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I've always wanted to learn Elvish and get completely offended à la Stephen Colbert but I ca Never have I been so sad to give a low rating to such a revered book. I have always wanted to be a Tolkien fangirl. This series has been such a foundation for modern-day fantasy that I'm incredibly disappointed in myself for not liking this. Again, I'm so sorry, but I found this book unbelievably dull. Never have I been so sad to give a low rating to such a revered book. They are there to remind us that the history of the world goes back many lifetimes and is full of mystery.
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They are like the blue-stoned brooch Tom Bombadil found among the treasure in the burial mound of the Borrow-wight, the brooch that causes us to wonder about the woman to whom it once belonged. They are like the ruins of the castles and fortresses along the way that cause us to wonder who once lived there. They are meant to stimulate our imagination and cause us to wonder about their origin and history, cause us to ask questions about them. I