I got busy today and almost forgot to recognize Tolkien’s birthday! We’ve been enjoying the products of Tolkien’s inventive mind around here for many years, and lately has been no exception. Dancer Daughter is in the midst of her yearly re-reading of The Lord of the Rings. We watched Peter Jackson’s interpretation of The Fellowship of the Ring a few nights ago. Yesterday I read Eldest Daughter’s essay on Samwise Gamgee as a Kierkegaardian White Knight of Faith, an essay she wrote for one of her classes at Baylor. And Engineer Husband is reading Fellowship of the Ring out loud at night to some of the younger urchins who haven’t read it yet.

So Tolkien is daily indulgence here, and it’s easy to forget his birthday since we celebrate him and his works every day.

Happy BIrthday, Professor Tolkien!
Thoughts on The Silmarillion
Yesterday Was Tolkien’s Birthday
On Seeing the Movie Version of Return of the King