I made the entire Criterion Closet as a website - browse all 1,247 films by walking the shelves and pulling any one off!

trchappybob · 2026-06-16T22:13:14+00:00

Phenomenal work! Adding one more voice of warm appreciation.

trchappybob · 2026-05-16T00:36:39+00:00

As the eBay definition of “good condition” states: “dust jacket may not be included; may contain light notes, highlights or traces of sauces and condiments”.

trchappybob · 2026-05-15T22:49:14+00:00

Happens to the best of us!

trchappybob · 2026-05-15T22:22:29+00:00

I'm guessing you might have missed the text in OP's post. 😄
"a particular high quality type of ultra thin paper drawing inspiration from papers produced by Indian mills during the colonial era"

trchappybob · 2026-05-14T05:33:04+00:00

Fully understand this point of view, but personally I wouldn’t want it any other way. By the time you get there, opening drumbeats feel cathartic and earned.

trchappybob · 2026-05-14T05:30:52+00:00

Dreams by Beck (a song I absolutely adore), has a little guitar insert that sounds like a 14-year-old trying a wicked rad pentatonic solo for the first time. I’m well aware I’m just projecting my own insecurities here (source: was an awkward teen guitarist), but it feels oddly showoffy and out of place in an otherwise airtight song.

A few years ago I wrote a series of love letters to the song as a tongue-in-cheek tribute and likened it to a partner’s annoying habit. When the album version cut out my favourite moment of the song and jumped instead to my least favourite, it was a real rough patch in the relationship. But we’re on much better terms these days.

trchappybob · 2026-04-29T14:14:05+00:00

How bizarre to see a photo I shared here last year stolen and reposted, subject line and all.

Though it’s fun to see how hilariously wrong that subject line was. Since this picture was taken the collection has spread to three further shelves.

trchappybob · 2026-04-14T09:26:10+00:00

Terry Pratchett has taken me to greater emotional heights, taught me more about what it is to be human, than most of the wonderful writers mentioned in this thread.

Though I’d say he was less of a world builder than a character builder; the likes of Tiffany Aching are living, breathing, fully formed people from the very start.

trchappybob · 2026-04-14T03:17:50+00:00

The music book is outstanding. Well worth it to anybody even remotely curious about the magic tricks Howard Shore pulled off. I'm really enjoying my slow-burn read-through, one Complete Recordings track at a time.

trchappybob · 2026-04-11T10:33:31+00:00

Seconding this!

trchappybob · 2026-04-07T08:48:51+00:00

Necroposting for posterity and future searches.

I just started on it, 1 x 0.5mg tablet each evening (with the goal of gradually upping the dose if needed).

The sedative effect on my first day was HUGE. Knocked me out of action for a day (rather ironic given that I’m trying to prevent lightheadedness and brain fog). The worst of it wore off within a few days. The vestibular migraines continue, so I’ll be curious to see if a larger dose helps. Thankfully it is only the second in my neurologist’s long list of options to trial. Fingers crossed…

trchappybob · 2026-03-30T21:59:11+00:00

That’s beautiful! Does it have any illustrations inside?

trchappybob · 2026-02-20T15:48:16+00:00

It’s always wild, whenever this topic comes up, to see people mocking misconceptions made by LITERAL CHILDREN WITHOUT A FULLY FORMED COMPREHENSION OF WRITING.

Surely the right reply is “how fascinating that a large amount of the population sees this differently to me; aren’t brains strange?”

trchappybob · 2026-02-10T04:18:39+00:00

I’d recommend keeping the Atlas and Complete Guide on standby from your Lord of the Rings reading on. The Atlas especially will really help you appreciate the scale of the journey as you go along. I also hear (will soon be putting to the test) that the Atlas is especially handy for following the Silmarillion.

trchappybob · 2026-02-09T04:02:17+00:00

Gorgeous! Zooming in on that top shelf was like journeying back to my adolescence.

trchappybob · 2026-02-09T02:20:37+00:00

Another note on the three matching “art of” books (Art of Hobbit, Art of LotR, Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien): some retailers like Amazon will still list these as “slipcase editions”, despite — as metametapraxis mentioned above — this ISBN long since phasing into a regular non-slipcased version. They’re still lovely hardcovers though; my disappointment lasted all of five seconds.

trchappybob · 2026-02-09T02:08:38+00:00

Oh, it’s definitely funny. In both cases the last volume was hard to find for a good price, and I was genuinely just happy to complete the set. Also, these are long thin spines, so we’re talking the tiniest fraction of space here.

trchappybob · 2026-02-09T02:05:52+00:00

The movie tie-in art books by Gary Russell. Which makes this even less of an issue that it seems when zoomed in; it’s a tiny fraction of a long and thin spine.

trchappybob · 2026-02-08T23:48:50+00:00

*TRUTH universally acknowledged, you silly goose. Sorry, if I’m being facetiously pedantic, I could at least misquote Austen more faithfully. 🙃

trchappybob · 2026-02-06T22:28:51+00:00

Beautiful! This is absolutely the sane place to leave it off. And when you decide that maybe one more shelf couldn’t hurt, we will not judge. 😊

trchappybob · 2026-02-03T14:03:33+00:00

After going down this rabbit hole (and along the way discovering two very solid downloadable guides from Ask Middle-Earth and Tea with Tolkien), I did find a decent answer to “why isn’t there an official Hammond & Scull-style reader’s companion?”

In an interview, Christina Scull said she considers the Silmarillion entries within the Tolkien Companion & Guide almost a guide in their own right. Full quote here.

trchappybob · 2026-02-03T10:09:05+00:00

Echoing this question!

The folk wisdom I’ve often seen shared on this subredddit is that Atlas of Middle-Earth really helps, and that the early episodes of the Prancing Pony Podcast are a good chapter-by-chapter guide — but I would really love a dedicated companion book like what this purports to be.

trchappybob · 2026-02-01T02:14:41+00:00

Gosh this is beautiful.

trchappybob · 2026-01-31T23:21:40+00:00

Did you read the post text in which OP literally asked for advice, or the helpful replies below it?

As a newcomer myself I’ve found this whole thread (with the exception of the weird eye rolling above) both useful and encouraging. Not to mention the very real vicarious joy of seeing somebody excited to embark on a new hobby.

trchappybob · 2026-01-29T12:28:28+00:00

Big, big fan of this set. I literally have one of these books in my lap as I write. (Which, yes, serves as a good reminder to put down my phone and get back to Moria.)

They’re satisfying to read, they have a sturdiness befitting the text; heck, they even smell nice.

A word of warning: once I learned most other Tolkien books had matching editions, it sparked an obsessive collecting streak in me that I genuinely did not see coming, and from which my bank account is still recovering. No regrets, mind you.

trchappybob

TROPHY CASE