One of the things I like knowing about Tolkien fans is how they first encountered his works. So, I thought I’d tackle that question for myself. To answer how I first encountered Tolkien, I have to say:
I don’t really know.
Here’s the thing. I was fairly young when the Peter Jackson films were released, but I’m also quite confident that I had at least started to read The Hobbit and/or Lord of the Rings by then. Or by the final film, at least. This means I was anywhere between 7 and 10 when I first encountered Middle Earth, if you also account for the earlier possible age I may have read them on my own.
Having said that, my older brother says he was 11 or 12 when he first read Lord of the Rings, and I know I would’ve read it after (since the book was his). He is also roughly a year and a half older than I am. So, I mean, it’s anyone’s guess!
I do have a distinct memory of burning the date I finished reading Lord of the Rings for the first time into a piece of wood, alongside the One Ring (I was very proud). This, I am so convinced happened by the time I was in Grade 5, so I was about 10 or 11. This was also after the film releases, which I never saw in theatres (just on DVDs and VHS). Unfortunately, that piece of wood is long gone, so I cannot verify the date.
Memory is funny, isn’t it?
While the beginning of my time with Tolkien is blurry, the rest of my journey thus far is not. Here’s what I know:
- I read Lord of the Rings from one of the giant editions (black with gold lettering on the spine), which solidified my stance of it not being a trilogy even before I knew about that debate.
- The Bilbo jump scare shot in Rivendell from the Fellowship of the Ring film terrified me when I was younger.
- I had a giant crush on Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn when I was a kid. This may have been my first fictional or celebrity crush.
- I read The Silmarillion for the first time in my final year of high school, not that I understood all of it at the time.
Additionally, I have a rather large milestone in my life that Tolkien had a significant impact on:
I, in large part, accepted the university offer I did because they had a Tolkien class I could take as part of my English degree.
In my defense, I had applied to 3 universities and looked more into the specific classes after I was accepted at each of them. This is when I discovered the Tolkien class and made my choice. I didn’t choose my whole course of study (and life) solely based on this.
Just mostly.
So where am I now with Tolkien?
I’ve lost count of how many times I have read the main books. I’m now working my way through the Legendarium in its entirety, well past The Silmarillion. I am collecting all of Tolkien’s work, even those that are non-Legendarium.
I’m learning more about Tolkien, not only directly from his work, but also from others who love his work as I do. Case in point: listening to the best Tolkien podcast this side of Bree.
I’m collecting pieces of fandom—even receiving custom Tolkien gifts—and watching adaptations of his stories.
Above all, I’m trying to lean more into my love of Tolkien, and that includes sharing some of that love with you. Who knows, maybe I’ll even share the essay I wrote for that Tolkien class over 10 years ago.
Until then…
Fear no darkness.
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