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 Charis 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 a 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 Charis Loke’s responses:

1. How were you introduced to Tolkien’s work?

When I was about ten or eleven years old, my father brought home a set of LOTR paperbacks which he’d purchased when he was pursuing his PhD in the UK (books were much cheaper there than in Malaysia, where I lived). It was fortunate that I was introduced to LOTR then and had about a year or so to devour it + the appendices + learn to write Tengwar before Jackson’s films came out.

2. What is your favorite part of Tolkien’s work?

Gandalf is my favourite literary character. It takes a bit of digging in the LOTR appendices and Unfinished Tales to find scenes that flesh out his personality further, but he can be as sassy and witty as he is wise and compassionate. The idea of being committed to a mission for thousands of years–far from home–without straying away from one’s principles is inspiring, and something which I began to better appreciate as I got older and started being involved in non-profit education work.

3. What is your fondest experience of Tolkien’s work?

Getting to see his original drawings and manuscripts when they were exhibited at the BnF – I don’t think anything else can compare to that experience. I spent a lot of time marvelling over the fine ink lines in his various depictions of Bilbo and the three trolls and had chills reading the handwritten page where the Riders of Rohan reach the Pelennor Fields.

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

Over the years different parts of his work (and the fandom) have appealed to me; first, it was the layered worldbuilding, then the characters, then fanfiction which expanded and engaged with the canon in critical ways, and right now it’s the idea of a slower-paced, decades-long approach to being a writer and artist. I am now a full-time illustrator working in publishing; reading Tolkien’s work as a child set me on that path. He was brilliant at providing enough description to evoke vivid imagery, but not so much that it dictated how his world should be portrayed. Hence the myriad of illustrators who have plowed that fertile soil since; John Howe and Donato Giancola’s work, in particular, are inspirations to me.

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

Yes – there’s a reason why it’s enduring and continues to appeal to readers. The value of Hope that’s espoused in the stories feels very timely in today’s circumstances, even as the issues that we face seem insurmountable. I think a lot about the ‘what weather they shall have is not ours to rule’ passage these days

You can find Tolkien-inspired illustrations by Charis Loke on her website, or follow her on Instagram or Twitter!

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 Annie 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 a 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 Annie’s responses:

1. How were you introduced to Tolkien’s work?

My mother was a fan and lent me her copy of The Hobbit and LOTR. I was 10. My teacher wrote home and said these works were inappropriate reading for a young lady. In response to this, my mother gave me The Silmarillion.

2. What is your favorite part of Tolkien’s work?

TBH I don’t know yet? Every year I find new material and my favourites keep changing. But I’ve always had a soft spot for Smith of Wootton Major.

3. What is your fondest experience of Tolkien’s work?

Discovering that every new reading uncovers new information and insight, not only into Middle-earth and it’s inhabitants, but also into the mind of Tolkien.

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

Yes. I’ve started reading a lot more academic work in recent years and am enjoying exploring the depths of his work.

I’ve also become a shameless collector of first editions. 😂

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

Is the Pope Catholic? Tolkien changed the way I view the world. His works were one of my first forays into language and created worlds and set the scene for the development of my own future writing. There is so much to be discovered and learnt from these texts and from Tolkien himself. My only regret is that I didn’t start reading his works earlier.

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 Br. Pius, Norbertine friar, 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 a 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 Br. Pius, Norbertine friar’s responses:

1. How were you introduced to Tolkien’s work?

I was introduced to Tolkien’s works by the wonderful films of Peter Jackson. Back in my childhood, I really enjoyed watching them, especially with my father who’s also a little bit addicted to the story (at least I made him interested in it). He thinks that everyone knows something about Tolkien’s breath-taking universe. Of course, after watching the films, I felt a hole inside me. I mean, they weren’t enough for my always-working imagination, so I wanted to know much more about Middle-earth. I immediately searched for The Lord of the Rings books in a bookstore’s online page and I bought my first ones by the beloved Professor. I was so happy when I received them and I read them as soon as it was possible during my vacation at my granny’s garden. I imagined that I was sitting on Bilbo’s bench, looking at his wonderful flowers and admiring Gandalf’s fireworks upon the sky.

2. What is your favorite part of Tolkien’s work?

Naturally, my favourite parts are my first reading experience, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, but I also really venerate the whole of the universe which was made by Tolkien. I have to tell you that I’m not really into man-created worlds. I mean, I never saw Star Wars, Star Trek and several adaptations like these, but I was fulfilled by Tolkien’s work after reading just the first and the smallest part of it. The best part of all for me are the first sentences of the Hobbit, as I always feel so delightful and comfortable while reading: “In a hole under the ground…”

It lasted till my twenties,  as now I can look from another perspective at my Tolkien readings, as I’m older and I manage to understand the fond meaning of these works. I mean the real meaning of them. I like to think about the sequences and wise sayings of Tolkien, which can be suitable for every situation in our life.

3. What is your fondest experience of Tolkien’s work?

I have to tell that I’m a Norbertine friar, so my fondest experience was that I realised the religious side of Tolkien’s work. Even during reading, I stopped and I thought about where I’ve met with a situation or story like that in my philosophical or theological studies, or even in the Holy Scripture. Sometimes, if I start to talk about it to others, they look at me as one might look at something which is strange, as if they’ve never heard that the world made by Tolkien can also be seen as a religious or philosophical work. But yeah, he was a dedicated and conservative catholic, which makes him more sympathetic to me.
As I’m still studying philosophy and theology this year, I’ve decided to research the philosophical, especially metaphysical, relations of The Lord of the Rings for my annual exam.

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

Indeed! Of course, as my first reading experience was in the beginning of my teenage period and the last was after entering the Norbertine convent. As I had time to spend reading during my formation, I mean the period of postulancy, I decided to extend a little bit my collection of Tolkien’s works. So I bought some studies about him, some language books of Quenya and Sindarin, and even a Hungarian-Quenya dictionary. That is not because I wanted to be fluent in elvish, as I have much more studies to do, even in Latin or Greek, it was just to have a closer look into this eye-catching universe. After that, I read The Silmarillon, Children of Hurin, The Lost Tales, and the History of Middle-earth… I’m so addicted to it all. They’re so deep, so fond, I managed not to see Tolkien’s work as a fairy tale as I did in my teenage years. I really understand now the idea of sub-creation

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

I would recommend Tolkien’s work, but divided into age-levels. I mean, The Hobbit and The Father Christmas Letters are suitable for children as they’re written for them. To deeply understand the whole universe, we should be a little bit older. I mean, to find the real things behind the fairy tale, which I explained in my other answers. By the way, I think we should recommend the reading of Tolkien’s work for everyone as it has a meaning, maybe a different meaning for everyone. It could be a fairy tale or something to read before going to bed, but it can be someone’s fondest reading experience or even a subject to do research on or to find the real meaning of. I also really recommend it to religious people who know about Holy Scripture and have theological and philosophical knowledge, as they also can have a nice experience in finding these meanings of the novels.

If you want to talk to Br. Pius, Norbertine friar, you can find him on Facebook!

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 Steffan 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 a 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 Steffan O’Sullivan’s responses:

1. How were you introduced to Tolkien’s work?

While browsing in a book store, I stumbled across the first US paperback publication of The Hobbit in 1965, when it had just been released. I was in high school, and a science fiction and fantasy reader since the late 1950s, so frequently checked the shelves for anything new.

2. What is your favorite part of Tolkien’s work?

The Hobbit, closely followed by the tale of Beren and Lúthien as found in The Silmarillion.

3. What is your fondest experience of Tolkien’s work?

Reading The Hobbit out loud to various people, both children and adults, over the years. They’ve all loved it.

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

Well, sometimes I skip right to my favorite parts, but mostly my approach is the same. That is, I settle down to immerse myself in Tolkien’s worlds.

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

I have, and do, and will continue to do so. Because it’s unique, and simply the best at what it does. I tell people The Hobbit is the best book written in the last hundred years, though I confess I haven’t read *all* the competition. I say it anyway.