Fandom Special Snowflake meme, Day Six
Jan. 7th, 2014 10:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreamflowerDay Six
In your own space, share a book/song/movie/tv show/fanwork/etc that changed your life. Something that impacted on your consciousness in a way that left its mark on your soul. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
Most of my friends know this story, but perhaps some people don't. I am putting it behind a cut, because it is likely to be fairly lengthy.
Well, I am probably the perfect example of a fandom changing someone's life. When I was 15 years old in the 10th grade, I was bored in homeroom one day. We'd gotten in our Scholastic Book order and I had already finished mine. I asked the girl next to me if I could borrow her copy of The Hobbit, as she had another book and was reading that. I'd seen a picture of Peter Tork of the Monkees reading it in Tiger Beat magazine. (OK, now everyone knows my age.)
I started it. I took it home and finished it that evening. I gave it back to her in the morning and went straight to the library in search of more books by this J.R.R. Tolkien and I checked them out. Within the week I had finished the trilogy and begun it again. The following week I saved up my allowance and my lunch money and bought my own copies (the ones with the psychedelic covers) and from then on, I was re-reading The Lord of the Rings whatever else I was reading, I was also reading that. I re-read it all through high school. I taught myself to write in tengwar characters. I tried to draw hobbits (and failed miserably). I talked about the books endlessly to anyone who would listen. I wrote a senior term paper on Tolkien and learned of his friends the Inklings, so I began to read C.S. Lewis. I had not been exposed to Narnia as a child, but as a teen I enjoyed it immensely. I understood the allegory, though I was only a "social" Christian (I went to church because that's what the family did on Sundays and my friends were there, but I can't say I had any strong belief. In fact, I also spent my teen years exploring things like astrology and Eastern mysticism. But it was reading about Tolkien and Lewis' friendship, and Lewis' Ransom trilogy that caused me to re-examine my world and become a true practicing Christian shortly after I graduated high school.
That on its own is a major life impact, but it goes further. Because of that, I transferred to a small non-denominational Christian college in 1972. One day, I met this guy in the Student Union who had with him a copy of The Two Towers. At the time, I was on my own umpteenth re-read of FotR. We struck up a conversation about the books, and somewhere along the line, he asked me out. Our first date was a bookstore, and his first gift to me was a hardback of The Hobbit. We have been married going on 38 years, and are very happy together.
My love for Tolkien remained, though I stopped re-reading it quite so often, maybe only about once a year. I got quite excited when I learned of a film being made, though, and could hardly wait for it to come out--only to feel wildly ripped off by Ralph Bakshi's version of LOTR. I am still very angry about it.
Fast forward a couple of decades, when rumors began of a new film version. Once burned, twice shy, so I made use of something kind of new to me: the internet, to seek out possible clues as to whether the new movie would be any better. I soon became cautiously optimistic about this Peter Jackson, and was completely won over when we went to see FOTR for the first time. Now my love for Tolkien was re-ignited even more brightly--and I found all kinds of online friends with whom to discuss the books and the movies, mostly on usenet.
Then I found fanfic about the time ROTK came out, and I have never looked back since. I have made dozens of good friends online, met many of them in person, and even made my one and only trip outside my own country a few years ago for the sole purpose of meeting more of them.
Tolkien and fanfic are not my ONLY hobby, but they are definitely my most satisfying and creative hobby. My life has been totally changed by this one fandom.
In your own space, share a book/song/movie/tv show/fanwork/etc that changed your life. Something that impacted on your consciousness in a way that left its mark on your soul. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
Most of my friends know this story, but perhaps some people don't. I am putting it behind a cut, because it is likely to be fairly lengthy.
Well, I am probably the perfect example of a fandom changing someone's life. When I was 15 years old in the 10th grade, I was bored in homeroom one day. We'd gotten in our Scholastic Book order and I had already finished mine. I asked the girl next to me if I could borrow her copy of The Hobbit, as she had another book and was reading that. I'd seen a picture of Peter Tork of the Monkees reading it in Tiger Beat magazine. (OK, now everyone knows my age.)
I started it. I took it home and finished it that evening. I gave it back to her in the morning and went straight to the library in search of more books by this J.R.R. Tolkien and I checked them out. Within the week I had finished the trilogy and begun it again. The following week I saved up my allowance and my lunch money and bought my own copies (the ones with the psychedelic covers) and from then on, I was re-reading The Lord of the Rings whatever else I was reading, I was also reading that. I re-read it all through high school. I taught myself to write in tengwar characters. I tried to draw hobbits (and failed miserably). I talked about the books endlessly to anyone who would listen. I wrote a senior term paper on Tolkien and learned of his friends the Inklings, so I began to read C.S. Lewis. I had not been exposed to Narnia as a child, but as a teen I enjoyed it immensely. I understood the allegory, though I was only a "social" Christian (I went to church because that's what the family did on Sundays and my friends were there, but I can't say I had any strong belief. In fact, I also spent my teen years exploring things like astrology and Eastern mysticism. But it was reading about Tolkien and Lewis' friendship, and Lewis' Ransom trilogy that caused me to re-examine my world and become a true practicing Christian shortly after I graduated high school.
That on its own is a major life impact, but it goes further. Because of that, I transferred to a small non-denominational Christian college in 1972. One day, I met this guy in the Student Union who had with him a copy of The Two Towers. At the time, I was on my own umpteenth re-read of FotR. We struck up a conversation about the books, and somewhere along the line, he asked me out. Our first date was a bookstore, and his first gift to me was a hardback of The Hobbit. We have been married going on 38 years, and are very happy together.
My love for Tolkien remained, though I stopped re-reading it quite so often, maybe only about once a year. I got quite excited when I learned of a film being made, though, and could hardly wait for it to come out--only to feel wildly ripped off by Ralph Bakshi's version of LOTR. I am still very angry about it.
Fast forward a couple of decades, when rumors began of a new film version. Once burned, twice shy, so I made use of something kind of new to me: the internet, to seek out possible clues as to whether the new movie would be any better. I soon became cautiously optimistic about this Peter Jackson, and was completely won over when we went to see FOTR for the first time. Now my love for Tolkien was re-ignited even more brightly--and I found all kinds of online friends with whom to discuss the books and the movies, mostly on usenet.
Then I found fanfic about the time ROTK came out, and I have never looked back since. I have made dozens of good friends online, met many of them in person, and even made my one and only trip outside my own country a few years ago for the sole purpose of meeting more of them.
Tolkien and fanfic are not my ONLY hobby, but they are definitely my most satisfying and creative hobby. My life has been totally changed by this one fandom.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2014-01-07 05:06 pm (UTC)- Erulisse (one L)
no subject
Date: 2014-01-07 08:08 pm (UTC)We do have a lot in common, don't we?
The only time I did not read LotR was a deliberate choice--between 2001 to the end of 2003, I chose not to re-read LotR, so I'd have a fresh eye for the films. Instead I filled that gap with re-reading TH, getting through a complete read of the Silm (which I had only kind of picked through and skimmed before), and reading books about Tolkien, like the Humphrey bio. I also re-read some CSL and managed to find a few books by another Inkling, Charles Williams.
January 2004, after seeing ROTK in the theaters about 6 times, I picked LotR up and had the best re-read I'd had in many years!
no subject
Date: 2014-01-07 06:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-07 08:01 pm (UTC)But truthfully, sharing a interest in those particular books is, I think, a pretty good guide to both character and compatability.
no subject
Date: 2014-01-07 06:45 pm (UTC)Same here. ♥
no subject
Date: 2014-01-07 07:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-07 10:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-07 11:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-08 12:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-08 05:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-08 12:37 pm (UTC)It's such a blessing to find wonderful friends like you on LJ!
Did I ever tell you that our library manager (formerly our children's librarian) is a Tolkien/Lewis fan? Her hubby is a major Tolkienist, rereading the books and learning Sindarin -- and they named their daughter Eleanor in a veiled nod to LOTR. They have degrees in youth ministry and are very strong in their faith. They're also Whovians, but moreso Tolkienists and Lewisites (Lewellians? ).
Hugs and many blessings to you and your DH!
no subject
Date: 2014-01-10 07:51 am (UTC)