A Book Review on The Hunger Games

 Reading Progress: Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien

by: Luke Fahnestock

Over the last few weeks I have been making steady progress in reading J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. This book is an epic fantasy that follows the adventures of the hobbit Frodo Baggins. For those who do not know, hobbits are miniature versions of humans. They are a good natured race of people who enjoy simple aspects of life, such as eating and gardening in the fertile hills of their homeland, the Shire. Frodo Baggins was no exception to this. Aside from living with his eccentric uncle Bilbo, he was considered respectable. Little did he know that he would soon be launched into an adventure that would determine the fate of Middle Earth.

The story starts with Bilbo departing from the Shire on his birthday. The inheritance that he leaves Frodo includes an odd gold ring that he acquired on his previous adventures. Frodo is surprised by his uncle's sudden withdrawal from the Shire, but continues to live happily for many years. Then he receives a sudden visit from his wizard friend Gandalf, who reveals the true nature of the mysterious ring. This ring is the greatest weapon of the dark enemy Sauron, which had come into Bilbo’s possession long ago. He commissions Frodo to bring the ring on a journey to Rivendell, the home of the High elves. Frodo prepares for the journey by selling his house and many of his belongings. He buys a house on the outskirts of the Shire as a front to start his journey from. His friends Sam and Pippin accompany him for the first part of his journey to the new house, the starting point of his adventure.

Lord of the Rings is written as the sequel to Tolkien’s first work, The Hobbit, but is still easy to follow without having read it. The book is very engaging and a great source of entertainment. It is written with explicit detail that paints an elaborate picture in the mind of the reader. As a warning, Tolkien’s writing can be “wordy” and may not appeal to all readers. In my opinion, Tolkien’s work has the perfect amount of detail to create vivid mental images and keep the plot moving. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for something new to read. Tolkien’s writing is exciting, humorous, and definitely worth your time. This is my second time reading Lord of the Rings independently, and I plan on focusing my future blogs on the book. Each post will be a summary of the portion that I read that month.