Read The Lord of the Rings with me!

Hi y'all! *heartily waving in case anyone is still out there and noticing what happens in this sleepy little corner of the internet*

I'm waking everything up over here and... what do you think of the current look? Does it make you eager to read Tolkien?

I wanted to reread it myself -- not overthinking the whole thing (which is my default tendency), but just jumping in to read it afresh and expecting surprises. That being so, I thought it'd be warm and hospitable and pleasant to open it up for anyone else who'd like to do the same. What say you?

So. Read LOTR twenty times? You're welcome. Never read it before? Welcome and hop on the ride!

The whole idea is to keep everything very relaxed, fun, and enjoyable -- and Very Manageable. I'll write up short thoughts, highlight some favorite lines from each chapter, and possibly a thought question or two if any good ones occur to me, and you can pitch in with your thoughts etc -- 'iffen you feel so inclined.

I won't be stating page numbers, so feel free to read from any edition you like. The only specification is that it must be unabridged (are there even abridged editions?). I feel funny even saying that, but there must be, so we'll just throw that out there. Unabridged.

ALSO, and I feel very much like a fish out of water saying this, but I'm trying to take the advice of Sarah Mackenzie from Read Aloud Revival and she says listening on audio ABSOLUTELY COUNTS. In fact, with LOTR I think it actually works rather spectacularly well, as the whole thing's meant to be a bard recounted type legend anyway. As a for instance, I was nervous committing to the whole idea of hosting a read-along (much as I wanted to) because I wasn't sure I could keep it going steadily, but listening on audio has revolutionized everything. So far it's making it WAY easier to fit into The Rest of Life -- and what's more, it's making it fun again. (So no guilt trip here! ;))

Final details: I only put it on one button (as I'd already made the others before thinking of it and then thought they were too pretty to mess up :P) but the plan is to start Sept 28th. Spread the word and I'd love to hear if you'd like to join in!

Farewell till the 28th of next month! :) (But feel free to leave any questions or comments, I'll get them -- and be sure to grab a button. Thank you!)