June 2024 Recommended Reading and Viewing

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

Now we're halfway through the year already, and in just a couple weeks, it'll officially be summer. It feels great to have warm weather again, though it might become too hot down the road. For this month, I've chosen to finish off Tolkien's epic in reading and finally recommend what many have probably been waiting for in viewing. I hope it makes for a good start to the summer season.


Reading: The Lord of the Rings, Part Three: The Return of the King (1955) by J. R. R. Tolkien

The final installment of Tolkien's Ring cycle brings the Fellowship to the city of Minas Tirith, capital of Gondor, where Sauron directs his armies in the last great battles of the War of the Ring, while Frodo and Sam draw ever closer to Mount Doom, the temptation of the Ring growing stronger while doing so. It's a tale with a nominally happy ending, but it's also about passings, featuring both the shadow of death and the end of an age - a conclusion of ambivalence with some hope on the horizon.

Mass Market: https://www.amazon.com/Return-King-Lord-Rings-Part/dp/0345339738/
Trade: https://www.amazon.com/Return-King-Being-Third-Rings/dp/054792819X/
Hardcover: https://www.amazon.com/Return-King-Lord-Rings-Part/dp/0618260552/
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Return-King-Being-Third-Rings-ebook/dp/B007978P18/


Viewing: The Lord of the Rings (Peter Jackson, 2001-2003)

It's only fitting to recommend the entire trilogy of films as one to accompany the last book. A massive undertaking once thought impossible, with years spent in the making, Jackson's films are technical marvels mixing practical effects with wonderfully rendered CGI and capturing the spirit of Tolkien's books, if not the exact letter. All three won Oscars in several categories and became cinematic milestones spawning several imitators (much like the books themselves), but only this trilogy has the real heart. Comparable with Star Wars, it comes highly recommended as essential to any filmgoing experience.

DVD [Theatrical Versions]: https://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-Collection-Theatrical-Version/dp/B00HFFE8HE/
Blu-Ray [Theatrical Versions]: https://www.amazon.com/Motion-Picture-Trilogy-Theatrical-Remaster/dp/B09CGBNKC2/
Blu-Ray [Extended Editions]: https://www.amazon.com/Picture-Trilogy-Extended-Blu-ray-Remaster/dp/B09CGMTF6R/
4K [Extended and Theatrical Versions]: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KQBYM1Y/
Amazon Video [Extended Editions]: https://www.amazon.com/RingsTM-Motion-Picture-Trilogy-Extended/dp/B08TQXB4CC/


Happy June, everyone!