Journeying through Middle Earth {Guest Post by Jemimah C.}

Journeys and adventures begin right when you step out through the door. The moment you put your foot on the road, you can be swept off to lands you never dreamed of exploring and worlds you never knew existed. Along the way, you might see new faces, meet different people, and perhaps you'll even catch some glimpses of other kinds of creatures as well. Journeys aren't always safe and jolly. There's bound to be some danger, some point of excitement. As one quote says:

"It's a dangerous business...going out of your door. You step onto the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to." (The Fellowship of the Ring)

But some journeys are worth taking. And some of them can even change your life.

Years ago, I started out on a journey. It was a journey that took me through the land of Middle Earth—a fantasy world created by an illustrious British author by the name of J.R.R. Tolkien. My journey began when I saw an epic story set in Middle Earth play before my very eyes. That was the moment I stepped through the door into a new world; that was the road to a grand and thrilling adventure.

To put it simply, I watched The Lord of the Rings, a movie trilogy based on a three-book fantasy series by Tolkien. I had never seen a film trilogy so well made and full of grandeur...I knew I wanted more. So I took the road down and deeper into the story of The Lord of the Rings. I read the book trilogy, including some of Tolkien's other works, and even books inspired by the novels and the films. And in this post, I want to share with you some of the books and movies on The Lord of the Rings that I enjoyed reading and watching. I definitely recommend them to you!

Books

Although it's not exactly part of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien stands a prequel to LOTR. It will explain a good deal of things that appear in the trilogy, so you wouldn't want to miss reading it. It's quite intriguing and fascinating.

Three of my favorite books, all belonging to one trilogy. J.R.R. Tolkien is indeed a master of fantasy! The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King are such entrancing reads. They are enjoyable to read over and over again.

Sometime a year ago, I decided to pick up a few books on LOTR that were lying on our bookshelves and read them. One of them was Finding God in The Lord of the Rings by Kurt Bruner & Jim Ware. It explains the spiritual side of LOTR. Thoroughly interesting and compelling. A must read for all Tolkien and LOTR fans.

Like the preceding book, these two inspirational books by Sarah Arthur, Walking With Bilbo and Walking With Frodo, also discuss the spiritual side of LOTR. They will take you on a daily devotional "journey" through The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and the Bible. I learned many great, valuable lessons from these two books. I'm sure you will, too.

Before I proceed to the movie portion (which we are ostensibly nearing to), I'll share about these two movie guides first. They are accompaniments to the New Line Cinema film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. One is the LOTR: Official Movie Guide, while the other is the LOTR: The Making of the Movie Trilogy; both are written by Brian Sibley. If you want to learn more about the movies—the filming, the costumes, the characters, the actors, the places, etc.—here are two highly interesting movie guides.

Thus we end the book portion. There are many other written works on The Lord of the Rings and Middle Earth that I am sure are good to read. I myself have a lot to read yet.

Movies

Now we come to the start of it all...the reason why I first started to love LOTR. As I said, it all began when I watched three films. And they are:

The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

The Two Towers (2002)

The Return of the King (2003)

Three outstanding, superb, epic movies produced by New Line Cinema. That's what they are! Although they still differ slightly from the initial stories from the books, the movies remain quite accurate and loyal to them, unlike so many films that have been made. As a matter of fact, if you'd ask me, the movies were almost better than the books. But I still believe that books are better. At least I think so. But nevertheless, my family enjoys watching the movie trilogy repeatedly. We often schedule annual movie marathons for it.

Is anyone else excited for December 14, 2012? 'Cause I am exceedingly excited for that day! I've been anticipating the release of The Hobbit ever since I heard they were pushing through with the filming of LOTR's prequel. When the announcement trailer came out, I had to watch it several times before I believed it was real. As I watched the various scenes come out on the YouTube trailer, I was literally screaming my lungs out...or my head off. Because, LOTR fans, we're in for another delectable adventure through Middle Earth!

So you see, adventures in Middle Earth are often fun and thrilling, exhilarating and exciting. Who can't help but journey there and back again.

Speaking of "there and back again," I'll be back with a few more guest posts here on Austenitis. Don't forget to watch out for them!

Have you read/watched any books/movies on J.R.R. Tolkien or The Lord of the Rings? Which is your favorite? Do you have any LOTR-inspired books to recommend?

{Images via Google Images}

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About the writer: Lady Jemimah C. is a self-confessed elf maiden who resides in the polychromatic woods of Rivendell in Middle Earth. She delights in books and libraries, and is an avid fan of The Lord of the Rings. She is a fervent writer with a heart made of paper and iridescent ink-filled veins. Also a photography enthusiast, an aspiring thespian, an imaginative dreamer, a time traveler, an explorer. And foremost, she is a daughter of the King of kings and a servant of God. Her writer's corner, her "hobbit hole" is known to the world as Beautiful Blank Pages, her blog.