# Literary standing of LotR



## Eriol (Jan 24, 2003)

We know Tolkien has not won any major awards for LotR, but the people have spoken and it is quoted in a lot of places that it is "the most widely read book of the century", that it was voted "the book of the millenium", etc. Do you know where are the sources of this information? I mean, where is the measurement that declared that it is the most widely book? I'm looking for hard data here. Also, if any of you know into how many languages it was translated, it would help. 

Thanks to all in advance.


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## Ithrynluin (Jan 24, 2003)

And in addition to what Eriol said, I would like to know how many copies of the LOTR were sold so far. I heard the number 50 million about 6 years ago, but I'm sure it has grown since then, with the movie coming out and all that.


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## *Lady Arwen* (Jan 24, 2003)

I fonud out how many laguages its been tranlated into, thirty-eight .
Basque, Breton, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese - Simple, Chinese - Complex, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, Galician, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Marathi, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (European), Portuguese (Brazilian), Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish.


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## aragil (Jan 24, 2003)

Shippey's JRRT, Author of the Century opens with a discussion of the specific polls that awarded LoTR as the most widely read book. IIRC, they were all polls in English-Language countries, with the majority of them coming from England. Not to say that Shippey's list is comprehensive, but it is specific.


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## redline2200 (Jan 25, 2003)

38 languages?!? that's amazing! I had no idea there were that many LOTR copies out there. Can you actually imagine reading the LOTR in Breton? That's fascinating, thanks for the info.


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## faila (Jan 25, 2003)

> _Originally posted by redline2200 _
> *38 languages?!? that's amazing! I had no idea there were that many LOTR copies out there. Can you actually imagine reading the LOTR in Breton? That's fascinating, thanks for the info. *


 Isnt it numbrthree in all time sales and translatins (behind the Bibleand pilgrms progress)?


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## Ithrynluin (Jan 25, 2003)

I heard it was actually the best selling book of all times right after the Bible and Agatha Christie's work (though I don't think that the sales of ALL her works combined should compete against the LOTR only; kind of unfair). I would like to hear about the actual numbers, if any are available of course.


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## BlackCaptain (Jan 25, 2003)

yup, LOTR is the Second most read book of all time. And the Bible had like, 1700 years head start. Kind of interesting huh?


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## Eriol (Jan 28, 2003)

Thanks all for your input folks. The number of translations was nice. I would like to know where this figures (50 millions, number three in sales...) come from, if they are not just rumors. Any help in that department?


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## Ithrynluin (Jan 28, 2003)

Well I do not know the original source for the "50 million" but the article that Snaga1 posted in Related Topics, mentions this number too. Here it is 

I remember this number from several years ago...I still think that the number must have grown since then.


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## Muffinly (Jan 28, 2003)

> _Originally posted by MorgulKing _
> *yup, LOTR is the Second most read book of all time. And the Bible had like, 1700 years head start. Kind of interesting huh? *



Yeah, but the Bible still sells more every day than LOTR.


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## 10000 strong (Jan 28, 2003)

In my opinion LOTR _is the greatest book of all time...._ Tolkien was a genius. . . . . . You can tell when you read his literature.


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## Muffinly (Jan 28, 2003)

> _Originally posted by 10,000 strong _
> *In my opinion LOTR is the greatest book of all time.... Tolkien was a genius. . . . . . You can tell when you read his literature.  *




Yes, Tolkien wrote the best Fiction Story. Period, are there any who can argue with that? most likely not. But calling it the greatest book af all time is a little too far. It doesn't even compare with the Bible and I don't really think it should be compared, because, well, they are in no way the same Genre.


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## Lantarion (Jan 29, 2003)

Haha, I don't think the LotR was the best fictional book ever written. Certainly his world is the most expansive and wide and varied ever created by a single author, that I think is true. 
As far as his best work goes, I'd say the Silmarillion + UT is better than the LotR, and should get more recognition IMO.


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## Muffinly (Jan 29, 2003)

I didn't say LOTR was. I said Tolkien wrote the best fiction story. I like the Silmarillion Better too.


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## 10000 strong (Jan 29, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Muffinly _
> *Yes, Tolkien wrote the best Fiction Story. Period, are there any who can argue with that? most likely not. But calling it the greatest book af all time is a little too far. It doesn't even compare with the Bible and I don't really think it should be compared, because, well, they are in no way the same Genre. *



well you know, i'm not talking about comparing it with a holy book or anything, just comparing it to books like Harry Potter


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## Muffinly (Jan 30, 2003)

Yes, it is much much better than Harry Potter.


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## 33Peregrin (Feb 4, 2003)

Much MUCH better than Harry Potter. If HP sells a lot, it is because of all the little kids who can read it and not LOTR. I'm not saying its a kids book but..... 
Anyways, wasn't LOTR voted the best book of the 20th century on Amazon.com? That's what my TIME magazine said, and I've heard it other places too.


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## Muffinly (Feb 4, 2003)

It was voted best book of the Millennium somewhere else, but I forget where it was.


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## Beleg (Feb 5, 2003)

regardless of the religious books, I agree that it is the most widely sold book, though not the best (in my personal opinion) book every written. I place Sir Conan Doyle in front.


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## jimmyboy (Feb 5, 2003)

Actually, the LOTR (and all the ME books besides "The Hobbit") read very similarly to the Bible, especially the Old Testament. But as some have said, there is so much more in the Bible, even from a story-only perspective. For me the Bible is the source of truth, and one reason I love the ME books is because they resonate with much of that truth. To those here who say that the Bible (or religion in general) is no good, I say it's likely that you say such things out of ignorance. Taking what others have told you, or going by what *seems* to be true, then making your judgement, does not and cannot replace reading the Bible for yourself. To say that the bible is no good when you haven't read it (I don't mean you've read some verses or a few chapters here and there) is like a non-ME reader saying that all those books on elves and dragons and stuff are stupid cause all they do is breed more "geeks", and "social losers". Such people have no clue what they're really talking about, now do they?


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## pgt (Feb 12, 2003)

Are sales figures the measuring stick of great literature? If so, out of curiosity, where do other authors of western fiction such as Shakespeare, Cervantes, Homer, Faulkner, etc fall?

With respect to comparing to other books, literature and such including the Bible, are historical sales figures over say 1700 years agregated? The 1700 year lead the Bible may have should perhaps consider general population literacy, langauges available in (lack thereof) and general lack of print & distribution infrastructure in some eras.


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## Mindy_O_Lluin (Feb 12, 2003)

I would say Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy wrote better than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and some might say Dickens, also, though I don't know, since I'm not into him. Maybe they all WROTE slightly better than Tolkien, but none of them has a STORY more entralling and endearing than LOTRs. (Though some come close.)


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## jimmyboy (Feb 13, 2003)

Well, I've read both Dickens and Doyle, and IMO they are both excellent writers. Dickens writes in a very round-about sort of way, meaning that he will not just say something in a straight-forward manner. Yeah, kinda like Tolkien. I'm not going to even begin to claim that one of these writers is better than any other, because for one I've not read enough of Dickens or Doyle, and two they are all very good writers. Kinda hard to tell which is better, really. I will say that "Great Expectations" (by Dickens) is an excellent book. Kinda slow at first, but after it picks up it's a great story.

That said, I LOVE Tolkien's style of writing, at least how it's presented in LOTR and The Sil.


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## Lantarion (Feb 13, 2003)

I agree Mindy_O_Lluin, that many writers (I do not know that many, but Conrad writes incredibly) actually write better in the sense that their language is more psychological and in-depth. But Tolkien described surroundings and natural environments with amazing detail and beautiful language; and the language in the Silmarillion is equal, I think, to Dickens or Steinbeck; and even greater, because it has a mythical tone to it, and the words and sentence structures are very similar to that of the Bible (without the endless metaphors). 
I think the Sil is the greatest fictional book ever written because *one person* conjured up all those images and events and people and places..! Even the _Kalevala_, which is renowned all over the world as a genuine mythos, is a collection of rhymes and stories and tales from a long span of time, collected and refined into one. But Tolkien had to invent *everything*.


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## Ol'gaffer (Feb 13, 2003)

One could also say that Tolkien also used too much time to describe the surroundings and plants and villages almost as if he were trying to say that "I can do this because I'm smart!" which for some people may have been too much, I know that it was for me and that's why I would have to say that LOTR is not the best book ever written. But for example Mark Twain, Conrad, Orwell. They all write with incredible depth and meaning their books and include so many thoughts into their novels that it's extraordinary that they manage to keep their books intresting, when I've read their books I've never felt bored or never found myself thinking that should I skip ahead a little bit. There were many parts in LOTR that made me feel so. So that's why I'll have to say that LOTR isn't the greatest fictional book ever written, the most imaginative and extensive, yes. But best, nope.


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