Not all those who wander are lost.
In the midst of a reading slump, I found myself wandering a bit, luckily I was not lost.
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
Facing a reading slump is one of the hardest things to deal with, at least it is for me. Books have always been a way to relax, to escape, to take a break and find comfort in other worlds when your own is a bit muddy.
Normally, my reading mood is on fire. It is easy to pick up a book and disappear for a few hours, exploring other worlds, cheering on your favorite protagonist and cursing their enemies. Nervously waiting for the consequences of horrible decisions or the outcome of epic battles or hard choices.
And then…
There are the days, where picking up a book is the hardest thing to do. Your mind is just not there, you cannot focus and it can even be frustrating to read. Because you know you love this, and yet, right now, you hate it.
I hate reading slumps. Absolutely hate them. It feels like I am losing a part of myself, and I always panic a little, the fearful thought in the back of my mind taking up more space with everyday I do not read.
What if it doesn’t come back? What then?
Luckily, I found a remedy for this particular reading slump. It is one of my favorite adventures, a fellowship facing hardships and a journey that takes all of us there and back home again.
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne,
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
The brick of a book
I was always aware of The Lord of the Rings as it was one of those books that just stood out on the shelves. My local library had a Tolkien section that I had to pass every time I headed for the books I wanted to read.
It was so big. Like a brick. I still have a very vivid memory of the times I picked it up, looked through the book and just put it back on the shelves. It was too big. It was in English. It was too advanced for me. All the excuses in the world. It seemed like a book that had to wait until I was older.
It was not until 2001 and the first movie coming out that I literally ran to the library to get my hands on it. If the movie was so amazing, how epic would the book be? I was not disappointed. Tolkien introduced me to the meaning of epic or high fantasy. It quite literally changed my reading patterns. If I had tackled The Lord of the Rings, everything else was easy (not entirely true, but you get my meaning).
The Lord of the Rings sent me down a path of discovering many other great authors influenced by his work. Over the past few years that I’ve been reading my way through The 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time, it has been easier to see the impact he had on the modern fantasy genre. So rereading the trilogy has become so much more than just rereading one of my favorite books. It is a way to really appreciate his writing, the impact and a way for me to find some joy in the fantasy genre, after struggling with it for a while.
Many meetings
Finishing A Song of Ice and Fire last year, truly sent me into a a weird space. This is not to say I did not read any good fantasy after A Dance With Dragons, in fact I had some good reads , The Bloodsworn Saga by John Gwynne, The First Law by Joe Abercrombie and Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, to name some favorites. Nevertheless, I was still missing this epic fantasy that Martin’s universe had given me.
This year started out promising with some more Abercrombie (Best Served Cold), Pratchett (The Wee Free Men) and Wang (The Sword of Kaigen) and then it sort of…just started to decline. The next few books that I picked up from the list, and in the genre itself, fell flat. They are more of YA fantasy, which can be good, don’t get me wrong, but it was not what I wanted or needed at the time. Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson, was a cozy and fun read, but I wanted more.
Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri, sounded so promising and was one of those books from the list that I was truly looking forward to, but ended up being a disappointment. And to me, a book that, just should not be on the list in the first place. Mary Poppins, BFG and My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, where also three books, that just did not satisfy my cravings of some good and epic fantasy.
In short: my reading slump was slowly progressing and even if I still kept on with my reading, I could feel the joy of it disappearing. I ended up focusing on books within other genres that have helped on my mood, honorable mentionings to Born A Crime (Trevor Noah) and Project Hail Mary (Andy Weir). But when it came to fantasy, it was just a growing feeling of frustration.
What do you do then? I took a break for a while and naturally spent more time on social media. For once, mindlessly scrolling on TikTok actually paid off. My algorithm made sure I crossed paths with
and Breanne Rodgers, talking about her annual read of The Lord of the Rings. Inviting people to join her, to read along with others and talk about it.It brought back memories of Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings and how much time I spent in Middle Earth in my younger years. I read that brick of a book every year between 2002 and 2010. Every. Year.
And then I stopped, I cant remember why. But I did, and have not read it in years. With Many Meetings, I found myself getting hyped about it again. Maybe this, would be what could bring me out of my funky reading mood / slump with fantasy. So on the 22nd of September, I jumped onboard and got my edition of The Fellowship of the Ring narrated by Andy Serkis.
Oh boy, what a great decision that was! It is simply impossible not to love this story. Two and a half weeks in and I’m already over halfway through it, loving every minute.
It is no secret that I absolutely adore Andy Serkis, he is without a doubt one of the most fascinating and talented actors I have ever seen. As a narrator he has not disappointed. He has set the bar extremely high - he made even the Tom Bombadil chapters entertaining (yes I hated those chapters) - Serkis just brings another level to an already epic story. The voices, the mood, the songs and poems, the hardship, all the feels. I have always loved this trilogy, but he truly brings more joy to it.
Joining others in reading this wonderful tale has been a highlight through the past few weeks. Listening in, commenting and discussing the book with others, some old readers doing a reread, some new readers dipping their toes into it for the first time and not to mention Breanne and her videos discussing her thoughts, has brought me a lot of joy. I’m getting excited about a fantasy book again.
My own listening journey, has become one of the best ways to start my day. As the trees change colors, the rain taking over and the dark winter creeping closer in, this has truly been one of the best times to listen to The Fellowship of the Ring.
I am reminded on how beautifully he writes, sentences that are just…woven in such a way that they stay with you. I just simply feel the scenes, I am there, in the corner, watching it all unfold. How the journey is gradually becoming darker, more dangerous and the fellowship developing closer bonds, I am so invested. I know how it all ends, I know this story in and out, I know every corner of it - and still my heart rate goes up as they ascend into the darkness and dangers that lurk in Moria.
I already own two copies of The Lord of the Rings, but I decided to go ahead and get a pocket version of it, so I can write and mark my favorite parts. Bring it with me everywhere I go and just wander in Middle Earth until my spark for this amazing genre returns.
“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.”
