Fantasy

I recently finished reading the Fellowship of the Ring for the first time. I took part of an orchestral performance of Howard Shore's compositions for the movies, and I thought that I should read the books as well. I am glad I read them before watching the movie, because I feel like going into the Fellowship of the Ring without preconceived ideas of what the characters and scenery all looked like. It's a lot different from what I thought in the movies!

I know that the LOTR books and movies are world famous and well-loved media, but it is different to know that about them than to actually experience it for yourself. I'm making my way through the Two Towers now, and I love the book very much. Tolkien's descriptions are so vivid, it makes me feel as if I am a part of the fellowship, travelling Middle Earth. And there is so much world-building, everything in the book happens for a reason that's explained in Middle Earth's history. The amount of thought Tolkien put into Middle Earth is wild to imagine. How did he even begin to start all of it? Anyways.

It's no wonder that these books inspired an entire genre---they had so much of an impact on fantasy, that there is a wikipedia article on the subject.

Fantasy has always been a way to escape. The conflicts faced in fantasy worlds are still relatable, but so different from those in our modern world. For me, I like fantasy---especially high fantasy, set in totally fictional worlds---because problems of money or climate change or anything that is pressing in real life are not issues there.  It's not like I think about those things constantly, but when immersed in fantasy you don't have to think about them at all, busy as you are with reading about the party fighting a horde of orcs or what have you. 

Despite this, I am still relatively "new" to the genre, as in I haven't really read many fantasy novels, other than the entirety of Wings of Fire when I was in elementary school. Or ACOTAR in middle school, as much as I wish I was unfamiliar with it. I've also read the Hobbit, since it was written before LOTR trilogy. Other than that, there is not much else I can think of, but I want to change that. After LOTR, I am thinking of reading some of Robin Hobb's works because they had them at my local bookstore, and it might be nice to read something more modern in contrast.

 Some fantasy books I plan on reading...

 Some fantasy movies I plan on watching...