I have no idea. Nobody in my family likes him. Neil Gaiman doesn’t like him, and he’s a good bit older than I am. I think it’s just a personal taste thing. Other people have said they got bored with all the hobbit business at the start of this book, which I found charming.

Oh I am so glad to be past Tom Bombadil – though I’m nearly at the Council of Elrond, and I’m wondering if I’m going to find it the stumbling block I did on my first try, given that Tom Bombadil was so true to my memory of him. UGH.

I skipped his songs – just couldn’t take the songs on top of all his silly dialogue. I’m trying to read the songs this time around, but Tom Bombadil’s were too rhymey and annoying.

I was surprised, rereading it, how much less dramatic Strider’s entrance is in the book, than in the film. The scene where he first shows up in the film sticks in my mind really vividly, and it was a calmer scene, originally.

And Neil Gaiman on Colbert was AWESOME! Great post!

I remember feeling that same way about Bree and Strider’s arrival, though it’s been a few years since I last read it.

I was pretty sure they were going to leave Tom Bombadil out, just for time reasons. He’d have been a nightmare to make work, although I suppose if anyone could have done it, it would have been Jackson’s team.

Thanks for the link! Saruman’s Diary is making me giggle.