Lord of the rings

[sapphire]

Whoa, free time in college? Share your secret!

I think it's more a comment on your personal aesthetic than your reading capabilities. I remember finding the books rather dry at times, as well, and I've never really connected to Tolkien's work emotionally in the way that I have with other books. I think part of that is the omniscient narration - I don't feel close to the characters, so I don't feel close to the book. Honestly, I'm glad that I got into the story through the movies before I read the books. Otherwise, I'm not sure I'd have liked them at all.

The first Eragon book annoyed me because it took so much from Lord of the Rings. The later books I've really enjoyed, though I haven't read past Brisingr yet.

[Harbor]

I suppose I try not to draw too many lines between books I read, it just takes some of the fun out. And I don't know the LOTR books well enough to see all the connections and similarities. Brisingr is pretty good if ever you find the time.

As far as having time in college, my professors amounted it to the fact that I'm 'unmotivated and also strangely dedicated'. And I'm selfish about my free time, which basically is a nicer way of saying I forfeit my social life to read and write.

[Raphael]

I thought that the fourth one was just too long. I forgot most of it by now though. It was a good series.

[sapphire]

Well, I have almost zero social life, but I still have trouble finding time to read outside of classwork. But then, I get a ton of reading and writing assignments, being a writing major. So reading and writing are pretty much all I do when I'm not in class or working on my internship, anyway.

I read Brisingr and really liked it, but it took so long for the fourth book to come out that I'd need to reread the first three before I could read it, and I just don't have the time for that right now. Maybe this summer, when I've graduated.

But yeah, I try not to compare books too closely, either, but some of the things in Eragon were really hard to ignore. There's nothing wrong with taking elements from other books, of course - it's practically impossible not to - but it's best to try to do them in a new way. Christopher Paolini didn't really make anything new for me until the second book. Still, he's a good enough writer that I read the second book despite being less than impressed with the first, so that's something.

[Harbor]

Well now you have me curious--what in particular is so glaringly copied between the two? I'm usually pretty good at finding those things if I look for them, but as I said I don't know LOTR very well, not the text anyway.

I wanted to be a writing/English major, but I decided my odds of being able to support the lifestyle I want would be better if I went a little more mainstream. I'm an elementary education major. The hardest part of my maths class is learning about Venn diagrams, I love it!

[sapphire]

You know, I don't even remember at this point. I think the biggest thing was the similarities between the orcs of Lord of the Rings and the urgals of Eragon. But that was what he redeemed later, actually, because it turned out that not all urgals were pure evil. He just didn't get there in the first book.
But hey, it was good enough that I read the sequel, so.

Yeah, education is probably more practical... I'm one of those people who went for the writing major. I don't regret it, not even a little, but it is ridiculously hard to find a job.
(Although if your math class is that easy, I might just go back to school and go into elementary education. )

[Raphael]

The one I always heard it compared to was Star Wars. I didn't mind it as much though