Chatterbox: Blab About Books

Here's my contribution to Revive BaB: a thread to discuss LotR, plus an LotR survey!

I only finished it a few weeks ago, and I absolutely love it! I think LotR has sort of change the way I think about fantasy- and in a way that Harry Potter didn't. Maybe it's just knowing how Lord of the Rings shaped modern/high fantasy, but in all honesty I don't usually pick up fantasy books.

Here's the survey:

~Who is your favorite character, and why are they your favorite?:

~Who is your LEAST favorite and why?: 

~Which book is your favorite? Which movie is your favorite?:

~Books or movies?: 

~Who, in your opinion, is the TRUE hero of Middle-Earth?:

~Favorite ship? (doesn't have to be cannon):

~taters- boiled, mashed, or stuck in a stew?: 

Here's my answers-

~SAM, one hundred percent, I love Sam!! <333 He's my favorite because of how wondefully selfless, loyal, and hopeful he is through thick and thin. I'm a sucker for a sweet cinnamon roll character, and Sam is like... the OG cinnamon roll. 

~Least favorite?... Probably Denethor. Gross.

~My favorite book is Return of the King; favorite movie is a close, but in the end, probably Fellowship.

~Books or movies... I think I left this one vague on purpose. :) They both have such a great value, to me personally and also as great pieces of cinema and literature. But looking at the impact the books had on the future of literature, I mean... wow. Even if you're not one for older (ish) books or high fantasy, you have to appreciate the genious of Tolkien. He invented a language, for Claaw's sake.

~Ah... the true hero of Middle-Earth. See, I don't believe in fighting for or against certain characters on this. Absolutely, I adore Sam, and Aragorn is like the coolest character in fiction, but I don't see the need for a "true" hero. They're all heroes.

~Favorite ship! I admit, I did ship Sam and Frodo for a hot second while reading The Two Towers... but what I like a lot about Sam is how much he values his friendships. Quite honestly, I love Faramir x Éowyn, or at least the character development it gave Éowyn. That could quite possibly be an unpopular opinion... I'll explain once I've finished the survey. :)

~Roses are red

Violets are blue

boil em, mash em,

stick em in a stew

--End of the survey. Now I'm going to talk about Éowyn. I might do this for a long time.

Éowyn is my second-favorite LotR character. She's wonderfully bold and determined, but when we see her first, she's so mournful because of her deep longing to be free. And, she's got a crush on Aragorn, who of course belongs only to Arwen. Her awesome "I am no man" moments is one of my favorite parts of the entire trilogy... it's so epic! And feminist! And just like, "AHH! She got her moment!"

At first, reading her moment with Faramir where she decides she doesn't need to be a sheildmaiden, I admit I was disappointed... but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. 

She got her moment as a warrior. She proved she could do what she had wanted to for so long... but like I said, her desire for it had caused her so much pain, and her unreciprocated love for Aragorn had done the same. Falling in love with Faramir was truly one of the best things that could have happened to her. She realized that fighting wasn't what was going to bring her happiness, and Faramir loved her like Aragorn never could. She did get a happy ending... not the one she expected, or initially wanted, but the one she needed and the one that would truly make her life complete. (If you made it through that, thanks for listening to my Ted Talk, and congratulations.)

That's all I've got for the moment! If you want to fill out the survey, argue with me about Faramir x  Éowyn, bring up the "true hero" thing, or simply scream about how you love Legolas or whatever, feel free to do so! All LotR-related discussion is welcome! :)