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And this was my last read of 2020 and my first of 2021.
It's a tough book in places, when it looks in depth to details in the edit of the story, but there are also such brilliant narrative episodes that are not found anywhere else in Tolkien writing.
The Wanderings of Hurin was fantastic.

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This last section is very strange. It is kind of nerdy in places, where etimologico of words in the different Elvish languages are explored, but in other places it is addressed how and why some names where used and what this reveals about the people who used them and the people who received them. And this is just fascinating.

Not much to do tonight, due to Covid restrictions. But who cares? I'm all set anyway 😆

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The last part of the First Age, apart from Earendil's story, always seems so far to me. Maybe because there is really no 'great story' about it.
I enjoy reading this review of this time, especially regarding the end of the realm of Doriath. A great unsung story, in my opinion.

First of all, I loved how this ended with a short legend or “fairytale” style story of the awakening of the Elves.

As for the book as a whole, it‘s a mix. There were some sections I had to push myself through or that felt slightly repetitive after our previous reading. Yet, there were also wonderful additions that we‘ve not seen in any other reading. It was all worth it to experience those and learn these extra details.

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The section on language is often a bit in-depth for me, but within there are gems, like this bit about the gesture language of the Dwarves. What a fascinating tidbit of information!

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And after all, these notes about Ents and Eagles are part of that exploration.

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What l like the most in these late writing by Tolkien is his interest for the 'minor' characters, especially the 'bad' ones.

Though Tolkien's villains were always complex and well thought- out, after LotR Tolkien seems to have felt a need to explore their reasons.
Here Tolkien explores Eol's reasons more in-depth, but he also seems to present Curufin - a villain in Luthien's story - in a different light.

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Because he's not part of the published Silmarillion, l'm still surprised that Aelfwine is still part of Tolkien's writing so late in the History of Middle-Earth.

Tolkien was clearly trying to make his stories as realistic and believable as possible. I really enjoyed the 'reconstruction' of how Turin's tale - which is a Men's tale - ended up being kept and handed down the generations by Elves.

I finished Part 3 last night. My favorite in this section was definitely the expansion of the story of the “Wanderings of Hurin.” I hope to finish Part 4 before the end of the year.

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I finished The War of The Jewels. Its always interesting to read the stories behind the stories especially when there are dragons 🐉
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Loved it!
It is a tragic story, much like Turin's, and ends quite hopelessly, but it is beautifully told.

I wonder if this is the reason why Tolkien abandoned the sequel to The Lord of the Rings, because the story - which would have been a story of Men, since magic had abandoned the world - could only be tragic and devoid of any form of uplift.

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Let's see whether l can finish the Wanderings of Hurin 😊

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The central part of The Wanderings of Hurin tells of how Hurin reaches Brethil in search of news of his children (e possibly revange), is imprisoned, but finds a kinsman who's willing to stand beside him while supporting his people right to decide.

Well, this is the most political Tolkien l've ever read. Didn't expect it. Though, having seen Nationalism at work in the WWII years, l appreciate why he needed to write this.

Finishing out my Christmas Eve with a slice of fruitcake and a few more pages of Tolkien. I‘m reading the Maeglin section now. Wishing everyone a very merry, even if quieter, Christmas. 🎄

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First of all, I have to share this lovely painting made for me by a former student! Her dad, the school superintendent, drew my name for Secret Santa among staff this year.

Secondly, I finished the “Wanderings of Hurin” a couple nights ago and really appreciated this new story of his visit to Brethil.

Finally, this morning I read “AElfwine and Dirhaval” with my breakfast stromboli.

#FellowshipOfTolkien #BreakfastWithTolkien

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Oh, wow! I didn't expect this totally new narrative.
I'm really enjoying the new interest Tolkien shows fir the Haladins, who he had seem to have quite dusregarded in the past.
I've always found the People of Haleth so fascinating and so different.

How is it going fellow travellers of the #FellowshipOfTolkien?
This year has been quite hard on us too, l'm day.

I've only just started Part Ill, but l really want to finish by the end of the year.
How is everyone else going?

I'm enjoying this part. Lots of things about Hurin's history that l haven't read anywhere else. Part ll was hard going, but this one is good!

I‘m going to give this one a qualified pick, there were some parts that were new and I loved them...the waking up of the first elves, the origin of Ents, some new Dwarven history, including their language, a whole new side story to Húrin, but there were also parts that seemed a bit repetitive (I think because we read the later books like the Children of Húrin first), and I still found myself skimming through some of the language breakdown. ?‍♀️

One of my friends that gets my love of all things Tolkien gave me this fun Elven Door of Moria light that changes color for Christmas. It‘s on my desk as I make time for a few more pages of the Wanderings of Hurin this evening. It looks like there are some more family trees and name changes in this section.

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After a really hard day, there is nothing sweeter than some homemade hot cocoa and several really good books ❤📚❤

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I made it to Part Three and the Wanderings of Hurin! I‘m only a few pages in, but I‘m definitely finding this section interesting.

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I had a late supper and am settling in for some more pages of The War of the Jewels concerning dwarves.

#FellowshipOfTolkien #ReadAndEat

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I really enjoyed seeing Haleth turning into the warrior woman we know from the published Silmarillion.
Tolkien's women had always been strong and even powerful, but l'm noticing that it's only after LotR that they become leaders.

On the other hand, I wish there was more about Caranthir. Fëanor's sons don't seem to be well-represented in Tolkien's story. Or maybe it's just me!

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Couldn't resist dedicating a visual to the chapter of the Dwarves 😆

Of all of Tolkien's wonderful creation stories, l find the creation of the Dwarves one of the more beautiful. There is something truly moving about it.

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Absolutely loved this section about the Dwarves.
There are a few things qhjgh are not in The Silmarillion and although l had heard of them, l loved reading about it.

The history of the Dwarves is so fascinating. I wish there was more.

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Finished Part I of the War of the Jewels last week and started Part II. It looks like this part will be mostly notes. Far less involving than an actual narrative, but l still find it interesting to see how the work evolves.

This is very similar to the published Silmarillion, still there are details Christopher left out, but were so interesting to learn.

Our Tolkien group has been very quiet lately. Has everyone had a chance to finish Part 1 yet? I started the first few pages of Part 2 tonight. This section seems to be mostly notes of changes and variations, so I‘m looking forward to reading through and getting to Part 3.

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Finished Part One yesterday night and really enjoyed it.
I loved the new details. They may be small, but they give new depth to the story and the characters.
I also loved the chronological narration, which too gave perspective to the story.

This is the version the public Silmarillion is based upon, and still it has some surprises to offer.

I made it! I powered through the rest of the commentary and the notes this evening. I thoroughly enjoyed the Grey Annals themselves, but I had to push myself a bit to get through the rest of the commentary.

#FellowshipOfTolkien #BetterLateThanNever

I finally caught up with all of these AND the commentary, and thought I was at the end of Part I, but at the end of the Commentary I hit Note 1! 😂 I don‘t know how many notes there are, but it was time for a break.

How are you making out?
@Daisey @JazzFeathers @BookwormAHN @wordslinger42

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I really enjoyed this section.
The part about Cirdan was totally new to me. Turin's and Tuor's stories are familiar, but l enjoyed seeing them happening 'in real time'. It gives a global view of the story, which surprisingly, I don't think we have ever had before. Not in this details.

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The tale of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, is one of my very favourite in the Silmarillion.
So much pathos, so much events. Love, and loyalty, betrayal, cowardice, misunderstanding and deceit. There's everything in this story.
It always gives me a feeling that Tolkien could have written a lot more about it.
Such an epic story.

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I read the section of Beren and Luthien before my hiatus, and l enjoyed it as always.
It was for the most part the same story l knew, but there were a couple of new dialogue (from Thingol and from Finrod Felagund) that l really enjoyed.

I should be reading and commenting on student assignments, but with such beautiful weather this afternoon I made time for a few pages in the hammock. I don‘t have much to say about continuing to read the Grey Annals, except that I‘m enjoying them . . . slowly.

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I‘m behind, you‘re behind, everybody‘s behind... is that right?

So maybe instead of making a schedule for Part II, just check in and let me know about which section you are on in Part I, and we‘ll all just continue reading until everyone has finished Part I. Whenever that is before even looking at Part II...maybe aim for Part II in 2 weeks? 🤷‍♀️, middle of the month, after Thanksgiving, something like that depending on where everyone is?

Enjoying pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies while reading more Tolkien is the extent of my Halloween evening plans. I read the versions of the story of Beren & Luthien, always one of my favorites, included in the Grey Annals and made it to section 213.

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I really enjoyed reading about the Easterlings. It looks like Tolkien gave a lot more thoughts to the races on the dark side in the years after LotR than he did before.
And a yway, l'm fascinated with the history of the mortal Men. From these further writing, it sounds a lot more complex than even the Silmarillion let's through.

For some reason I again thought that switching to teaching from home might allow a bit more reading time, but that still doesn‘t seem to be the case.

These Annals don‘t always include a lot of narrative details, but some of them wow me every time, like the story of Fingolfin‘s last battle.

Also, I‘m not even sure I want to know how far behind I am compared to the schedule. 🤷‍♀️

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#FellowshipOfTolkien

It's always difficult to choose among the tens of awesome characters that Tolkien created, but surely Fingolfin must have a special place. His single-handed attack on Morgoth is truly the stuff of legend, and in this version l wondered if it wasn't Valar-inspired (his eyes shining like the eyes of the Valar, and of course the coming of the Eagles).

I enjoyed the appearance of the first female leader: Emeldir Beren's mother.

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I legged behind because l belatedly realised that every paragraph has his own comment.
Spent two nights of read to catch up with what l've already read.

But l'm really behind.
Going to read Isfin and Eol today.

How's everyone faring?
The hashtag is so quiet.

@Daisey @Riveted_Reader_Melissa @wordslinger42 @BookwormAHN

How's everyone doing #FellowshipOfTolkien The hashtag is so quiet.

I'm reading, though more slowly than the schedule suggests.
I love this version of the Silmarillion and the many little addictions that aren't in the published book.
i particularly enjoyed learning more about Agnor and Cranthir, characters that don't have a lot of space in the published book.

A hot mug of soup and a few pages of Tolkien are a good combination on this chilly evening.

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Here we gooooooo!!!!!!

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#BookReport #DaiseysReadingWeek
📖 Aesop‘s Fables
🎧 & 📖 A User‘s Guide to Democracy

#CurrentlyReading
🎧 & 📖 Henry V #ShakespeareReadalong
🎧 Stamped from the Beginning #LitsyBookClub
📖 The War of the Jewels #FellowshipOfTolkien
📖 My Lady Jane
📖 Developing Assessment Capable Visible Learners

#WeeklyForecast
📚Continue current reads
📖 My Cousin Rachel

Happy Weekend! The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien arrived in the mail today, and it‘s officially our day to start more reading of Tolkien‘s work with The War of the Jewels! I‘m tired from a long school week, but I‘ve read the Foreword and I plan to get at least a few more pages in before I call it a night.

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This is a quick and dirty schedule to get us started....we might have to adjust it as we go if some parts get much more dense later on, but just looking through the beginning this should get us into a Tolkien habit again. I tend to read the commentary as I go, otherwise I won‘t remember what the original passage was about, especially after 349 sections, so be forwarded that the commentary is in the back of part 1.

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Can't say l love the look of it. It's a pretty messed up copy...
But it's here and it's readable.

So, what say you, ladies? 😊

@Daisey @Riveted_Reader_Melissa @wordslinger42 @BookwormAHN
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