Happy Tolkien Reading Day!
It’s Tolkien Reading Day! Started in 2003 by the Tolkien Society, today is a day to celebrate and share about the life and works of Tolkien by reading favorite passages. Why March 25th? Well, as the society reminds us, “The 25th of March is the date of the downfall of the Lord of the Rings (Sauron) and the fall of Barad-dûr.”
While I didn’t quite get around to videoing myself actually reading a favorite passage or two, here are a few short quotes I love.
“The world is indeed full of peril and in it there are many dark places. But still there is much that is fair. And though in all lands, love is now mingled with grief, it still grows, perhaps, the greater.” The Fellowship of the Ring
“Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.” The Fellowship of the Ring
“I will not say, do not weep, for not all tears are evil.” The Return of the King
What are some of yours?
© 2025 Jamie Lapeyrolerie
"There are some things that it is better to begin than to refuse, even though the end may be dark."
-Aragorn
("The Two Towers," as Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli decide to journey out to find Pippin and Merry even though all the evidence shows that the Hobbits are dead. I come back to this quote all the time when I feel like giving up on something.)
Today is also the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, so, in that Spirit, “I will take the ring, though I do not know the way.”