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I'm typically not a big fan of celebrities reading audiobooks, they tend to take me out of the story, but yeah Lee is great in that, and Stephen Fry's Harry Potter audiobooks are excellent, as is Jim Dale (who is also English) in the American versions.

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By the way Steef, if you're serious about McKellen, he narrates the audiobook of The Odyssey. It's the Fagles translation and it's excellent.

 

 

1 hour ago, Stefancos said:

I'd buy an audio book of LOTR if it were read aloud by Sir Ian McKellen!

 

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8 hours ago, Bofur01 said:

The unabridged Children of Hurin audiobook read by Christopher Lee is really good.

Didn't Lee do the Sil too?

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9 hours ago, Nick1066 said:

By the way Steef, if you're serious about McKellen, he narrates the audiobook of The Odyssey. It's the Fagles translation and it's excellent.

 

 

 

Copyright issues stop me from watching that video. Is that a prose translation, attempt at freer form poetry or done in the original hexameter (which doesn't work very well in English)?

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3 hours ago, Incanus said:

Copyright issues stop me from watching that video. Is that a prose translation, attempt at freer form poetry or done in the original hexameter (which doesn't work very well in English)?

It's not a prose translation, though it's certainly not in dactylic hexameter, which I agree is a chore in English. Rather Fagles (a poet himself) typically favours a 5 or 6 beat stress, which is quite effective (IMO) and one of the reasons his translation is so well regarded. You come away with an appreciation for Homer's breadth and pace without the sheer sense of exhaustion the blind poet's 15+ beat lines can leave you with. 

 

And for purposes of my comment, it suits McKellen perfectly. There's something satisfying about experiencing a work, which after all has its roots in the oral tradition, in this way. Though who knows how Professor Tolkien would have felt about it. His controversial appraisal of Shakespeare is well known, but if he's commented on Homer I'm unaware of it.

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3 minutes ago, Bofur01 said:

 

Nah, Martin Shaw did the Sil though, and it's also very good

Another one of those actors who could probably read just about anything and sound good. Wonderful voice. I need to check that out.

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9 minutes ago, Nick1066 said:

It's not a prose translation, though it's certainly not in dactylic hexameter, which I agree is a chore in English. Rather Fagles (a poet himself) typically favours a 5 or 6 beat stress, which is quite effective (IMO) and one of the reasons his translation is so well regarded. You come away with an appreciation for Homer's breadth and pace without the sheer sense of exhaustion the blind poet's 15+ beat lines can leave you with. 

 

And for purposes of my comment, it suits McKellen perfectly. There's something satisfying about experiencing a work, which after all has its roots in the oral tradition, in this way. Though who knows how Professor Tolkien would have felt about it. His controversial appraisal of Shakespeare is well known, but if he's commented on Homer I'm unaware of it.

Such poetry usually benefits from reading aloud as it was its original means of transmission. I often notice myself reading out loud both Finnish translation and English equivalent of e.g. Eddic poetry where meter is important as well as the old but excellent Finnish translations of Homer's works, which capture the dactylic hexameter (which works very well in Finnish!) that are to me ingenious both in the slightly archaic diction and in capturing the spirit and poetry of Homer's original text.

6 minutes ago, BloodBoal said:

Iain Glen should record a LOTR audiobook!

 

Most awesome voice ever!

Indeed!

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29 minutes ago, Incanus said:

Such poetry usually benefits from reading aloud as it was its original means of transmission. I often notice myself reading out loud both Finnish translation and English equivalent of e.g. Eddic poetry where meter is important as well as the old but excellent Finnish translations of Homer's works, which capture the dactylic hexameter (which works very well in Finnish!) that are to me ingenious both in the slightly archaic diction and in capturing the spirit and poetry of Homer's original text.

Ah, well Finns are made for epic poetry, aren't they! I lived in St. Petersburg for a couple years and took the ferry to Helsinki many times and I think I noticed more people carrying around and reading books there than just about any other place I've been. A very literate lot.

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Rieu's prose translation of the Odyssey is where to go if that's what you want. Manages to be very readable and keep to the original Greek very well. (Or so I'm told, I did the other language). 

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39 minutes ago, Nick1066 said:

Ah, well Finns are made for epic poetry, aren't they! I lived in St. Petersburg for a couple years and took the ferry to Helsinki many times and I think I noticed more people carrying around and reading books there than just about any other place I've been. A very literate lot.

 

Plus, they invented the trochaic tetrameter, the deadliest writing device ever!

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22 minutes ago, BloodBoal said:

Plus, they invented the trochaic tetrameter, the deadliest writing device ever!

That confess I profess truly

tetrameter is most deadly.

Written with it Kalevala

was and poems of our folklore.

 

Spells were sung in that old meter

made by wisemen old and mighty

gathered far and wide collections

have been of these incantations.

 

Spells for healing, runic chanting

for protection wrought and harming

magics strong by them were woven

long has been this proud tradition.

 

Väinäimöinen, wiseman oldest

Joukahainen young he bested

when was challenged to a duel

where was tested native prowess.

 

Sang the old man Väinämöinen

greatest of our old god-heroes

Joukahainen into mire

by his spells was upstart worsted.

 

Thus was proven well the power

which in words and song resided

mightier than swords were magics

brought forth by this wiseman's wisdom.

 

Errmm.... sorry, I got carried away there a bit.

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3 hours ago, BloodBoal said:

 

Plus, they invented the trochaic tetrameter, the deadliest writing device ever!

Well, maybe not quite the deadliest writing device. :)

 

621a0740394ecafe9cb7e402fe08a255.jpg

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
29 minutes ago, Fennel Ka said:

Picked Tolkien's Beowulf translation and commentary. 

It has been on my shelf for a while now but I got sidetracked to reading through poetic Edda (alas only in English). I should also continue with Beowulf, Monsters and Critics which I put on hold until I had read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to better understand Tolkien's commentary. Now that I have it's time to continue methinks.

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  • 3 months later...

You asked for it.

 

You demanded it.

 

BB went on hunger strike and dirty protest to get it.

 

Well here it is. The eagerly anticipated sequel to the critically aclaimed, award winning video game Shadow of Mordor.

 

I give you, Shadow of War.

 

http://kotaku.com/heres-the-official-trailer-for-middle-earth-shadows-of-1792780562

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1 hour ago, Bilbo Skywalker said:

You asked for it.

 

You demanded it.

 

BB went on hunger strike and dirty protest to get it.

 

Well here it is. The eagerly anticipated sequel to the critically aclaimed, award winning video game Shadow of Mordor.

 

I give you, Shadow of War.

 

http://kotaku.com/heres-the-official-trailer-for-middle-earth-shadows-of-1792780562

Tolkien is rolling and whirring in his grave right now in the Wolvercote Cemetary.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Got a copy of the Tolkien Audio Collection recently (4cds). Very cool to hear the Professor read so many bits and pieces from The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. CD 3 and 4 are Christopher reading excerpts from the Sil. 

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One can dream. The bottom of the barrel is showing guys!

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1 hour ago, Incanus said:

One can dream. The bottom of the barrel is showing guys!

 

I don't think Harper Collins have published anything yet that didn't warrant publication but you do have to wonder what else is left. 

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4 hours ago, TheGreyPilgrim said:

 

No, reboob!  Froda, Saurana, Gandalfa, Saruwoman!

They all have the long girly hair already. Except Sauron, who's already a giant flaming vag. 

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On another note:

Quote

beren_and_luthien-198x300.jpg

The publication of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Beren and Lúthien has been pushed back one month to Thursday 1 June 2017.

 

Edited by Christopher Tolkien and illustrated by Alan Lee, the book had been due to be published on 4 May.

Many fans will be reminded of the facsimile first edition of The Hobbit, which was finally published in September 2016, four years later than initially announced.

HarperCollins has not yet commented on the delay.

 

And this huge piece of news via the Tolkien Society!

Quote

New amoeba named after Gandalf

Researchers in Brazil have named a newly-discovered amoeba after Gandalf, due to its resemblance with Gandalf’s hat.

Arcella-gandalfi-1.jpg

Scientists at the Bioscience Institute of University of São Paulo, in conjunction with a range of other researchers, have discovered a brand new species of amoeba which they named Arcella gandalfi due to its similarity with Gandalf’s hat.

The arcella genus contains freshwater amoebas, with the A. gandalfi being a particularly large example. Found in several places throughout Brazil, its carapace (or shell) has a shape not too dissimilar from Gandalf’s hat, hence the name. Within the study of amoeba, this is a significant find. Professor Daniel J. G. Lahr of the Zoology Department at the University of São Paulo said:

“The identification of a new species of microorganism in the Southern Hemisphere, as in the case of this amoeba, is very strong evidence that its geographic distribution is restricted to the region because Northern Hemisphere environments have been studied in far more depth. This is especially so for such a conspicuous species with a shape unlike any other.”

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 20/03/2017 at 8:45 PM, KK said:

Yes! And Galadriel and Arwen will be lovers! Because it's 2017!

 

I don't think we've gotten to the stage of accepting incentuous grandmother/granddaughter relationships quite yet!

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  • 1 month later...

I'll be receiving my unsigned copy in a week.

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