Reddit mentions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings

The paperbacks or the hardbacks?

The paperbacks are a quite common boxset

• http://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-Lord-Rings-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0547928181/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=
  
  
  The hardbacks are a bit less common:
  
  
• LotR: http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-50th-Anniversary-Edition/sim/0618517650/2
  
  
• History of Middle Earth http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-History-Middle-Earth-Boxed/dp/0007105088

I agree that the most entertaining way is to read them in the order they were published: The Hobbit, then Lord of the Rings (technically not a trilogy by the way), then The Silmarillion. The basis of The Silmarillion is it is the story of the creation of the world and the events of the First Age (The Hobbit and LotR take place in the Third Age). Be warned, it can be a difficult read.

Also there is a lot "pertaining to the LotR universe" more than just those 3 works. I have two selves of books by Tolkien or about him/his work.

Also if you are just reading for the first time hardcovers can be expensive. A good paperback set might not be a bad idea.

These are good. They have nice covers, the definitive text, and won't tear apart easily. For hardcovers, if you're willing to go used, this looks like an absolute steal. If not, there's this. There's also always the one volume editions if you don't mind the big-ass book.