The One hundred and sixty-first Roving Ranger

-:- Strange as news from Bree -:-

Life and Works

Nov 3, 1913. Tolkien writes to Edith (Si apre in una nuova finestra) about registering as a reader at the Bodleian Library.
Nov 4, 1961. Tolkien writes Letter 232 (Si apre in una nuova finestra), on his aunt and the long-ago trip through Switzerland.
Nov 5, 1956. Tolkien writes a letter to Mr Britten (Si apre in una nuova finestra), starting an exchange on questions about the Silmarillion etc.
Nov 6, 1969. Informal date of foundation of The Tolkien Society (Si apre in una nuova finestra).
Nov 7, 1944. Tolkien starts writing Letter 89 (Si apre in una nuova finestra), on religious matters, eucatastrophe, and local news.
Nov 8, 1971. Tolkien writes letter 330a (Si apre in una nuova finestra), on unfinished works, and film rights.
Nov 9, 1933. Tolkien's poem "Errantry (Si apre in una nuova finestra)" is published in The Oxford Magazine.
Nov 19, 1943. Tolkien writes Letter 51b (Si apre in una nuova finestra), on work and visiting Charles Williams (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

• Third Age, 2994. Balin (Si apre in una nuova finestra), Lord of Moria (Si apre in una nuova finestra), is killed by an Orc archer as he stood to watch in Mirrormere (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [Nov 10]

(Si apre in una nuova finestra)

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Events & Shows

Michael Tolkien will be speaking in Oxford about Eden, Fall, Exile and Beyond in the History of Middle Earth (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Dec 5]

Come write at the Lamb & Flag in Oxford (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Every Sunday in November; Instagram]

UK blues rock group Ten Years After (Si apre in una nuova finestra) uploaded their song The Hobbit from a live concert in Helsinki (Si apre in una nuova finestra) in 1969 [Youtube]

The Prancing Pony Podcast has put out a Call for Papers (Si apre in una nuova finestra) - for both papers as well as activities and entertainments - for this year’s Moot. [Instagram]

My local regulars’ table - in Jena, Germany - celebrated another edition of Hobbit Halloween (Si apre in una nuova finestra) (including Thuringwethil, Annatar, and other creatures of the night) [Instagram]

For all events check out the Tolkien Guide Calendar (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Scholarship & Fandom

I may have done something silly.

Too Many Books and Never Enough has Wonder and Imagination (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Tom Hillman has From a Gift in Death to the Gift of Death: Túrin and the Doom of Men (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Holly Ordway has The Doctor of the Church and the Maker of Middle-earth: J. R. R. Tolkien’s Newman Connections (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [Word on Fire]

Miriam Ellis has Savoring the Hobbit Mushroom Habit (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Stratofanatic has Analyzing the Mistakes in Grokipedia's Entry for Alliterative Verse (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

Stephen C. Winter has “Whatever Betide, You Have Come to the End of The Gondor That You Have Known.” Gandalf Enters the Gates of Minas Tirith and Declares Its Doom (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

The Making of The Fellowship – Catching up with Cathedral of Bricks (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Brothers Brick, on a new LEGO build]

Kaitlyn’s (Tea with Tolkien (Si apre in una nuova finestra)) book is up for pre-order: Into the Heart of Middle-earth (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [Ave Maria Press]

Merchandise & Franchise

New Immersive Soundscape Released For Silmarillion Audiobook (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [TORn]

Irish harpist Joy Shannon unveils “Grey Havens” from new Tolkien-inspired album (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Moshville Times, UK; Ruth Tolkien (Si apre in una nuova finestra), JRRT’s great-granddaughter, is providing backing vocals and can be seen in the video]

Olga Kann releases music video for “Echoes from the Barrow-Downs” (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Chaoszine]

Elijah Wood crashes Lord of the Rings-themed wedding held at the Shire: 'Oh my God' (Si apre in una nuova finestra)[Entertainment Weekly]

Amazon Scales Back Gaming Ambitions Amid 14,000 Layoffs (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Kotaku; the planned LotR MMO might be cancelled] See also GamesRadar (Si apre in una nuova finestra), Verge (Si apre in una nuova finestra), and Reuters (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

LotR:RoP is now free to stream with German television channel ZDFNeo (Si apre in una nuova finestra) - in both English & German.

The Two Towers Trick-Taking Game Prerelease Events: Your Journey Continues Here! (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Office Dog Games]

Syzygy Forge Announces Licensing Partnership with Middle-earth Enterprises (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Youtube; don’t forget to look at the Shadow and Flame Pepper Bourbon Whiskey coming soon]

A German Army brigade stationed in Lithuania is promoting its ‘readiness’ with an unfortunate soundtrack and an impressive level of historical amnesia: the Nazgûl theme (Si apre in una nuova finestra). [taz, in German]

Inter alia

If you ever wanted to know how collections should be properly stored - the Library of Birmingham’s Iron Room has you covered (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

28 Years Later, One Star Wars Leak Confirms What Fans Have Wanted All Along (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Inverse; the original Star Wars might return to theatres in 2027]

We’re in a Book Affordability Crisis (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [BookRiot]

Elon Musk Really Doesn't Get The Lord of the Rings (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Wired; one article free, otherwise paywall]

The right is obsessed with Lord of the Rings. But they don’t understand it. (Si apre in una nuova finestra) [Yahoo; originally Vox]

Ansible 460 (Si apre in una nuova finestra) has been published.

2025 World Fantasy Awards have been presented (Si apre in una nuova finestra), the British Fantasy Awards (Si apre in una nuova finestra) as well.[File770]

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Have a look at all Roving Rangers published so far. (Si apre in una nuova finestra)

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