Wrapping Up the 2024 Tolkien Blog Party + Giveaway Winners

Thank you for joining me in celebrating J. R. R. Tolkien and his creations with me this week!  I'm sharing the link-up here one last time so you can easily find each others' posts without scrolling back and back through my feed.  Also, the party runs through today, so you are welcome to still add new post links to this!

And now, the winners of this year's giveaway!

Prize One: The Fellowship of the Ring audiobook on CD read by Andy Serkis -- Makenna Marie

Prize Two: 2 Shire Pub Sign Stickers -- Bethani Theresa

Prize Three: 3 "postage stamp" stickers -- Rosa

Prize Four: 4 LOTR "postcard" stickers -- Ivy Miranda

Prize Five: 1 leather "leaves of Lorien" mini blank book -- Victoria 

Winners, I'll be emailing you to notify you of your win and ask for a mailing address, so check your email for that!

The Tolkien Blog Party 2024 Kick-Off Post + Tag

Greetings!  Welcome to my twelfth annual Tolkien Blog Party!

Let me explain how this sort of BYOBP (Bring Your Own Blog Post) party works, in case you haven't participated before, or it's been a while, whatever.  I will provide a couple of games for you to play (starting tomorrow), a giveaway (which you can enter here), and the official party tag (see below). 

Everything else is up to you party goers!  Everyone gets to share posts on their own blogs that relate somehow to J. R. R. Tolkien or his creations. We will spend the week celebrating not only the author and the books he wrote, but also the world of Middle-earth, the movies based on his stories, and so on!  I encourage you to use any of this year's official graphics in your posts -- you'll find all five of them here in my announcement post. 

The only real rules are: 

• your post must be related to Tolkien and his creations somehow, 
• your post should contain a link back to this post so people can find the party and join the fun, and 
• your post needs to be respectful and family-friendly (this is a celebration, so please don't contribute any rants or whiny posts). 

If you don't have any ideas of things to post, you can always simply fill out the tag, which you'll find below this handy link-up widget. Enter each of your posts in the widget (including posts of tag answers) so we can all visit each other's blogs and share the Tolkien party fun!

This year's tag is inspired by some of the most famous locations in Middle-Earth.  Here it is:

1. The Shire:  What place in Middle-earth do you think you would feel the most like home for you?

2. Bree:  If you could create a Middle-earth-themed restaurant, what would you serve there?

3. Rivendell:  Where in Middle-earth would you like to hang out with your friends for a week or so?

4. Moria:  Have you ever delved into the history of Middle-earth (or the history of Tolkien's creative process)?  If so, did you learn anything cool you'd like to share?

5. Lothlorien:  Would you like to sleep in a tree?

6. Edoras:  Do you like horses?

7. Minas Tirith:  Have you ever dressed as a Tolkien character, whether for a convention or Halloween or anything else?  (Bonus fake internet points if you share a photo!)

8. Erebor:  Do you have any Middle-earth merchandise you particularly treasure?

9. Mordor:  Have you ever read anything by Tolkien that wasn't about Middle-earth?

10. The Grey Havens:  How long has it been since you last ventured into Middle-earth via book or film?

Simply copy those prompts and paste them into your own blog post, answer with as much detail as you wish, add party graphics and a link back to this post, and illustrate as much or little as you like! Once you've posted your tag answers, come back and add a link to your post to the list above so we can all visit each others' blogs and enjoy their answers. And don't forget to visit other people's blogs too, to keep the party going strong!

Announcing the 2024 Tolkien Blog Party

This announcement is a few days later than I intended it to be, but that's okay, right?  We still have more than three weeks to get ready for this year's Tolkien Blog Party! 

This will be the twelve annual Tolkien Blog Party!  Wow!  A rather momentous number, don't you think?  We'll pretend it is, anyway.

If you haven't joined one of my blog parties before, or haven't joined one lately, here's how this event will work:

• I will provide a giveaway with Tolkien-related prizes, some blog games, a blog tag for all and sundry to fill out, and a link-up where everyone can share their party posts.
  
  
• You get to provide posts of your own on any Tolkien-related subject (book reviews, movie reviews, character sketches, lists of favorite moments, musings on how cool Gandalf's sword Glamdring is, an appreciation post for the dwarves, whatever.)  All posts must be appreciative and not derogatory, and all posts must be family-friendly.

It doesn't matter if you've only read Tolkien's books or only seen movies or shows based on them -- all Tolkien fans are welcome to enjoy the festivities!

You are hereby invited to attend!  Start making your plans for your posts, and help yourself to this year's blog buttons.  Share them on your blog with a link to this post so others can join the fun, use them in your party posts, and so on.

There's no formal sign-up sheet for who wants to post about what, but if you want to discuss some options in the comments, I'm always here for that!

Do You Like Sibling Stories?

Over on my other blog, Hamlette's Soliloquy, I've just announced that I'm hosting a blog party next month.  We Love Sibling Stories Week will run February 19-23, and you are cordially invited to join the fun!  For more info, you can check out the announcement post here.

Giveaway Winners and Wrap-Up for A Tolkien Blog Party 2023

It's time to announce the winners for this year's Tolkien giveaway.  Without further ado, they are:

Prize One (an enamel pin) -- Ivy Miranda

Prize Two (five bookmarks) -- Olivia

Prize Three (Rohan banner sticker sheet) -- Bethani Theresa

Prize Four (hobbit door sticker sheet) -- Samantha B.

Prize Five (One Ring sticker sheet) -- Eva S.

Prize Six (dragon sticker sheet) -- Sam Mouse

Congratulations to this year's winners!  I will be emailing you shortly to ask where you would like your prizes sent.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this year's party!  I have had a lovely week, and I hope you have too :-)  If you're like me and still working your way through everyone's posts, here's the link-up widget again so you can easily access those.  Also, if you have any last-minute posts you want to add, go right ahead, I won't mind.

See you in Middle-earth again next year!

Answers to the Middle-earth Locations Unscramble Game

Here are the answers to this week's unscramble game!  Scores are below.

1. Delveriln = Rivendell

2. Snami Hittir = Minas Tirith

3. Breero = Erebor

4. Armio = Moria

5. Bothnibo = Hobbiton

6. Doomkriw = Mirkwood

7. Hotgailis = Osgiliath

8. Heartwopet = Weathertop

9. Hillroonet = Lothlorien

10. Grandies = Isengard

11. Roades = Edoras

12. Wetklona - Laketown

Scores

Bethani Theresa -- 12

Ivy Miranda -- 12

Sam Mouse -- 12

Olivia -- 11

Middle-earth Locations Unscramble Game

Time for our second party game for this year's Tolkien Blog Party!

I've scrambled up the names of lots of places mentioned in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.  See if you can unscramble them!  Put your answers in the comments, which I am putting on moderation so no one can cheat.

1. Delveriln

2. Snami Hittir

3. Breero 

4. Armio

5. Bothnibo

6. Doomkriw

7. Hotgailis

8. Heartwopet

9. Hillroonet

10. Grandies

11. Roades

12.Wetklona

Good luck!

What's Your Hobbit Name?

Hobbits are known for having quirky, old-fashioned names.  Our first game this week is all about figuring out what your hobbit name would be if you were transported to the Shire suddenly.  Just follow these instructions and you'll soon be answering to a quaint and humorous name of your own.

First Name -- Part One

The last letter of your real first name determines the first half of your hobbit first name.

A/B/C = Clover-

D/E/F = Flor-

G/H/I = Hum-

J/K/L = Jolly-

M/N/O = Merry-

P/Q/R = Ros-

S/T/U = Star-

V/W/X = Wink-

Y/Z = Yawp-

First Name -- Part Two

The number of letters in your real middle name determines the second half of your hobbit first name.

2 = -ago

3 = -pin

4 = -kins

5 = -luna

6 = -anders

7 = -fling

8 = -abello

9 = -fer

10+ = -o

Last Name -- Part One

Whichever of these words is included of the name of the street where you live determines the first half of your hobbit last name.

Avenue = Brace-

Drive = Floor-

Highway = Apple-

Lane = Light-

Place = Proud-

Road = Blythe-

Street = Sack-

Way = Withy-

All others = Sandy-

Last Name -- Part Two

Your favorite member of the Fellowship of the Ring determines the second half of your last name.

Aragorn = -muffle

Boromir = -bucket

Frodo = -buckle

Gandalf = -cobble

Gimli = -foot

Legolas = -girdle

Merry = -stool

Pippin = -turner

Samwise = -ville

Now just put them all together!  For instance, my hobbit name is Jollyluna Lightbucket.  I rather like that :-)  Sounds sort of frolicsome!  Now, tell us, what's your hobbit name?

A Tolkien Blog Party 2023 -- Kick-off Post + Tag!

Welcome, friends!  Here we are again, all geared up to celebrate Professor Tolkien and his creations for the eleventh year in a row.  Are you ready?  I'm ready!  Let's party!

If this is your first time attending a Tolkien Blog Party here at the Edge of the Precipice, I will briefly explain how this works.  As host, I provide a couple of games for you to play (starting tomorrow), a giveaway (which you can enter here), and the official party tag (see below).  Everything else is up to you and your fellow party goers!

All the party participates post things on their own blogs that relate somehow to J. R. R. Tolkien or his creations. We celebrate not only the author and the books he wrote, but also the world of Middle-earth, the movies based on his stories, and so on! You can use any of the official graphics in your posts -- you'll find all five of them in my announcement post. 

The only rules are:

1. your post must be related to Tolkien and his creations somehow, 
2. your post should contain a link back to this post so people can find the party and join the fun, and
3. your post needs to be respectful and family-friendly. This is a celebration, so please don't contribute any rants or whiny posts. 

If you don't know what to post, you can always fill out the tag, which you'll find below this handy link-up widget. Enter each of your posts in the widget (including posts of tag answers) so we can all visit each other's blogs and share the Tolkien joy!

Here is this year's tag:

A Tolkien Blog Party Tag for 2023

Which of each pair do you prefer, and why?

1. Rohan or Gondor?

2. Rivendell or Lothlorien?

3. Erebor or Moria?

4. Bilbo or Frodo?

5. Merry or Pippin?

6. Galadriel or Elrond?

7. Eomer or Faramir?

8. Fili or Kili?

9. Bard or Beorn?

10. Gandalf the Grey or Gandalf the White?

Simply copy that and paste it into a blog post of your own, answer with your preferences (and explain them in as much detail as you wish), add party graphics and a link back to this post, and whatever else you so desire!  Once you've posted it, come back and add a link to your post to the list above so we can all visit each others' blogs and enjoy their answers.  And don't forget to visit other people's blogs too, to keep the party going!

Announcing A Tolkien Blog Party for 2023

Won't you join me next month for my eleventh annual Tolkien Blog Party?  It will be the usual festive mix of party games, a blog tag, a giveaway, and lots of contributions from you, all celebrating Tolkien and his creations.

While the focus is usually on Middle-earth, reviews of or posts about Tolkien's other works, or about the professor himself, are always welcome!

This year's party will run during Tolkien Week, which ends on Hobbit Day, otherwise known as Bilbo and Frodo's birthday, September 22.

If you've never attended a Tolkien Blog Party here at the Edge of the Precipice, or if it's been a few years since you joined us, you can take a peek at last year's wrap-up to see what kinds of posts people contributed last year.

If you have some ideas of what you'd like to share during the party, but you're not sure if they'd be appropriate, just ask in the comments!  It's also fine to simply copy this year's tag to your own blog and fill it out there, or simply play the games here.  Whatever you have time for!  This is always a pretty laid-back celebration, in the fine tradition of hobbit parties. 

And, if you want to drop a comment here telling me you're hoping to participate, whether or not you have ideas of what you want to do, I'm always happy to hear from you!

Join the Classic Children's Literature Party

My blogging friend Carissa is hosting a bookish event this month: The Classic Children's Literature Party!  Carissa says her goal with this event is "that your imagination would be sparked and that you would just feel warm and comfortable and joyful as you proceed through your reads."  Doesn't that sound jolly?

I've got a dozen or so classic children's books on my TBR shelves, so I plan to focus on those for my reading this month.  Being an inveterate mood reader, I don't know exactly what I'll be reading yet, but I'll be choosing from these to start with:

• The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde
• The Lost Prince by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner
• The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald
• A Vicarage Family by Noel Streatfeild

How many of those will I read?  Well, one at least!  Maybe all of them!  We shall see :-)  I do have a couple adult books already started, so I want to finish one of them before starting another read.  But that should give me plenty of time in April to read one or two of these, if not more.

If you want to join this fun event, check out the kick-off post on Carissa's blog for more details!

"A Tangled Web" by L. M. Montgomery

I'm going to enjoy this book a lot more the next time I read it.  This time, I was so terribly worried about how some of the storylines were going to turn out that I simply had to finish it as fast as possible, which was not exactly relaxing.  Next time, I will be secure in the knowledge of whose storylines turn out happily (and nearly all of them do), and I can just laugh at all the sarcasm and acidic wit, and at all the completely ridiculous human foibles they're aimed at.

Two huge old Canadian families, the Darks and the Penhallows, have intermarried so often over the past several generations that they're basically all one giant clan now.  Old Aunt Becky, the clan matriarch, is expected to announce who will inherit a specific heirloom, an ugly old jug painted with hideous nonsense that is one of the funniest MacGuffins I have ever encountered.  Everyone in the clan wants the antique jug, and thinks they have a right to it, even though it's really not a desirable object in and of itself.  It has a tragic family history, and because everyone knows everyone else wants it, everyone just keeps wanting it.

Well, Aunt Becky does NOT announce who she's leaving the jug to.  She sets up a year of suspense and intrigue for the whole clan by leaving instructions on who is to keep it for the next year, along with a sealed letter saying whom she will bequeath it to.  And then she dies like two weeks later, and all the Darks and Penhallows spend a year trying to be as circumspect and respectable and worthy of that jug as they possibly can.  Because they all think that the letter might say that the person who has been temporarily entrusted with the jug should decide himself who gets it.

(Mine from my Instagram account.)

That's really just the backdrop for the book, though.  The story mainly revolves around three couples: Gay Penhallow and Noel Gibson, Donna Dark and Peter Penhallow, and Joscelyn and Hugh Dark.  Gay and Noel are freshly engaged, but Gay discovers that her engagement may not lead to marriage after all.  Donna and Peter's families have hated each other for decades, but then Donna and Peter experience a jolt of love-at-first-sight and have to try to figure out a way to get together.  Joscelyn and Hugh have been married for ten years, but parted ways in bitterness a few hours after their wedding and have been living separate lives all this time.

The title makes me think of the old Sir Walter Scott quotation, "Oh what a tangled web we weave When first we practice to deceive."  Which I'm sure it's meant to.  What's interesting is that most of the deception practiced in this book is self-deception.  Gay had deceived herself into getting engaged to a shallow man just because he's handsome and charming.  Donna is a widow who deceived herself into thinking she should never love another man because her first husband died young during WWI.  Joscelyn deceived herself for ten years that she loves a man other than Hugh that she only saw once, but thinks she is bound to forever because of what she felt in that one meeting.  And all the other members of the clan deceive themselves over a whole lot of random things -- including whether or not they are worthy of inheriting the jug.

I laughed aloud quite a lot over this book.  Montgomery reveals a sharp and biting wit similar to Jane Austen's as she lays bare the ridiculous things people are capable of thinking and doing.  I suspect I will laugh more next time I read it, as I said, because I won't be so worried about what will happen to everyone!

Particularly Good Bits:

And, as Uncle Pippin said, while the truth was all right, in its place, there was no sense in pouring out great gobs of it around where it wasn't wanted (p. 2).

Margaret thought she would not mind growing old if she could be left to do it in peace.  It was hard to grow old gracefully when you were always being laughed at because you were not young (p. 86).

"I like any gate," said Roger whimsically.  "A gate is a luring thing--a promise.  There may be something wonderful beyond and you are not shut out" (p. 134).

One couldn't be altogether hopeless in spring (p. 234).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for a surprising number of mild curse words and one use of the N-word in regards to a statue someone has painted brown.  

I'm contributing this review to We Love L. M. Montgomery Week, which I'm hosting right now on my other blog!  Click here to see all the fun LMM posts people are contributing -- and you can join in yourself, too!  I've got a couple of games coming up, plus I'm hosting a giveaway.  One of the giveaway prizes is a copy of this book!

This has been my 9th book read off my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2023, and my 9th book read for my fourth Classics Club list.

Do You Love L. M. Montgomery?

If you're a fan of L. M. Montgomery -- her books, stories, characters, and so on -- then I hereby invite you to join me on my other blog, Hamlette's Soliloquy, for a blog party in February!

Check out this post for all the details, the sign-up roster, and so on.

A Tolkien Blog Party 2022 -- Kick-Off Post + Tag

It's party time!

Isn't it awesome that this is our TENTH year celebrating Tolkien together with this blog party?  I look forward to this event all year, so much so that I start collecting up prizes for the giveaway almost as soon as the current party ends!

Speaking of the giveaway, be sure to enter that here :-D

If you've never joined this party before, how this works is, everyone posts things on their own blogs that relate somehow to J. R. R. Tolkien or his creations.  We celebrate the author, the books, the world of Middle-earth, the movies, and so on!  You can use any of the official graphics in your posts -- you'll find all six of them in this post.

The only rules are that 1) your post must be related to Tolkien and his creations somehow, and 2) your post needs to be respectful and family-friendly.  This is a celebration, so please don't contribute any rants or whiny posts.  

I will be providing three games this year for you to play.  So pop back to my blog throughout the week to find new things!

If you don't know what to post, you can always fill out the tag, which you'll find below this handy link-up widget.  Enter each of your posts in the widget (including posts of tag answers) so we can all visit each other's blogs and share the Tolkien joy!

For the tag this year, I took one question from each of the previous nine tags, and then tossed the ever-popular "favorite quotation" onto the end, to make ten questions.

The Tag:

1. Who first introduced you to Middle Earth?  

2. Has your love of Middle-earth affected your life? 

3. Have you ever dressed up like a Tolkien character? 

4. What people in your real life would you want in your company if you had to take the ring to Mordor?

5. What Middle-earth location would you most like to visit? 

6. Are there any secondary characters you think deserve more attention? 

7. Would you rather attend Faramir's wedding or Samwise's wedding? 

8. How many books by J.R.R. Tolkien have you read? 

9. Are there any books about Middle-earth or Professor Tolkien (but not written by him) that you recommend? 

10. List up to ten of your favorite lines/quotations from the Middle-earth books and/or movies.

"Borden Chantry" by Louis L'Amour

I just might have me a new favorite L'Amour book.  It's been almost a decade since I reread Hondo, so I might have to pull that off the shelf to read again and see how it holds up, because... man, I really loved Borden Chantry.  

Borden Chantry is a recently appointed town marshal.  He never expected to be a peace officer, but his ranch hit some hard times and he had to sell off his herd.  To hang onto their land, he and his wife and son have moved to town so Chantry could find a job.  It's just not the job he was expecting.  But he's an upright, conscientious, trustworthy man, good with his fists and his gun if need be, but not given to showing off.  Just what a town needs in a marshal, even if it's a surprise to him.

Well, a dead body in the street one morning sets the town buzzing.  He was a stranger, and no one seems to know where he came from or why he was there.  He has good clothes, but nothing at all to identify him, and no money.  Also, his horse is missing.  Borden Chantry doesn't think of himself as a clever or intelligent man, but he sets about solving this homicide in a methodical and logical way that belies his own estimation of his intellect.  Before long, another murder rocks the town, and then Chantry finds a third, plus evidence that two deaths a year earlier may be linked to these.

Although this is not considered one of the Sackett novels, it has Sacketts in it, in minor roles.  As a writer who relishes tying different books together in small ways herself, that really pleased me :-)

(Photo by me.)

I picked this book up this past weekend at a tiny used book store up in the Shenandoah Valley -- I actually went hunting for it because I'd taken L'Amour's book Son of a Wanted Man along on a little family getaway and read it... and discovered that it is a sequel of sorts to Borden Chantry.  Happily, I found this for $2 and could start reading it right away, and I liked it better than Son of a Wanted Man! In fact, I loved it -- a murder mystery set in the Old West?  Yes, please!

Plus, Borden Chantry himself is just the sort of hero I love best -- quiet, calm, watchful, honorable, steely.  Yup, totally love him.  (His wife, on the other hand, I am not a fan of.  Sigh.)  Now I kind of want to reread parts of Son of a Wanted Man just to see all the ties to this.

Particularly Good Bits:

"Since the war, there's a lot of footloose men who can't seem to find a place to light" (p. 7).

As marshal his job was to enforce the law, and to him the laws were the rules that made civilization work.  Without them there was chaos.  They were not a restriction upon his freedom, but the doorway to greater freedom, for they established certain rules that men were not to transgress.  In the land in which he had grown up it was customary to settle disputes with a gun.  Consequently men, unless drunk, were cautious with their language and respectful of one another (p. 15-16).

"Some people believe the law to be a restriction... It is a restriction only against evil.  Laws are made to free people, not to bind them -- if they are proper laws.  They tell each of us what he may do without transgressing on the equal liberty of any other man" (p. 62).

He was himself an essentially private man, friendly but reserved, standing a cool sentry before the doors of his personal life (p. 107).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:  PG for some mild bad language and non-gory western violence.

Since this is a murder mystery, I'm contributing it to my We Love Detectives Week blog party :-)

This is also the 5th book read off my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2022.

"The Maltese Falcon" by Dashiell Hammett

I've seen the 1941 movie adaptation of The Maltese Falcon probably nine or ten times.  And I've read this before, though not for like fifteen+ years.  So, what I'm saying is, I was not reading this mystery book to find out whodunit.  I was reading it for the joy of the hardboiled flavor, really.  And it did not disappoint.

One thing that I really enjoyed was how much of the dialog from this book got included in the Humphrey Bogart movie.  Like, all the good lines come from the book.  I love that.  Hammett's dialog is not as snappy as Chandler's (nor are his descriptions as staggeringly wonderful), but he writes plenty of zingers, and I dig that so much.

The basic plot is that Sam Spade, private investigator, takes a job that ends up tangling him with a very colorful collection of characters who are all trying to get their greedy little paws on a falcon statue of incredible value.  Bodies pile up here and there, but Spade figures it all out and sees that justice is carried out in the end.  Dark, cynical, bitter, and twisted as the story and the characters may be, justice is still upheld.  I love that.

Although I could hear Bogart throughout the book when Spade was speaking, it really cracked me up that Spade doesn't look anything like Bogart.  In fact, the way Hammett describes him, he looks a lot more like Vincent Price in my head.  But Price of the 1950s, not the 1940s -- he would've been just a little to boyish in the early '40s to play the role.  Still, I had fun imagining him in the role.

Particularly Good Bits:

Spade said nothing in a blank-faced definite way (p. 43).

Her eyes were cobalt-blue prayers (p. 57).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG-16 for lots of cussing, some violence, oblique references to sexual deviance, references to a female character sleeping with someone to gain their trust, and some coarse dialog.

I am contributing this review to my We Love Detectives Week blog party that I'm hosting over on my other blog.  If you haven't stopped by to join the fun yet, there are still a couple days of party left!

This is also my 35th book read and reviewed for my third Classics Club list.

Do You Love Detectives?

I completely forgot to announce this over here.  ::facepalm::  I'm hosting a blog party in two weeks on my other blog that you might be interested in!  It's called We Love Detectives Week, and you can read all about it in this post.  

Basically, it's a celebration of detective stories of every sort, whether they're books, stage plays, movies, TV shows, radio shows, whatever.  I'll be providing a tag with questions you can answer on your own blog, a couple of games, and probably a couple movie and book reviews.  Oh, and a giveaway!!!  And some of the giveaway prizes are books!!!  So you definitely should check it all out when it starts, if you like mysteries and detectives and so on.

"The Greatest Gift" by Philip Van Doren Stern

I've seen It's a Wonderful Life (1946) dozens of times.  I remember first seeing it at my grandparents' house in July when I was probably eleven or twelve.  My aunt found out we had never seen it and insisted on loaning us her copy so we could rectify that omission in our cultural education.  I've been a fan ever since.

But I'd never read the short story it's based on, until now.  Isn't that silly of me?  I must admit I've been a bit hesitant to read it because... what if it wasn't as wonderful as the movie?

Well, it's not.  But how could it be?  It's a Wonderful Life is one of those jewel-perfect movies where nothing could possibly have improved it.  However, the short story is heartwarming and cozy, and it has the same basic message: that each life impacts every life that touches it, and the lack of one person can make a huge difference in the lives of many.  It reminds me a lot of John Donne's famous statement about no man being an island.

The copy I have also contains a history of how Van Doren Stern wrote the short story and its twisting road to moviedom.  He woke up with the whole story in his head one morning, wrote it out, revised it many times, tried to get it published many times, but had no luck. Finally, he had it printed up in a little booklet at his own expense and gave it to friends and family as a Christmas card.  One of those found its way to Frank Capra, freshly back from WWII and looking for his next movie idea.  He called James Stewart, also just discharged from the Air Force, told him the idea, and James Stewart basically insisted they make it together because he loved the idea so much.

The movie does a better job of fleshing out the characters and their lives, so if you have neither read this short story nor seen the movie, I do recommend the movie over the story.  But if you already know the movie, the short story is really lovely because you can kind of trace how the germs of the various ideas and scenes are there, but got expanded and rounded out for the movie.

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG because it does open with George Bailey contemplating suicide, though it does not go nearly as dark as the movie does.

This has been my first entry into the It's a Wonderful Life Blogathon hosted by Classic Movie Muse.  Check out her master list for everyone's entries!

This is also my 47th book read off my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2021.

Middle-earth Food Quiz: A Party Game

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!

1. Apples
2. Bacon
3. Blackberries
4. Butter
5. Cheese
6. Chocolate
7. Coffee
8. Eggs
9. Garlic
10. Honey
11. Mushrooms
12. Pickles
13. Potatoes
14. Salad
15. Tomatoes

I'll put comments on full moderation so no one can copy your answers.  I'll post everyone's scores, and the correct answers, on Saturday!

Meet Me in Middle-earth: A Party Game

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!

Your turn!