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Where is Tom Bombadill?

So Peter Jackson, the esteemed Director of the recent movie version of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, when asked why he cut out completely Tom Bombadill, the most important character in the trilogy, "Well, because I've always found Tom Bombadill fans to be very boring."

I'm sorry, but this is inexcusable, call me boring if you must. And all of my friends out there who haven't read the books, you must read these five articles immediately. If you got a notification of this post, you know who you are! If you want a notification, I'll soon be putting in some script so you can add yourself to the list. I'm not messing around, read!

• Michael Martinez, "If I Only had a Bombadil..."
• Gene Hargrove's essay "Who is Tom Bombadil"
• What is Tom Bombadil? by Steuard Jensen.
• The discussion of Tom Bombadil at The Encyclopedia of Arda
• J.R.R. Tolkien's Tom Bombadil, an essay by Blake Bolinger

Now you must comment on this post and pledge your acceptance to a weekly story hour during which I will read the books to you if I must.

Comment now!

Just to show I'm sharing in the homework. In my research for this post I came across this remark from Tamora Pierce, author of fantastical literature:

And at the result of getting brickbats tossed my way, I think Guy Gavriel Kay outdid Tolkein on Tolkein's own ground with his Fionavar tapestry (The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire, The Longest Road).

So guess what's next on my reading list.