1 July 2024
When I first read The Lord of the Rings in 1957 I had the now-impossible experience of reading a book I had never heard of by an unknown author. It was an unforgettable and unrepeatable experience, and I've never lost the sheer wonder of that discovery, compared by C. S. Lewis to lightning from a clear sky. I still envy my past self, getting to read Tolkien for the first time. If I could live one event in my life over, it would be that one.