Gerry Bevers answers “I'm thinking to read this trilogy. How...”

Adam asked this question about The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1):

I'm thinking to read this trilogy. How important is it to read The Hobbit before?

Gerry Bevers You do not have to read "The Hobbit" to understand "The Lord of the Rings," but "The Hobbit" is a truly wonderful book, so why not read both books in …moreYou do not have to read "The Hobbit" to understand "The Lord of the Rings," but "The Hobbit" is a truly wonderful book, so why not read both books in the order they were meant to be read? "The Lord of the Rings" makes references to people and places in "The Hobbit," so if you had read "The Hobbit," you would better understand those references. If, for example, you had read "The Hobbit," you would already know the first character mentioned in "The Lord of the Rings."

The first sentence in the "The Lord of the Rings" starts as follows: "When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton."

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The Fellowship of the Ring

by J.R.R. Tolkien

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