The Fellowship of the Ring
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. “A unique, wholly realized other world, evoked from deep in the well of Time, massively detailed, absorbingly entertaining, profound in meaning.”—The New York Times In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, as told in The Hobbit. In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.
Stats for nerds
5recommend
58mentions
53people
2009–2026years
10% recommend78% neutral12% critical
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- What I remember reading to my kids aged 5-10
The Hobbit
The Fellowship of the Ring (more for me but they liked to snuggle up and fall asleep to it)
Harry Potter 1-5 (the hardback versions with lots of pictures)
Eric the Viking - Terry Jones - a personal fav of mine
Various compendiums of Greek and Norse Myths
Dr Seuss books
What do people do all day - Richard Scarry
My son started reading the Beastquest books very early by himself and was happy to read independently from there. After that at around 8 he started reading diary of a wimpy kid and the 13 storey treehouse type books.
- For some reason I seem to struggle with reading more and more with age. As someone says people seem more keen to make video or interactive content for learning, which is a factor. Re-reading books like Dune more recently has made me wonder why it was so much easier when I was younger. Less distractions I guess would be a major reason.
However reading to my children (currently Fellowship of the Ring) has been a real pleasure, so I do still enjoy it in the right circumstances!
- These are also great in my opinion (book as well as film): The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and Jurassic Park.
- Of the books I've read this year, there are a small handful that I think are beyond good.
Antifragile: This book has informed many decisions I have made recently. It is insightful, entertaining, and in its concern for human choices manages to send a beautiful message about nature and reality.
The Power Broker: I listened to this via audiobook and I highly recommend the experience. It's a large dose of history and a fascinating exploration of city politics and, as its name implies, power. And I learned a lot about New York!
Lonesome Dove: I hadn't read any fictional "westerns" and this came well recommended. I loved it. Listening to it while backpacking and on a road trip was extremely rewarding.
Man's Search For Meaning: Extremely powerful and potentially life changing. It was both cathartic and therapeutic for me, and has affected how I live my life.
The Lathe of Heaven: Incredibly enjoyable dystopian future fiction. It came recommended via the "HN reading list" released some number of months ago, and I liked it a lot.
The Fellowship of the Ring: I had started this book in high school but hadn't finished it for some reason. I picked it up again, and I'm glad I did. It is a gem, and there's good reason that it has become a part of our cultural bedrock. Its exploration of purpose, challenge, and choice is quite moving.
- Yes, Fellowship of the Ring is the best. They were probably too afraid to stray away from the book, and because of its huge success they felt comfortable rewriting the whole story consequently. What I liked about FOTR is that even the stuff they added were pretty much consistent with the thinking behind the book - they grasped it.
I can't fathom what went so wrong afterwards.
- These books are both ones I read as a kid and hold in lifelong regard as a result:
The Fellowship of the Ring - long before the movies were a glint in Peter Jackson's eye, this was my introduction to fantasy, a genre I adore.
The Way Things Work - I still remember the frabjous day when I understood how an internal combustion engine worked.
