LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring

Now that The Know-It-All is completed, the balloon jams are done, and life has returned to the normal hum-drum routine, I finally can begin reading again!

I started to read The Rape of Nanking, but stopped and decided to read it later.  The book is very graphic and some of the stories - particularly the ones involving the torture and death of pregnant women, children, and babies - were too much for me to read...especially with James laughing it up in the room with me!  He's so cute - it's hard to imagine how anyone could slaughter another human being like that.  I'll probably resume the book later...we'll see.

So to replace that book, I opted to follow up with the adventures of the hobbits in The Fellowship of the Ring.  So far, the movie is following the book pretty accurately, with exception of the passing of time, the revelation of golum's past, and a few other minor details.  From what I've heard, the movie and the book are dramatically different - particularly near the end of the series - but I have yet to get there. 

In the meantime, I'm really enjoying the amount of detail that JRR Tolkien includes in the book.  From the lengthy description of the hobbits, to the relationships between the characters, and even to the little details of each characters' actions, it's an entertaining and highly imaginative read.  I can't wait to get to the description of Rivendell!