Worst or Best?

[PsYkOoOoO]

Whats up with people nowadays?

Rotherham News


Shock over worst book

THE film may have scooped 11 Oscars - but Lord of the Rings has been branded the worst book ever by many Rotherham readers.

Rotherham library services ran a Reader's Choice campaign - inviting borrowers to nominate their best and worst book of all time.
And while many booklovers chose JRR Tolkien's fantasy trilogy as the tops - many others decided it was definitely a big flop. Last December ballot boxes were distributed in shops and libraries around the town inviting people to vote for the book that was closest to their hearts.
"Although the film version of Lord of the Rings recently won an unprecedented 11 Hollywood Oscars it has obviously split the reading public in Rotherham," said a libraries spokesman. "Many people voted for it as the best book - but a lot more thought it was the worst book of all time."

15 March 2004

[The Moose]

that's pretty nuts. and a much more comprehensive survey of the world, LOTR is definitely the most popular book. in fact, THE most popular bok after the bible

IMO: it is the best book ever

[Smeagol]

The backlash has begun. :eek:

[King_Strider]

I've known alot of people who have tried to read the trilogy and got bored at the beginning of Fellowship... so they simply give up and brand it "crap"

[Necross]

These are pathetic wimps who are simply pissed that Seabiscuit didn't win best picture. I think he should have let them shot the horse in the beginning...

[Brandy]

**comprehensive survey of the world, LOTR is definitely the most popular book. in fact, THE most popular bok after the bible**

I absolutely love the books, Lord of the Rings . . but seriously doubt it is the most popular book after the Bible. It certainly has a following, but no more so than other types of books in the same genre. Fact is . . not everyone enjoys reading fantasy, and Tolkien's work is not easy to read. (But, it is well worth the effort, of course!!)

There has been no comprehensive survey world wide at all and LOTR has never been the most popular book worldwide (although the books have sold extremely well) . . thats a quasi urban legend that probably stems from Shippey's book," J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century".

No one here is really objective enough to see this . . but I work in the media field, and from what I see only a very few people out of a hundred or more have actually read Tolkien . . although they have all watched the movie. That's based on a very small sample . . when I asked students why they havn't read the books, it's usually because the material is too 'challenging' (boring) for them to wade through.

There is also a difference between Best Literature and Most Popular book . . . most Best Lit lists that I've seen rate James Joyces, Ulysses as the the best literature. Out of 100 novels on the Best Lit list . . Lord of the Rings doesn't even appear. It does show up fourth on the radar for one of the most popular along with the works of Ayn Rand, Robert Heinlein, and Aldous Huxley.

It's a mixed bag . . LOTR has always suffered from being taken seriously by academics. Tolkien wasn't always the best at the actual 'writing' part of the book as he was at creating a world and telling a great tale. I consider him to be a master story teller, more than a great writer. But, personally . . I love what he wrote . . and could and have read the books many times. I find the passages and images they provoke beautiful. So, I think Tolkien is a more personal experience than it is a Best or Worse type book. You either love it . . or you don't understand it. ;)

[Tornado]

It's just an opinion, it matters nothing to me coming from someone who's probably closeminded to hate LOTR . . .

[Necross]

Originally posted by Brandy
**comprehensive survey of the world, LOTR is definitely the most popular book. in fact, THE most popular bok after the bible**

I absolutely love the books, Lord of the Rings . . but seriously doubt it is the most popular book after the Bible. It certainly has a following, but no more so than other types of books in the same genre. Fact is . . not everyone enjoys reading fantasy, and Tolkien's work is not easy to read. (But, it is well worth the effort, of course!!)

There has been no comprehensive survey world wide at all and LOTR has never been the most popular book worldwide (although the books have sold extremely well) . . thats a quasi urban legend that probably stems from Shippey's book," J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century".

No one here is really objective enough to see this . . but I work in the media field, and from what I see only a very few people out of a hundred or more have actually read Tolkien . . although they have all watched the movie. That's based on a very small sample . . when I asked students why they havn't read the books, it's usually because the material is too 'challenging' (boring) for them to wade through.

There is also a difference between Best Literature and Most Popular book . . . most Best Lit lists that I've seen rate James Joyces, Ulysses as the the best literature. Out of 100 novels on the Best Lit list . . Lord of the Rings doesn't even appear. It does show up fourth on the radar for one of the most popular along with the works of Ayn Rand, Robert Heinlein, and Aldous Huxley.

It's a mixed bag . . LOTR has always suffered from being taken seriously by academics. Tolkien wasn't always the best at the actual 'writing' part of the book as he was at creating a world and telling a great tale. I consider him to be a master story teller, more than a great writer. But, personally . . I love what he wrote . . and could and have read the books many times. I find the passages and images they provoke beautiful. So, I think Tolkien is a more personal experience than it is a Best or Worse type book. You either love it . . or you don't understand it. ;)

No buts its true, it sold second only to the bible.

[DarkPhoenix646]

The problem is getting through the Fellowship... if you can make it past the Council of Elrond thats when the story really starts to pick up and it turns into a great story

[Andrey83]

Hehe, i like the comment "a big floop"

Then this must be the most popular flop of all time :)

personlly, the best book i have ever read...

[Juxton]

Originally posted by Brandy
**comprehensive survey of the world, LOTR is definitely the most popular book. in fact, THE most popular bok after the bible**

I absolutely love the books, Lord of the Rings . . but seriously doubt it is the most popular book after the Bible. It certainly has a following, but no more so than other types of books in the same genre. Fact is . . not everyone enjoys reading fantasy, and Tolkien's work is not easy to read. (But, it is well worth the effort, of course!!)

What should have been said is "the most purchased book 2nd to the Bible" or "the most read" or something like that. From that, we can assume it would be the 2nd most popular, but maybe not all those people liked it ;)

I agree about getting past the Council of Elrond being best for most people. I personally thought the first part of Fellowship was the best of all. But I have a few friends that took forever getting past the Council of Elrond and swore they were ready to give up, but once they made it that far, they couldn't put it down.

My only problem with the books is the way the different stories are written. It's kind of annoying to have to read through the first half before you get any news on Frodo and Sam in TTT or ROTK. But it makes for a unique style.

[simmy]

hmm...well according to the bbc big read...viewers voted LOTR trilogy as their Number One...

heres the proof incase u dont believe me ;)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/

[konman72]

Well, I read the books before the movies, and before the hype, and I have to say....I HATED them!!!! Still do, the writing style is sooooooo awful. Way too descriptive. Not saying they are bad books though. The story is great, and if you enjoy all the description then you probably LOVE them. But speaking from my perspective, I would actually say they were the worst books I have read as well, since they were sooooooooooooo boring. It took almost a year to read The Two Towers since I was so bored I could not read more than a chapter at a time, and then I needed a day break at least. Again, not saying they are bad books, just not my kind of books. I have read all and while Return of the King was more fast paced, and I actually enjoyed it, the others drag the series down so much that I feel it is the worst book series I have read. Just so you know that I am not incompetant or anything, I read alot, my favorite book/series is Dune by Frank Herbert and I have read all of the 2001 books and many others, but the over descriptive nature of these books made me so bored that I was completely indifferent towards the characters and what was happening to them.

[Inferno]

I didn't enjoy them very much either. But I've read far far worse.

For example,
Part 3 of the Enders series - Xenocide.
Red Mars.
2061

[konman72]

Originally posted by Inferno
I didn't enjoy them very much either. But I've read far far worse.

For example,
2061

2061 was a bit dry IMO, but still not as slow and boring as the LOTR books...again IMO. And yet again, I'm not saying they were BAD books, just not the kind of book that I enjoy.

[PsYkOoOoO]

Then you should read Silmarillion.Its not as descriptive as LOTR.In fact it is very straight to the point.However,it is a tough read.

[LordofKings]

The LOTR movies is what got me into reading. And of coruse, i wanted to read the LOTR TRILAGY. But to tell you the truth, i can't get past the beginning of the FOTR. I know that it is boring and tyhat once i pass the beginning, the rest will be great, but i find myself bored and wanting to simply skip ahead chapters to get to the good stuff. Maybe its just me, but thats how i am.

also, i have read some of TTT (my teahcer had the book in schooll and i read some of it, like three chapters, when i was bored). Th e TTT, the parts i read i did enjoy. But the only complant i have on from what i have read is the language. Its very hard for me to understand. I like the books being very descriptive, though i have been told that TOLKEN didn't describe the BATTLES very long.

i will eventually make it passed the beginning of the FOTR, and once i do i know i will love the books. Overall, i think the story in the books in one, if not the greatest story ever told, and it is told BRILLANTLY. But to me it is a hard read, but is probably very worth it, and i will surely read all the books soon (when i have time) Right now i just picked up the Silmarillion and i know ill like this more.

sorry for my going on and on (i tend to do that)

[PsYkOoOoO]

Why dont you read according to the movie.For example,you can skip the old forest and tom bombadil stuff without actually missing anything in the story.Of course,thats if you want to skip.

[Brandy]

** its true, it sold second only to the bible.**

Do you have a link to that information?

According to the IPL there is no definitive list because no one has ever kept track.

http://www.ipl.org/div/farq/bestsellerFARQ.html

The only list that they have for Best Sellers lists the Bible first and
the second best seller as Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (Little Red Book).

It would be interesting to compare the data.

Thanks. ;)

[Undome-Elenamin]

I think the books are great but when I first picked them up shortly after FOTR I could not get past Bilbo's party. I kept rereading things like 50x. I only finished the trilogy because I wasn't able to watch TTT when it was in theatres. It's just a matter of willpower, I guess.

[obsessedwithsnl]

I love the books, but I think the old forest and some of the frodo and sam stuff is boring. I thought it was challenging, I read them in June and I don't think I'll be picking them up again for a while.

[PsYkOoOoO]

It'll be easier if you get yourself involved in the story.Like,imagine you are Frodo or Sam.Its kinda dumb but it works.I makes yourself more involved,and you wont find the story boring anymore.

[Necross]

Originally posted by PsYkOoOoO
It'll be easier if you get yourself involved in the story.Like,imagine you are Frodo or Sam.Its kinda dumb but it works.I makes yourself more involved,and you wont find the story boring anymore.

I do that.........and I put my friends in other roles, not all the time just when I am feeling creative....which is often actually.......................................... ........;)

[Queen Arwen]

Originally posted by PsYkOoOoO
Then you should read Silmarillion.Its not as descriptive as LOTR.In fact it is very straight to the point.However,it is a tough read.

The Silmarillion was probably the 2nd most difficult book I've attempted to or have read. I was definitely proud of myself when I got through it all. Of course, it helped that I love reading histories and genealogies, of which The Silmarillion is mainly constituted. It is certainly nothing to War and Peace. I've yet to get through that one!

[The_Manipulator]

SCREW THE ROTHERHAMS or whatever their name was....!

[Queen Arwen]

Originally posted by obsessedwithsnl
I love the books, but I think the old forest and some of the frodo and sam stuff is boring. I thought it was challenging, I read them in June and I don't think I'll be picking them up again for a while.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with you on this point. I plan to read LOTR every year, but an obstacle is definitely getting through Book I of FOTR. I make myself go through it all, but it's a pain. :( And I really don't like the first few chapters of Book IV in TTT, such as "The Taming of Smeagol." I get very easily bored by these chapters too, simply because I'd rather hear more about the Three Hunters. Again, and this must be emphasized, IMO.

But this much is fact for me: The Lord of the Rings is the greatest book written.

[Necross]

Its understandable, a lot of frodo's journey in the books is just description of the landscape. There is more too the three hunters.

[thewickedchild]

This reminds me of something a local sports broadcaster said a few years back. He was once voted the best and worst Sportscaster in town. When someone asked him how he felt about it, he replied "Good, because it means people are listening".

I think the same goes here. It means people, at the very least, are aware of LOTR. I can't help but wonder though if some people voted against it without having read the books simply because it was "popular" now. (sad, but it does happen). ;)

[thewickedchild]

Originally posted by Queen Arwen
[B]Unfortunately, I have to agree with you on this point. I plan to read LOTR every year, but an obstacle is definitely getting through Book I of FOTR. I make myself go through it all, but it's a pain. :(

Actually, I agree with this... it was REALLY tough for me to get through book 1 the first time around, especially prior to Bree... the story just takes a bit too long to really get going, IMO. I still have trouble staying interested early on, but I must say that the books only get better on subsequent readings.

ROTK is probably my favorite book ever... I often find that when reading it, I CAN'T put it down, especially throughout book 5.

[Necross]

Originally posted by thewickedchild
This reminds me of something a local sports broadcaster said a few years back. He was once voted the best and worst Sportscaster in town. When someone asked him how he felt about it, he replied "Good, because it means people are listening".

I think the same goes here. It means people, at the very least, are aware of LOTR. I can't help but wonder though if some people voted against it without having read the books simply because it was "popular" now. (sad, but it does happen). ;)

I agree. You don't have to wonder, I am POSITIVE that many people probably voted it the worst simply because of its success, which obviously shows that it is not the worst, books and movies I mean.