lotr rtok spoilers

[DaRkEnEdStAr]

i find that quite amusing ....
didn`t everyone read the book at school ?
or at least some abridged version ?

 

[slider142]

Not in my education. I found the books in the library when I was much younger and reading through all the fantasy epics.

 

[Nukemall]

I didn't read it at school. It's not like it's required reading, or something you'd study like Shakespeare is it?

Anyways, you can still read the book and have spoilers for the movie since the movie isn't exactly the book, and hearing what happens in the movie before you see it can change your expectations.

 

[DaRkEnEdStAr]

I remember reading it at primary school ... Every friday for months ...

 

[Lyta]

Can't say I have ever heard of LOTR books being required reading in school. I only got through THE HOBBIT when I was a youngster and tried FELLOWSHIP but couldn't get into it. I must have been 8 or 10 when I did this and just never got into it again. I will someday since they have been sitting on my bookshelf for a few years now.

 

[Quagmire]

Not everyone has read it.

One thing that was funny was a reporter asking Ian McKellen what happened in the upcoming movies. I believe his response was something along the lines of try reading the books.

 

[The Juche Warrior]

As good as these books are, I'm not too sure that they are good enough to be required reading by all school kids. Then again, I had to read f*cking John Knowles so I guess it's all subjective.

 

[DaRkEnEdStAr]

I dont think anyone in my class was interested or even knew what it was . Maybe my teacher was a tolkien fan ....

 

[Bab5nutz]

LOTR required reading in schools? Interesting idea.
When I was at school I can remember there were a lot of "teenage" novels as required reading. Stuff by S E HInton [is she still around?] Novels like The Pigman and The Pinballs [anyone remember that one?] Trouble was, I had read most of the "teenage" novels a couple of years before on my own, and was well into reading adult novels by then.

Of course, not being an American, I don't know what they're getting highschool students in America to read. What do American kids read for school assignments these days? Or British for that matter?

 

[Nukemall]

Most of the stuff I did at school (that I remember) was ol' Shakey. Fortunately I never did any Dickens or Austen. Dropped English after GCSE anyways.

 

[hypatia]

This is why I am so glad I got into the advanced English sequence in my high school. They tended more towards having a "reading list" you could choose from.

LOTR as required reading I have no opinion about at all. I have never taught Reading or English so I really don't know how they choose what to read. I assume by the grade level of the language. The rest may just be the teacher's whim for all I know.

Other than the fact that some standard titles appear in many classrooms for periods of time. I do admit I am delighted that I was made to read the novel "1984" at some point in high school.

But on the other hand, 1984 is not a very long novel. So it would be a bit easier to put into a required reading sequence. I also think "Animal Farm" was a brief assignment for us at some point, as well.

 

[Mike G]

Most kids in my high school didn't have the patience for 200 page books, let alone books like Lord of the Rings. (Some didn't even have the patience for the 3 hour movie) Myabe in some higher level they would.

 

[DaRkEnEdStAr]

we also read "To kill a Mockingbird" , "Of Mice and Men" "I know why the caged bird sings" , "Lord of the flies" I absolutley loved To kill A Mockingbrid though ...

 

[PillowRock]

I only got through THE HOBBIT when I was a youngster and tried FELLOWSHIP but couldn't get into it. I must have been 8 or 10 when I did this and just never got into it again.

Yeah, you should give another shot. I'm not surprised that you had trouble geting into it at 8 or 10 (though I'm sure that there are kids that age who do). The writing style of the trilogy is aimed much more at adults and much less at children than The Hobbit was.

 

[Demon]

i find that quite amusing ....
didn`t everyone read the book at school ?
or at least some abridged version ?

I think I was lucky. My headmaster had studied under Tolkein at Oxford and was a huge fan. The books may not have been on a required reading list, but it was hard to ignore them in my school

 

[GeoKuutio]

I only got through THE HOBBIT when I was a youngster and tried FELLOWSHIP but couldn't get into it. I must have been 8 or 10 when I did this and just never got into it again.

My little brother is 11 and he read the trilogy. He started reading it after I said something like: "You know, in those films (by the time I said that, he saw fotr:ee and ttt) well, they don't mention all that happened in Lord of the Rings." he asked "What do you mean?" and I replied something like "Well, read the book." So, he took it from the bookshelf and read it... it took about 3 months to read ~1000 pages. Not bad for him in my opinion.

 

[A_M_Swallow]

Thirty years ago for 'O' Level I read "Far From the Madding Crowd" and "Romeo and Juliet" plus short stories and a poetry book. Previous years included "Julius Cessor", "A Tale of Two Cities" and "Withering Heights" were the practice books.

 

[Lyta]

Yeah, you should give another shot. I'm not surprised that you had trouble geting into it at 8 or 10 (though I'm sure that there are kids that age who do). The writing style of the trilogy is aimed much more at adults and much less at children than The Hobbit was.

I will. I will. I just need to find the time and there are very little books I have read lately.

Hey, if I could get through Jane Eyre at that age, I can get through most things. I think I was turned off mostly at the time by the difference between HOBBIT and FOTR. I have read some fantasy saga since (like Riftwar and Tad Williams) so it isn't like I am opposed to them or anything.