Tolkien Reading Day

Tolkien: The Authorized Biography

On March 25th we celebrate the downfall of Sauron.

To read how Tolkien Reading Day came about, visit the Tolkien Society website. In August they are planning a conference in Birmingham, England as 2005 is the fiftieth anniversary of the complete publication of The Lord of the Rings.

In honor of the day, a reading from The Hobbit, chapter 5, "Riddles in the Dark":

When Bilbo opened his eyes, he wondered if he had; for it was just as dark as with them shut. No one was anywhere near him. Just imagine his fright! He could hear nothing, see nothing and he could feel nothing except the stone of the floor.

Very slowly he got up and groped about on all fours till he touched the wall of the tunnel; but neither up nor down it could he find anything; nothing at all, no sign of goblins, no sign of dwarves. His head was swimming and he was far from certain even of the direction they had been going in when he had his fall. H guessed as well as he could, and crawled along for a good way, till suddenly his hand met what felt like a tiny ring of cold metal lying on the floor of the tunnel. It was a turning point in his career, but he id not know it. He put the ring in his pocket almost without thinking; certainly it did not seem of any particular use at the moment.