Book Review: Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien - The Fellowship Ends

Lord of the Rings
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
ISBN: 978-0618574995

Buy from amazon: Lord of the Rings Boxset

Buy in India:

They told me that if I liked Harry Potter, I would also like Lord of The Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien. I thought they were mad... nothing could compare with Harry Potter. Yet, I bought the Lord of the Rings series box-set, only because it was available at less than 40% of its price (in some clearance sale perhaps, for it definitely didn't look pirated) in one of the big book shops in Delhi.

And so it sat in my almirah since the end of July 2009, for I was in no mood to read anything... ANYTHING... and definitely not something they claimed was in the same league as Harry Potter!

Ahh! But suddenly last weekend I was overcome with this strong urge to read again! And the Lord of The Rings novels were sitting right in the front of the shelf. So I pulled them out.

To be very honest, I found the story really boring initially. Couldn't relate with hobbits. All the names sounded so funny. Nothing seemed to be happening at all in the story. Laid back place, Shire. Laid back people, the Hobbits. And a laid back story, Lord of The Rings. I dragged through... 'coz I was in a fit of reading. I just had to read.

And I'm so glad I did. The plot becomes so engrossing even before the end of the first book (that is the first part of the first volume) that you find it hard to put it down. It's almost as if you become a member of their Fellowship -- an invisible member. And you journey with them through all their perils and adventures. You feel their fear, their moments of despair, the hanging gloom... and you cannot help but chuckle at the cheekiness of Merry and Pippin even amidst all this!


Everything comes to life around you, so that when it's finally time for The Fellowship to end, it feels like you are parting from some very close friends... and you know you're probably never going to meet them again. That's how I've been feeling since yesterday evening. :(

My rating: 5 out of 5: Adiós... my friends from The Fellowship of the Lord of The Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien! Will miss you for a long long time... (or at least until I find some other equally engrossing book! He he!) Next in my list is Gone With The Wind.

Here's more in Books.

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Left Brain Shut-down!

Remember this Quiz I posted about long time ago... which tells you whether you are left-brain oriented or right-brain? My result was a clear-cut "Left Brain"! In fact, forget about the Quiz... simply ask anybody who knows me to some extent on a personal level... and he/she will be more than glad to tell you how strongly left-brain oriented I am!

Not anymore though! Seems like things are finally changing around inside my skull! My Dad is totally confused at the frequent temporary-loss of all logical abilities that I have possessed since I was born! Sighhhhhh. Here lies the answer....

Left -brain fogginess.
Your psychic abilities, your intuitive knowing, your feeling and compassion, your ability to experience your body, your visioning, your expressiveness all emanate from the right brain. In order for this side of the brain to develop more fully, the left brain must shut down a little bit. Normally the left-hemisphere's capacity for order, organization, structure, linear sequencing, analysis, evaluation, precision, focus, problem-solving, and mathematics dominate our often less-valued right brain. What results are memory lapses, placing words in the wrong sequence, inability or no desire to read for very long, inability to focus; forgetting what you are just about to say; impatience with linear forms of communication (audio or written formats); a feeling of spaciness, being scattered; losing interesting research or complex information; feeling bombarded with words and talk and information; and a reluctance to write. Sometimes you feel dull and have no interest in analysis, lively intellectual discussion, or investigation. On the other hand, you might find yourself drawn to the sensate: videos, magazines with photos, beautiful artwork, movies, music, sculpting, painting, being with people, dancing, gardening, walking, and other kinesthetic forms of expression. You may search for spiritual content, even science fiction.

The above is an extract from a lengthy blog post by a Reiki friend. Those who wish to can read the entire post here: "Symptoms of Ascension (transformation)". I need to go now and make Dad read this bit! See you guys later!

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Diwali 2009 - Photographs

Diwali, for me, is usually a time of painful nostalgia... reminding me of all the long gone happy family times that can never come back now. This year was no different. I was in all mood to cut-short most of the festivities. But then something gave in.

As I stood in my balcony, passing bits of cello tape to my Dad, so he could hang the electric lights outside, the persistent feeling of loss was suddenly overtaken by that of togetherness. Diwali is a time for family bonding... and while I could not recreate the old memories anymore, I definitely could create new ones, if I wanted to. I decided that I did.

As it is, Diwali is the only time in the entire year that we indulge in any form of "idol-worship"! My Dad and I, we are both totally NOT into daily ritualistic Puja. So I figured since I wasn't going to do this again for one whole year, I might as well enjoy it to all my heart's content right now! :D

The best part of Diwali for me is the chance to explore my creative potential -- dressing the Ganesh-Laxmi pratimas in different styles each year, decorating their aasans differently, arranging the diyas and lights in various patterns... so much more!

We started with the "Diya Puja" - worshiping the light in our lives. Then the standard set of 21 silver coins - for prosperity. And finally Ganesh and Laxmi. It was fun!

So finally... slightly belated I know... but wish you all a very Prosperous Deepawali! :D

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Senseless Tag!

Shilpa and Blog Gore tagged me with this insanity loooooonnnnnng time ago. Finally, I relent.


1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn on page 18 and find line 4...
Animals also have certain behavioral aspects; they eat, breathe,...
The Complete Reference - JAVA Seventh Edition

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can & catch air?
Ok… caught! [I bet this Quiz was named "senseless" because of this one question!]

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li'l Champs - last Saturday :D

4. Without looking, guess what time it is?
A little over 1 pm I guess...

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
1:11 pm. Yayyyy! :D

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
The fan above... honks of vehicles outside... and a couple of mongoose fighting with each other below my 2nd floor balcony! Man can they screech!

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
Yesterday evening... went to the terrace of my building for a walk.

8. Before you started this Q&As, what did you look at?
The 1-2-3 tag... I got stuck after doing number 1 and 3! So it's gone back in my pending tags folder!

9. What are you wearing?
A Pumpkin suit for Halloween! Whoever put this question in here was probably a male who spends a lot of his time chatting on Yahoo Messenger with unknown females!

10. When did you last laugh?
When I read Question number 9 above!

11. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
Thisssssssssssssssssss!!! :D :D :D

12. Seen anything weird lately?
Humans.

13. What do you think of this quiz?
Ahem... guess someone is majorly unemployed in these current times of recession! :p

14. What is the last film you saw?
Baby's Day Out... on my PC... with my Dad... while having lunch yesterday. We've only reached the scene where the baby spots a pigeon outside... will continue it from there during today's lunch. We usually finish off a movie across 3 meals! :D

15. If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what would you buy?
A Villa like this in real life! :D


16. Tell me something about you that I dunno!
I get really violent when people ask me so many questions despite the fact that I haven't applied for a job with them! You obviously don't know this, or you wouldn't have made me do this tag! :D

17. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
Get rid of all humans... and no that doesn't include me... I'm an Alien, remember!

18. Do you like to Dance?
Love to... especially on Elvis Presley's "Jail House Rock"! Of course, not many people consider it dancing though! :p

19. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
Anjali.

20. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
Saagar.

21. Would you ever consider living abroad?
Why not?

22. What do you want GOD to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?
Did you bring your Computer and an internet connection? Oh good! Now you can show me how to play Farm Ville!


OK BG... I have proudly showcased *MY* low IQ levels too here... by taking up this tag! Now you can come over and cry while reading this crap! :D

And any of my blog readers, who are as useless as me right now... or those who are in need of a topic to blog about... please feel free to take this stupidity on!

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Catching Up...

Ok fellows... life is becoming more-and-more hectic day-by-day. Planning a New Year surprise gift for you all... so keep watching this space. :)

Taking a break from Farming after harvesting the current crop on my Farm today evening. So be prepared to find unploughed land if you drop in for a visit!

Been catching up with my Blogging Community lately... have finished going through almost all the blogs... just 4 left now -- Shilpa's, Nikita's, Sumit's and Parv's second blog. Though I must confess, I've left just 2 comments so far! :p

I have another tag-to-do from ZB and a couple of awards to collect from Avada:

1. Blog Buddy Award



2. I Love Your Blog Award

Thanks Avada! :)

Have a few pending posts lined up too... so let's get down to work now! :D

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God helps those...

... who help themselves.

Agreed.

But God can only help anyone if *we* help *each other*....

Because He helps only through *us*.

He uses our hands, our legs, our mouth to help the people around us...

Only if we *let* Him use them.

Not many people are letting Him do this now though...

God won't really be able to do much in a world full of selfish people.

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Space Management!

You never really know what a new day might bring to you.

When we went to bed Monday night, we had no clue about the "SURPRISE" that would be waiting for us on Facebook the next morning!

The "SURPRISE" was THIS!


These cute little baby elephants were introduced as gifts for our Farm Neighbors by Zynga, the developers of FarmVille. They have apparently made it their mission to give us everything except more land! And recently, they have taken to torturing us by introducing all bulky stuff -- first the gigantic hot-air balloons, and now these baby elephants, which will probably grow even bigger, as they step into "adulthood"!

Hmmmppphhh! Well that wasn't going to deter us from accepting these generous gifts from our Neighbors, was it? So we farmers started our own "mission"... "Mission Baby Elephant = Space Management"! The name was conceived by my sister by the way. And this is the result of the "mission"...


I had no idea getting rid of the whitewash fences could recover such a lot of space for more productive uses!

Oh by the way, this one in the center of my Farm is "Killu"... the first Baby Elephant I received. My sister refuses to let me call him anything other than "Killu"! So that's what he is... "Killu"! :D

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