Best products from r/tolkienfans

I strongly suggest you disregard advice to buy ANY book by David Day. They are not accurate, and are full of stuff he just makes up. Day is the laughingstock of the fandom; he's even been banned by the Tolkien Society from attending their future events.

But don't worry, there's lots of good-quality stuff out there for your husband to treasure!

If he has read only The Hobbit and the LOTR trilogy, look for an attractive edition of The Silmarillion (there are many). This is the great backstory to Lord of the Rings, the legendary past that constantly gets referred to in LOTR. If he hasn't read it yet, that's the Next Big Step for a Tolkien fan.

If he's already read the Silmarillion, Check his shelf to see whether he already has a copy of Karen Wynn Fonstad's Atlas of Middle-earth. If not, that's definitely a great gift for him or any Tolkien fan. "A book of maps" doesn't do it justice -- it's not just geography, but changes over time, populations, heroic journeys, and famous battles, all laid out in a way that keeps you turning the page in a way you wouldn't with a real-life atlas. The way the maps are presented also helps the reader visuallize the progression of the Ages of the World, even though there's not a dedicated timeline.

If he has both of these, go for a copy of Unfinished Tales, which contains extra material that didn't make it into the published LOTR and Silmarillion. He'll love the extras about the Palantiri and what Gandalf got up to while Bilbo and the Dwarves were making do without him.

If he has all that, you have choices to make. If he's graphic's oriented, he may like the John Howe decorative map set or the Alan Lee sketchbook or half a dozen options from artists who've tackled Tolkien. If he's a calendar guy, you can pick from at least that many popular options every year.

If he's a hardcore reader who has made it through the Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales and still wants more, he may want to take the deep dive into the 12-volume History of Middle-earth, which is very affordable now that it's in good-quality paperback. But you probably want to check with him on that before buying them all; some volumes are, well, pretty hardcore in their density, and some are best read sequentially. One that would be fine as a standalone is Vol. 12, The Peoples of Middle-earth. Lots of good lore and interesting things in that one.

I would personally recommend this for an all in one paperback version if you decide to go that route: https://smile.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0618343997/ref=tmm_pap_title_7?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1536615500&sr=8-2

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It's nice and compact but still durable enough to have survived multiple readings and travels, at least in my case. Plus, it's pretty cheap.

I also own the illlustrated Alan Lee version, as well as the 50th anniversary all in one edition(because I just love spending my money on things I already own apparently) They are both very nice to look at but actually reading them isn't always the most comfortable experience, though I think the latter one would be workable, it's just a little heavier than I would like.

The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide by Christina Scull and Wayne Hammond is essential to all things Tolkien.

I compiled a list with links to Free and Open Access Journals which will offer a large amount of detail not only about Tolkien but the Inklings and extended subjects.

And I recently posted a selection of unpublished letters which offer some intriguing letters that were left out of the published 'Letters of'.

The only official biography is Humphrey Carpenter's Tolkien but there are other works which I and others regard as essential. John Garth's Tolkien and the Great War is excellent. Tom Shippey's Road to Middle-earth is also worth a read. The Inklings again by Humphrey carpenter offers some valuable insights to how the Inklings interacted and includes a large amount of biographical information.

Like the 'free and open access' post I intend to compile a list of blogs in the near future so I will keep your thread in mind and post back here when I do.

You didn't link the slipcase green edition, but assuming you're talking about this one: I grew up with a '70s edition of that one in my house, and always thought it had a gravitas and significance greater than other books. The multicolored ink, the foldout map, the font choices, the foil stamping, the fact that it's all Tolkien (his art, his words, nothing else)... it's just lovely. I think the perfect presentation of the work.

I don't know how well it would go with the LOTR edition you're getting, but if I was looking for a definitive copy of the Hobbit (I already have the Annotated one and a cheap paperback, neither of which I'm a huge fan of) I'd definitely go that route.

Oh, those are great posters. I visited the Bodelian years ago but didn't even think to check and see if they had a gift shop!

My gift recommendation would be The Atlas of Middle Earth, by Karen Wynn Fonstad. It's comprehensive, covering all of the books (I found the Silmarillion maps particularly helpful), and it is large, physically, probably at least 10"x14" so the maps are pretty easy to read. I received it as a gift myself, and it has become the non-Tolkien work I reference most when reading him.

This is probably the closest you'll get to original covers in a box set. They're stylized black-themed versions of Tolkien's personal artistry (compare this with this). I have them, they're quite nice. They're matte, not glossy, so they have a nice texture; and the binding is good so the spine doesn't crack if you set it down while open.

Unfortunately if I'm correct I believe your Sil/UT/CoH box set is Harpercollins, so you're probably in Europe or Canada. The ones I posted are published by Mariner, a division of Houghton Mifflin, for sale in the US. This looks like a somewhat comparable Harpercollins edition but I can't vouch for their quality and the covers don't appear to be accurate.

Digging a bit deeper into the Harpercollins library, here's a UK (IDK if you're in the UK but it's probably avaliable in other non-US distribution areas) Hobbit edition that looks just like the original. Here's a LOTR one-volume edition with a cover based on Tolkien's original design for Fellowship of the Ring. This looks like a pretty accurate LOTR+Hobbit paperback set, but it appears to not be in print anymore so you have to buy used or pay through the nose to get it.

Album of all the original covers for reference if you care

I've had excellent times with this set right here. It's an excellent price, the books are hardcover, lightly illustrated, and beautiful both with the dust covers on (you can see the white covers there) and without (each book is a lovely brown with the an illustration embossed in red and gold). It's a bit secondary, but each book also contains a fold-out map in the back that's of excellent quality and even comes in color. I truly believe this is the best way to go, unless you have hundreds of dollars to shell out for a collector's set.

ballantine 1973 paperbacks

houghton mifflin 1999 trade paperback (my first set, heart eyes)

houghton mifflin 80s hardcover set (had my eye on these for Years and my gf bought me the box set for my bday, more heart eyes) $38 on amazon rn (apparently there's a hobbit hardcover that matches these? i need it)

there's a really nice big coffee table-ish hardcover of the silmarillion with lots of illustrations by ted nasmith. it's huge though (almost as big as TWOIAF) and surprisingly heavy and I don't think I actually have a way to comfortably read it right now? ymmv though

The Encyclopedia of Arda is fairly decent - in my experience, accurate, but pretty thin on the content/details. This is probably because it's not a wiki and put together by one person. Tolkien Gateway is another one - it's a wiki so it's much more fleshed out than Encyclopedia of Arda. If you're open to non-web works, my favorite resource is Robert Foster's Complete Guide to Middle-Earth. It's a pretty cheap and comprehensive encyclopedia-style work, and I like it being a book because I often write notes in it and add post-its and whatnot.

I had the same issue in january, I wanted to buy a "complete" collection of Tolkiens books but box sets mostly dont contain everything I wanted and the nice ones are really expensive...<br /> <br /> I decided to buy the Harper Collins Anniversary editions (as mentioned in your other post) because they had every book I wanted in a similar size and spine layout. Its not the cheapest way to get all of them but the most satisfying for me... Also by far not the most expensive editions.

The books I got:

Fellowship of the Ring

Two Towers

Return of the King

Hobbit

History of the Hobbit: Mr. Baggins

History of the Hobbit: Return to Bag End

Simarillion

Unfinished Tales

This is a picture of them I found online, missing the second History of the Hobbit book and an one extra, but you get the idea of how they look: Link

I hope this is some help or at least a bit interesting

Are you aware of just how much work Christopher Tolkine had to do in creating The Silmarillion from Tolkien's papers?

Crediting Christopher Tolkien as a co-author is probably too far, though I've seen it suggested, but I'll just quote from a review of a book which describes the process:

>Kane goes through Christopher Tolkien's published (but definitely cobbled together) version of The Silmarillion chapter by chapter, meticulously pointing out (with appropriate links to the 12 vol HOME series) what was chosen, skipped, omitted and even outright changed and fabricated to try to keep it all together. Kane also notes possible reasons for CT's sometimes odd choices of materials such as keeping the books tone even, fixing contradictory versions as well as giving enough details to have some character narrative. He also laments the many small edits of character traits which would have greatly expanded many characters' motives -- especially female characters. In fact Kane does make an interesting point of mentioning how Christopher Tolkien removed almost every character point about a female -- even Ungoliant, It's an interesting observation, as JRRT's works have always been dogged, quite unfairly I believe, as "males only".

https://www.amazon.com/Arda-Reconstructed-Creation-Published-Silmarillion/dp/1611460891

You're welcome to call The Silmarillion one of JRR Tolkien's masterpieces, for me the fact that he left it in such a disparate state and never resolved many of the issues himself would suggest it isn't.

A few thoughts:

At one point Lewis and Tolkien were going to write companion novels about space and time. You can see echoes of this in the last chapter of Out of the Silent Planet, the first book in CSL's Space Trilogy when he mentions that space has been cut off from human travel and now any future voyages would be through time. There's also echoes of what might have been in JRRT's Notion Club Papers, which has a time-travel element, but was never published.

In addition, JRRT did not care for the Narnia series because he felt it lacked a coherent theme. However, in the controversial Planet Narnia, Michael Ward posits that CSL actually did have a theme: the medieval view of the planets (The Seven Heavens). There are definitely intriguing arguments made in the book, especially as he combines information from Narnia and the Space Trilogy into his thesis. I wouldn't say it's iron-clad, but if I was still in education, or had the luxury to write papers, this is an area I'd love to explore in depth - specifically the influence of Charles Williams on the evolution of CSL's thought.

If you're interested in aspects of their backgrounds that influenced their worldviews, I would recommend The Discarded Image from CSL (on medieval literature - my favorite CSL book) and The Road to Middle-Earth by Tom Shippey (on the philological undergirding of Middle-Earth). The Humprey Carpenter books are also good (JRRT Letters, Tolkien bio, Inklings bio) as are CSL's letters.

The UK Deluxe Edition is my favorite, I only wish it had Tolkien's original dust jacket.

The edition illustrated by Jemima Catlin is also really cool; I love her illustrations.

Karen Wynn Fonstad's The Atlas of Middle-Earth is a great companion read to the Silmarillion. It covers much of the history as well and is a great read for anyone who loves maps.

https://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Middle-Earth-Revised-Karen-Fonstad/dp/0618126996

I can't speak to hardcover editions of LotR as I still haven't committed to those myself, but I would recommend that whatever version you get, get an ebook version too - being able to search the text is absolutely wonderful, particularly if you also have a copy of The Complete Guide To Middle Earth by Robert Foster.

As an aside, this version of the Silmarillion is very nice.

If you are ok with a single volume edition, then this is the best one I've personally owned.

http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-50th-Anniversary/dp/0618517650/

Apparently there are two different versions floating around, one dark grey and the other dark blue.

I bought mine from Amazon about a year ago and mine looked like this one.

http://www.tolkienshop.com/contents/media/l_0618517650.jpg


Seems like there's a chance you could end up with this one though.


http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sDyVK11tleE/TluXdELWPZI/AAAAAAAACNc/OmTCQqFsJ54/s1600/1.png

>I meant collecting things with a similar suit outside the most popular books is simply impossible because publishing is not uniform across Tolkien's work.

Ah, yes that's true, new material is being published every so often, and old material is sometimes reprinted, but no there isn't a uniform style, format, binding (or even publisher in some cases), but I suppose it does make the collectors market more interesting...

>While I would not pass the chance to get it if I found it at an affordable price...

...I think the cheapest I've seen a purported copy offered for sale at, was $30,000...

>Edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Atlas_of_Middle-earth -> According to that wikipedia link, a final revision came out in 2001!

I don't have my copy to hand so I can't check the copyright/publication dates, but I have this edition:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Atlas-Middle-Earth-Karen-Fonstad/dp/0618126996/

if 2002 is correct then yes looks like it is a 3rd edition.

I think it is getting re-released again later this year anyway...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0618391134?pc_redir=1413800510&robot_redir=1

J.R.R. Tolkien Compendium and Guide. Gives an almost day by day account of the man's life. If you can find it at the library it could be a great resource. I have a copy on my shelf and I love it. Not something I read cover to cover, but it's fun to flip through if you're a fan.

I'd also recommend Hammond and Scull 's chronology and guide it's an impressive work. And it looks like they're working on a second edition which is exciting, so you might want to wait till it comes out.

Edit:links

For The Hobbit, do yourself a favor and grab a copy of The Annotated Hobbit by Doug Anderson! Gives you a decent bio on Tolkien, the backdrop for how The Hobbit came to be, and a running commentary throughout that is pure awesome. A treasure you'll read multiple times guaranteed!

Not sure if anything like it exists for LOTR. If so, I'd love to know!

The Silmarillion Primer is an excellent blog that summarizes each chapter in a humorous way and puts everything in context with what you learned in other chapters.

The Atlas of Middle-Earth has great maps that show the movement of characters.

Unfinished Tales.

Also, I really recommend Robert Foster's Complete Guide to Middle-Earth. It's nice to have as a supplemental resource. It's essentially a handy encyclopedia of LotR/Hobbit/Silmarillion. Very easy to pick up and read a section here or there if you come across a name or place you can't quite recall

I recognize that everyone has their own budgets, but I can vouch for this $40 hard cover set on amazon. I just bought it a month ago. The books are very sturdy and has great print.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0395489326?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Please let me make this abundantly clear, I am not saying Tolkien is a racist in any way shape or form, simply that he did use race as an influence in his works.

“The dwarves of course are quite obviously, wouldn’t you say that in many ways they remind you of the Jews? Their words are Semitic, obviously, constructed to be Semitic. The hobbits are just rustic English people,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-G_v6-u3hg Its in the last few minutes of this interview

and

“I do think of the ‘Dwarves’ like Jews,” he writes (Letters, p. 229), “at once native and alien in their habitations, speaking the languages of the country, but with an accent due to their own private tongue.” From the Letters of J.R.R. Tolkein http://www.amazon.com/The-Letters-J-R-R-Tolkien-J/dp/0618056998


This one is pretty obvious to me, maybe not racist in a hatred, but definitely using a race as an influence. But the greed for gold doesn't really help.

I like this version. Not abridged but the illustrations are great: ilustrated Hobbit

The answers you seek lie within the books , and “waiting for a nice hardcover set” sounds like you are just purposefully stalling yourself.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0544445783/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_P7Z0DbCEGWQJ1

Pick this set up, it’s super affordable and gets you right to it.

I have this edition, and I quite like it.

https://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-There-Back-Again/dp/0395177111/ref=cm_rdp_product

But really, it's probably best if you look through several editions and pick the one that appeals to you the most.

I'm not sure if this fits your guidelines, as they were pretty vague. The Annotated Hobbit is a great resource. Available on Amazon for $20.

I love my 50th anniversary Lord of the Rings. Sturdy book, all books in one tome, and it looks classy and refined.

My experience with the silmerilian the first couple of times that I read it was that it was nearly impossible to remember all of the names. I would mix up finwe with finarfan with feanor with fingolfin and so on. What I found helpful was This Guide to middle earth by robert foster. It has every character and place listed, and if you forget what something is you can do a quick review just by flipping through it. Eventually, you'll be able to remember everything. Good luck reading!

The link /u/LittleLuthien posted is great, I would also highly recommend Karen Wynn Fonstad's Atlas of Middle-earth. It's really helpful to keep track of what's going on especially for the battles.

It's absolutely gorgeous and totally recommend. For LotR I have the 50th Anniversary Edition

I have the edition you linked and it really nice,bit big and heavy to take out the house so I recently purchased these and they are, for lack of a better word pretty cute. The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings: Deluxe Pocket Boxed Set https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0544445783/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_HIHOyb4J5J2NT

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.

This is my favorite illustrated version. The artwork is beautifully done. It came out a couple years ago I think.

Humphrey Carpenter's biography is quite good, and pretty widely available, I think.

You might try getting your hands on a copy of The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. There's a lot of great information on his work there, and I find them generally a little easier to read than the History of Middle-Earth.

They are as accurate as you want them to be. Personally, I like having this book by Karen Wynn Fonstad inform my headcanon.

The mysteries of Tolkien's universe are what make it so special. For example, I don't want to know where the Blue Wizards went. But I like to speculate that Oromë sent them to Middle Earth to find the Elves that remained at Cuivienen.

Thank you so much, I literally just purchased this https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0544445783/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1 and afterwards will decide onto what to read next. Thank you again

This set is extremely limited (500 pcs). You're not going to find it any cheaper than this. If you're planning on opening and reading it, why not just get a cheaper editon? The only things missing from cheaper editions are the revised family trees and the Khazad-dum painting in LOTR, as far as I know. You can get that particular edition as a standalone for less than a hundred bucks on Amazon. Apart from some other random artwork, you wouldn't be missing anything important. You can get the slipcovered Children of Hurin for less than $40 on Amazon. If you want the best edition of The Hobbit that I know of, you should check out John Rateliff's History of The Hobbit link.

The edition you're looking for is out of print. You can still get it second hand on amazon though, but it's 79dollar. The illustration is by Ted Nasmith. There is also a "blue version" which is still available new.

Here is an amazon link to your red edition:

https://www.amazon.com/SILMARILLION-Tolkien-J-R-45/dp/B009M92IVO

Blue edition:

https://www.amazon.com/Silmarillion-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0618391118/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=silmarillion+ted+nasmith&qid=1562185977&s=gateway&sprefix=Silmarillion+ted+&sr=8-1

Goodluck!

Someone is trying to pull a fast one. You can buy that edition for $24 new on Amazon. It definitely isn't a 1966 edition.

http://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-There-Back-Again/dp/0395177111/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1376013944&sr=1-1&keywords=0395177111

I have the Silver edition, so I can't give you first hand evidence but a search on Amazon says that the dimensions of the book are 6.1 x 3 x 9.2 inches (http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-50th-Anniversary-Edition/dp/0618517650)

I found Sibley's The Maps of Tolkien's Middle-Earth to be quite helpful. Poster sized maps of Beleriand, the Hobbit area, and the LOTR area.

Nice, I have
this one.

If you haven't read this already, Tolkien's Letters include some of his own words on the subject. There's even an index to help you locate relevant quotes.

Check out the Atlas of Middle-Earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad! It's Tolkien Estate-approved and is absolutely fantastic. Besides maps, there's routes of journeys, battle formations, thematic maps and demographic information. It's one of my favourite book investments of all time.

David Day has a bad reputation for just making things up without any basis in Tolkien's work. I tend to not recommend them.

If you want an atlas the gold standard is The Atlas of Middle-earth by Karen-Anne Fonstad


If you want to enhance his reading of LotR, Hammond and Scull's LotR Reader's Companion is the way to go.

If you want an encyclopedia style book, Forster's Complete Guide to Middle-earth is best.

Thought I'd provide some Amazon links to these fine suggestions, along with a few of my own.

J.R.R. Tolkien Companion & Guide US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0008214549/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_Jc.DCb1A3J8V6

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Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/000755690X/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_Qe.DCbHG7HWXM

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Art of the Lord of the Rings US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0544636341/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_3f.DCbB8Y2ZNZ

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Art of the Hobbit US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0547928254/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_ng.DCbCX2CT65

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Tolkien: Maker of Middle-Earth US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1851244859/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_Vg.DCbSEH99RE

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Rateliff's History of the Hobbit US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CF6AZWK/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_Dj.DCbGWY7970

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Fonstad's Atlas of Middle-Earth US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0618126996/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_Kk.DCbC2XF6NT

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Letters of JRR Tolkien US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0618056998/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_ml.DCbREBRZH4

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Carpenter's Tolkien: A Biography US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0618057021/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_xm.DCbY976PAE

It's called The Atlas of Middle-Earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad (Revised Edition). [See here] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0618126996/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687722&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=026110277X&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1BFD9T9QP2679T2QKX4Q) looking inside should give you a taste. Thank you again though as I realized I should be using mine in my Fellowship of the Ring read.

I’d recommend buying Karen Wynn Fonstad’s Atlas of Middle-Earth

Here's one possibility: https://www.amazon.com/Maps-Tolkiens-Middle-earth-Brian-Sibley/dp/061839110X

It sounds like each of the four poster maps included is 28"x28", and is folded in the box; you'd need to get your own frame. I'm not aware of any other options, for better or worse.

Maybe The Annotated Hobbit? I have it but I haven't gone through the whole thing but there should be some interesting/useful stuff in there.

You could also listen to the Tolkien Professor podcast specifically the "Riddles in the Dark" series. Haven't listened to them myself but it has been recommended to me by a few people.

I use this and it works pretty well for that purpose. No maps, but that's what Fonstad's atlas is for. http://www.amazon.com/Tolkiens-World-Complete-Guide-Middle-Earth/dp/0345449762

Get Robert Foster's Complete Guide to Middle-earth then thank me later. Even Christopher Tolkien has admitted to using it. Granted it does not cover materiel outside of The Lord of The Rings, The Hobbit, and the Silmarillion. It is an excellent and complete guide and unlike many others is not full of misinformation.

 

Edit: If the Tolkien Dictionary you have is the one by David Day throw it away immediately. David Day is notorious for making up information and claiming it as Tolkien see here. I'm not familiar with his Tolkien: A Dictionary and any specific errors thererin, though the map, if it's the one in this post, is horribly incorrect. Foster's guide (above) is a much more reliable guide where he cites his sources, although, as I mentioned above, it is somewhat out-of-date.

The Complete Guide to Middle-Earth by Robert Foster.

This one?

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Lord-Rings-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0544636341/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=DPH1KPEZAMY4VYAH66CB

Uh. What about J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter?

I bought the bottom books within the past year, all on the internet (Amazon and Books a Million).

Edit: links: LOTR, Silmarillion, Hobbit

https://www.amazon.com/Letters-J-R-R-Tolkien-J-R/dp/0618056998
An Amazon link to The Letters of Tolkien
Unfortunately I can't help you I asked because I plan to do the same after I finish with the Witcher and I wasn't sure about the order

Keep in mind that Tolkien was alive when movies of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings were first being discussed, and was involved in early attempts at adaptation. He wrote on this very subject in several of the letters.

He seems to have changed his mind somewhat, becoming more protective over time. In letter 198, he seems rather blasé about it: he thinks it's impossible to adapt his work, but doesn't seem terribly bothered by it, and would be willing to let them try.

Letter 210, though, shows Tolkien responding much more in depth to a script of a proposed adaptation. I think it's interesting that he seems concerned not only about how the writers failed to understand crucial aspects of his story, but also about how their changes would make for a poor film. In particular, in several instances Tolkien proposes imply cutting certain characters or scenes from the book rather than bastardizing them.