Every decade, I re-read LOTR. This is the year! It usually takes me around a month, but this time I may read shorter books in between. I quite often read more than one book at a time, anyway. I doubt I’ll review it, once I’ve finished, but I might re-watch the trilogy for a ‘film of the book’ post. If you notice fewer book reviews on the blog, it’s because I’m wading through LOTR (it might also be that I’m generally busy). After watching The Rings of Power last year, I checked when I last read the books, and discovered my re-read was due. The films – the Jackson ones, at least – did not exist when I first read LOTR, so I remember being excited to see them brought to the big screen. Now, it’s difficult to read without picturing the films. Here’s an interesting link; Peter Jackson directed the Beatles’ Get Back documentary… and in 1968, the Beatles wanted to make a film of LOTR, directed by Stanley Kubrick! Tolkien didn’t agree to it, however. Instead, that year we got Yellow Submarine. As much as I love that film, I think a Beatles LOTR would have been groovy. In some parallel universe, perhaps it happened! Anyhow, back to the re-read. I always enjoy reading the books again (I know they are technically six volumes but I always think of them as a trilogy) although not all of the chapters are equally appealing to me. Any chapters about hobbits are the best. I particularly remember ‘The Council of Elrond’ being a trying chapter to get through. Let’s see how I get on with it this time around!