Which Way's Up

Do you want to know what true love looks like?

It’s this:

The Lord of the Rings, per my husband’s standard, is the most perfect piece of writing in the history of published works. He reads it once per year in celebration of the return of the crisp autumn air. He tells me that the first time he read it, he was a mere twelve-year-old and that he did not put it down after falling madly in love with Tolkien’s words on the very first page. I have no doubt that, when my husband moves on from this life, it will be with a copy of Lord of the Rings by his side.

I will happily donate my own.

True love? Oh, yes. Back to that.

One of my husband’s love languages is “You HAVE to read this book.”

I learned this shortly after we began dating when he all but demanded I read Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. I tried. Really. To make up for declaring Ayn Rand a snoozefest and inadverently launching a torpedo through our relationship, I agreed to read Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. While I didn’t finish that book either, I mostly kept my thoughts to myself until asked. I did get much further into Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy than Atlas Shrugged but tapped out at The Restaurant at the End of the Universe where diners selected their steak from live cows strolling through the room.

So, how did I get to the Lord of the Rings?

True love. Really.

In the fall of 2023 when Rich’s annual reading kicked off, I purchased my own copy and decided to dive right in. What woman wouldn’t pledge her love via a journey through Middle Earth? No really. What woman wouldn’t? I need to find her so we can chat because I am just not getting it.

I haven’t given up yet. I’ve taken a few breaks to read other books, but I haven’t given up. Lord of the Rings has become my every-other reading. I read a chapter or two about hobbits and elves and then set it aside for an autobiography or memoir (my current favorites). This eight month cadence has gotten me all the way to, um, Book Two. Honestly, I’m still not sure what book I am reading.

As I worked my way through the first pages, I noticed the top of the page said “Fellowship of the Rings” and panicked.

“Wait, I thought I was reading Lord of the Rings?!,” I told my husband, “This says ‘Fellowship of the Ring!!” He explained the three parts of the series and I’m pretty sure I’m in The Two Towers right now but also I’m not sure because, while I did start Book Two, the page headers still say Fellowship of the Ring.

This has been a long road for my husband. Certainly longer than Frodo’s journey to Elrond. His excitement started to wane way back in December when I’d not made a dent in Book One. I learned then that referring to Middle Earth Dumbledore or Tolkien Doby was not acceptable.

Last night, after shutting down my iPad, I turned to my husband and said, “Look, I really have no idea what is happening in this book.” When I say I am lost in the second chapter of The Two Towers, I don’t mean “lost” like I’m lost in the power and beauty of Tolkien’s words.

I am lost while trying to figure out the purpose and attendees of the Elrond Council.

I know it’s nearly July. I am facing the reality that it may take me a full year to get through Lord of the Rings. In fairness, there have been moments of beauty. A quote here, a quote there that has taken my breath away. I’ve wondered if I shouldn’t have done Lord of the Rings in the same way I did Dune–movie first, book second. It helped in Dune, of course, that Timothy Chamalamadingdong was so nice to look at and that I could then put his face into my reading brain. I’m not sure I’d have to same reaction to Frodo.

I suppose a fair trade would be for my husband to read some of my favorite books. Judy Blume? He did enjoy the movie form of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Harry Potter perhaps? He says that’s a book for tweens. I beg to differ as I thoroughly enjoyed all seven books when in my late twenties. He says Lord of the Rings is written for adults. Mayhaps that’s where my struggle begins…

My husband has told me multiple times that the books are just about to start getting good and so I carry on even though I’m becoming a bit skeptical.

This is, after all, one of my biggest moves in the name of true love.

For my own Frodo…