I have decided to do it! I'm going to host my very first blog party. A party of Special Magnificence. A birthday party for Bilbo and Frodo, with mathoms and games and speeches all around! While there's a bit of disagreement as to just when their birthday should be celebrated, due to the discrepancies between Shire-Reckoning and our own calendar, I'm going to go with the commonly celebrated date, September 22. Actually, that will be the starting date -- the party will run all week, full of merriment, giveaways, and so on.
And during that party, I will launch a Lord of the Rings read-along. All who wish can join me as I read my way through the whole trilogy. I'm planning chapter-by-chapter discussions, more giveaways, guest posts (more about that in a day or so), and so very much fun. I have no idea how long it will take me to do this, --probably about three months, possibly longer.
I've already got preparations underway. I've commissioned my dear friend Emily to design some awesome buttons and banners, plus some of the giveaway prizes. You can see (and purchase) her artwork on her website here, or from her Etsy store here. This is her first Middle Earth-themed series, and she's already got a couple of pieces done -- they are amazing!
I suppose I should explain what a "blog party" is. On September 22, I will post a list of questions for participants, and also one of those Linky things. You copy the questions to your own blog, website, or even a note in Facebook, and you answer them there. Then you come back to my post and add the link to your answers to the Linky thing. And then everyone can check out everyone else's links to read their answers, make new friends, find new blogs they enjoy, etc. Great fun!
Also, there will be giveaways. I'm working on rounding up a bunch of magnificent Middle Earth-themed mathoms* as prizes. Some (I hope) will be donations from awesome stores on sites like Etsy, and some will be things I've picked up or made in the interim. Emily is designing one of the prizes too.
As for the read-along, that's pretty straightforward: I'll post my thoughts on each chapter as I finish it, and you can reply with your own thoughts, creating some nifty discussions.
Got it? Good. Now all you have to do is hurry up and wait. And all I have to do is organize it all.
*Mathom is the hobbit term for anything which they had no use for but were unwilling to throw away. (source)
How fun that you will be doing this. While I won't be doing the reading, I'll enjoy popping by and learning a bit about the series through you and your party-goers.
ReplyDeleteWe'll be glad to have you either way! Have you seen any of the Lord of the Rings movies or The Hobbit? I'm trying to make the party questions work for both.
DeleteWow! I'm impressed and intimidated! What a great idea. (All things being equal, count me in!)
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Totally counting you in (barring unforeseen circumstances, like a wizard showing up on your doorstep. Or a Cajun.)
DeleteNeat! Congrats, Hamlette. Wishing you the best of success with your party. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteWoooooo!! This'll be fun. I'll be sure to mark my calendar! :)
ReplyDeleteI think it will be completely awesome, and I'm so glad you're in :-D
DeleteSounds like a great idea, I'm game for anything Middle Earth related. Looking forward to it.
ReplyDelete-James
Awesome! I'll probably be looking for guest bloggers on different LOTR-related subjects for the read-along. Might you be interested? You don't have to say for sure right now -- it's still months away, obviously. Still, if you have an idea for a post, let me know.
Delete(For example, my husband is going to be writing about the economics of the Orcs. In an interesting way.)
While I am not entirely certain about an idea yet, I am very interested in doing a guest post. Maybe something to my "LOTR: Book Vs. Film" series, but I should be able to think of something Middle Earth related and write about it. Also thank you for the offer! It is greatly appreciated.
Delete-James
Okeydokey -- I'll probably put out a call for guest posters in August, so you have plenty of time to think about it :-)
DeleteYYYYAAAAYYYY!!!!!!!! Oh, this is going to be so much fun! I have been longing to read through this series, and now to read through it with you and Kara and everyone else...It's going to be fantastic!!! ;-D
ReplyDeleteHuzzah! You're on board too! This is definitely going to be lots of fun. And we'll keep a nice, easy reading pace so that people with school/jobs/children can keep up, we can have good discussions... totally can't wait!
DeleteI'm definitely interested in this! I'll be following even if I don't have the time to read along!
ReplyDeleteYeah, even if you don't read along, there will be some interesting discussions and guest posts, etc.
DeleteCan't wait to jump in to the reading portion! Looking forward to partying with ya'll!
ReplyDeleteHooray! I'm getting ridiculously excited myself. Already.
DeleteHi! I've been following your other blog for a while but I haven't made any comments yet. I guess I've been a bit of a lurker : ) I'd love to take part in your blog party if that's possible. I adore the Middle-Earth series so much. I'm taking part in another blog party in that very same week but I'd love to answer your questions if I've got the time.
ReplyDeleteWonderful! I've seen you around in the blogosphere, but I'll go ahead and say "hi!" You can absolutely take part in the party -- all that's really "required" is that you copy the questions I'll provide onto your own blog (or do a public Facebook note for those who don't have blogs) and answer them there, then come back here and link to your answering post with the Linky thing I'll provide. You can also participate in the giveaways and games if you want to, but that's up to you -- and I'll be leaving the games up forever, so if you don't get to them that week, no big!
DeleteI'm guessing you're also participating in the musical blogothon, which I really want to do too, but I'm kind of guessing I'll be too busy with my own to participate, since that one requires a whole week of posts.
Yes, I am doing that musical event. I've been waiting ages for a great blog event to turn up and then two show up at once! How typical! : D
DeleteI'm hoping to get all of my blog posts for the musical week all written up by the time that week starts so it would just be a case of me publishing them every day. That should give me all of the week to answer your questions. How many questions will there be roughly? And once that week is over I'm going to start going through your blog and make comments. BTW I especially loved one of your Buffy posts. I LOVE that show so much. It was the show of my mid-to-late teens and I have such an attachment to it. And Angel is one of the best spin-off shows ever.
There will be ten questions, and they're not hard ones, just stuff like "Who are your favorite characters" and "Which of Tolkien's books have you read?" Shouldn't take all that long to reply to, I don't think. Depends on how deeply you decide to delve into some of them.
DeleteA fellow Buffy and Angel fan! Rock on! I actually prefer Angel to BtVS, but that's partly because I started watching it first, and partly because of how madly in love I am with Angel. And partly because of how hot David Boreanaz is ;-)
Anyway, I look forward to your comments, whenever you make them!
Excellent! OK, I'm going to put a blog button on my blog and answer your questions. Maybe I won't have the time to go as in-depth with them as I'd like but I'm going to give this a shot.
DeleteI've answered the questions myself, and I think it took me less than an hour. And I did several paragraphs for a couple of the answers. So not a huge time-consumer!
DeleteThanks for putting my button on your blog!
Wow, this sounds great! I'm definitely in on the party though sadly I can't participate in the read-through because I've got so many great books to read now and only 24 hours a day :( I'm pretty new to blogging (just approaching my six months anniversary) and this seems like a great way to discover other blogs and possibly get some new readers myself!
ReplyDeleteHello, Mizzie-Me! I'm so happy you'll be participating in the party! As for the read-through, I know what you mean about time versus books -- I'm the same way. Still, we'll be going through it really slowly, so if you decide to join in partway through, that's fine too!
DeleteBlog parties are definitely an awesome way to find new blogs to read, make new friends, maybe even gain some new followers. And have fun! Can't forget that ;-)