Thank you for putting into words what I perhaps wasn't eloquent enough to express - I agree with you that the novels have a meditative quality which is lost by focusing on just the core plot beats. I am a somewhat fast reader by habit, so it's not something that I'm used to. I did appreciate the connections to history and myth, especially in the motif of folk music that runs throughout. And of course the amount of work that goes into creating the various languages is admirable too. I was aiming to assert that whilst those are both good things, they are not the only measure of effective fantasy storytelling. I see Tolkien as taking a vast and uncompromising attitude towards his craft which distinguishes his work from what most modern fantasy authors would consider good practice, and I certainly respect that. That being said, I don't see fantasy or any fiction on a linear scale of style and quality. In the video I wanted to speak to the fact that although Tolkien's work is at the pinnacle of fantasy, largely owing to its immense care and detail, it's not the case that new works of fantasy must aspire to that same level of worldbuilding to be considered effective. It's not that Lord of the Rings itself is flawed, but that we don't need to always demand fantasy universes to hold up to the same level of detail. Even if I didn't enjoy it to the fullest, it's something rich and complex enough for people to fall in love with, and I do wish I worded that better in the video proper. I do want to one day read the Silmarillion, though perhaps I will save it for after a re-read of the trilogy. Everything I have heard about the Silmarillion builds it up to be a massive challenge, so I want to come prepared!

@@arvoswithharvo759 LOTR doesn't really prepare you for the Silmarillion in terms of background, you can jump right in. The events of LOTR aren't even really connected with those of the Silmarillion, they happen much later in the same world. To use your Bible analogy, LOTR might be the Gospels, and the Silmarillion Genesis. The challenge with the Silmarillion is that it's history through and through, with a couple of tales thrown in the mix. Characters and setting change with every chapter so it's easy to get lost in the details. It just requires more careful reading, going back a lot with the help of the index to connect threads, and constantly referring to the map (which is also the case for LOTR though). However, it's a third of the lenght of LOTR, which helps! 😂 After listening to your review though, I thought maybe the Silmarillion wouldn't be for you 😉 But if you go ahead, do it before rereading LOTR. Me, I'm gonna reread it before rereading LOTR, and start that by reading the appendices first 😄

No way José! The movies are literally the best cinema ever, but the books triumphs them hard.

Movie Legolas and Gimli are unbearable.

lol you're funny (and stupid)

Absolutely not !

The movies are better because shorter

I feel like some books have early parts that teach the reader how they're supposed to read them, like tutorials in games! Like if a narrator's supposed to be read as unreliable, there would be a short scene or passage which demonstrates how this unreliability works. I wonder if The Sellout also had something like this earlier on that I missed.

it's certainly a hard job! Anne Bronte's novel definitely sympathises!

Thank you for watching and commenting! Perceptive is a great word for it - her talent as a writer shines through in all the little details she ascribes to her characters I think it's very true too that all literature is valuable and it's worthwhile to read books that go against my morals. Her work is certainly significant and important, but I feel like for her own audience her novels were meant to be enjoyed, and often her attitudes towards class and relationships made it hard for me to love her characters or enjoy following their stories. If only I owned a manor though!

I definitely agree - it's challenging to get through Austen for her pacing. she has wonderfully complex characters but it takes effort to warm up to some of them!

i haven't! I'm not in a big rush to, though I have heard many people say it's great

if i had to rank my enjoyment of the 4/5's, it'd go 3 Body Problem > The Scope of Permissibility > Bonjour Tristesse > Cloud Atlas > Persuasion >>>>> Dune oh wow there were a lot of 4/5's

I'm working on a video along those lines, should be done soon!

@@arvoswithharvo759 that’s awesome! Can’t wait