Meanwhile, in Rivendell . . .

Starting tomorrow, I'll be participating in Hamlette's March read-along of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott!  She's hosting it at her other blog,  The Edge of the Precipice , and you should all join!  Think how much fun we'll have;)

Well, folks, the Middle-earth movies meme is ending for me, today.  I've had a blast!  But I realize that those of you who aren't into LotR are probably rejoicing that I'll finally be posting about other things (and I will, I promise!) ;) Day 27 prompt:  Favorite end song Definitely "The Last Goodbye" by Billy Boyd (though "In Dreams" and "May It Be" and "Into the West" all make it very difficult to choose).  Forever and ever. Day 28 prompt:  Favorite Middle-earth related item you own This is fun!  I have two things I particularly love:   ~ My Evenstar necklace (my brother got it for me for Christmas:D) ~ My LotR piano songbook This is a compilation of tunes from LotR, and I love it.  Some of them are relatively easy, some of them slightly harder, and it's great! Thank you soo much for hosting this party, Hamlette and DKoren!  I had fun:)

Day 25 prompt:  Characters you wish you liked more *writhes*  WHY YOU MAKE ME ANSWER THINGS THAT WILL MAKE EVERYBODY HATE ME?!;) Okay.  First (and please take this as meant completely seriously), the characters I'll discuss, you must understand, are characters that I love.  But there are three in particular that I really love, but not quite as much as I feel I probably should.  So please DO NOT take this as meaning that I dislike these people. Okay?  Everybody on the same page?  Cool:D I like Gimli in the movies, he's just not my favorite.  (In the books he really  got on my nerves.)  But he has some killer lines:  "Certainty of death, small chance of success--what are we waiting for?" I like Legolas, too, but he's a bit of an "ehh" character for me, to be honest.  I love his scenes, and he's a cool guy, but…yeah. And now for the last one, that will probably make the most people angry.  I apologiz...

Day 23 prompt:   The Hobbit  character you understand the least Wow.  We're getting deep here, no?;)  All right, before I begin, please understand that I love this character.  I do, I really do.  But you asked, and I've got to answer as truthfully as I know how. In the book,  The Hobbit , the character I least understood was Thorin Oakenshield. In the movie trilogy,  The Hobbit …..it was still Thorin. Don't hate me, Thorin-lovers!  I'm one of you, really, and I understand that Thorin's story of character development is amazing and beautiful and all that, but…there are still some things about him that I just don't get, namely:  His fanatical obsession with reclaiming the treasure of Erebor.  I understand that his quest to recover the Lost Mountain runs much deeper than the gold, and I understand that he has good reason to be bitter and revengeful, but you have to admit that he is, in the words of our dear Captain Jack Sp...

Prompt:  Costume you most want to wear Either Arwen's red dress (why do I always call it the red dress??  The majority of it is midnight blue!  Oh, well.  I guess that's what happens when you pair two such dramatic colors together)… Arwen's mint green dress… Or Éowyn's emerald gown. You can't see it very well in that picture, but the colors in that gown are sooo vibrant that I just…*sigh*

Guys, I'm gonna take a risk and attempt to hold a small game here.  I've never done this before, so bear with me. I'll call this the "First Line Game"-- I'll list the first lines of a number of books, and see how well-read you all are. *winkwink* I'll try to mix up the difficulty level--some fairly well-known books, and some less-talked about books.   *in Capricorn's voice*  Let's give it a whirl. #1:  "In that pleasant district of merry England which is watered by the river Don, there extended in ancient times a large forest, covering the greater part of the beautiful hills and valleys which lie between Sheffield and the pleasant town of Doncaster." #2.  "There was no possibility of taking a walk that day." #3.  "First the colors.  Then the humans." (Okay, for that one I did the first two lines,  because--well, for obvious reasons.) #4.  "All children, except one, grow up." #5...

Day 20 prompt:  Favorite moment/line in The Desolation of Smaug To be honest, I've only watched DOS once, and I was rather severely underwhelmed, so...I couldn't really say.  I'll have to read everyone else's answers to remember a couple scenes. I guess I found it funny when Kili is teasing Tauriel with his rune-stone:D  That part was kinda sweet, personal opinions on their relationship aside. Day 21 prompt:  Favorite couple Hands down, without a doubt, almost easily, Faramir and Éowyn. I love this pair so. much.  You can see a little of my obsession with them here  and here . And now, a couple very, very long snippets detailing exactly why I love their relationship so much (prepare yourself). The Lord Faramir was walking alone in the garden of the Houses of Healing, and the sunlight warmed him, and he felt life run new in his veins; but his heart was heavy, and he looked out over the walls eastward…He looked at [É...

Howdy, lovely people. As you may have noticed, I rather drastically changed my blog's look.  What do you think?  Is it too stark?  Is the background with the books too weird/nerdy?  Let me know your thoughts, please!  I'd hate to have a look that y'all didn't like, so please do give me feedback.  (But, as a warning, I'm pretty fond of my new header, so I'm not sure if I'll change it, even if you guys don't like it.  Muhaahaha.) I await your comments on pins and needles!

Day 18 prompt:   The Hobbit character you relate to the most To be honest, I think I might relate to hobbits more than any other race in Middle-earth (other than humans, of course).  How fond they are of home, how wary of adventures, how they love their creature comforts…I can empathize with all of that.  So I'm gonna go with Bilbo, just for those reasons, not his heroism.  I hope I'm heroic, but as I haven't yet been tested, I couldn't really say;) His speech at the end of AUJ kind of sums up why I think I relate to him the most:  "I miss my books.  And my armchair, and my garden.  See, that's where I belong--that's home…I will help you take [your stolen home] back, if I can." Day 19 prompt:  A location you never want to visit Hehe, Mordor.  (Though I would totally go as close as Ithilien, because Ithilien .)  Or Osgiliath.  Nope.   Mordor and Osgiliath, respectively.

I'm participating in two blog events at once!  Whaaat.  So, anyway, Kellie Falconer is hosting her (apparently annual) Literary Heroine Blog Party  at Accordion To Kellie:D It was so hard to choose from the buttons she provided!! I was alerted to the fact that this fun little shindig was going on over at Naomi's blog (read her answers to the questionnaire  here ).  I'm thrilled to be participating! Here are my answers to the questions Kellie is asking: (Oh, and a note:  I'm going to try my very best to refrain from mentioning LotR people in the character questions.  Aren't you proud of me?) 1.  Introduce yourself!  Divulge your life's vision, likes, dislikes, aspirations, or something completely random!   Okie dokie!  Hi, I'd love it if you called me Arwen (Arwen is a perfectly elegant name xD ).  I'm a girl totally and completely in love with stories in any form.  I'm also -- infinitely more important...

Day 16 prompt:  Favorite song sung by a character(s) in the films Hmm.  "Edge of Night"?  "Misty Mountains"?  Aragorn's song that Frodo catches him singing?  Decisions, decisions… I'm going to have to go with "Edge of Night," sung by Pippin (Billy Boyd) in front of that worm who Shall Not Be Mentioned At This Time. Seriously, though, I love this scene, even though Certain Things make me want to tear my hair out.  Because, really?  It says a lot about a person when they can't even eat a tomato properly.  I'm just sayin'.  But anywho, this scene is wonderful--a montage that switches seamlessly (what?  I can gush about the movies if I so desire!) between Faramir's suicidal charge --grrrr-- and Pippin's mourning. I shall even provide a video for you all, because I'm just that magnanimous;) Day 17 prompt:  Scenes/things you cry at Okay.  So, I don't actually physically cry in the movies.  That is to say,...

Prompt:  Favorite moment/line in An Unexpected Journey Favorite moment:   When Bilbo does "the whimper." Oh, and when Thorin rolls his eyes and  kicks the dwarves when he realizes what Bilbo's trying to do. Favorite line: Bilbo's speech at the end: "Look, I know you doubt me.  I know you always have.  And you're right, I often think of Bag End.  I miss my books.  And my armchair, and my garden.  See, that's where I belong--that's home.  And that's why I came back, because…you don't have one.  A home.  It was taken from you.  But I will help you take it back, if I can." And Gandalf's little soliloquy: "Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found.  I have found it's in the small things--everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay.  Simple acts of kindness, and love.  Why Bilbo Baggins?  Perhaps...

Day 13 prompt:  Favorite battle The last one.  The culminating battle for Middle-earth, fought on the plains of Mordor under the shadow of Barad-dûr. Its beauty is breathtaking.  I love all of it so completely - the acting, the dialogue, the music, the emotion - everything. Day 14 prompt:   Lord of the Rings character you understand the least Oh, boy, oh, boy… Should I really go into it?  The volcanic anger will spew… No.  I can talk about this little worm in a rational, controlled way.  I can.  Really. The character from LotR whom I least understand is without a doubt Denethor.  The prodigious idiocy of his mind and the warped, twisted nature of his heart will forever be mysteries to me - mysteries of which depths I have no desire to plumb. P.S. Happy Valentine's Day, one and all!:D

Yup.  I am.  She did  a splendiferous post  about books, books, and more books, and I've stolen it to answer here (I did warn her, though XD ). 1.  Favorite childhood book?   Ha.  What?  I'm afraid I couldn't answer that, m'dear;) 2.  What are you reading right now?   I'm currently rereading North and South . 3.  What books do you have on request at the library?   Well…I have the second book in a fantasy series on hold for my brother. 4.  Bad book habit?   Mustn't ask us, precious!  Not its business! :D 5.  What do you currently have checked out at the library?   I unfortunately have not really been checking out actual books from the library recently.  I stick with those readily available to me, since, what with school and such, I haven't as much leisure for reading as I'd wish *sob*.   6.  Do you have an e-reader?   I have Goodreads, and sometimes I read c...

Wow.  This movie.  I first watched it about a month ago, and loved it.  I finished it for the second time last night after showing it to my parents.  (It was even better the second time around.) Wow, just…wow.  It is amazing.  Truly, though, it is. I'll probably just be gushing about Tom  the awesome characters for this entire review, but…stay with me. The story is about a semi-estranged uncle and nephew, Prentice (Print) Ritter, played by Robert Duvall, and Tom Harte (Thomas Haden Church).  On route to deliver a herd of horses, the two (and a friend they meet along the way, Heck Gilpin) encounter a sleazy slime ball (sorry.  that was just way too much fun to resist) who's been recruited to deliver five Chinese girls to a saloon in Idaho.  "Through a series of circumstances," as Tom says, they take the guardianship of these abused girls upon themselves, while still trying to carry through for their client.  Unbeknownst (for ...

Prompt:  Least-favorite costumes Ummm… I don't know… Okay, I'll try.  Let's see here…I guess just the armor in general.  I mean…it's a bit bland (except for Aragorn's armor and the Elves' armor).  But then again, it's supposed to be, so…yeah. Sorry.  I'm not really sure how to answer this one since I haven't really thought about it;)

Prompt:  Favorite moment/line in The Return of the King Surprisingly, this is almost  easy for me. Hearts forever and ever, amen. Another favorite part is… And, of course, the Last Battle of Such Incredible Magnificence.  Seriously.  I love that last battle so. much.  

Day 9 prompt:  Things/scenes you laugh at Ha.  What?  You want me to go through and list everything that makes me laugh?  All right, well, you asked for it;) I laugh whenever Merry and Pippin come onscreen, like when Treebeard is walking with them, and he informs them that he will now serenade them with another exhaustive chant about the Ents' history, and Pippin just rolls his eyes ever so slightly, then adjust himself to try and listen as politely as possible.  I laugh when, in BOTFA, Bilbo's gone to "parlay" with Thranduil and Bard, bargaining with the Archenstone and all, and Thranduil says, "If I'm not mistaken, this is the halfling who stole [x number] of barrels from under my guards' noses."  Bilbo does this adorable, awkward little pause and nose-wrinkle, then mumbles, "Er, yes.  Sorry 'bout that." I laugh when this awesomeness happens:  "Alfrid."  *Alfrid turns*  "Your slip is showing....