# advice needed. thanx



## Digger00 (Sep 6, 2005)

*hey lovely forum.*

*i have just finished reading "The Hobbit" , it really rockSSs*! (i will talk about that later)*

*and i wanted to ask , what should i read next*! ,, i saw many books like "the unfinished tales" and more *& more for tolkien , infact i dont know the order of reading them.*

*what do u advice me to read next*! before start reading "the lords of the rings"*


**Thanks&Goodbye*


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## Grond (Sep 6, 2005)

I would read LotR next. The Silmarillion would logically follow after that. The Sil, UT and HoME expound on the mythology/legendarium that is mentioned in LotR. 

Cheers,

grond


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## Digger00 (Sep 6, 2005)

The Silmarillion would logically follow after what , the hobbit??

u mean, that i should read the silmarillon?


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## e.Blackstar (Sep 6, 2005)

The Sil TECHNICALLY comes before any of the other books, but it's so boring that you'll never finish it if you don't read something else first.  I'd recommend LotR, then The Sil.


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## Nenya Evenstar (Sep 6, 2005)

Hey Digger00!

Just a note (might help):

LotR means "The Lord of the Rings"

Sil means "The Silmarillion"

UT means "Unfinished Tales"

HoME means "History of Middle Earth"

Grond and e.Blackstar suggested that you read "The Lord of the Rings" next. Their suggestion is definitely the best!


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## Grond (Sep 6, 2005)

LOL! How silly of me! I forget that a person new to Tolkien wouldn't catch on to our abbreviations. 

Digger,

The Silmarillion is my favorite book but it requires a dedication and loyalty to Tolkien before you undertake the task of reading it. The Quenta Silmarillion and The Ainulindale are both challenging (but short) works that read more like a religious text than a story. It will be better for you to get an understanding of the context of the Lord of the Rings so that after you've completed the novel, you'll be asking the questions that only the Silmarillion can answer. (Who is Elbereth Githoniel? Shelob, last child of Ungoliant? Who's Ungoliant? Gil-galad was an Elven King? When? Where? Who? What? Where was/is Gondolin?) All of these questions (and more) will be answered in the Silmarillion. But... you won't know to ask them until you've read The Lord of the Rings.

Oh, it would be wonderful to be reading the Lord of the Rings again for the first time. (sigh!) Enjoy Digger!!

Cheers,

grond


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## Aglarband (Sep 6, 2005)

I never looked at anything after the song of Arda and the shaping of Arda as Biblicalish in the Sil. Demigods only have as much power as the Valar in mythology. I mean the rest of the Sil is a mix of tragedy and love.


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## Digger00 (Sep 7, 2005)

so, i will start reading lotr.

thank you all for your effort & your help.


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## Barliman Butterbur (Sep 7, 2005)

Digger00 said:


> ...i have just finished reading "The Hobbit"...what do u advise me to read next before start reading "the lords of the rings"...



Go right into LOTR. Then read all its appendices. Then get Jackson's movies. Then you might want to tackle _The Silmarillion._ After that, gradually, _The History of Middle Earth._ I envy you being at the beginning of all this good stuff! (And somewhere in it all, just for fun, you might want to check out the links in my signature.  )

Barley


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## Ingwë (Sep 8, 2005)

Best Order to Read in *Other Works by J.R.R. Tolkien*  

Very, very useful thread


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