# great books...need advice



## aguthasil (Jun 28, 2004)

Hi to all. I need some help. you see I've always known of and loved 'The Lord of The Rings' books and also 'The Hobbit', but those are the only four Tolkien books I've read. I really love those books, and I really wish to read more of Tolkiens books, but i don't know where to start. I was wondering if you could give me some pointers of which book i should start with now. any good advice, I have heard that they are all sooooo good, and I'm sure that they are, i was just wondering what some of your favorites are? thank you.


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## Lord Sauron (Jun 28, 2004)

Hi! look i am not much of a tolkien reader but have heard of some great books made also from tolkien. If you will give me sometime i will get one of the most favorite fan of tolkiens writtings to get on here and give you some advice


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## GuardianRanger (Jun 29, 2004)

By Tolkien, or published posthumously:

1. The Silmarillion - The history of the First and Second Ages. The creation of the mythology. Lots and Lots of backstory. Some say it is difficult reading because of all the names, but if you keep one finger in the appendix of the names while reading, you shouldn't have a problem. There is a forum here with devoted to Silmarillion discussion alone.

2. Unfinished Tales - a collection of storys spanning all three ages. Many of these stories are rough drafts, incomplete, and provide much information that was left out of the Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings

3. The History Of Middle Earth - a twelve volume set that chronicals all that Tolkien wrote on Middle Earth. I don't own these, so I can not comment on them. There is a forum here on these books alone, and I suspect that someone who has read them will chime in.

Books that others have written on Tolkien and Middle Earth:

1. Karen Wynn Fonstad - _The Atlas Of Middle Earth_. An excellent book on the geography and maps of the stories that make up the Hobbit, The Lord Of The Rings and The Silmarillion. Highly recommended.

2. Humphrey Carpenter - _Letters_. Tolkien responded to many letters of fan mail with further clarification and explanations. This book is packed full of extra information.

3. Humphrey Carpenter - _Biography_. A great biography of Tolkien.

4. Douglass Anderson - _The Annotated Hobbit_. In my opinion, this is like the History of Middle Earth, but for the Hobbit. It is the complete story of the Hobbit as written by Tolkien, yet it contains all the revisions he made to the story, as well as historical annotations and references. It's probably my favorite non-Tolkien book right now.

There are so many more, these are just the ones I currently own. A simple search on Amazon will probably turn up quite a few more. There have been threads here at TTF on other authors, they may help guide you to what you may want to read next.

Further, Tolkien wrote other stories, and some of these have been published as well. You may want to check out _The Father Christmas Letters_ or a book like _Tales From The Perilous Realm_, which contain many stories.

Hope this helps.


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## Inderjit S (Jun 29, 2004)

I would move on to the history of the earlier ages in Middle-Earth-and 'The Silmarillion' is an ideal starting point. I would then move on to the History of Middle Earth, 10-12, and Unfinished Tales.

If you want to learn more about Tolkien himself then I would recommend 'The Letters of Tolkien', which can be used with the "wider reading" material (Unfinished Tale, HoME) and Carpenter's biography.

Most bookstores should have some of the aforementioned titles-or check out www.amazon.com-you can pick up Tolkien books (second hand) really cheap from there.


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## greypilgrim (Jun 29, 2004)

The Silmarillion, I read that book alot. It tells you where everyone comes from! The names trip me out!


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## aguthasil (Jun 29, 2004)

Thanks all of you! all theses books i've heard of and have been wondering about them. Lord Sauron, I would love to talk to the Tolkien fan. That would be great. Out of all the Tolkien books that all of you have read (except for the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings), which do you recomend? greypilgrim, i know which one you do, since you already posted it.


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## 33Peregrin (Jun 29, 2004)

A book I love by Tolkien is Smith of Wootten Major, and I would strongly recommend that! You could read it in about an hour. At the same time, I would recommend Farmer Giles of Ham, another short and easy read by Tolkien. And then of course, you can read other wonder things like The Silmarillion and the History of Middle-earth.


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## aguthasil (Jul 8, 2004)

I just bought The Lost Tales, part one yesterday in Texas. Do you think that was a wise choice?


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