So You Wanna Read the Lord of the Rings...

If you've been trying to read LotR, but you're struggling to make it through, this is the video for you! I share my top tips for knocking LotR off your TBR list, and talk about why it can be so hard to read (even if you already love the story). Don't forget to like, subscribe and share!

Citations are available upon request!

[DarkerRunesASMR]

I read the trilogy for the first time when I was about 10 years old, when my father had just died. The story of Gandalf touched me very much. It's hard to put it into words more precisely than this.

[petejamie]

I’ve got ADHD and always struggle to sit down and focus on reading. However, I love the world of The LoTR and have been desperate to read them, so I’ve recently started allocating an hour at a cafe where I put on ambient LoTR music (when the music sometimes matches up to what I’m reading it gives me chills) and read it with my headphones in. I’m getting through The Fellowship of The Ring!

Thank you for this video!

[ryanmaass]

Soundscapes and ambient music are a real game changer. I highly recommend Dungeon Synth artists like Fogweaver or Tales Under the Oak, because they set the fantasy mood aren't nearly as intrusive as movie soundtracks tend to be. Many of those artists shamelessly take inspiration from Tolkien in general, which is a nice bonus.

[rbweston]

As a dyslexic person, the first time i read LotR it took me nine months, but i perservered and my mentor was so happy with me. When i got to the end I immediately went back to chapter one and read it a second time (took me 7 months), after 30 years and now on my 11th reading I still love this story more than anything.
Plus I grew up only a few miles from where Tolkien lived as a boy so places like Sarehole Mill and the infamous Two towers were part of my childhood to.

Love your channel BTW.

[JLam_]

My goal was one book a month! I started at the beginning of January 2024 and it’s now March 2024 and I am on chapter IV of ROTK!!

[LdsQueenie]

I have extremely bad mental illness that prevents me from living a normal life. I often feel very alone. I watched lotr when I was three and was absolutely obsessed but it faded and I only watched it a few times after that but my boyfriend got me to watch them again and I'm hooked. I found that desire once more. Lotr has really been the thing that has kept me going these last few difficult months. I've fallen so hard for many of the characters who have literally changed my life and saved me more than therapy ever could. I will always have a special place in my heart for LOTR because it literally saved my life

[mandykelly]

This is a PHENOMENAL video. I'm a homeschool mom and I'm introducing my two teenage girls to LOTR this upcoming school year. This video is going to be the first thing I show them before we dive into reading. I'm already incorporating many of these tips in preparation for our dive into Tolkien (we're each going to have our own copy in hand while listening to the audio book at the same time, and then chat about that day's selection with the help of some guides), but you have such an incredible way of presenting it...honest, vulnerable, unpretentious, and filled with such an obvious love for these works.... Hearing these things from YOU on day one of the school year is going to be so much better than hearing these things from lame old Mom!! Thanks for the great content!!! (And for helping me plan my curriculum 😂)

[N_Jedi]

I read LoTR for the first time almost 20 years ago and I've read them all countless times since! Tom always puts a smile on my face

[jayvansickle]

I always tell people, that if they have trouble getting motivated to read a book….to read a book that a movie they have seen is based on . Like this one. So, you don’t have pressure to catch everything, since you “know” everyone, for the most part.

And…for LOTR… I think reading the individual books would help, so you have a sense of accomplishment at the end of each segment.

[jimmyboy]

I read the Hobbit when I was...hmm, I'm gonna say around 12 or so, because many of my friends had read it and they loved it. I ate it up, and loved it too. Then I read about halfway through Fellowship of the Ring, got bogged down, got distracted, and forgot about it.

Then after college I had time to actually relax and read WHATEVER I WANTED, not whatever I was required to read. And it was wonderful. So I started reading LOTR and could not out it down. When I wasn't working I was camped on the couch until very latest night for several days. I'm a slow reader so it took me a little while but I didn't really take any breaks until it was was completed.

Then shortly after that I heard they were making them into movies and I was like, yeah no. You can't do justice to these books with movies!"

OK I was wrong. Jackson's LOTR trilogy is amazing! Thile Hobbit movies, not so much. But they proved that love, dedication, and talent could bring those books to life!

[gracemember]

I started my LOTR journey when the Rankin Bass version of The Hobbit came out in 1977 and was mid way through college. I even bought the story record set. That got me started with LOTR. Then after getting married and kids came along, I read the books to them as bedtime stories. To this day we are all serious LOTR fans. Thank you for your videos.

[johnnypetro]

I understand the audio book narrations by either Andy Serkis or Rob Inglis are absolutely devine. I'm listening to the Inglis narration now and absolutely love it.

[donaldscholand]

Entering middle school, I was the proverbial 98 pound weakling. Shy, awkward, timid, and a frequent target of school bullies. Then I found The Hobbit in the school library. My older sister got me The Lord of the Rings in paperback. I read and re-read all of them over and over again for the next 2 years. Thanks to their inspiration (and growing 4 inches and gaining 30 pounds of lean muscle), my problem with bullies magically disappeared! I've read them over a dozen times since then and will probably read them again in a year or two. For me, their charm never grows old.

[mariposahorribilis]

I first borrowed the three volume LoTR from the school library when I was eleven. But I really date my fandom to the following Christmas, when I received my very own copy of the iconic yellow paperback version. I was an avid reader back then: there were less distractions (it was 1966) plus we were staying with my grandparents in the country away from friends and city life. I devoured it in three days! I've re-read it many times since then, and still enjoy it in book, audio (especially Brian Sibley's adaptation for radio) or movie form pretty much annually.

Some advice I'd offer to new readers - if you get bogged down, don't be afraid to skip to the end of the chapter. You can always go back if you find you've missed an essential point. And if it's not your reading style, don't stop to notice things like who Elrond's father was. You're reading for pleasure, not preparing for an exam! And newly spotted details add to the joy of re-reading. Read it because you want to, not because you 'should.' And read it *how* you want to, not how you think you 'ought.'

[jamesorr]

I know this is a LotR channel and thus content is, of course, geared in that direction, but this video should be called "how to read harder/longer books" in general, as these are awesome tips just for reading in general. In my capacity as a tutor and a teaching assistant for English/history uni courses, this is all usually the stuff I tell my students who are struggling to get their reading done, and honestly, I think I might just start suggesting this video to my students because it's both entertaining, concise and very informative.

[MartinBrabi]

Why am I watching tips for reading books I read in my youth? You are so charming <3 I have to watch your other videos, please keep up the good work

[piatc]

I remember reading the hobbit on one weekend when I was eleven. So naturally I wanted to read LOTR right after, got it for my twelfth birthday - and resigned just after starting. It took some years until I picked it up again and right now I'm fully enjoying reading the books.

[Gnardonic_]

Reading out loud def helps, as well as acting out each character with different voices.
Another key is making note files where you build a database of all unknowm words of your own vocab and add definitions. As it gets bigger, refresh by reading them all.

[annikavestergaard]

Thank you so much for making this video. I just recently became a fan of lotr and I've watched a handful of your other vids. You seem like a very passionate and well-informed fan, but when you put into words how even you've struggled with getting through the triology, it makes me feel like I can do it too. We had the hobbit at home (in danish) with illustrations by Alan Lee and I picked it up a couple of weeks ago and I look forward to, hopefully, reading the triology. I hope that your tips alongside Alan Lee's incredible illustrations can help me get through the books. I'm 19 and from Denmark so there will probably be a lot of words i won't understand in the english versions but your wonderful videos have sparked a passion in me too.

Tried to read it as a teenager and it was such an effort. Just finished reading it now at 30 and it was such an incredible experience, I think I must have been reading a Chinese bootleg version back then or something.