In honor of “The Hobbit” coming to DVD, I’ve decided to pay homage to J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Two Towers.” It is the second book in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. I geek out when it comes to LotR, so stick with me.

This is my favorite book in the trilogy for many reasons. The first is because the fellowship splits up. It’s depressing the characters have to go their separate ways, but they have better adventures apart than together.

The second reason is the book focuses on Pippin and Sam than the other major characters. The whole section dedicated to Frodo trying to get to Mordor and following Gollum (ugh) is through Sam’s eyes. This makes my fangirl heart burst because I love Samwise Gamgee.

The third reason is because it’s nonstop action. “The Fellowship of the Ring” takes a long time to get into, but this one jumps right in and doesn’t stop until the end.

Of course there are differences between the book and the movie. The book spans the adventures of the characters over a year, but in the movie it seems like two days. The battle scenes are probably a page and a half, but in the book the scene is 20 minutes. Don’t get me wrong, I love the competition between Gimli and Legolas, which is in the book (yay), and I love seeing Aragorn swinging a sword like a badass, but sometimes it just seems like the producers could have toned it down.

In the movie, Frodo looks rough, and he acts like a little wuss. Not so much in the book. The book mentions that he’s tired looking, but the reader can’t really tell that it’s a life or death situation he’s in.

The trees play a huge role in the book, and they don’t in the movie. The book is also split into two parts. The first part follows Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Gandalf, Pippin and Merry. The second part follows Sam and Frodo.

Obviously I love this book and movie series, so I 100% recommend everyone reading these books. Four out of five stars. Trailer is here.