What books have you read, by J.R.R. Tolkien?

[Pallavi Gambhire]

Becca: That's really impressive. I have read all the books you mentioned in your "read" list except the last two. I have the Books of Lost tales on my to read list :)

[Jay]

Connor wrote: "YOU MUSSSSSSSST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What's the point of living if you don't read LOTR?"

And how is that workin' out for ya?

[amal]

i've read just lotr n hobbit... Wish 2 read more... Can anyone please suggest more of tolkiens' for me...? I found it difficult to read children of hurin... I mean... Are there any other books presented in a story manner? Or some variety narrations? Or any other book you wish to recommend...

[Becca]

If you enjoy reading more story like books then Tales from the Perilous Realm might be okay...it is a collection of Tolkien's short stories with a part about Tom Bombadil (but this is more like poetry). I know what you mean by the difficulty of children of hurin it is quite hard to get into it

[Therese]

amal wrote: "i've read just lotr n hobbit... Wish 2 read more... Can anyone please suggest more of tolkiens' for me...? I found it difficult to read children of hurin... I mean... Are there any other books pres..."

Hi Amal, try reading The Silmarillion next. It's in narrative form and gives the origins of Middle-Earth and the story behind some of the songs the elves sing in LOTR. And for something completely different The Father Christmas Letters. I wish I had Tolkien writing Santa letters to me. They are epics complete with illustrations. I have also read The Unfinished Tales but I did not enjoy that as much.

Next up on my list is The History of the Hobbit Part One: Mr. Baggins and The History of the Hobbit Part Two: Return To Bag End especially since the movie is coming out at the end of this year.

[amal]

thanks a lot... Becca n therese... So its silmarillion, tales from the perilous realm and the letters from father christmas in my immediate to read list... Er... Therese... The last 2 links in your comment... Are they part of hobbit itself? Or are those different books alltogether?

[amal]

or... I guess it will be better to finish with the inheritance cycle first... Now that i'm half way...

[Therese]

It's not part of The Hobbit itself - it's more like how The Hobbit came into it's final form. The author of the book has collated all Tolkien's notes and illustrations so it includes things such as characters he has changed or plot lines that he decided not to include in the end.

[Amalie]

Wow! Sooo many books for me to read! I've read The "Fellowship of the Ring", "The Two Towers", "The Return of the King" and "The Hobbit". I started to read "Father Christmas Letters" but couldn't finish it yet.

[Sidhe]

Connor wrote: "Torie wrote: "Hahahaha! That reminds me of my dad saying that when he finished reading the LOTR trilogy, he thought "now what do I do with my life?" LOL XD"

Haha! That's what I thought too! but I ..."

The response to Torie's father's question is simple: read it again. LOL.

[Razmatus]

Hobbit, LOTR, Silmarillion, Children of Hurin, about to read Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun... and then read Vincent Ferré's At the shores of the Middle-Earth and a book called LOTR and philosophy

[Mike]

I've read:
The Hobbit
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King
The Silmarillion
The Children of Hurin

[Stefan]

Read:
The Hobbit
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return Of The King
The Children of Húrin

Owned (not yet read):
The Silmarillion(Currently Reading for Group Read!)
Unfinished Tales: Of Numenor and Middle-Earth
A Tolkien Miscellany
The Legend of Sigurd & Gudrún
The Lays of Beleriand(Tried this one once as a kid and just couldn't get into it. I'm sure that won't be a problem next time.)

I also have:
The Tolkien Companion and Atlas of Middle Earth Rev Pa to play around with!

[Razmatus]

Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun is Tolkien's rendition of the tale of Sigurd and Gudrun (Siegfried and Brunhild in german i think)

as for Unfinished tales, still havent got to it... and I think when I do I shall skip the tale of Hurin, as it is some kind of mid-step between the condensed version present in Silmarillion (for the sake of narrative) and the full version in form of Children of Hurin (which is AWESOME)

and Silmarillion, man... if LOTR made your eyes go wide with awe, Silmarillion is your wet dream lol

Silmarillion is the ONLY book I read twice willingly, once in English and later in Slovak :)

[Stefan]

Thanks for the breakdown Raz. I'm really looking forward to starting the Silmarillion group read.

[[deleted user]]

I've read:
The Hobbit
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King
The Children of Húrin
The Silmarillion
and Unfinished Tales

I can't WAIT to read all the others but especially Tales from the Perilous Realm and Father Christmas Letters... but what I'm really wondering is if I should read The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien...? I kind of feel like it's prying into a personal area.

EDIT: Add Mr. Bliss to the list!

[Razmatus]

those are mostly his letters to publishers and friends/fellow writers... I think he discusses his works there, plus literature and different issues/matters in it, language etc.... so it isnt like you reading his really personal stuff :)

[[deleted user]]

Thanks! :) I've always felt really weird reading other people's letters, even if they've been published but if it's mostly non-personal stuff then that's ok.

[Razmatus]

I havent read the book myself but Vincent Ferré often quotes him in his book about LOTR, either in chapters or in explanatory notes... he uses some quotes from the letters to prove some of his points

[Becca]

Hey everyone :) I have a blog and I've just completed a post on my Tolkien Obsession and have taken pictures of all the books I own of his (and about him) if you would like to check it out! there is alot though haha :)

http://lostinthought-becca.blogspot.com/

[Razmatus]

wow, going to read it for sure :)

[[deleted user]]

Becca wrote: "Hey everyone :) I have a blog and I've just completed a post on my Tolkien Obsession and have taken pictures of all the books I own of his (and about him) if you would like to check it out! there i..."

That looks great!

[Razmatus]

great article :)

[Raquel]

The Silmarilion, the Hobbit and The lord of the rings. The last one I read it each year.

[John]

I have read The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Children of Hurin, and about half of The Silmarillion. I was actually trying to cheat with The Silmarillion and listen to the audio version instead of actually sitting down with the book (to many long drives and visits to the gym at the time). It didn't work. There is too much good stuff in there to digest in a read aloud, so I put it down until I get some time to dedicate to it. I've also culled through the collections for poetry. I'm not typically a poetry reader, so my opinion might not be worth much, but I believe Tolkien is an overlooked master of the craft.

[Lianne]

I've read:

The Lord of the Rings
The Hobbit
The Silmarillion
The Unfinished Tales
The Children of Hurin
The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien

I used to read The Lord of the Rings every year but I seem to have fallen out of that practice towards the end of my undergrad. Perhaps I will re-read it this year (if I can somehow make my to-read pile shorter) =)

[Nonankie]

The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
Tales from the Perilous Realm.

[Jacquel]

I have read the following:

The Lord of the Rings
The Hobbit
The Silmarillion
The Unfinished Tales
The Children of Hurin
Farmer Giles and Ham
The Book of Lost Tales: Part 1
The Book of Lost Tales: Part 2

[Pallavi Gambhire]

I am looking for this book, but can't find it anywhere. It does seem to be available at Betterworldbooks.com but I have not used that website before so I am wary. The Monsters And The Critics: And Other Essays
Help? Also has anyone read that? Thoughts?

[Stefan]

Pallavi wrote: "I am looking for this book, but can't find it anywhere. It does seem to be available at Betterworldbooks.com but I have not used that website before so I am wary. The Monsters And The Critics: And ..."

Amazon has several copies available from different sellers.

[Hannu]

- The Hobbit - Thrice.
- The Lord of the Rings - Twice.
- The Silmarillion - Once.
- Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth - Once.

Books I'm about to read quite soon:
- Children of Hurin
- Tales from the Perilous Realm
- The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun
- Probably also the History of Middle-Earth series

[Rachan]

The Hobbit, Lord of The Rings, Silmarillion (couldn't stop myself from reading these books over & over again), Unfinished Tales, Book of Lost Tales 1&2. Must get my hands on the rest 10 books. :)

[Paolo]

From what I remember I've read the following:

The Hobbit
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
Return of the King
The Silmarillion
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
On Fairy-Stories
Pearl
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Beowulf
The Homecoming of Beornoth
Tales from the Perilous Realm inc. Roverandom
Farmer Giles of Ham
Smith of Wootton Major
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book
Leaf by Niggle
Unfinished Tales

I own all of the History of Middle Earth series, but have only fully read:

The Book of Lost Tales 1
The Book of Lost Tales 2
The Lays of Beleriand
The Shaping of Middle-earth

I have started reading or skim-read parts of:

The Lost Road and Other Writings
The Return of the Shadow (The History of The Lord of the Rings v.1)
The Treason of Isengard (The History of The Lord of the Rings v.2)
The War of the Ring (The History of The Lord of the Rings v.3)
Sauron Defeated (includes The History of The Lord of the Rings v.4)
Morgoth's Ring (The Later Silmarillion v.1)
The War of the Jewels (The Later Silmarillion v.2)
The Peoples of Middle-earth

I've also read:

J.R.R. Tolkien: a Biography by Humphrey Carpenter

There are a few Tolkien related books and media I've used as well, including the Geology of Middle Earth (can't recall the author) and I had/may still have a 12" record of Hammond organ music inspired by Lord of the Rings - really weird stuff!

Most of this stuff I haven't looked at in over a decade, but one day, when I'm a bit less busy, I hope to immerse myself in Tolkien's world again.

[Michael]

Paolo, is the record you've got by Bo Hansson?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs0Amr...

I love that record and have it on 12" vinyl (in the loft somewhere!) and on CD (which I play frequently). According to the liner notes, this was one of the first all-electronic recordings and it's incredibly evocative and atmospheric.

It's all good, but I find The Horns and Rohan & The Battle of the Pelennor Fields particularly spine-tingling.

Impressive reading list, btw!

[Paolo]

Michael wrote: "Paolo, is the record you've got by Bo Hansson?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs0Amr...

I love that record and have it on 12" vinyl (in the loft somewhere!) and on CD (which I play frequently. ..."

That's the one. I love the massive photo of Tolkien sitting in some woodland that came as an insert - just brilliant. I haven't had a record player for 18 years, so I've not listened to it since - thanks for the Youtube link, I can check out the music again!

[Elizabeth]

I have read the The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, I am soon to read the Return of the King and the Hobbit.

[Paolo]

Elizabeth wrote: "I have read the The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, I am soon to read the Return of the King and the Hobbit."

I'm a bit jealous that you're at the early stages of exploration of Tolkien's world - I've never quite managed to recapture that magic with any other literature.

[Elizabeth]

Yea!! Thanks, it was kind of confusing to truly get to know the lands of "Tolkien's world"... but it keeps getting better and better. Have you read all the books?

[Paolo]

Elizabeth wrote: "Yea!! Thanks, it was kind of confusing to truly get to know the lands of "Tolkien's world"... but it keeps getting better and better. Have you read all the books?"

Pretty much. Anything that came out since 1997 I've not read, so The Children of Húrin is on my list!

[Michael]

Paolo wrote: "The Children of Húrin is on my list! ..."

That's our next Group Read, hint, hint ;-)

[Razmatus]

Michael wrote: "Paolo wrote: "The Children of Húrin is on my list! ..."

That's our next Group Read, hint, hint ;-)"

an excellent book too... I am contemplating a re-read of Silmarillion in the style of up-to-the-tale-of-Turin, then not reading the short version in Silmarillion, but reading Children of Hurin, and then back to Silmarillion after the tale

[Elizabeth]

WOW I thought that J.R.R Tolkien only wrote the Lord of the Rings series! Does anyone know how many books he wrote in total???

[Razmatus]

well, Middle Earth canon is pretty much Silmarillion, Children of Hurin (which has the extended version of the tale of Turin from Silmarillion), Hobbit and then LOTR... you can count Unfinished tales as it has some stuff that didnt get into the "main" books... Book of lost tales I and II and such ones are mostly collections of his unfinished or early versions of later stories :)))

[Paolo]

Michael wrote: "Paolo wrote: "The Children of Húrin is on my list! ..."

That's our next Group Read, hint, hint ;-)"

Then I shall get myself a copy post-haste!

[Paolo]

Paolo wrote: "Michael wrote: "Paolo wrote: "The Children of Húrin is on my list! ..."

That's our next Group Read, hint, hint ;-)"

Then I shall get myself a copy post-haste!"

Ordered from Amazon and on its way. Looking forward to it!

[Elizabeth]

wow thanks!

[L]

(Warning; this list may be lengthy) I am constantly adding to this list...

* The Lord of the rings - the fellowship of the ring, the two towers and the return of the king

* The Hobbit

* The Silmarillion

* Unfinished Tales - of Numenor and Middle-Earth

* Tales from the perilous Realm - including Roverandom, Farmer Giles of Ham, Adventures of Tom Bombadil, Smith of wootton major and leaf by niggle

* the children of hurin

* the legend of Sigurd and Gudrun

* The Book of Lost tales 1
* The book of Lost Tales 2

* The lays of beleriand

* The Lost road and other writings

* Sauron Defeated - history of Middle-Earth
* Morgoth's ring - history of Middle-Earth
* The war of the jewels - history of Middle-Earth

and other acompanying books such as the Tolkien encyclopedia and maps of Middle-Earth.

[Alex]

I have read The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Twoers and The Return of the King but I have all of Tolkien's work ^_^

[Christa VG]

I am sadly lacking in this list but I have the rest of my life to continue to read Tolkien and I don't want to rush it.

*The Lord of the Rings Trilogy- Fellowship of the Ring, Two Towers, and Return of the King.

I have never actually "Read" the hobbit so I don't know if this counts, but I listen to it on CD while writing and doing household chores several times a year.

*Tales reom the Perilous Realm

*The Silmarillion

And I have Unfinished Tales - of Numenor and Middle-Earth I just haven't gotten around to reading it yet.

[Christa VG]

How old are you ;D I would recomend readingit until at least 17-18 and that only after reading a coupld of Charles Dickens books, just so you are on the reading comprehension level to really get the most from the Silmarillian. But that is jus tmy opinion and what I wish I had done.