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People love the expression “The book is always better than the movie.” Reflecting on the book-to-film adaptations I’ve seen over the years, I have always felt inclined to agree. Even if the movie was incredible, could you really say it was better than the book? It seems like a rare case indeed when that happens. However, there has long been one prominent exception to the rule for me. Ever since I saw the Lord of the Rings movies and then read The Fellowship of the Ring in seventh grade, I’ve been willing to die on the hill that the movies are better than the books. It wasn’t until I challenged myself this summer to read the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy that I felt my perspective shift.
If you’d asked me at the beginning of last summer if the movies were better than the books, I’d still wholeheartedly agree. The movies are so well done, and the cast and acting are exceptional. I could wax poetic forever about Gandalf’s magnetism, Aragorn’s sex appeal, and Legolas’s and Gimli’s banter. When midterms and finals came around in high school, I’d encircle myself with textbooks, notes, and index cards on the floor in my basement, creating a little nest of study materials, and pop in a VHS of one of The Lord of the Rings movies as my studying backdrop. Watching them on repeat brought me such comfort during those stressful times. They still do today.
Seventh grade me loved these films, but despised the books. During sustained silent reading in class, I staggered my way through The Fellowship of the Ring, including all of Tom Bombadil’s singing. I started The Two Towers next, only to give up while Merry and Pippin were putzing around with the Ents.
All Access members, read on for why I revisited The Lord of the Rings books as an adult and what I found there.
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