(Part 2) Best products from r/tolkienfans

I was attending a small private Catholic high school when the LotR movies came out. My friends and I were already fans of LotR (I had already read it nearly ten times), but to us the surging popularity of LotR in addition to the strong Catholic identity of Tolkien and his mythos combined to make his work a really big deal among my group of friends.

I think that of all my friends, I was the most familiar with the broader lore of Middle-Earth. I gobbled up the Appendices, the Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales. I was fascinated by the detailed backstory and Tolkien's incredible attention to culture and especially the languages and alphabets. I can remember taking notes in class using the runes used in the Hobbit, and writing stuff in the Tengwar as well.

Our high school taught Latin as part of the curriculum. In my final year of high school, a friend and I started a project to translate the Hobbit into Latin. Our traslation sucked in hindsight, and we didn't get very far, but it was a lot of fun to work on. (We posted it online if anyone's interested).

I still love Tolkien's works, but my life doesn't revolve around them the way it did then. The recent release of Mark Walker's Hobbitus Ille was very exciting though!

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And I recently posted a selection of unpublished letters which offer some intriguing letters that were left out of the published 'Letters of'.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

I'll tell you what I did and, hopefully, it'll work out for you, too.

(I'm in the US, so your results may vary.)

Books 1 - 5 were readily available in paperback and are fairly cheap here (about $6 each).

Books 6 - 8 are often called The History of the Lord of the Rings and I got mine in a bundled set. Amazon currently has them separate and about $11 each. But BEWARE the fourth book in the bundle, titled Sauron Defeated. That's only the first part of Book 9.

Books 9 - 12 are nearly unavailable in the US. I found some on ebay years ago for $50 and more each. That's when I discovered Amazon.co.uk. Yes. Looking there now, I see them at about $12 each right now and they're worth it. Very lovely covers ... I almost wish I got all of mine from there. (There was also a 13th book, an index for all twelve volumes. I got it, too)

I did some quick math and it looks like you could them all for between $100 and $130, depending on if you can find that LOTR bundle or just buy them separately.

Or you could spend $164 and just buy this complete set and save the effort.

I also would recommend The History of The Hobbit, a two-volume set from John Rateliff (since Christopher Tolkien didn't include the details in the History). Here's the first one, Mr. Baggins from the Amazon UK site, just $12. The set is about $50 on the US Amazon site.

I am finally well into the Silmarillion after abortive fits and starts for 30 years. I took advice I found online suggesting that I not worry about spoilers and try to "know" the story as much as possible prior to and during the read. The first thing recommended was reading a 19 page letter written by Tolkien in the book "The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien" (http://www.amazon.com/Letters-J-R-Tolkien/dp/0395315557/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=). Specifically letter #131 to Milton Waldman. This is an attmept by Tolkien to get the Silmarillion published and includes a great overview of the story. I have also enjoyed the Tolkien Professors "SILMARILLION SEMINAR" (http://www.tolkienprofessor.com/wp/lectures/courses/silmarillion-seminar/) if you really want to get anal about the read. The very first seminar is where I got the suggestion to start with the letter mentioned above. I agree with lobsteranus and have grown to love the way the Silmarillion reads. Good Luck.

I have the this Harper/Collins Deluxe Edition of LotR (also the Hobbit book of this edition) and I would recommend it.

Its hardcover, its sewn (I'm not expert enough to tell you what kind of sewing or if its a kind of sewing/clueing hybrid - but I can see that its sewn) and in one single volume. The paper quality is good/decent. It contains some nice fold-out maps and pictures (of the Book of Mazarbul when they are in Moria - afaik by Tolkien himself?) -though no images/illustration.

The slipcase it comes in also looks very nice and the Edition fits together perfectly (dark green Hobbit, dark red LotR, dark blue Silm etc. - I also own the HoME in this Edition, though the paper is a lot thicker for LotR/Hobbit than it is for the HoME (there (HoME) its more like those Bible papers, but not quite as thin)).

I can very much recommend it. Though note that I was gifted the Hobbit + LotR version of these for christmas (since, just as you, I was looking for a decent version to replace my paperback), so I can't speak for the longevity/permanent quality of it yet.

Edit: ISBN for clarification: 978-0-00-718236-7

If you're looking for a good translation of Beowulf, I'm a huge personal fan of Howell Chickering's translation (most editions have are dual-language, so you can see the OE verse on the left and Chickering's ME verse on the right)! He does a fantastic job of integrating the original verse form of the lines while maintaining a pretty exact meaning.

It may also be worthwhile investigating this collection

There's a way, sort of, J.R.R.Tolkien has left all his linguistic writings on the Elvish Languages in 7 big boxes, (thousands of pages per box) and Christopher Tolkien has later referred to them naming as Quenya A, B, up to Quenya G, for they can be specifically identified. Yes, not a couple of boxes, but even 7, my mellyn (PE: 22, p. 141).

Be aware, though, that if you do not have a particular background, these pages will be likely not understandable, sadly...

Regarding what you can hear/read online:

In real life it is simple. If you do not follow the rules of English grammar you are not writing or speaking in English. If you don't follow Tolkien's rules you are not writing his elf! Anyone who visits the websites dedicated to Elvish languages (Eldalie, Quenya.101, Ardalambion, etc.) or reads the books dedicated to them (those of David Salo, Ruth S. Noel, Pesch, Comastri, etc.) trying to learn Quenya or Sindarin, will be baffled by the array of many different and conflicting grammar rules. These sites and books never agree with each other. Why?

Because every author has invented his own rules.

We read from many writers (Drout, Pesch) and on the net that there are many “neo-elvish” languages: the neo-quenya and neo-sindarin. But it is not correct, neo-elvish languages do not exist or rather are not languages. Writing: Something wure mi expectatione [sic] does not mean that whoever wrote it is the creator of a neo-english language, the same with: Alaghioru saranno alboro dormirenene [sic] won’t make you the creator of a new neo-italian language. To create a neo-language one must first of all be a linguist, know the rules of a Tolkien elven language well and from there build a new elven language. What a job! Those who build what they call neo-Sindarin and neo-quenya only rarely mention Tolkien's grammars and almost never explain what they do (for example, I change this thing written by Tolkien, because I invented a certain new rule). What they build are not languages. They distort the little of what they understand about Tolkien's logopoeia at will.

That actually comes from his works with the Tolkien Ensemble. It's all a bit odd, but I came to love it. It's not as pompous as everything in the PJ films, so I guess that's why some called it a little boring, but I think it's lovely. If anyone's interested I can take and post some pictures of the set.

http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/B000EU1JL0/

The German Amazon page (unlike the US and UK version) has samples.

http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B000EU1JL0/

There are different CDs from the Ensemble, and while they may appear vaguely similar at first glance, it's actually different (earlier, less good) recordings as far as I'm informed.

I found some of the HoME volumes to be more readable than others, at times, I have to admit the stripping away of layers and versions of the stories came close to exceeding my interest in them, especially with me developing whiplash from constantly bobbing back and forth between the text and its many, many notes. Having said that, the books vastly increased my appreciation and understanding of Tolkien's works, and of the writing process in general, so yes - get them!

As far as books on Tolkien go, I would strongly recommend that you check out The Road To Middle Earth, by Tom Shippey: an essential read for any Tolkien fan.

Actually, I noticed in the writing of this how out of date my version of Shippey's text now is. Am tempted to buy it again for the new stuff...

Corey Olsen has a good book called Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, which follows the story and analyzes Bilbo's growth as a hero. Definitely worth looking at. Professor Olsen also has a lot of podcasts and other resources on Tolkien as well on his website.

The $1800 set is a "collectors hard cover edition" (archival quality, acid-free paper that won't yellow or deteriorate, etc).

Other "complete sets" that you will find on ebay and such are generally first edition hard cover.

What you want to do -- for reading purposes -- is pick up the first five in a paperback boxed set, and then start shopping the used bookstores for the remaining volumes (they've been published in various formats, hard cover, paperback, mass-market paperback, etc.) -- and single volumes are typically pretty cheap (especially the paperback editions), and often they are in pretty good shape, because most people really don't read the things.

Also, if you have NOT already purchased AND read BOTH "The Silmarillion" and "Unfinished Tales", you need to get and read those first... because if you've only read LoTR and/or The Hobbit... well, HoME is probably just going to be almost incomprehensible and "crazy shit" to you. (Ignibus is correct, HoME is not everyone's "cup of tea", and a good indicator is whether you really LOVE Silmarillion/Unfinished Tales -- if you don't think they are GRRRREAATT! then you're probably not going to like HoME.)

This one? This was my introduction to the hobbit, I was probably 10 or so. Agreed it might be a bit too busy for a 4 year old, but it's still great fun.

I bought the set in question in 2012, and this is the link to the item's page from my order history: The Lord of the Rings https://www.amazon.com/dp/0618260587/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_2A2MAb4VAWVGD

I believe it's the same as the one you posted, so I say go for it! The price sounds right and the picture is accurate. Amazon's reviews have a way of getting jumbled. And if it's not right, their returns are a breeze on Prime-eligible items. Good luck! It's an absolutely beautiful set of books.

This one's been done. Unlikely to be able to do better than John Garth!

By all accounts it's a fascinating and fantastic book.

https://www.amazon.com/Tolkien-Maker-Middle-earth-Catherine-McIlwaine/dp/1851244859

You can still get it on Amazon. It's a little pricey but definitely worth it since you can't take pictures of the exhibit. It's not just images, it's got a lot of good text.

My favourite by far is the 50th anniversary edition of the LOTR. I have this copy of the Hobbit and love the art direction in it, that alone makes it a safe purchase.

If you are interested in collecting, you must, must, must get The History of the Hobbit box set.

It's incredibly inclusive, and contains the 70th anniversary edition of The Hobbit (Perhaps worth the price of the set all by itself!), all the original drafts that Tolkien made of the story, essays on the tale's construction, notes on the text, and commentary.

If you're getting it, there's a more recent printing here, it'll let you look inside so you can get a sense of the art style.

I can't recommend the '77 cartoon enough, manages to capture the feel of the Hobbit really well. DOes an amazing job with the songs.

https://www.amazon.com/James-Joyce-Revised-Richard-Ellman/dp/1522666184

or better yet, get the audio book. JRR would approve, i imagine :)

If your library has Exploring The Hobbit you might want to check out some of the commentary about Bilbo. Interesting, and also a good read.

...and it's available for pre-order on Amazon UK, at least. Thank you for reminding me of that! It will have a bunch of otherwise very hard-to-find poems that were early versions of much of the work in the book as well as, apparently, an unfinished prose story about Tom.

I have these illustrated (by Alan Lee), and love them:

The Hobbit

http://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-Illustrated-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0395873460/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1325269700&sr=8-3

LotR

http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0618260587/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1325269823&sr=1-1

Found an Amazon listing for it so you can save it in a wishlist.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0008226741/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i13

I found this. There was a website that had all sorts of great artwork by Tolkien himself.

J R R Tolkien Artist & Illustrator is a great collection of all his illustration work.

For a selection of the songs (along with readings of sections of his books), you could look into the recordings that Tolkien made after LotR was written but before publication.

For example, here's Sam's song about the troll.

Edit - Oh, right. Also there's The Road Goes Ever On, a book of sheet music and whatnot for some of the songs that was developed by Donald Swann and officially approved by Tolkien.

If you have not already done so, I would strongly urge you to read A Secret Vice, the book not just the essay. The book was published only a few years ago, I think. It serves as an insight into Professor Tolkien’s views on languages, both real and invented.

I would also recommend reading the Professor’s essay English and Welsh, published in the book The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays.

Another recommendation is David Salo’s A Gateway to Sindarin, though it is primarily a grammar of his Neo-Sindarin for the LOTR movies, he does explore Tolkien’s methods for inventing languages and his inspirations.

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.

I would recommend reading the book, it’s dope! here you can buy it on amazon I think. if I did it right

I would suggest The J.R.R. Tolkien Audio Collection. She probably doesn't have it already, and it's really cool to hear the actual voices of Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien reading from the legendarium.

If you want to DM me the picture of her bookshelf, I can suggest some books too. There's just so many things she probably already has!

In this episode of the Prancing Pony Podcast they discuss pronunciation starting at about minute 3:00, including a number of clips of Christopher Tolkien. Around minute 7:30 they discuss and play a clip of Christopher Tolkien reading Túna from the Silmarillion. I believe the recording is part of the J.R.R. Tolkien Audio Collection audio book.

Edit: a link

Thanks I appreciate the response. I always assumed that because he was a philologist, and because he actually invented languages, that he would be fluent in at least a few others, but couldn't find anything that had any burden of proof.

I just ordered The Letters of J.R.R Tolkien and was hoping that would shed some insight. But I have yet to delve deep into Tolkien's work aside from reading the Hobbit, LOTR, and the Silmarillion about two years ago.

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

Ok this is going on my list. I don't speak or read Latin, but I'm enough of a linguaphile that I have to have this!!

Edit: aaaaand it's pre-ordered. For those of us in the US!

Pre-order now; Shipping Sep 13th (source)

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

Edit: links: LOTR, Silmarillion, Hobbit

http://www.amazon.com/Monsters-Critics-J-R-Tolkien/dp/026110263X/ref=sr_1_28?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322377425&sr=1-28

I think I've settled on going with these ones: ISBN:9780618260584.

Read The History of the Hobbit if you are looking for background information.

http://www.amazon.com/The-J-R-R-Tolkien-Audio-Collection/dp/0694525707

It seems to be in there, according to a review. Of course, that's not helpful for listening now, which is what I would've liked. A youtube search was vain, at least for me.

You can find all 5 of them and some commentary in J.R.R. Tolkien Artist & Illustrator by Hammond & Scull.

The one you're missing is this one: Merking's Palace.