#j rr Tolkien

[ijustkindalikebooks]

“Fairy tale does not deny the existence of sorrow and failure: the possibility of these is necessary to the joy of deliverance. It denies (in the face of much evidence, if you will) universal final defeat…giving a fleeting glimpse of Joy; Joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien.

[enchantedbook]

From Tolkien's illustration by Roman Pisarev

[psychic-refugee]

When being delulu ruins your life, whew.

The writer not only has to destroy all his fanfiction and looks to be barred from publishing anything in the future, but he has to pay Amazon's attorney fees: $134,000 on top of his own attorney fees and $402 just to file his inane lawsuit.

Please think about that. SIX FIGURES for what I suspect is minimal discovery (emails and the fanfic in question) and probably decided by briefing (Summary Judgement) instead of a trial. Just to Amazon.

He did have representation, and the attorney looks like they have 16 years experience. I don't know their rate, but lets say amazon has the highest rate and this attorney the lowest for California (according to google), and they worked 263 hrs on this case (highest rate/award). That's $44,184 as a low, generous estimate. I suspect it's a lot more.

All together, ~$178,586.

When I tell you litigation is expensive...

[miss-mollys-ballet-blog]

The one thing I think Tolkien would despise about the movies is their treatment of Gimli and him being turned into the comic relief. It’s the exact opposite of Tolkien’s dwarves and I really dislike it and think he would too.

[ohtheylovetolietoyou]

“It all began with the forging of the Great Rings. Three were given to the Elves; immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings. Seven, to the Dwarf Lords, great miners and craftsmen of the mountain halls. And nine, nine rings were gifted to the race of Men, who above all else desire power. For within these rings was bound the strength and the will to govern over each race. But they were all of them deceived, for another ring was made. In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mount Doom, the Dark Lord Sauron forged in secret, a master ring, to control all others. And into this ring he poured all his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all life. One ring to rule them all. One by one, the free peoples of Middle Earth fell to the power of the Ring. But there were some who resisted. A last alliance of men and elves marched against the armies of Mordor, and on the very slopes of Mount Doom, they fought for the freedom of Middle-Earth. Victory was near, but the power of the ring could not be undone. It was in this moment, when all hope had faded, that Isildur, son of the king, took up his father's sword. And Sauron, enemy of the free peoples of Middle-Earth, was defeated. The Ring passed to Isildur, who had this one chance to destroy evil forever, but the hearts of men are easily corrupted. And the ring of power has a will of its own. It betrayed Isildur, to his death. And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth. And for two and a half thousand years, the ring passed out of all knowledge. Until, when chance came, the ring ensnared a new bearer. The ring came to the creature Gollum, who took it deep into the tunnels under the Misty Mountains, and there it consumed him. The ring gave to Gollum unnatural long life. For five hundred years it poisoned his mind; and in the gloom of Gollum's cave, it waited. Darkness crept back into the forests of the world. Rumor grew of a shadow in the East, whispers of a nameless fear, and the Ring of Power perceived. Its time had now come. It abandoned Gollum. But then something happened that the Ring did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable. A Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, of the Shire. For the time will soon come when Hobbits will shape the fortunes of all...” Galadriel

[livingthewritelife-things]

Reading The History of The Lord of the Rings is SO fascinating.

Tolkien spent 15 years writing it, there were many many many edits and drafts made to the story. Christopher Tolkien collected as many as he could find, edited them, put them in order and put them into a four-part series.

It's so interesting to see how he came up with each character, what got cut, how he wandered into different plot points. Highly recommend reading.

[gabilina]

It makes my blood boil everytime I see people on booktok accusing both Lauren Roberts and Rebecca Yarros of plagiarising Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series, but they would gloss over Sarah J Maas's plagiarism calling it inspiration.

It's easy to call Powerless trilogy a Red Queens ripoff and saying that Violet Sorrengail is Mare Barrows copycat but somehow it's hard for some people to admit that:

Erawan (one of togs antagonists) is Sauron 2.0.

Manon Blackbeak = Targaryen copycat (specifically Visenya)

But you know in sjm's case they are just fantasy tropes that you can find in other books

[oh-good]

Tom Bombadil makes perfect sense actually when you find out he was based on a doll one of J RR Tolkien kids had

He is kind and entertaining

he chases away the bad dreams

he cannot be corrupted by even the strongest evil

he was there at the beginning of life and has been there ever since

he would not have any interest in taking the ring to Mordor because he has more important things to look after

He was the doll that stood watch over JRRT's children

he is a father's love

A wish for safety and comfort and joy for his kids

[inky-duchess]

Fantasy Guide to Creating Your Own Language

When writer's set out to world-build, language has a huge role in creating new cultures and lending a sense of realism to your efforts. A world and people just feel more real when language is involved. As the old Irish proverb says "tír gan teanga, tír gan anam”. A country without a language, is a country without a soul. So how can we create one?

Do Your Homework

First things off, you should start by studying languages. Nobody is asking you to get fluent but it's important to understand the basic mechanics of language. You will start to see certain tricks to language, how verbs are conjugated and how gender effects certain words. It will be easier to make up your own when you know these tricks. For example, in Irish one doesn't scold but "gives out to" - "a thabhairt amach". In German, numbers are arranged differently to the English with the smallest digit arranged before the tens for example 21 - Einsundzwanzig. By immersing yourself in an array of different languages (I recommend finding ones close to how you want your language to sound), you can gain the tools necessary for creating a believable language.

Keep it Simple

Nobody expects you to pull a Tolkien or channel the powers of David J. Peterson (hail bisa vala). You're not writing a dictionary of your con-lang. You will probably use only a handful of words in your story. Don't over complicate things. A reader will not be fluent in your con-lang and if they have to continually search for the meaning of words they will likely loose patience.

Start Small

When you're learning a language, you always start with the basics. You do the exact same when writing one. Start with introductions, the names of simple objects, simple verbs (to be, to do, to have for example) and most importantly your pronouns (you will use these more than any other word, which is why I always start with them). Simple everyday phrases should always be taken care of first. Build your foundation and work your way up, this is a marathon not a race.

Music to the Ears

If your creating a new language, you're more than likely doing it phonetically. Sound is important to language and especially a con-lang because you want to trick your reader into thinking of a real language when reading the words on the page. I suggest sitting down and actually speak your words aloud, get the feel of them on the tongue to work out the spelling. Spellings shouldn't be too complicated, as I said before the readers aren't fluent and you want to make it easier for them to try it out themselves.

Also when you're creating the con-lang, it's important to figure out how it sounds to an unsuspecting ear. If a character is walking down a street and hears a conversation in a strange language, they will likely describe to the reader what it sounds like. It might be guttural or soft, it might be bursque or flowery. It's always interesting to compare how different languages flow in the ear.

Writing in Your Language

Now that you've written your language and created some words, you will want to incoperate them into your story. The way most writers do this is by italicising them. As a reader, I generally prefer authors not to go too overboard with their con-lang. Swathes of con-lang words might intrigue a reader but it can leave them confused as well. It is better to feed con-lang to your readers bit by bit. In most published works writer's tend to use words here and there but there are few whole sentences. For example in A Game Of Thrones by George RR Martin, has actually only a handful of short sentences in Dothraki despite the language being prevalent throughout the book. Daenerys Targaryen pronounces that "Khalakka dothrae mr’anha!"/"A prince rides inside me!" and it's one of the only sentence we actually see in actual Dothraki.

There's also nothing stopping you from just saying a language has been spoken. If you're not comfortable writing out the words, then don't make yourself. A simple dialogue tag can do the trick just fine.

Know your Words

I do recommend keeping an actual record of your words. Make a dictionary if you want or a simple list of words you need. This is one of the most entertaining aspects of world building, have fun with it, go mad if you like. Also here's a short list of questions you can ask yourself about language in general which might help your juices flow.

[dyke-terra]

Tolkien’s world building is far more fleshed out and realistic that J RR Martin’s and I’m not afraid to say it

[a-ramblinrose]

A Weekly Reading Journal 1.7.25

Whoops this is a few days late but I'm absolutely continuing these weekly journals in 2025! Hopefully on Sundays and not constantly playing catchup. But it's me so regular scheduling is rarely regular.

Currently Reading:

Fiction:

The Silmarillion by J. R.R. Tolkien [RR]

Poetry:

The Collected Poems of Denise Levertov

What Kind of Woman by Kate Baer

Dream Work by Mary Oliver [RR]

Nonfiction:

World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

The Letters of Emily Dickinson

Just Finished:

The Wood At Midwinter by Susanna Clarke ★★★ The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien by John Hendrix ★★★★★ The Orange and Other Poems by Wendy Cope ★★★

DNFs/Try Again Later:

Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson (I'm going to love this but my plan to start the year off with humor is laughing at me since all I actually want to read is nonfiction and meaty fantasy. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ so back on my tbr it goes )

General Reading Thoughts:

Be very quiet but I think my slump has run away! Not sure what my main not a reread book is going to be but I'm quite happy to sink my teeth into Tolkien while I figure it out. You'll be seeing a lot of Tolkien this year if my plans don't get derailed.

Some 2025 plans. Bookish ones anyway:

The above mention Tolkien Read/Reread! I want to really dig into Middle Earth again!

Started a book buying token system. I need to read my physical TBR to be able to buy books. I gave myself a few cheats/easy wins but mostly I just have to read my massive backlog.

a more realistic/achievable 25 in 2025 reading list

My 3 TBR Prompt jar pulls are as close to a monthly TBR as I'm getting. I mood read, pretending otherwise was just stressful.

Happy Reading!!!

Current Reading Tag || General Original Content || 2025 Reading Page

And here's my 25 in 2025 again so it's easy to find later!

Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Nation by Terry Pratchett

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

The Collected Poems of Denise Levertov

The Letters of Emily Dickinson

Band Sinister by K. J. Charles

The Grace of Wild Things by Heater Fawcett

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

Metal From Heaven by August Clarke

Tim Drake: Robin Compendium

The Sword of Kaigen by M. L. Wang

The Nobleman’s Guide to Scandal & Shipwrecks by Mackenzi Lee

To Shape A Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose

Babel by R. F. Kuang

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Angel Mage by Garth Nix

The Orange by Wendy Cope

World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn

Thousand Autumns Vol. 1 by Meng Xi Shi

The Greek Plays edited by Mary Lefkowitz

The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson

Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell

[miss-mollys-ballet-blog]

Disclaimer: I do love A Song of Ice and Fire and GRRM and everything else, I promise.

BUT.

The more I'm reading/paying attention to Lord of the Rings and Tolkien, the more I'm realizing that compared to Tolkien, Martin is an absolute amateur when it comes to world building. He seems so cliche and overdone and unoriginal. Tolkien is the Babe Ruth of world building and GRRM is a minor leagues hopeful. I would trade the entire ASOIAF universe for just one more Tolkien book based in Middle Earth.

[ameliafuckinjones]

Another fun fact to add to my hetalia astrology takes is that England shares a sun and moon sign with J RR Tolkien. They're both Capricorn suns and Pisces moons!!! England also shares a Capricorn sun and Pisces moon with Timothee Chalamet, which i find very hilarious, especially since Timothee played King Henry V of England in the King (2019). Not so fun fact, Arthur shares a Capricorn sun and Pisces moon with ELVIS PRESLEY 🚩🚩🚩 😭😭😭 BUT he shares an exact Capricorn sun, Pisces moon and Aries rising combination with Benjamin Franklin one of America's founding fathers...might still be a red flag but could be a green flag depending on my mood 😭😭😭

Anyway, here are pictures of Englands spiritual brothers:

[jassuele]

Why Tolkien’s fantastic imaginary languages have had more impact than Esperanto

Published: January 11, 2017 11.19am GMT

Philip Seargeant

Fantasy languages

JRR Tolkien was himself a supporter of Esperanto, believing it could help unite Europe after World War I. But his personal interest in language invention was very different. His aim wasn’t to enhance the world we live in, but instead to create a completely new one in fiction. He referred to it as his “secret vice”, and explained that for him the purpose was aesthetic rather than pragmatic. It was the creative delight in matching sound, form and meaning in entirely original ways.

As part of the process of giving substance to the languages he was inventing, he needed to provide a mythology for them. As living, evolving entities, languages take their vitality from the cultures of the people who use them. And it was this that led to the creation of his fictional universe. “The invention of languages is the foundation,” he wrote. “The ‘stories’ were made rather to provide a world for the languages than the reverse.”

And how about conlangs today? A hundred years after the death of Zamenhof, in many ways the art of language construction is as popular as ever. One of the most celebrated current examples is Dothraki, from Game of Thrones.

Created by David J Peterson for Game of Thrones, the televised version of George RR Martin’s novel series A Song of Ice and Fire, the inspiration for this can be traced back to both Zamenhof and Tolkien.

It was while taking a course on Esperanto at university that Peterson first became interested in conlangs, while Martin has spoken of the way that his saga is, in many ways, a response to The Lord of the Rings. And as a tribute he includes various small linguistic references to Tolkien’s world: warg, for example, meaning someone who can project his consciousness into the minds of animals, is a word Tolkien uses for a large species of wolf.

So overall one would have to say that it’s the Tolkienian tradition of fantasy world-building that has prevailed. There are perhaps two reasons for this.

The first is linguistic. Paradoxically, Tolkien’s concept is closer to how languages actually work in the real world. His Elvish languages as they are depicted throughout his work are living, changing things, which evolve to reflect the culture of the communities who speak them. The idea of an international auxiliary language, on the other hand, is to provide a stable base, which can be easily learnt by anyone. But human languages are never static; they’re always dynamic. So Esperanto has a fundamental flaw built into its very conception.

And the second reason? Well, maybe these days we’re happier to dedicate ourselves to the creation of fantasy worlds, rather than looking for ways to repair our own.

Por que as fantásticas línguas imaginárias de Tolkien tiveram mais impacto do que o Esperanto

Línguas da fantasia

JRR Tolkien era propriamente um entusiasta do Esperanto, acreditando que poderia unir a Europa depois da Primeira Guerra Mundial. Mas seu interesse pessoal na invenção de línguas era muito diferente. Seu objetivo não era melhorar o mundo em que vivemos, mas sim criar um completamente novo na ficção. Ele se referia a isso como seu "vício secreto", e explicava que, para ele, o propósito era mais estético do que pragmático. Era a satisfação criativa em combinar som, forma e significado de maneiras completamente originais.

Tolkien em 1916.

Como parte do processo de dar substância às línguas que estava inventando, ele precisava estipular uma mitologia para elas. Como entidades vivas e em evolução, as línguas obtêm sua vitalidade das culturas das pessoas que as utilizam. E foi isso que levou à criação de seu universo fictício. "A invenção de línguas é a base", escreveu ele. "As 'histórias' foram criadas para dar um mundo para as línguas e não o contrário."

E quanto às línguas inventadas hoje em dia? Cem anos após a morte de Zamenhof, em muitos aspectos, a arte da construção de línguas continua tão popular como sempre foi. Um dos exemplos mais aclamados é o Dothraki, de Game of Thrones.

Criado por David J Peterson para Game of Thrones, a versão televisiva da série de romances de George RR Martin, As Crônicas de Gelo e Fogo, a inspiração para isso pode ser traçada para ambos Zamenhof e Tolkien.

Foi enquanto cursava Esperanto na universidade que Peterson começou a se interessar pelas criação de línguas, enquanto Martin havia falado sobre como sua saga é, em muitos aspectos, uma resposta a O Senhor dos Anéis. E, como homenagem, ele inclui várias pequenas referências linguísticas ao mundo de Tolkien: warg, por exemplo, significando alguém que pode projetar sua consciência na mente dos animais, é uma palavra que Tolkien usa para uma grande espécie de lobo.

No geral, pode-se dizer que é a tradição tolkieniana de construção de mundos fantasiosos que prevaleceu. Há talvez duas razões para isso.

A primeira é linguística. Paradoxalmente, o conceito de Tolkien está mais próximo de como as línguas de fato funcionam no mundo real. Suas línguas élficas, como são retratadas em sua obra, são elementos vivos e mutáveis, que evoluem para refletir a cultura das comunidades que as falam. A ideia de uma língua auxiliar internacional, por outro lado, é fornecer uma base estável, que possa ser facilmente aprendida por qualquer pessoa. Mas as línguas humanas nunca são fixas; elas estão sempre em constante mudança. Então, o Esperanto tem uma falha fundamental construída em sua própria concepção.

E a segunda razão? Bem, talvez nos dias de hoje estejamos mais felizes em nos dedicarmos à criação de mundos fantasiosos, em vez de procurarmos maneiras de consertar o nosso próprio mundo.

[the-windsof-fandom]

Hello there, This is The Winds of Fandom!

The Winds of Fandom is all about the fantasy genre. You will find blog posts and videos explaining Plot lines, fan theories, alternate theories and Mysteries relating to Fantasy Books such as "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George RR Martin, "The Harry Potter Series" by J.K Rowling, "The Lord of the Rings" By J RR Tolkien, "Dune series" by Frank Herbert, and the TV shows and/or movies based on them. In addition to that, you will find in-depth character analysis with a touch of philosophy. Valar Morghulis—all men must die. But before they do, they can immerse themselves in the magic of fantasy through The Winds of Fandom. 📚✨

All Men Must Follow: linktr.ee/TheWindsofFandom

[hakkiest]

i always see u mention nice niche youtube videos/channel and i need recs so id love to look into some of your suggestions/recommendations if you have any :>

this ask is literally my dream spotlight moment!!! I am ALWAYS talking Abt good YouTubers. I spend sooo much time at work listening and watching YouTube videos cause I don't fuck with podcasts and they entertain me so much while I'm either on down time or with my hands occupied. Yt gets suuuch a bad rep cause it's an aesthetics contest ATP like the prettiest video gets the most views and then the ppl that spend 300 hours on the pretty talk like they didn't spend 3 on research. Very annoying. But there's sooo much good stuff!

Anyways my recs are less abt niche cause I'm not really sure what constitutes as niche they're more abt ppl who I feel comfortable listening to. I've been doing this thing to myself where I only watch videos by ppl with notorious knowledge in the topics they're talking abt. I am very much infected with humanities academia rigorous 'whats ur sources' brain so that impacts a lot (I was gonna make a joke Abt that white man who talks a lot Abt ur references but I forget his name rn)

Anyways.

starting with artlust who mainly makes shorts which I've stopped watching but now she makes longform. Very dynamic and approachable art history without being too basic or boring. Soo open minded and encouraging when it comes to art and pop culture! I'm watching her literally rn

bliss foster does very good fashion journalism with his wife Dani. They literally got me to pay for patreon to watch their content there (super affordable even with the currency difference). Genuinely a very good source on fashion that isn't just beauty culture.

Perfumerism is enjoyable to watch, I mainly like the few videos she did on the meta of perfumerism and science but she mainly does hauls and reviews which are also fun to watch but I don't watch those nearly as much

V Birchwood is one of the few exceptions to the notorious knowledge thing, she does experimental archeology revisiting old history clothes and food and culture, very entertaining and her research is nice.

Dr Fatima is one of my faves!!! I am a Kuhn believer so her channel is so invigorating for me. Her latest video abt data is so fuuun it's a topic I love a lot! Yeah I think the stem heavy focus the videos have in some parts can be intimidating but trust me she bridges it with humanities with a lot of passion and knowledge and it is incredibly interesting. I have watched very few of her videos but I always recommend her

Gutsick gibbon is an archeologist with a specialty in apes (I believe) and she does phenomenal videos on the topics of evolution and archeology. She debates a lot with science deniers which is fun sometimes but rlly her breakdowns of recent publishings on her area are phenomenal. I will admit, very science heavy and probably not very... newbie friendly? I watch them with little more than rudimentary knowledge abt archeology and paleanthropology and sometimes I get veeery lost but I get by. Good for expanding.

Tom ayling and his new apprentice are books dealer and he does fun videos about it. I don't watch him a lot but they are entertaining and decently informational. Good eye candy with the beautiful books he shows! And I did learn a lot Abt j rr tolkien watching him.

Alex neuf is one I starting watching recently, very short and to the point fashion analysis from a practical standpoint. Fun to watch. Shes pleasing to watch idk I think it's her voice.

Smarthistory also does short videos about art and artists. There's a LOOOT and I've only watched a few, but the ones I've watched on artists that I previously already knew of were decent surprises!

Frieda vizel isn't rlly a recc cause ive only watched two of her videos but she does videos abt american orthodox Jewish culture that are nice. There's another lady that does videos Abt american mormonism too which I've watched a couple and yeah. I don't watch any more cause I'm not rally interested in America all that much but they were very interesting in small doses.

stefan milo does videos Abt a range of historical topics which is generally a red flag to me cause 1 - man 2 - u can't possibly know enough about all this stuff to be teaching ppl BUT he brings in experts and sometimes the actual researchers of the papers he is talking Abt!!! So good I loved the one Abt the elephants.

Hannah's books is my favorite book YouTuber. Genuinely the only one that has ever gotten me to buy and read a book only by her opinion and she has never failed me. Just the nicest most well spoken and well read person I've ever had the pleasure to watch on a screen. Biggest rec probably.

The Huntington for a variety of videos from the museum. Btw overarching rec for channels of museums and colleges! Oxford mathematics and st John's college are the 2 I am actively subscribed but if I'm honest the algorithm is super nice to me and recs me things from other ones all the time so im blessed. And the GETTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE!!!

3blue1brown and numberphile are two Abt maths that I enjoy sooo much! Numberphile is amazing. The bring in different researched and professors and specialists of diff areas and approaches and make super approachable and fun videos Abt maths and numbers stuff. Genuinely what rlly hyped me up when I decided to learn more Abt math.

Tentative rec for dami lee cause I only watched a couple of her videos on architecture, usually the ones I watch are scattered from different accounts, but idk they are well made! Same can be said for Abby cox and Lindsay Nicole

More tentative recs that I've had good experiences with but only with a few videos + I didn't fact check anything so I take it with a grain of salt: esoterica, languagejones, the iron snail, trey the explainer, knowing better, Cambrian chronicles, hochelaga, Cause idk who these men are. And idc. J don't like listening to their voices too much anyways.

And a few actually niche ones: puzzle guy for puzzles, adventures gone wrong for horror stories abt exactly what it says (my guilty pleasure), kimono mom for a mom who cooks wearing kimono, crufts for dog shows, heikala for her beautiful art processes, sanago 사나고 is a guy who makes 3d printing sculptures and crafts and it is very relaxing to watch (esp when he doesn't talk). And CRACKING THE CRYPTIC!!! a recent fave!!! For sudoku!!! Oh my god so fucking fun you have no idea give it a chance I promise it's riveting.

Rlly my fave thing to do is search for very niche topics and watch the lectures. David Spiegelhalter is a statician who has a couple super fun ones up, I also like meteorology lectures, and yeah. Open access policies are a blessing there are SO MANY LECTURES AND TALKS up on youtube!!! I watched one on Frankenstein and it fucked.

But seriously I am super blessed cause my algorithm works for once and these r only the ones I'm subscribed to. Tho sadly that also means I get blind sides so any recs of creators who aren't white are super appreciated cause it is dire girl it only shows me white ppl it's so sad.