Today, March 25 is Tolkien Reading Day (more about that here). Do you want to know a secret? I haven’t read The Lord of the Rings. I made it through The Hobbit, and started on The Fellowship of the Ring but about 200 pages in, I threw in the towel. I just…couldn’t. My most Tolkien fanatic friend said Keep going, it gets better, I promise, but I decided that 200 pages was more than enough to know I wasn’t a fan, so I put it back on my bookshelf and hoped its mere presence meant people thought I’d actually read it. š
Years later, I watched and loved the movies, but the point of the above story is to tell you I won’t be reading Tolkien today. Will you?
If your answer is no, if you’re like me and not a fan of the books, I have another suggestion for how you can honor this Tolkien Reading Day. One of my books has a nudge to Tolkien: in His Steady Heart, one of the main characters is named Pippin, after Pippin (Peregrin) Took the hobbit, but without the hairy feet š So if you don’t feel like five million pages of high fantasy with evil creatures and sloooooooow walking and talking trees, may I suggest His Steady Heart? š
Ashley BuchananāBuckāmoved back home to take care of his sick mother when he was 22. That was the first time he met Pippin, the neglected 6-year-old boy next door. Fifteen years later, Buckāa caretaker by natureāoffers up his couch for Pippin, who needs a break from his mom and a quiet place to sleep.
Pippin Olander is a ray of sunshine despite his emotionally lacking upbringing and works hard to make a better life for himself. Even though heās fiercely self-sufficient, he learns to accept help from Buck, his rock and only steady presence in his life.
Their friendship deepens and grows into something more as they spend more time together. But when other people try to throw a wrench in the works, when Pippinās independence is triggered, can Buck and Pippin trust in the love theyāve found?
M/M Contemporary / 25604 words
Nell Iris 