Tag: Tolkien

January 3rd was JRR Tolkien’s birthday. He wrote many books but the ones that I am the most familiar with are The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Although Tolkien died before I was born, I knew his name by Kindergarten. My father began reading The Hobbit to me at night before bed when I was 5. He went on to read me The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The main character in the Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, went on a great adventure with a group of dwarves and a wizard to fight a dragon and came across a magic ring that made him disappear. Tolkien’s characters were always finding themselves in trouble, whether it was with trolls or spiders or other enemies. My favorite part is when they escape in wine barrels and tossed into the river to float downstream to a nearby town. My dad actually read all the books twice to me over many years. He loved the books and knew every character and even sang the songs that were written throughout. Since it took us so long to read through each book and then begin again, I couldn’t tell if he knew the tune of the songs or made them up, creating different versions each time he sang them. I loved the stories too, but mostly I loved spending time with my dad.