Well now.. I'm not sure beginner is quite an accurate description, but fanatic doesn't quite suit either; and a loremaster needs a large set of shoes in Middle-Earth - I may never reach that stature. But it's good to make a beginning, and this thread seems a good place for it. :)
I am a book collector, though on a relatively small scale. I have a photo archive of US published Tolkien works on the web (the link is in my profile), started primarily because though there is a wealth of information about UK book editions available, Americans seem to lack interest in collecting information for its own sake. When I started collecting I wanted a truly functional guide, so I built one.
I haven't previously found a Tolkien community that seems to do anything (except role play, which is cool but not of much interest to me). Not that I've looked very hard, and not that I rightly know what I expect a bunch of Tolkien fans would sit around and do, either. I'd really like to find someone who speaks some Sindarin, or would like to - I've been meaning to get a start, but it's difficult to pick up a language nobody speaks, and uh.. most people I know aren't very fascinated by gramatical structure :D
I'm going to scoot around the site a bit, and see what there is to see... you, perhaps - & that might be pretty neat.
Great to have you on board Celebrindal! If your interested in someone who speaks Sindarin I recommend PMing Tyrhael - he is our local languages master.
Suilad a mae govannen, sammar vín 'wain! Ai, Celebrindal. (Greetings and well met, our new neighbor! Hail, Celebrindal.) By your signature I see you've already come into contact with Grelvish.
Welcome to the Tolkien Forums, I hope you'll find the place to your liking. I'd like to help, but I doubt I can much, languages aren't really my cup of tea, but as already mentioned Tyrhael is the best if you're interested
Tyrhael wrote: Suilad a mae govannen, sammar vín 'wain! Ai, Celebrindal. (Greetings and well met, our new neighbor! Hail, Celebrindal.) By your signature I see you've already come into contact with Grelvish.
-- Edited by Tyrhael at 14:42, 2007-03-03
...Not really! Rather it tapped me on the shoulder and ran away, leaving behind a beautiful phrase, which (for those without dictionaries in functionally non-existent languages) means: "Sweet water and light laughter till next we meet."
PM him you say... Bilbo, if he were younger I'd adopt him! I wonder if Tyrhael would consider applying to attend SDSU...
Many thanks to all who have extended me welcome so far! The tour I took last night was very entertaining - which wasn't so surprising, and fairly familiar - which was astounding. You seem a pretty relaxed group, and this is the first place I've found any Tolkien enthusiasts whose interests run in the same veins as mine, and there seem to be several... my family will be so thrilled if I've found other people to bug with my strange occupations! Seriously, I bought a LOTR trivia game, and they will only play with me if I have to answer the questions before they're asked.