That's it! I'm all done grad school. It doesn't quite seem real yet. I haven't yet felt a sense of loss at no longer having that status, but perhaps that is because being done is better than being in the fray. "I can't - too busy with school" doesn't apply any more, but I still feel there aren't enough hours. "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want." Garfield? Calvin? Not sure who said it, but it applies to me. I want to play my flute, and work on my stamp collection (mock if you will - it was fun when I was a kid and it's still fun), do puzzles, write on this blog, read more, enjoy TV without guilt, experiment with cooking, get back to the gym (went to a brutal spin class today - first time in two months!), write to my family more... so much to do! It's only been a few weeks, but I've started to get to my non-grad-student list.
And one of the things I wanted to get to was the Lord of the Rings. I last wrote when I was reading the Fellowship. I have gotten through the Two Towers, and also the Return of the King. I tried to read the appendices, but the first one was like reading that part of the Bible where so-and-so begot such-and-such - just a huge list of jumbled names, and I just couldn't. Plus, I didn't want the extra information to take away from what was an absolutely mesmerizing place - Middle Earth is wonderful. I would visit in a heartbeat - particularly Lothlorien. He really did create a whole world. When you read a book and not one detail is missing to make it real - when nothing takes your attention away from the story, because the background is flawless - that is truly magical writing. I enjoyed every sentence. Even the simplest detail was beautifully conveyed. Everyone should read LOTR.
I have seen the first movie, and of course, with the book so fresh in my mind, I was somewhat disappointed. I suppose I shouldn't have expected more - they couldn't possibly include all of the details that made the books as good as they were. But they left out a LOT. Like Tom Bombadil.
I've waited so long, so I look forward to the other two movies. But I can say with absolute certainty that the books are worth every moment you spend reading them. I waited far too long to tuck them under my belt.
Titles: Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King
Author: J. R. R. Tolkein
Pages: 1,664
Total books blogged: 4
Total pages: 1,874
