I think you said that it's what makes a 'good' reader, like skip if you want but it's not something someone has to learn to make them 'better' at reading for enjoyment. That's where the sticking point is. It doesn't make you better, and it doesn't make you worse. That's what rubbed me the wrong way about your comments.

I didn't know it was a book! I thought the movie was pretty cool.

Jesus, you couldn't be more wrong 😅 His son helped him organise the fragments of his later works and put them together coherently. Tolkien was not thinking in terms of children's books either, he was meant to write a sequel to The Hobbit and ended up writing The Lord of the Rings, he even said to his publisher that it was not a children's book.

If you're looking for information then skipping and skimming is good. If you're actually reading something for pleasure then it doesn't make sense. Sometimes in literature it's not about what the words say, it's about what they don't say, or it's about the information left out or the way something is said. A turn of phrase can impart a nuance of meaning that you might miss by skipping and skimming bits. Tolkien writes for the love of words, linguistics and myth. Part of the joy in reading his work is the immersion and the vibrant picture he paints with words. I know I'm in control of what I'm reading and if I was bored enough to skip bits that didn't resonate then I would just not read it. It's not some revelation.

You're skipping pages? That's not reading the book though is it? Tolkien isn't for everyone but it's not boring and the dialogue is not bad. It's archaic and that's not your thing. I'd like to see some examples of the dialogue that led you to your conclusion though. I find these kinds of posts a little frustrating because there's never any examples to back up the critiques.

The first edition of the American publication of The Fellowship of the Ring. Tolkien was not amused. The artist didn't read the book.

https://www.tolkienguide.com/modules/wiwimod/index.php?page=BREM+US+PB+FOTR

That's just really sad. The reason AI exists in the first place and is able to 'write' at all is because of centuries of human endeavour and creativity. Creativity and the ability to bring something into the world that didn't exist before is a core part of being human and you're just so casual about throwing that away as though AI is better in some way. You also said in one of your comments that most writers struggle with writing, which is such a gross generalisation, I love writing and it can be hard sometimes but it's good to challenge ourselves. This type of post is terrifying because it makes me wonder if the general population feels the same way and if we'll lose the human element of our creative output.

Well, it's not real for a start. Maybe focus on how devoid of sadness your own life is to be this affected by book or on the flip side, delve into whatever real grief you're carrying around in real-life that was brought out by something you connected to in the book.

What a fantasy world like Tolkien, who set out to create a mythology for Britain? Where it is set in pre-history before the world became inter-mingled? He explicitly stated many times that Middle-Earth would become England as the ages went on. He has other human races like the Easterlings who are clearly meant to represent a different ethnicity. His characters are definitely not meant to be ethnically diverse.

Here is one of mine: Last of all Hurin stood alone. Then he cast aside his shield, and wielded an axe two-handed; and it is sung that the axe smoked in the black blood of the troll-guard of Gothmog until it withered, and each time that he slew Hurin cried: 'Aure entuluva! Day shall come again!' Seventy times he uttered that cry; but they took him at last alive...

It helps me through tough times.

Don't sweat it, if you get lost at who someone is or what/where you are you can check the family trees and maps at the back. So many F names, and I'm really bad with names. My favourite elf is from the Silmarillion and I can never remember if it's Fingolfin or Finrod.

I'm sorry to laugh at your misfortune but that is hilarious 😂

You need to read At the Mountains of Madness. I also really love Cool Air, The Thing on the Doorstep and The Whisperer in Darkness. Lovecraft is one of my favourite authors.

You haven't had the pleasure of watching the movie with Nicholas Cage then? It was awesome.