rgb@nsc-pdc.UUCP (Robert Bond) (05/10/85)
I have just finished listening to a dramatization of the Lord of the Rings
on cassette. I got it from "The Mind's Eye" in San Francisco via mail
order. I have also noticed the same brand of cassette on display at the
local B. Dalton. It cost $59.00 for a 12 cassette set. This is not the
version that was aired on National Public Radio some time ago; I think
that version was done by BBC., while these tapes are marked "Jabberwocky".
The dramatization was good, and in my opinion, well worth the money. One of
the problems I have reading the Lord of the Rings is I get so caught up in
the story that I read too fast to really enjoy the prose. The tape rolls
along at its own pace, and the prose just keeps coming. Frodo's encounter
with Shelob is exciting enough to send chills down your back, and the final
scene at Mount Doom made me stop in traffic (I use a Walkman).
Even 12 cassettes are not enough to really do the story justice, however.
I would have liked to hear more of the Elvish tongue spoken and more of the
heroic verse. How do you give the effect of Treebeard talking without
blowing a whole side of a cassette? But one can't have everything.
In summary, well worth the time and money invested.
--
Robert Bond nsc!nsc-pdc!rgb
National Semiconductor tektronix!reed!nsc-pdc!rgbsuna@aecom.UUCP (David Suna) (05/14/85)
> The dramatization was good, and in my opinion, well worth the money. One of > the problems I have reading the Lord of the Rings is I get so caught up in > the story that I read too fast to really enjoy the prose. The tape rolls > along at its own pace, and the prose just keeps coming. Frodo's encounter > with Shelob is exciting enough to send chills down your back, and the final > scene at Mount Doom made me stop in traffic (I use a Walkman). > > Even 12 cassettes are not enough to really do the story justice, however. > I would have liked to hear more of the Elvish tongue spoken and more of the > heroic verse. How do you give the effect of Treebeard talking without > blowing a whole side of a cassette? But one can't have everything. Half the fun I had in reading the book was to leave up to my imagination the nuances of speech and other such details. As with any presentation of a book that I have read, finding out how other people envision the book always seems to detract from my feelings for the book. This goes for movies, television dramatizations, and tapes. Nothing substitutes for a vivid imagination. David Suna
chabot@miles.DEC (Bits is bits) (05/19/85)
I agree: I like my visualizations. But books on tape can be nice: it's more entertaining than listening to tv when you're doing something that keeps your eyes busy, such as washing dishes, folding laundry, knitting, putting together puzzles or models. And other peoples realizations can add a perspective to your own. Also, I'm happy such things are available for less-sighted folk. However, I strongly believe that tapes are no substitute for reading aloud to your own children. Or somebody else's children for that matter. (My plants, however, seem to be perfectly happy with the radio. :-) L S Chabot ...decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-amber!chabot chabot%amber.dec@decwrl.arpa
smuga@mtuxo.UUCP (j.smuga) (05/20/85)
> > However, I strongly believe that tapes are no substitute for reading aloud to > your own children. Or somebody else's children for that matter. > > L S Chabot ...decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-amber!chabot chabot%amber.dec@decwrl.arpa Agreed. Oddly enough, I read The Hobbit aloud to my children some time ago. The interesting thing (to me) is how much reading aloud enhances *my* appreciation of a book.
bob@cadovax.UUCP (Bob "Kat" Kaplan) (05/24/85)
In article <mtuxo.709> smuga@mtuxo.UUCP (j.smuga) writes: >The interesting thing (to me) is how much reading aloud enhances *my* >appreciation of a book. I think reading aloud enhances my enjoyment of any good book. Words are meant to be read aloud. If I come across a passage I happen to like, I'll read it aloud to hear how it sounds. Even if I'm at home alone. I could never understand people who read poetry in their head and don't read it aloud. They're missing something vital. -- Bob Kaplan "To be completely safe is to be completely dead."