Sorry for the hiatus, I was on spring break. Oh well, on with the show:
It’s somehow reassuring that even a writer as widely read as Tolkien writes more than ever makes it to publication. Or writes things that maybe should never have been published. Years ago, after reading The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, I attempted to slog through The Silmarillion. Ugh. It’s tedious enough to trudge through actual dry historical records…but when they’re fictitious–why bother?
I tried to wade through that too- with exactly the same result and opinion.
I probably shouldn’t mention this on a forum with such a strong Irish connection, but a friend of mine once mentioned that found Joyce’s Ulysses to be the perfect sedative–and, it’s all natural! 
It’s just as well he didn’t know about [u]Ulysses for Dummies[/u].
Thanks for the Ulysses for Dummies. I was moved by the heartwarming funeral scene. I was saddened by Leo’s sexual identity crises.