include any New World foods in Middle-earth except potatoes. Potatoes were so dear to his heart, such an integral part of the rural English cuisine he was celebrating, that he had to keep them. But the three on this list that are NOT in the books -- chocolate, garlic, and tomatoes -- are all New World foods (native to the Americas) and thus excluded (even though tomatoes make a memorable appearance in the ROTK movie). Coffee originally comes from Arabia, so he included it.
Scores:
Bea -- 12 Catherine Hawthorn -- 12 The Far Side of Forever -- 12 Ivy Miranda -- 12 Shire Rose -- 11 Eva -- 10 Livia Rachelle -- 10 Pages to Remember -- 10 Chloe the Movie Critic -- 8 Mary H. -- 8 Samantha -- 7
I did not realize this is a collection of poetry! I thought it was going to be short stories like Smith of Wootton Major and Farmer Giles of Ham, but about Tom Bombadil instead. But it's not, it's poetry.
The edition I read, which is the one pictured here, contains the poems that Tolkien published under this title in the '60s, plus a whole lot of commentary on the poems, earlier variations of them, explanations of their history, discussions of how they fit into his Middle-earth world, and so on. There's more of that than of the poetry itself, really.
The poems themselves are not long, and quite varied. Tolkien states, in his preface, that they come from the Red Book of Westmarch, in the Shire, but they were collected from different places. Some of them are attributed to Bilbo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee.
My favorites were "The Hoard" and "Shadow-Bride."
"The Hoard" is about a sort of cursed treasure that various people acquire and then waste their lives guarding, only to lose it to someone else when they die. It doesn't do anyone any good, least of all those who 'own' it, and is rather a dark and cautionary tale.
"Shadow-Bride" is mysterious and ethereal and a little spooky. An immovable man-statue suddenly comes to life when a shadowy woman comes near him, they embrace, and become a double-statue that only comes back to life at certain times. Or something. Like I said, it's fairly mysterious -- but that's what I liked about it.
If you love Tolkien, especially his poetry, this is a lot of fun.
If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for a bit of violence here and there, and some imagery that might scare small kids, but there's nothing harmful here.
This has been my 27th book read and reviewed for my third Classics Club list and my 39th from my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2021. This has also been another contribution to my 2021 Tolkien Blog Party :-)
Tolkien's books are full of food. I get hungry just reading them! This particular quiz tests whether or not specific foods are mentioned in either The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings -- the BOOKS. Not whether they appear in the movies, but whether Tolkien mentioned them in those two books, meaning they do exist canonically in Middle-earth.
You just have to say "yes" if they are mentioned, and "no" if they aren't!
Want to hang out with me in Middle-earth for a day or two? Wouldn't that be an absolute dream? Well, we can imagine we're doing just that, using the following to determine where we'll meet and what we'll do. Share your adventure in the comments so we can all enjoy!
Location
Where do you and I meet up? Your favorite warm beverage determines our adventure's location:
Coffee = Minas Tirith
Tea = Hobbiton
Hot Chocolate = Rivendell
Hot Apple Cider = Edoras
Chai = Lothlorien
Mulled wine = Moria
Other = The Lonely Mountain
Companions
Who else comes on this adventure with us? The first initial of your best friend's first name determines our companions:
A-E = Frodo and Samwise
F-J = Merry and Pippin
K-O = Bilbo and Gandalf
P-T = Legolas and Gimli
U-Z = Eomer and Eowyn
Quest
What are we setting off to achieve today? Your favorite movie genre determines our quest:
Action/adventure = Stop your half-brother from taking over the world with his creepy army
Comedy = Find the perfect location for a birthday party
Drama = Escort three weary warriors home and reunite them with their families
Fantasy = Rescue your intended spouse from the clutches of your rival
Mystery = Recover a priceless relic covered in fabulous jewels
Period Drama = Stop a greedy landlord from turning your parents out of their house
Romantic Comedy = Deliver a decades-old love note that got lost in the post office
Sci-Fi = Reunite you with your father and free your allies from an evil tyrant with his help
Thriller = Convince the authorities you are not an enemy spy
Western = Find the low-down, dirty skunk that shot your pa
(If your favorite movie genre isn't listed, just pick the one you like best from those options.)
Complications
Naturally, our adventure has to have some complications and setbacks! How many siblings you have (not counting yourself) determines how complicated things get:
0 = We are attacked by giant spiders, but successfully beat them off.
1 = We are pursued by a band of Uruk-hai for three whole days, until they get bored.
2 = We lose all our food while trying to cross a fast river.
3 = We almost get eaten by trolls, but are rescued by a friend at the last minute.
4 = We get lost and wander around a swamp for two days before finding the road again.
5 or more = We get sidetracked by hunting for treasure, which we find.
Resolution
How does it all turn out? The time you went to bed last night determines whether we succeed or fail:
Before 9 pm: We succeed, and everyone lives happily ever after.
Between 9 and 10 pm: We succeed, but not all of us are happy about it.
Between 10 and 11 pm: We succeed, but we wish we hadn't.
Between 11 pm and midnight: We succeed, but you take an arrow to the knee.
Between midnight and 1 am: We fail, and you and I both get thrown in a dungeon.
After 1 am: We fail, and everyone dies.
Now just put that all together!
For instance, I would meet up with you at Rivendell, along with Frodo and Samwise, and we would all set off to find the low-down, dirty skunk that shot my pa. We are pursued by a band of Uruk-hai for three whole days, but they get bored and go home, so we eventually succeed, though I take an arrow to the knee and limp for the rest of my life. Sigh. Oh well, it could be worse!
Welcome, hobbits and humans, elves and dwarves, and all free peoples! Welcome to the ninth annual Tolkien Blog Party.
Nine is such a significant number in Lord of the Rings. There are nine companions in the fellowship of the Ring, nine Nazgul, and so on. I'm really excited that this event has been so long-lived! I look forward to hosting it every year. I collect up prizes for the giveaway for months. It's such a delight to share the love of Tolkien's storytelling with you, year after year!
Speaking of the giveaway, I posted that a couple minutes ago, so you can check out the prizes and enter it right here. It's open worldwide, as always!
I did something a little different with this year's tag, to reflect the theme of nine. Here it is:
1. Aragorn: Favorite Tolkien hero/heroine
2. Boromir: Favorite Tolkien character arc
3. Frodo: Favorite song or poem by Tolkien
4. Gandalf: Favorite wise Tolkien quotation
5. Gimli: A Middle-earth location you'd like to visit
6. Legolas: Favorite Middle-earth Weapon
7. Merry: Favorite way to celebrate Tolkien's stories
8. Pippin: Favorite funny Tolkien quotation
9. Samwise: A Middle-earth food you'd like to try
Just copy that to your own blog and answer it, then be sure to share a link to your post in the widget below.
Like last year, you are not limited to doing that tag, when it comes to participating in this party! You can contribute ANY Tolkien-related post, as long as it is new. (Please don't link to something you posted last year, for instance.)
Anything Tolkien-related is welcome -- it doesn't have to revolve around Middle-earth. You could review a book by or about Tolkien, share thoughts about the movies, list off your favorite Tolkien quotations, share your collection of LOTR merch, whatever! There's no sign-up sheet, just post what you want to and then share your post via this link-up:
Don't forget to add a button to your posts! I think these are my favorite buttons of any I've made for this event. Practice makes perfect? Anyway, be sure to link back to this post so your blog followers can come party with us.
I'll be posting a couple of games over the course of this week, so be sure to check back for those! Especially since participating in them can gain you bonus entries in the giveaway.
Thank you for joining me to celebrate the inspirational storytelling of J. R. R. Tolkien. I hope you'll have fun, enjoy reading each others' posts, and maybe even make some new friends. I'm so glad you're here!
