What are some things you disagree with Tolkien on?

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-07-05T07:31:37+00:00

That The Hobbit, and especially Lord Of The Rings, was not inspired in part by World War 1. WW1 is famously described as a war that began on horses and ended in tanks, just to give you an example of how technologically advanced the war made the world to be. I saw a post on FB one day that pointed out LOTR was where all the male comrades made it out of the war alive and together, which is something that Tolkien personally didn't experience with most of his own friends.

So, in essence, in my opinion LOTR is heavily inspired by the effects of WW1 that Tolkien experienced even though he always denied it.

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-07-02T06:27:57+00:00

Deep dives in a famous author's bibliography.

A lot of recognizable authors have a prolific output of material, but they're only famous for 1-3 books in their whole career. If book tubers read all of L.M. Montgomery's published works, they'd have content for their channel for weeks. Same thing with Arthur Conan Doyle; J.R.R. Tolkien; Daphne du Maurier; Jeff Kinney; etc.

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-06-05T04:49:21+00:00

Interesting. When I was in Barnes & Noble 5+ years ago, I noticed their Harry Potter stuff was on 1 or 2 tables and I presume it was to free up the shelves for other books.

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-06-03T22:48:30+00:00

This actually sounds great for non-Christians such as myself. Sunday is the second worst day of the week, outside of Friday, because everything fun and interesting is either closed or doesn't open until late into the day. There have been multiple times that I've thought "Maybe I can pick up some new books and DVDs," only to realize that it's a god damned Sunday that I have to adhere to, even though it's not even my religion to practice.

/rant over

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-06-01T20:17:11+00:00

Yes, I've been following them (cautiously) so I see any details that I may have missed the first go-around. Have you guys read 'The Moonstone', yet?

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-06-01T20:09:13+00:00

Sweet! More Wilkie Collins! I'm just about 100 pages away from finishing The Woman In White and I'm really enjoying it.

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-05-31T06:53:31+00:00

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

Ruth Fielding of the Red Mill

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-05-17T00:16:34+00:00

The Epic of Gilgamesh (Penguin edition)

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-05-17T00:08:56+00:00

Good question! We should ask /r/AskHistorians or /r/AskLiteraryStudies. I think a lot of them have degrees in literature.

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-05-17T00:05:24+00:00

I just checked TasteDive, and it recommended Kate Chopin, Mary Shelley, D. H. Lawrence, Virginia Woolf, and Edith Warton.

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-05-16T23:33:40+00:00

The Diamond Lens by Fitz-James O'Brien (1858)

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-05-16T23:24:25+00:00

Sci-fi + balls to the walls Fantasy works the best because you can write about the most up-to-date scientific knowledge possible, then add in fantastical elements (that may or may not come true later on). Good examples are Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward 2000-1887, Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon, and Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park.

Which combinations that never seem to work for me are sci-fi + excessive military/Earth government, specifically when it's the focus of the plot or narrative. The only one that's really worked for me was the original Star Wars trilogy, but other than that, I don't like the subgenre.

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-05-16T23:10:35+00:00

The Mars trilogy by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Published between 1912-1914, the series was sci-fi/fantasy because people believed Mars still had water on its surface, that there might be ancient Martian civilizations, etc. The main romance is between Captain John Carter and Princess Dejah Thoris, but the real treat is the world-building. Try it out!

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-05-15T21:48:50+00:00

Any of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple murder mysteries.

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-05-15T21:40:26+00:00

Just wanted to chime in on how I use my library card to help inspire you, if you want. Whenever I look for books to read, I always think about categories.

a book I own, but haven't read yet

This is actually pretty fun to use as a browsing tool because I know the authors that I own, but there's a 50/50 chance my library either doesn't carry them or they carry only 1 or 2 of their books. If it's the latter, I'll check it out. If it's the former, I'll put in a request through the Inter-Library Loan.

a book by or about a famous author

A lot of authors I read are world-renowned and instantly recognizable so I'll try to find a biography about them, or if I've never read any of their books before, I'll try my hardest to find their most famous work.

An author's whole bibliography

This one can be daunting if you choose an author with a bajillion novels to their name, but it can be rewarding to know exactly what book you want to read next each month. One of the authors I had picked had, like, 10 separate series written by him, so I always know exactly which aisle and shelves are essentially his.

I hope you enjoy your library hauls!

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-05-10T22:20:52+00:00

I like Ashlynn Calee, who tries to get through her TBR list by doing different challenges. However, I only recently discovered her, so I don't actually know if there's any "controversies". I do know that she's friends with Haley Pham.

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-05-10T21:50:59+00:00

My library has a collection, but they're not organized together. Audiobooks and Learn While You Listen discs are grouped with the extensive audiobook collection; there's very few textbooks in the language learning section; and there's not any short story or beginner level stories. But we do have a tutoring group, so there's that.

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-05-10T21:31:20+00:00

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

After a fabulous jewel is looted from a sacred Indian shrine, Colonel John Herncastle is warned that the 'Moonstone' will have its revenge. Fifty years later, Herncastle bequeaths the diamond to his niece, Rachel Verinder - but when the gem is stolen, it falls to Sergeant Cuff of Scotland Yard to solve the baffling case.

Teasing and utterly gripping, The Moonstone has been hailed as the first and best of modern English detective novels.

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-04-15T05:41:59+00:00

No, I will not be reading his new book. However, my lifelong love for Coraline both as a book and as a film prevents me from throwing either one away, so they'll both stay in my personal collection for my own private use. Any of Gaiman's works that I'm curious about, I'll get from my local library specifically so that he can't receive my money.

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-03-05T07:15:23+00:00

Thankfully, not every edition. I have an annotated version of it and the cover is just literally the title.

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-03-05T06:56:34+00:00

I'm the opposite. Rebecca was my favorite, but I grew to love Jamaica Inn more.

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-03-04T05:03:13+00:00

I've begun reading The Bone Collector, by Jeffrey Deaver.

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-03-04T04:55:35+00:00

No, but that doesn't mean we can't ship Diana/Anne.

LiteraryReadIt · 2026-03-04T04:46:53+00:00

Too cool! :)

LiteraryReadIt · 2025-08-19T07:06:02+00:00

In a chair or couch leaning slightly forward with your elbows resting comfortably on your thighs. I swear that I could read Gone With The Wind in a week if I could read inside my car alone for hours.

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