The Hobbit.

Caught a show on streaming video tonight about "Ringers." This was a program about fans (fanatics?) of The Lord of the Rings.  I found the film very interesting and encouraging, though I worry a bit about people who need to immerse themselves so much in the fantasy world.

I loved LOTR. (I still love that epic journey.)  I built (what my mother called) a little shrine to Tolkien and read and reread his books. I studied him and wrote papers for school. That was years ago. I was a pre-teen and a teenager. I am still enthralled by his world and mythology. I still know more about Tolkien's creation than most people. I've explored it. I lived with it and then, I moved on... years ago.

I will admit that I do revisit that wondrous world from time to time.

I'm encouraged by films than examine fandom because the fans seem to take such comfort in stories about reluctant heroes who accomplish world-saving tasks with the help of all peoples, a theme in the documentary tonight. The fanatics are desperate to live in a world where cooperation, goodwill and courage end in victory and salvation. Again, I find this encouraging. I know J.R.R. himself shied away from the fanatics, but I think he'd be pleased to see the hope he gave so many seemingly hopeless people.

I digress. I wanted to talk about my experience with "The Lord of the Rings."

My brother Joe gave me a copy of "The Hobbit" when I was about 10. It was a birthday present my perfect older brother thought I'd like. The book changed my life and I want to thank him. That one book opened up a whole new world of fantasy and exploration. Once I realized I could read more about this wondrous place called Middle Earth I had to get "Lord of the Rings."  I started really reading.

Those four books taught me that complicated stories are the best. The longest books are the best because one could live with the characters for such an extended period of time and one didn't have to say good-bye. Not yet.

I started reading voraciously after "The Hobbit." Not just Tolkien, but every fantasy book I could find. I read C.S. Lewis, MacDonald, Piers Anthony, Ursala LeGuin, and then on to Science Fiction. I read Vonnegut and Ray Bradbury and Heinlein. I read Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. I read Ayn Rand (oddly similar) and Stephen King. I read Frank Herbert and Greg Bear. I read Anne Rice and Anne McCaffrey. After that I found Hemmingway. I found the Bronte sisters. I moved on to Robert Ludlum and went into my spy stage. I started reading historical novels. My world changed.

My world changed because my brother gave me a book.

That book was "The Hobbit."

A few months ago I sent the same book to my niece, his daughter. She is already a great reader... But now, who knows where she'll be taken.  To read this book for the first time? I envy her and wish her well on the great journey!

See what you've started, my dear brother Joe? Do you remember that unbelievable gift? I am forever in your debt.

xo