Where to start reading?
(Sorry if this is a question you see often) I only watched the LOTR extended cut recently and now I just want to explore the rest of the universe. From where should I start reading?
Posted Jul 30, 2020, 12:05 PM UTC
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And in response to your comment - consider yourself lucky that you don't remember the Hobbit movies.
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the first one wasn't that bad, but the rest are.
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Idk man I usually start on the first page but you do you
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PS: I also watched the Hobbit trilogy when it came out, but U don’t remember it very well
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The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings were puslibished during Tolkien's lifetime. They are where you should start.
The Hobbit is a fairly short novel, meant for children. It is a kind of funny fairytale. The Lord of the Rings is next. And the Appendices of LotR!
The Silmarillion was published by his son, and is about the history of the centuries before the events of the Hobbit and LotR.
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I would go ahead and start with The Hobbit, against some of the other advice. If you are a grownup, it will be a super quick read (not long drawn-out and deadly like the films). The reason for that is that it gives you some backstory and some interesting Gollum stuff. Then that gives you continuity as you shift into Frodo's story. The tone is noticeably lighter and more child-friendly but nothing objectionable. It's just old-fashioned and charming, and occasionally funny too.
Then read the LOTR books in order: Fellowship, Two Towers, Return of the King. DO NOT SKIP the Appendices in RotK. They tell a lot more of the story.
At this point, you may feel ready to move on, or you may decide to re-read and absorb before continuing.
When you're ready to move on, the last major volume is The Silmarillion. It is bigger, deeper and heavier than LOTR, and will probably take you longer to read. This is fine. Stopping and starting, or flipping back to previous chapters, is fine too. So is making a chart to keep track of all the characters.
When you get to the end of the Silmarillion, you'll DEFINITELY need to re-read. For the rest of your life.
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Hello moite! I personally started with the Hobbit and I recommend the same. I'am not a super expert in the Middle Earth world, just read the books (Hobbit, LOTR, Silmarillion and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil) and if you a just looking to enjoy the history and the characters of this amazing universe I recommend you to start with The Hobbit, after all, thats what this book gives to you, one unexpected journey and with a great lore to begin. But if you really want to get in this universe and become a Tolkien expert. I should say to begin with the Simarillion, It's a history in the beginning of the books that we now and will give to you a big, BIG lore to start. Enjoy your reading ;)
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The Hobbit > The Lord of the Rings > The Silmarillion
When you've finished that, come back and we will discuss
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For mature readers, I suggest starting with Lord of the Rings. For younger readers, The Hobbit, which was written for a young audience.
A mature reader may be turned off by the more simplistic writing style in The Hobbit and put Tolkien down with that first impression. If you end up loving Lord of the Rings and Tolkien, you can catch up with the Hobbit.
Then, you will be ready for Tolkien's masterpiece, imo, The Silmarillion.
And after you've read the Silmarillion, read the Silmarillion.
It's written for people who have already read it.
Agreed. It is a book I will never put down. The story itself has so many characters, places and events, a re-read will always lead to learning something new, being able to connect motivations from one era and how it impacts future events.
But its really Tolkien's style that keeps me hooked. I can flip to any chapter and bask in the granduer of the writing, even if I can't recall which characters are related to others, or what side of Middle-earth a battle is taking place at. Just enjoy the moment, is my advise to approaching the Silmarillion.
There is no better Silmarillion advice than this.
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