Category Archives: Not A Review

A Close Reading of LotR – Episode 12 – Voices in a Lesser Time

Posted on 11/04/2026 by Roseanna

In this section we read chapters IX – Flotsam and Jetsam, X – The Voice of Saruman and XI – The Palantír. There’s a lot of talking in this section, contrasting the last three which were rather more dynamic, as … Continue reading →

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A Close Reading of LotR – Episode 11 – Speed Herons

Posted on 16/03/2026 by Roseanna

Today we covered chapters VI – The King of the Golden Hall, VII – Helm’s Deep and VIII – The Road to Isengard. These were fun, pacy chapters, and ones that prompted particular levels of book/film comparison, given that there’s … Continue reading →

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A Close Reading of LotR – Episode 10 – Two Beardy Bois

Posted on 28/02/2026 by Roseanna

Only two chapters today, IV – Treebeard and V – The White Rider, but still plenty to mull over (harum barum), so we shouldn’t be hasty. Joking aside, while Chapter IV at least is pretty sizeable, for me at least, … Continue reading →

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A Close Reading of LotR – Episode 9 – People and Peoples

Posted on 15/02/2026 by Roseanna

After a little yuletide gap of mulling things over (or loafing about eating cheese, delete as appropriate), Ed and I have come back to our The Lord of the Rings reread, picking up now with The Two Towers. In the … Continue reading →

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Eligibility Post – 2025 Edition

Posted on 27/01/2026 by Roseanna

‘Tis the season once again, back on the awards rollercoaster, and back offering up my work from 2025 for your nomination consideration. In 2025 I wrote 43 reviews and 25 review-adjacent objects, totalling 153,540 words because I know neither shame … Continue reading →

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2025 in Books

Posted on 31/12/2025 by Roseanna

I’m writing this a day early, because I have plans for the last day of the year that aren’t sit and home under a blanket thinking about books and stats. Madness. Despite setting myself the slightly more achievable goal of … Continue reading →

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A Close Reading of LotR – Episode 8 – Echoing Eyes

Posted on 07/12/2025 by Roseanna

And now, it ends. We finish our close reading of The Fellowship of the Ring with chapters VIII – Farewell to Lórien, IX – The Great River and X – The Breaking of the Fellowship, moving from a last little … Continue reading →

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A Close Reading of LotR – Episode 7 – Mirrors and Islands

Posted on 27/11/2025 by Roseanna

The penultimate episode of our close reading brings us out of Moria, and into Lothlórien, with Chapter VI – Lothlórien and Chapter VII – The Mirror of Galadriel, with a sharp contrast against the preceding Dwarf TimeTM, with Tolkien going … Continue reading →

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A Close Reading of LotR – Episode 6 – The Limits of Foresight

Posted on 12/11/2025 by Roseanna

Episode six of our close reading takes us through chapters III – The Ring Goes South, IV – A Journey in the Dark and V – The Bridge of Khazad-dûm. In contrast to the last section, a whole lot of … Continue reading →

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A Close Reading of LotR – Episode 5 – Proper Noun, Place Name, Backstory Stuff

Posted on 28/10/2025 by Roseanna

The fifth section of our close reading brings us into the start of Book 2, with chapters I – Many Meetings and II – The Council of Elrond. We just tackled two this time, because the second one is a … Continue reading →

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