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View Full Version : Bored Of The Rings by Harvard Lampoon back in print!



Brass Scorpion
07-16-2011, 09:36 PM
Bored Of The Rings is an awesome parody of Lord of the Rings written by the Harvard Lampoon staff about 40 years ago at the height of the popularity of Tolkien's books. Back in the days when "Frodo Lives" was common graffiti on college campuses Harvard Lampoon managed to write one of the funniest parodies ever turning Tolkien's roughly 1500 page epic into 160 pages of pure hilarity. Some of that particular staff from Harvard Lampoon founded National Lampoon magazine shortly thereafter. Doug Kenney also worked on Animal House as a writer and actor.

If you've never read Bored Of The Rings it's worth reading LotR just to get BotR. But brush up on your pop culture references going all the way back to the turn of the last century, the book was written by very literate folks and there are jokes in there referencing brand names, commercials and such that were already old when the book was published around 1970.

The book never fails to make me laugh out loud no matter how many times I've read it. Everything in it is a joke, even the excerpt in the front of the book which is not really an excerpt, after you finish the book you realize it was an extra joke that appears nowhere in the actual text of the novel. The parody of the map of Middle Earth is hysterical, the list of other books by the authors are not actual books for sale as in most paperbacks, they are jokes too!

Excerpts:

"And thus it's written to this day in ballad, lay and poem, never trust an elf or dwarf as far as you can throw 'em!"
"That's a sad story, is it true?" "No, there's a song too."

The book goes in and out of print, thanks to the recent and upcoming related movies, it's back in print again and in a nice hardback not too expensive:

http://www.amazon.com/Bored-Rings-Harvard-Lampoon/dp/0575099593/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1310873422&sr=1-2

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51yPzFUKI2L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

From Amazon:

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Sometimes childish, sometimes rude, always clever and always very, very funny, this book has delighted most, and outraged a few, Tolkien fans in the US for more than40 years. Pulling in references to popular culture and fantasy literature as a whole, this is a killingly effective parody of THE LORD OF THE RINGS. From the dreary ******* (Gollum) to the feckless Arrowroot (Aragorn), the bungling Goodgulf (Gandalf) to the timid, mean-minded boggies Frito (Frodo) and ***** (Bilbo), no character is safe. Fleeing the Nozdrul, bored by acid-casualty Tim Benzedrine and harassed throughout by the minions of Sorhed, the fellowship move through a Middle Earth like no other. Short, sharp and very much to the point, even Tolkien would be hard-pressed to surpress a giggle at BORED OF THE RINGS.

About the Author
The Harvard Lampoon was essentially Douglas Kenney and Henry Beard. They wrote BORED OF THE RINGS when they were students at Harvard. They then went on to form tTHE NATIONAL LAMPOON, a satirical institution in the '70s. Kenney died in 1980. Beard lives in the Hamptons in the USA.

Verilance
07-17-2011, 05:55 AM
"It's my party and I'll snub who I want too" - D**do B***er Bored of the Rings

Grailkeeper
07-17-2011, 03:24 PM
Is that by A.A. Roberts? If so I read it years ago, along with a few of his other parodies. About as funny as a cancer diagnosis.

Brass Scorpion
07-17-2011, 06:17 PM
Doug Kenney and Henry Beard were the authors while they were students at Harvard Lampoon. After graduation they started National Lampoon. Doug Kenny was also in Animal House as well as being a writer on that film.

And apparently that print run from January is already done. By my advertising it here and on another forum yesterday Amazon appears to be sold out already, but the book is available from some of their partners (e.g., "available from these sellers"). If you want a copy, I wouldn't wait. Once it becomes scarce again it can get kind of pricey.

Brass Scorpion
07-27-2011, 10:52 AM
When I promoted Bored Of The Rings here a while ago Amazon was sold out by morning though it was still available through their independent sellers. I noticed yesterday that Amazon has restocked the book. I guess the boost in sales I gave them made them decide to keep selling it for a while.

I got my nice new hardback copy yesterday. It's the third time I've bought the book and I can't think of too many others I'd buy repeatedly like that. It's just that funny.

Also note that this hardback printing is a UK printing while the previous paperback printings I've purchased were done in the US. The book only has UK pricing on its cover which would explain why the book is available online but probably not so easy to find in US book stores. Though book stores in the US are becoming scarce now that Borders is closing. :(

I also noticed that this UK printing of Bored Of The Rings omits one page of jokes, the faux "other books you can buy page". Other than that, I have no criticisms of this printing, the quality of the cover and binding appears to be very nice. Sometimes this book goes out of print for years, so if you haven't grabbed one yet and would like to check it out you might want to order one with some alacrity.

http://www.amazon.com/Bored-Rings-Harvard-Lampoon/dp/0575099593/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311784867&sr=1-2

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51yPzFUKI2L._SL500_AA300_.jpg