If you were to write an article entitled "How To Become a Tolkien Nerd", what main topics and pointers would you give?
Hey anon, that’s a very interesting question.
Well first I’d tell you we have to consider two kinds of public: the one who likes reading and the one who doesn’t.
Let’s start with the one who likes reading:
Read the books. You can start with The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings or The Silmarillion, it doesn’t matter. Do not start with Unfinished Tales, you’ll get confused.
I think if you do that the nerdiness will come to you naturally.
Let’s take my example. When I read The Lord of the Rings I was constantly worried that the book would end too soon. I didn’t want it to end. At the end of The Two Towers I literally closed the book because I didn’t want the book to end (of course I just kept it closed for 2 minutes). It was the best book ever and as soon as it ended I’d be lost. And when I first put my hands on The Lord I had no access to internet, I didn’t know about The Hobbit or The Silmarillion or anything. Of course as soon as I started reading The Lord I found out there was another book related, The Hobbit. That was better. Then, here in Brazil, they published a magazine called “The Fantastic World of J. R. R. Tolkien” and there I first read about Melkor and the First Age and that there was a book about all that and I was
It was one of the happiest days of my life. I mean it. And then when I went to buy The Hobbit they didn’t have it but they had Unfinished Tales and The Silmarillion. For some unknown reason I decided to read UT first… bad bad bad decision but oh boy I’d do it again because that made all the difference for my perception of The Silmarillion. I read The Hobbit after all that. All that in two months while re-reading The Lord all the time.
My point here, anon, is that as soon as you put your hands on a Tolkien, you’re doomed in the best way possible. It doesn’t matter which one. I suggest The Lord first because there you’ll have your interest awaken and you’ll want to know more about the elves and also the hobbits and the dwarves and Sauron and Eärendil and Beren and Luthien and then you know you can learn about all that and more with other books so BAM! before you know it you are among the twelve books of HoME crying because there isn’t another 12 books with more information about Middle-earth. You’ll be calling everything precious and calling your dog Glaurung, going to Oxford to visit Tolkien’s grave, giving up your space engineering dream to go study literature just because of Tolkien and you’ll love everything he writes even if it’s not about Middle-earth and you’ll spend every single penny you have on books and movies and tiny figures of characters and oh well… as I said, you’re doomed.
How to become a Tolkien nerd, you ask? Just read one of his books.
Oh but I don’t like reading Mirane, then I’ll never be a Tolkien nerd?
Well no you still can be a Tolkien nerd without reading it (I am not familiar with the concept of not liking reading but I know people are different and that is a thing in the world).
Watch the movies. If you like it and talk about it with other people you’ll probably hear from someone “oh there are so much more about those stories” and then they will tell you some and you’ll get really interested (for sure!) and maybe you’ll even consider reading and maybe you’ll read it and like the thing and before you know… doomed.
Maybe you don’t have what it takes to read a whole 1200 pages book but you are okay with short articles on the internet so you go to Tolkien Gateway or any other Tolkien sites and read more about Elrond and find out about his father and the Silmarils and Fëanor and the Valar and BAM! doomed.
And of course there are the audio books if you absolutely can’t or don’t want to read at all.
It does not matter how you put your feet on Middle-earth but as soon as you do, you’re a Tolkien nerd, my friend.
Sure, you can come to Middle-earth by the back door, maybe reading a linguistic essay by Tolkien and hearing he also wrote fiction. Or maybe you bought that nice looking book for your children called Mr. Bliss or Roverandom and then noticed that this fella Tolkien is a very good writer and you want to read more things he wrote. Maybe you read his literary essays and saw that he was a person who knew what he was talking about and you wanted to read his fictional stories. But the thing is, when a deep, beautiful soul like Tolkien touches your heart through his words you will never not be a Tolkien nerd again.
I am sorry if this is too long and confusing and it doesn’t answer your question but I honestly believe that all it takes to become a Tolkien nerd is to meet Tolkien. And he is in everything he ever wrote.
