The Hobbit Hole VI - And Whither Then? I Cannot Say...

[ecurbh]

Welcome to The Hobbit Hole!

And Whither Then? I Cannot Say...

• First thread: New Zealander builds Hobbit hole
• Second thread: The New Hobbit Hole
• Third thread: The Hobbit Hole III - Journey to the Cross-roads! (Congratulations, we filled it up!)
• Fourth Thread: The Hobbit Hole IV - The Road Goes Ever On...
• Fifth Thread: The Hobbit Hole V - Where Many Paths and Errands Meet...

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

[JenB]

Oh, great!

When I have energy, you'll get an email, hopefully sometimes this afternoon/evening.

[RosieCotton]

Magician's Nephew is my favorite of the series, closely followed by The Silver Chair and The Dawntreader.

Didn't care as much for Horse and His Boy...it wasn't bad, but not as interesting as some of the more "magic" books.

[RosieCotton]

I'm going to run this evening, after certain brothers are gone. We're rehearsing.

[RosieCotton]

Sounds like what happened to my toys. I remember one time I wanted to see if it was possible to remove my Batman doll's head from his body--assuming incorrectly I'd be able to reattach it. . .

Oops...

[JenB]

Ah, fun!

I'm just being a slug...

[RosieCotton]

Also need to read the Perelandra books.

Those are on a whole 'nother level than the Narnia books. They kinda freaked me out the first time I read them, actually. ;-) I was pretty young, and they deal with some serious ideas. Wonderful, wonderful books - I can't recommend them enough.

I re-read those just about once every year and a half. About due for another read, actually.

[RosieCotton]

I don't know if "fun" is the word...it's kinda work. But the performance should be fun!

[Fedora]

How'd you two like Prince Caspian?

BTW, either of you read the Wizard of Oz series? I started reading that a couple years ago and really liked the first two books. I can never find the rest of the series, though!

[RosieCotton]

Prince Caspian was good, too. That's the one with Cornelius, right?

I did read the Wizard of Oz series! Our library had a lot of very old juvenile serieses at the time, and that was one of them. I'm sure they're gone now...worn out. They were soooo much crazier and more humorous than the movie, and of course lots more stories. We loved those. I can remember getting into all out fist fights over who got to read 'em first when we borrowed them, though...

[Fedora]

When I have energy, you'll get an email, hopefully sometimes this afternoon/evening.

Okay. I'll hopefully have energy to work on that after supper. I have to go out for a couple hours later this afternoon but I hope to work on some writing after supper.

[Fedora]

I'm going to run this evening, after certain brothers are gone.

We won't name names, of course--just certain brothers :)

[Fedora]

Those are on a whole 'nother level than the Narnia books. They kinda freaked me out the first time I read them, actually. ;-) I was pretty young, and they deal with some serious ideas.

Kinda like The Great Divorce?

[Fedora]

Prince Caspian was good, too. That's the one with Cornelius, right?

Yes (which BTW provides additional proof of my Planet of the Apes conspiracy theory :-) Here's a summary of the movie version, which I guess combines the third book (that I haven't read yet):

---

This program combines the second and third books in The Chronicles of Narnia. Young Prince Caspian trains to assume his rightful position of King of Narnia. The position is currently held by his corrupt uncle, King Miraz. Caspian's Nanny tells the boy stories of the old Narnia, where talking beasts, fauns and dwarfs inhabited the kingdom. When Miraz hears of this, he banishes Nanny.

Caspian is given a new tutor, Dr. Cornelius. Dr. Cornelius learns that Miraz and his wife want to have Caspian killed, so their son can be heir to Narnia's throne. Cornelius warns Caspian, wo retreats to the haunted forest. In the forest, Caspian meets the fanciful creatures he had heard so much about. They discover that Miraz and his army are coming into the woods for Caspian.

Fortunately, Caspian has a magic horn that summons help from Aslan the lion and four English children -- Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter, who once ruled over Narnia. With their help, Caspian assumes the throne. The four return home. Edmund and Lucy are sent to live with their cousin, Eustace. At Eustace's house, they discover a painting of a beautiful Narnian ship, the Dawn Treader. Lucy and Edmund are drawn into the picture. Eustace latches onto them and is also sucked in.

On board the Dawn Treader, Lucy and Edmund cross paths once again with their old friend, Caspian. Now king, Caspian has set out ot find seven of his father's friends -- lords who were banished from Narnia by King Miraz.

The boat travels to Felimath, where the travelers are captured and sold for slaves. Caspian is sold to Lord Bern, who turns out to be one of his father's friends. Lord Bern helps the crew on their way, and they travel to many lands. They eventually find the other missing friends. Finally, after the last friends are found, a princess appears before Caspian. She tells him that in order to break the spell that cast a deep sleep over the land, he must sail to the world's end and leave one ship member behind. So the Dawn Treader sails on for its final greatest adventure.

[Fedora]

I did read the Wizard of Oz series! Our library had a lot of very old juvenile serieses at the time, and that was one of them. I'm sure they're gone now...worn out. They were soooo much crazier and more humorous than the movie, and of course lots more stories. We loved those. I can remember getting into all out fist fights over who got to read 'em first when we borrowed them, though...

In my class the boys always raced to try to check out the Tarzan and Conan books before someone else could :) I'm trying to remember what other series we read as kids. . .

[JenB]

Hmmm... I never saw that movie version. Didn't know they included poor Eustace (who's probably my favorite character from Narnia)

I read most of the "Oz" books when I was younger. Frankly, Baum wasn't the best wordsmith, and the later Oz books are slightly repetitive and very - well, was he on drugs? - and there are a couple of silly semi-communist themes that struck me as ridiculous when I was 10. Cute, but not a whole lot more than that.

[JenB]

Either of you read: Happy Hollisters, Three Investigators, Danny Dunn, Trixie Belden, Mrs. Pickerell, Tom Swift?

Also, I read most of the Hardy Boys and some of the old Nancy Drews, and another series similar to Nancy Drew... think it was called "Dana Girls".

[Fedora]

I liked the first two books; haven't read the later ones. Baum became addicted to morphine in his later years, but I don't know how early that started or if he was on anything while he was writing the Oz books. As for his political beliefs, it's been argued that he was a Populist--some stuff on that here:

Critics on Oz

However, for Oz scholars' rebuttal to this interpretation, see:

THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ LIST OF FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

See 2.14-2.16, which also address the drug question.

[Fedora]

I saw most of those in the library but didn't read any (though I loved the Hardy Boys TV show, so I'd probably like the books). I did read Encyclopedia Brown, which those remind me of, though.

[Fedora]

Oh, yeah, I also remember the Beezus and Ramona books--either of you read those?

[JenB]

Oh, yeah, I read Encyclopedia Brown too.

We have a large collection of old children's stories, so I had a lot of stuff at my fingertips.