If you have been reading along with my blog for a while you know that I might be just a little obsessed with Richard Armitage, so when I saw his named mentioned in the article I had to go and take a second look. The role of Bilbo has been filled by Martin Freeman, and more importantly Richard Armitage is going to play the role of Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of the band of dwarves. My first reaction was that Richard Armitage is surely too tall to be a dwarf, and the second was that I think Martin Freeman is an excellent choice to play Bilbo. On further inspection you have to wonder whether that is a good thing for Freeman. I mean, in conjunction with a major role like this is awesome, but to be just told that in random conversation might not be so great.
Anyway, back to the point of my post, in the comments thread, someone was talking about the books of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and I said I had read The Hobbit three times, but I had never actually read Lord of the Rings (earlier this year I did start the LOTR readalong but the book is still sitting beside my bed), and that I had never seen the movies either. Cue the outrage - from comments that suggested we could no longer be friends, to "you call yourself a reader" type comments. When you add to this the fact that I had to admit last week that I had never seen the movie of The Princess Bride, it apparently shows that my cultural education is sadly, sadly lacking.What if I had also admitted that I had never read Jane Austen, or Charlotte Bronte? Or that as a romance reader I have never read Nicholas Sparks, and have only seen two of the movies that have been adapted from his books.
Or how about the fact that I have never seen any of the Star Wars movies from beginning to end - not one of them. And quite frankly I don't feel the need to watch them given that I pretty much know what happens anyway.
I know that I should read more of the classics, and I will one day, but at this point in time I haven't. Not as convinced that I need to read Sparks, but never say never.
What shocking confession could you make about things you haven't seen or read? Enquiring minds want to know.
And yes, this is a gratuitous picture of Richard Armitage that I am including in the post for
Thank you for the picture of Richard Armitage! Have you had a chance to watch 'Spooks'? Interesting that he's being cast in 'The Hobbit'. I just can't picture it.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I've not read or seen lots of things that other people have (eg. Stephen King's 'The Shining' both book and movie, 'The Princess Bride' book, 'Lord of the Flies'). I'm crazy about Star Wars, The Matrix, LOTR and Harry Potter but my sister hasn't seen any of them (even though I keep trying!) Each to their own time, I say.
I've seen a few episodes of Spooks, but not many. I know it is shallow, but I am more than happy to keep on watching North and South and Vicar of Dibley over and over again.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen any of the Matrix films either.
Yummy picture! I was so envious of Dawn French in The Vicar of Dibley.
ReplyDeleteI have never read LOTR, The Lovely Bones or True Blood (well, really anything beyond the first Twilight book).
I have a Nicholas Sparks book but haven't read it.
I only watched part of a Star Wars for Ewan McGregor, but that green monster bugged me.
I haven't seen Avatar, nor do I plan to.
Same goes for Eat, Pray, Love.
I haven't seen SATC2- in fact, the last film I saw at the cinema was the first SATC movie!
I know, I'm a shocker.
I was too Sam!
ReplyDeleteI have read the True Blood books, but not The Lovely Bones. I have owned that book for about 6 or 7 years if not longer, and still haven't read it.
I have seen Avatar, but haven't read or seen Eat, Pray, Love and, like you, don't intend to.
I actually haven't seen either Sex in the City movies, and over the years probably only saw 3 or 4 episodes of the show.
I've never read any of the Harry Potter novels, or seen any of the movies... I get a LOT of strange looks over that one!
ReplyDeleteSparks... I've read 2 of his novels, one was ok, one was terrible. I'm leaving the rest alone for now, because I only needed 2 to see that they're all very much the same.
I haven't read any Charlotte Bronte either.
I'm not a big movie watcher so chances are if you ask me if I've seen anything, 9 times out of 10 the answer will be no!
Oh well... I'm a fantasy buff so I got LOTR off my chest when I was 13! And the movies remain my all time favourites.
ReplyDeleteDitto for Star Wars. I love 'em!
However, I've NEVER even watched SATC on TV (yech x 1000!!), I've never seen Titanic, the Bodyguard, or any of those awful movies with Nicole Kidman in them.
I've got a Nicholas Sparks book from the library, but I'm not feeling all that inclined to read it...especially after reading this post! :)
With ya all the way on Richard Armitage... :-) I'll be interested to see how the film turns out since I loved all the others.
ReplyDeleteI'm sadly deficient in classics. I've been trying to read more, but with the huge TBR stack of books calling my name, that doesn't always happen. Besides, I read what I like and don't worry about what others think I should read. We all have different tastes.
Richard Armitage as Oakenshield... I can't see it working, but benefit of the doubt until photos are released.
ReplyDeleteI started reading the classics this year because I wanted to - and that's the important part. If you don't actually want to then you shouldn't feel you have to. Admittedly I've read a few to be able to say I have, but I've been lucky for the most part and loved them.
I'm currently reading LOTR part one however, and absolutely hate it. The writing style just doesn't gel with me at all and I'm only going to finish it to be able to say I have.
I understand why some people think it's important, but surely it's just as important to have read other books too.
Good question! I, too, have never read Charlotte Bronte, and though I've attempted Jane Austen, I've never gotten more than a few pages in. I have read LOTR, but not The Hobbit. I think I've only seen one of the Star Wars movies all the way through. I've seen but not read The Princess Bride. So I'm at about the same place as you!
ReplyDeleteI really feel like I need to brush up on my classics. There are an appalling number I've never read. It's an ongoing goal of mine.
Now I'm going to post my comment, scroll back up to the top of your post, and stare at that lovely picture for a while :-)
Well, I confess....
ReplyDeleteI haven't read LOTR either. Saw the first movie only. Nor have I even visited Hobbitsville which is a half hour down the road.I did read The Hobbit many years ago.
I haven't read any Nicholas Sparks and have no desire to do so.
Same goes for Eat,Pray, Love.
I've only read the first Harry Potter.
Haven't read Twilight although sadly I'm going to have to very soon for a challenge.
Which I guess makes me a shocker too. Never mind, I'll console myself looking at the gorgeous RA.
And watching Vicar of Dibley over and over!
Hmm. I have read and watched all those things you haven't. Usually I end up feeling like I need to read/watch something if only just to see what the fuss is about. Especially if a lot of people love something!
ReplyDeleteThe one thing though that I feel like I CANNOT try is a food thing. Twinkies. I've never had one and I don't know - they look and sound so unappealing. I refuse to try them. And I will try many other foods and am not a picky eater. That's the one thing where I can't get over my prejudice. I also hate the mix of butter + sugar used in icing/frosting and if that's what twinkies are full of? Oh, gag. I can't even.. *shudder*.
Don't feel bad, I have never read any of the Lord of the Rings books, nor The Hobbit, for that matter! I aim to change that one day...
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw the pic, I was instantly happy! I've been watching Robinhood, and it's interesting to see him as a bad guy.
ReplyDeleteI love The Lord of the Rings, but everyone has the right to not be interested or dislike anything. I think we should all just read what we want when we want, and allow other readers to do the same.
This is exactly the question I've been obsessing about lately. As someone who has always thought of myself as a nerdy bookworm, I'm kind of stunned by how much I have not read. So my goal is to actually make my way through that list. I'm starting on 1/1/11--and my growing list includes everything from Homer to Chaucer to Tolstoy, from Proust and Joyce to Rushdie and Pynchon. Wish me luck. I'll come up for air in about a million years...
ReplyDeleteIs there such a thing as a gratuitous Richard Armitage picture? I think not... ;)
ReplyDeleteDid it feel like a “coming out” while writing this post? :)
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed a different experience from your average native-English reader, but what exactly is “weird” not to have read? The two most published (and read) books ever are the Bible and Mao’s Little Red Book and it’s unlikely I’ll ever read any of them. Is that that strange?
A
PS: Did you read North & South?
I never tell people that I've read LOTR, just because all the people I've met that have read it and hear that I've read it, always get this crazy look in their eyes and start ranting about the book. I'm just not that fanatic about it. It was just another book for me. And in my opinion, The Hobbit was a better book. I especially loved the riddles. :D Now I'm waiting for the rath of the LOTR fans...
ReplyDelete:) I'm the opposite of you with LOTR and The Hobbit. I've read LOTR, but still haven't gotten around to reading The Hobbit.
ReplyDeleteI so agree with you on Martin Freeman--I think he'll be great as Bilbo. Armitage as a dwarf? Hmm, I don't know, but I'd take just about any excuse to watch him on the big screen. ;)