why I didn't take any literature courses in college.  I'm not very analytical when it comes to thinking about writing.  I pretty much think "I liked it" or "I didn't like it".  Why I liked it or not is a mystery to me - at least as far as equating it with the style of the author. 

As for my first reaction, I thought it was too bad that Gandalf was gone but I read with the faith of a child (literally) that eveything will turn out all right in the end.  So I was not too upset by Gandalf's fall.

Challenge: 9 fools found. 2 foolishes.

"Butterbur...I will roast the old fool..."
"Ass! Fool! Thrice worthy and beloved Barliman!" --The C. of E.

foolish"if... I am allowed a little peace from foolish questions" A J. in the D.

"Fool of a Took!" A J. in the Dark

"it was valiant but foolish"  The Bridge   of K-D

"Fly you fools!" The Bridge   of K-D

"Foolishness!"..."prudence is one thing but discourtesy is another." The King of the G.H.

"You have become a fool Saruman"  The Voice of S.

"A fool but an honest fool you remain, Peregrine Took." The Palantir.

"Fool! To keep it secret for his own profit." The Palantir

"Wise fool" ... I know he says it somewhere. 

"

                                  ******************************************
We who still labour by the cromlech on the shore,
The grey cairn on the hill, when day sinks drowned in dew,
Being weary of the world's empires, bow down to you,
Master of the still stars and the flaming door.  --W.B. Yeats