Yesterday, I finally finished reading the Lord of the Rings series for the first time. I can finally scratch them off my list of shame! As I did for the previous two books, I thought I would provide some brief thoughts on each.

The Two Towers

I found it interesting how this volume told two stories in separate chunks (books 3 and 4), rather than interleaving them. The first book follows the adventures of Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, Merry, Pippin, and Gandalf, from beginning to end. The second follows Sam, Frodo, and Gollum. In the movie adaptation of this book, the stories are intertwined, helping to remind the viewer that various events are happening in parallel. Telling each story in its entirety in the novel was much more rewarding from a reading perspective. I never lost track of what was going on during each story, and I found them that much more engaging. It’s interesting that Peter Jackson decided to move the scene with Shelob into the third movie, since it really happens at the end of the second novel. Again, this was a top notch novel, which I enjoyed cover to cover.

The Return of the King

To me, this book differs more from its movie adaptation than the previous two. In the book, the army of the dead is used to gain ships for Aragorn and company: nothing more. They are released from service after helping the company obtain these ships. In the movie, the dead travel with them and fight Sauron’s army with the company. I think I prefer the novel’s version here. Likewise, I prefer the ending of the novel over the movie. How could the film’s writers have left out the scouring of the Shire? When Frodo and company return to the Shire, they find it in ruin. This was a key scene omitted from the movie, much to the movie’s detriment, in my opinion. Novel for the win!

Now for a few final thoughts on the series as a whole:

• It boggles my mind that Arwen is a bit character in the novels. Having seen the movies before reading the books, I guess my vision of her importance was tarnished. She barely has any speaking lines in the books, and is left out of the second story altogether.
• While I enjoy Peter Jackson’s movie adaptations of these books, the novels (as usual) far exceed them. Key elements were left out of the films: interacting with Tom Bombadil, several scenes with the Ents, and the scouring of the Shire (along with the deaths of both Saruman and Wormtongue). I guess it’s hard to beat a book.

As shameful as it is for me to say, I had not, until just recently, ever read The Hobbit or The Fellowship of the Ring (or, for that matter, the other two volumes of The Lord of the Rings). I’m not sure why I never read them. Perhaps it’s because I heard from some people that the books were hard to read. Well, I’m finally getting around to reading them, and I must say that I’ve enjoyed them thoroughly. Here are some thoughts:

The Hobbit

Though technically not a part of the The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit is clearly where it all starts. As such, I read this book first, and I’m glad I did. Reading this story first provides a great deal of context for things learned in Fellowship. I particularly loved the way the book was written: it always seemed to me like an old man was telling me the story as we sat around a camp fire. Often the narrator would go off on a tangent, then later realize that he had gotten onto a tangent, and would finally have to apologize to you, the reader. Very enjoyable. The one thing I didn’t like about this story was the abrupt ending. After the climax is a single chapter, wrapping up a number of threads in a short period of time. Such a jarring transition seems detrimental to the whole story on some level. Overall, however, a terrific story.

The Fellowship of the Ring

This is by far one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. Tolkien’s command of the English language is outstanding, as is his inventiveness. Every character feels alive and their interactions are wonderful to experience. My absolute favorite scene is at the parting of the Company with Galadriel and Celeborn from Lothlórien. Galadriel gives each member of the Fellowship a gift, and she asks Gimli, the dwarf, what he would like. At first he says he wants nothing, but she presses him, so he answers that a single hair from her head would be his heart’s desire. He then continues to assert that he doesn’t want this; he’s only saying so because she commanded him to speak. Here is her reply:

The Elves stirred and murmured with astonishment, and Celeborn gazed at the Dwarf in wonder, but the Lady smiled. “It is said that the skill of the Dwarves is in their hands rather than in their tongues,” she said; “yet that is not true of Gimli. For none have ever made to me a request so bold and yet so courteous.”

She then asks Gimli what he would do with such a gift, and he replies that he would simply treasure it, in memory of her words to him at their first meeting. This pleases her, so she gives him not one hair, but three. Gimli takes them and vows to have them set in an imperishable crystal to be an heirloom in his house, and a token of goodwill between the Dwarves and the Elves until the end of time.

Scenes like this one are peppered throughout the text, and are truly wonderful to take part in. I’m greatly looking forward to the next two books, even though I know how the story plays out.

My dad stumbled upon an incredibly well produced video entitled “Reading With Franz.” In it, we learn how Franz, a puppet representing a person with a disability, is able to read books with a simple switch device and Tar Heel Reader. For those who may not know, Tar Heel Reader is a website my dad started a while back with an emphasis on providing books for beginning readers. There are over 3000 books on the website as of this writing, with more being added every day. Over 2200 visitors surf the site every week, with nearly 300,000 weekly page views. This map of readers shows that visitors are coming in from all over the world (a total of 80 countries so far). If you know a beginning reader, particularly one with a disability, be sure to check out the site.

Reading Watchmen is, for me, akin to looking at the Mona Lisa. In my heart of hearts, I know it’s a masterpiece, but I just don’t like it. My main problem with Watchmen, and a problem I’m increasingly having with LOST (which I’m trying to catch up on), is that there’s no hope for the characters. I have absolutely no reason to root for the characters in Watchmen; they’re the saddest group of people in the world. The story is overly complex, the pacing erratic, and the tone is way too preachy for my liking.

I know lots of folks out there adore this story, but I say ’skip it.’

I just completed the seventh and final installment of the Harry Potter series: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Without a doubt, this final volume is the pinnacle of the series. The narrative is unlike any of the previous installments, and reads like a non-stop action movie. And while I’m on the topic of movies, I will go ahead and predict that the feature film for this story will not do it the appropriate justice. To fully appreciate this story, and the overall arc of the boy wizard, one must spend time with the books.

I’ll admit that I was apprehensive of going into this final story; a little scared, even. A great sense of foreboding precedes the reader into this final volume, and never once lets go. My nerves are pretty shot as a result (J. K. Rowling is truly a master of the cliffhanger). Thankfully, I can say that the finale is well worth the journey through seven years in the life of Harry Potter.

Completing this series is difficult. I’ve become friends with the characters in these books, and to know that their adventures are over is a little sad. But, as I mentioned in a recent post, the reading bug has bitten me once again, and I look forward to delving into other worlds.

If you haven’t read this series, pick it up. If you think the series is just for younger readers, think again. And if you’re persistent enough to read through all seven volumes, you will be rewarded. I feel safe enough to say that these books now rank among my favorites, and will hold a treasured spot on my book shelves.

In order to properly describe my reading experience with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I’d like to talk briefly about another, unrelated book.

The seventh and final book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, entitled The Last Battle, is perhaps one of the most frustrating books I’ve ever read. Strangely enough, it’s also the most gratifying of the series. For what must be easily three quarters of the book, the reader is forced through one bad event after another. No hope ever presents itself and all seems lost. At one point, I seriously considered putting the book down for good. Thankfully, I didn’t do so. The final quarter of the book makes the difficulty of the first three quarters worthwhile.

The Order of the Phoenix has a similar resonance with me. Much darker than the previous volumes, the fifth installment of the Harry Potter series is a frustrating read at first. Bad fortune seems to follow Harry around, affecting everyone around him. This makes the reader’s job an unpleasant one. Thankfully, about two-thirds of the way through the book, things begin to turn around. As with the previous installment of the series (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), this book ends on a rather melancholy note. This makes me a little anxious about what’s to come in the final two volumes, especially the final one.

All in all, I’m really enjoying the series; much more than I thought I would originally. These books have rekindled my interest in reading, which I’m excited about. I used to read all the time when I was younger, but my efforts have been focused elsewhere for the past several years. Thankfully, that spark has been ignited again. I’m already thinking about what to read after I conclude the Potter series. Maybe I’ll take a stab at the Lord of the Rings books…

A few weeks ago, I was in search of something new to read, so I decided to pick up the first six volumes of the Harry Potter series. Having only seen a couple of the movies (the first and third movies, I now recall), I wasn’t too familiar with the story line. What better way, then, to read the whole story from the beginning?

I just now completed the fourth book (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), and will begin on the fifth (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) tonight. Without a doubt, J. K. Rowling is one of the great authors of our time. Every book I’ve read so far has been a delight, packed with action that runs the gamut of emotions. I’ve laughed out loud a number of times (there are some very funny scenes in each book), I’ve been tense with anticipation at the climax of each story, and there have even been a few sad moments, especially in the book I just finished (which is quite dark at the end).

I’m glad that I’ve finally gotten around to reading this series. If you haven’t read them yet, I highly recommend doing so.

It’s no surprise that the internet, along with 24-hour news channels, are killing off newspapers as a whole. But it seems as if the end of newsprint is nearer than expected. Earlier this month McClatchy Company, the group responsible for publishing our local Raleigh News & Observer, slashed over 10% of its workforce. This cut leads to the inevitable: less news in the newspaper.

When I read the newspaper, I mainly look at the local news section, the business section, and the comics (the most important part). The News & Observer will be merging the business section with the local news section, cutting coverage in both sections in the process. Happily, the comics section is (for now) being left alone. But these changes are leaving less for me to look forward to. I can only see this change as a snowball effect. Provide readers with less content and they’ll leave. Have readers leave, and then cut back even more as a result, causing yet more readers to leave.

Last week I took some much needed vacation. During that time I happened to pick up a book to read, something I haven’t done in a long time (as sad as that is to say). My book of choice was Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories Vol. 1, which I received years and years ago from a family friend. I have never successfully read through all of the stories, though I have finished the odd one or two. My goal this time around is to complete the entire book. So far I have read through the two novel-length stories in the book: A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four. Both are gripping reads, and I found that I could hardly put the book down once I started reading. I’m very excited about the rest of the short stories. And then it’s on to volume two!

What is everyone else here reading? Or are you even reading at all? It’s certainly such a 20th century thing to do…

A List Apart fails to disappoint. While I don’t read every article in each issue (not all of them apply to my web development efforts), I have yet to find one that hasn’t taught me something new. The latest issue is a prime example. Two new articles tackle the problem of weak writing on the web:

1. Better Writing Through Design — by Bronwyn Jones
2. Reviving Anorexic Web Writing — by Amber Simmons

Both articles are excellent reads, but the latter is my personal favorite. Mrs. Simmons points out a number of interesting thoughts on where writing for the web becomes anemic. One specific example that hits close to home for me is alt text. Improving my alt text writing is a subtle, yet important improvement that would benefit my websites in a number of ways.