TJ West

Reading “The Lord of the Rings:” “Many Meetings”

Having escaped from the menace of the Black Riders, at least for a time, we can…
Queer Classics: “Carol” (2015)

Warning: Spoilers for the film follow. Some might consider it a bit premature to declare Todd…
Reading “The Lord of the Rings:” “A Knife in the Dark” and “Flight to the Ford”

We’ve now reached the point where Frodo and his companions, including the enigmatic Strider, have at…
Queer Classics: “Gods and Monsters”

Warning: Spoilers follow. I’d been wanting to watch this film from beginning to end–I’d seen a…
Reading “The Lord of the Rings:”At the Sign of the Prancing Pony” and “Strider”

We’ve now come to the point where the Hobbits move to the last vestige of their…
The English Renaissance “Timeline” (11 December 2015)

Originally posted on Metathesis: “All photographs are memento mori. To take a photograph is to participate…
Reading “The Lord of the Rings:” “”The Old Forest,” “In the House of Tom Bombadil,” and “Fog on the Barrow-downs”

We’ve now making some quite good progress through The Lord of the Rings, and since the three chapters…
Reading “The Lord of the Rings:” “A Shortcut to Mushrooms” and “A Conspiracy Unmasked”

I’ve decided to do two chapters in one post today, not just because the two chapters…
Reading History: “The First Congress” (Fergus M. Bordewich)

Some popular historians have a knack for writing works that are both erudite and eminently enjoyable.…
Reading “The Lord of the Rings:” “Three is Company”

When I first read The Lord of the Rings many years ago, I remember this chapter being one…