This is one in a series of posts where the content is provided by a guest who has graciously answered five questions about their experience as a Tolkien reader. I am very humbled that anyone volunteers to spend time in this busy world to answer questions for my blog, and so I give my sincerest thanks to BlueberryMuffins76 and the other participants for this.

To see the idea behind this project, check out this page

I want to thank Donato Giancola for allowing me to use his stunning portrait of J.R.R Tolkien as the featured image for this project. If you would like to purchase print of this painting, they are available on his website!

If you would like to contribute your own experience, you can do so by using the form on the contact page, or by emailing me directly.

Now, on to BlueberryMuffins76’s responses:

How were you introduced to Tolkien’s work?

My mother has owned the [LotR] trilogy, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion ever since her teenage years and has always been fond of the latter four. In fact, I had to check out The Fellowship of the Ring from the library before I finally obtained my own copy because her copy (a paperback) had been loved and read so much it was missing the first fifty pages! So I became interested in them when I was in my early to mid teen years and have enjoyed most things Tolkien ever since!

What is your favorite part of Tolkien’s work?

Choose just one favorite part?!? As far as an entire book goes, I must say The Two Towers is my absolute favorite. However, my top two favorite stories are The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (one of my favorite characters) and Beren and Luthien as found in The Silmarillion, not The Lost Tales. I really enjoyed finally buying the book Beren and Luthien; having the various versions in one place is awesome!

What is your fondest experience of Tolkien’s work?

Again, that is a tough question! My favorite memories are writing fanfictions with my best friend, particularly about Dirhael and Ivorwen.(Their story is the third installment of our Legends of Love short series).

Has the way you approach Tolkien’s work changed over time?

I think my approach changed a little when I started writing fanfictions in college. I began researching more, finding I needed to learn more in order to make my stories accurate (although I will say I take a lot of license with some of them!). As I learned more about Tolkien’s life, it helped me to understand his writing a little more, especially why he seems to kill off so many people. He was certainly a gifted author and a very brilliant man!

Would you ever recommend Tolkien’s work? Why/Why not?

Yes! I quite frequently suggest people read the books since the films are so popular. While I do enjoy the movies, the books are ever so much better and contain a depth that the films do not and cannot accurately portray. The films even changed some of the characters’ personalities, so seeing the deviations from Tolkien’s written works are interesting. As I said before, Tolkien was quite a gifted author and certainly deserves his place in the classics!

For more great insights from BlueberryMuffins76, you can find her on The Council of Elrond and on FanFiction.net