My Tag Answers for the Tolkien Blog Party 2022

The time has come for me to answer this year's Tolkien Blog Party tag!  As always, I answer the tag over here even though I host the party on my book blog.  If you want to join the fun, check out this post, which has links to everything (like my giveaway and games) and the official tag for easy copying. 

1. Who first introduced you to Middle-earth? 

My mom had me read The Hobbit for school when I was a teen.  I wasn't a fan.  It wasn't until my boyfriend (now husband) and college best friend dragged me to the theater to see The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001 that I actually became a Tolkien fan.

2. Has your love of Middle-earth affected your life? 

Well, I have hosted the Tolkien Blog Party for ten straight years, so... yes!  I also own a lot of books by and about Tolkien, not to mention related items such as t-shirts, candles, mugs, Lego minifigs... and I have a Hobbity wreath hanging in my foyer right now!  (Currently seeking some fall leaves and other things to make it more autumnal...)

3. Have you ever dressed up like a Tolkien character? 

Not really.  Not saying I wouldn't, just saying I haven't.

4. What people in your real life would you want in your company if you had to take the ring to Mordor? 

My husband because he's strong and resourceful and never gets lost, my dad because he knows a lot about hunting and fishing, and my best friend because she's very crafty and cunning.

5. What Middle-earth location would you most like to visit? 

Rivendell!  Always, always Rivendell.

6. Are there any secondary characters you think deserve more attention? 

Well, yeah.  If you haven't heard me expounding on the wonderfulness of Boromir, you haven't been paying attention.  For a fuller exploration of his awesomeness, check out this post of mine from a few years ago.  Here, let me just say that this courageous, honorable, kind, loyal man will always be my favorite Lord of the Rings character -- and has been right from the start.

7. Would you rather attend Faramir's wedding or Samwise's wedding? 

Why did I write this question?  It's so hard.  Um.  Um.  Faramir's, I guess, because there will be Rohirrim there, and I love the horse lords.

8. How many books by J.R.R. Tolkien have you read?

Eight:  The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, Letters from Father Christmas, Mr. Bliss, Roverandom, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, and Smith of Wooten Manor and Father Giles of Ham.  (I've linked all those titles to my reviews for you, in case you're curious to know what I thought of any of them.)  

9. Are there any books about Middle-earth or Professor Tolkien (but not written by him) that you recommend? 

Yes!  I absolutely love A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War by Joseph Laconte, which is all about how their experiences during WWI informed J. R. R. Tolkien's and C. S. Lewis's creative journeys.  

Also, The Lord of the Rings: The Mythology of Power by Jane Chance is a fascinating literary analysis of the mythological elements Tolkien incorporated.  It helped me see a lot of amazing nuances in his writing that I had missed.

10. List up to ten of your favorite lines/quotations from the Middle-earth books and/or movies.

• "Go where you must go, and hope!" -- Gandalf
  
  
• "Good and ill have not changed since yesteryear." -- Aragorn
  
  
• "Ah! the green smell!  It is better than much sleep. Let us run!" -- Legolas
  
  
• "Need brooks no delay, yet late is better than never." -- Eomer
  
  
• "If I hear 'not allowed' much oftener, I'm going to get angry." -- Samwise
  
  
• "Forth, and fear no darkness!" -- Theoden
  
  
• "We desire only to be free, and to live as we have lived, keeping our own, and serving no foreign lord, good or evil." -- Eomer
  
  
• "It is not the way of the Men of Minas Tirith to desert their friends at need." -- Boromir
  
  
• "Master Meriadoc, if you think that I have passed through the mountains and the realm of Gondor with fire and sword to bring herbs to a careless soldier who throws away his gear, you are mistaken. If your pack has not been found, then you must send for the herb-master of this House. And he will tell you that he did not know that the herb you desire had any virtues, but that it is called westmansweed by the vulgar, and galenas by the noble, and other names in other tongues more learned, and after adding a few half-forgotten rhymes that he does not understand, he will regretfully inform you that there is none in the House, and he will leave you to reflect on the history of tongues." -- Aragorn
  
  
• "Well, I'm back." --Samwise

Happy Tolkien Week, everyone!  There's still time to enter my giveaway -- but it ends tonight!!!