The works of J.R.R. Tolkien

 

I started reading Tolkien a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away (...ok, a decade ago in Fairfield). The books were a huge part of my teenage years. I re-read them every once in a while, so I’ll probably review Tolkien’s main works a bit later. But for now, I’m inching my way through three fat volumes of Tolkien’s unfinished work, published and annotated by his son Christopher. Believe me, it’s not for the faint of heart. (Or the sleepy, which is why it’s taking me so long).

But first! The shortest-guide-ever to reading Tolkien:

1. Start with The Hobbit. It’s comparatively short and an excellent introduction to Tolkien’s world.
2. Loved it? Move on the The Lord of the Rings. Did you find hobbits suuuper boring? Trust me: plow through the first few chapters, until they get out of the Shire, and it gets a lot more action-packed.
3. Can’t get enough of dem elves? The Silmarillion might be for you. It can be a tough read, with sections that are all mystical-abstract-y, passages that get deep into geography or genealogy, and lots and lots and lots of names. For me, that’s part of the charm, along with the long and intricate history it builds. If you hit a chunk that you just can’t get through, just skim to the next part.
4. If The Silmarillion was a little too “out there” for you, The Children of Húrin might be more your speed. It’s a darker adventure set around two human characters, compiled by Christoper Tolkien but formatted like a full story.
5. Found yourself obsessed with Tolkien after all? You probably don’t need me to tell you that The Unfinished Tales and The History of Middle Earth are next on your plate. These works were published by Christopher Tolkien, and never fully finished or integrated together; Chris does a lot of piecing-together and version-control. It’s not a light read, but some of the stories in there are absolutely worth it.

Finally, Encyclopedia Arda and Wikipedia's Middle-earth Portal are your friends :)

I’m currently working my way through The History of Middle Earth as well as The Unfinished Tales. The copies I have were published together in The Complete History of Middle Earth, three super-thick books with Bible-thin pages (that's them over on the left). So far I’m through the first two volumes of HoME and halfway through the third. That means I'm only halfway through the first big book. I’m going to review them separately, because they were actually published separately… and because that’s a whole lot of pages and stories to summarize in one place.