Peekablue answers “I wish to read the series and everything...”

Sukhwinder asked this question about The Lord of the Rings:

I wish to read the series and everything around it. I am very behind but after my love of A Song of Ice and Fire, what order should I read the books?

Peekablue Chronological order is 1)The Silmarillion, 2) The Hobbit, 3)The LOTR (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, & The Return of the King). It is not…moreChronological order is 1)The Silmarillion, 2) The Hobbit, 3)The LOTR (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, & The Return of the King). It is not necessary to read them in order, though. On my first reading, I read LOTR first, then The Hobbit, followed by The Silmarillion. Then, there are The Lost Tales and other publications, a lot of which are repetitive of The Silmarillion and the appendices from LOTR and some are early/different/incomplete versions Tolkien was working on but never finished.
The Silmarillion, while an impressive work, can be rather dry at times. It's interesting but reads more like a reference book than a novel (it reminds me of The Bible). For the average reader, I think starting with The Hobbit or The LOTR would be best and then, if you are really interested in finding out more about Middle Earth, read The Silmarillion.(less)

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The Lord of the Rings

by J.R.R. Tolkien

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