Welcome Guest 

Register

Forum Home » Books Discussion » Book Club » Order to read Books in?
Author Topic:
findemaxam48
Council Member
Posts: 9188
Send Message
Avatar
Post Order to read Books in?
on: January 21, 2015 02:27
Good afternoon,everyone!

As you, or some of you know, I have been re-reading the books lately, and am seeking to purchasemore Tolkien literature. I was wondering in which order I should read the books,so that I would be reading them in chronological order. I know the timeline of The Hobbit, FotR, TTT, and then RotK- but where does the Silmarillion fall in? What about the Children of Hurin? Adventures ofTom Bombadil?

I would love to know so that I can set offon my book buying spree and then get reading. Thanks!
We were one in the same, running like moths to the flame. You'd hang on every word I'd say, but now they only ricochet.
Eruwestiel_Evensong
Council Member
Posts: 1402
Send Message
Post
on: January 21, 2015 03:00
To my understanding The Silmarillion comes first, probably followed by the Children of Hurin and History of Middle Earth. This may be helpful -> http://www.reddit.com/r/lotr/comments/151jct/recommended_reading_for_tolkien_fans/

I would love to read along with you once you decide on a book. I will admit that I have only read the The Fellowship of the Ring and half of The Hobbit. And then I picked up Morgoth's Ring and found it totally intriguing...go figure.
"And I dreamed of seas and ships, and of waves crashing on the shore in the twilight of the world..." ~Song, member of the Realm of Ulmo
findemaxam48
Council Member
Posts: 9188
Send Message
Avatar
Post
on: January 21, 2015 04:20
Thank you, Song! I await the opinions and thoughts of others, as well. I would love to read along with you!
We were one in the same, running like moths to the flame. You'd hang on every word I'd say, but now they only ricochet.
findemaxam48
Council Member
Posts: 9188
Send Message
Avatar
Post
on: January 21, 2015 04:20
Thank you, Song! I await the opinions and thoughts of others, as well. I would love to read along with you!
We were one in the same, running like moths to the flame. You'd hang on every word I'd say, but now they only ricochet.
Lindarielwen
Council Member
Posts: 24157
Send Message
Avatar
Post
on: January 22, 2015 07:50
Maxie, the Silmarillion is where it all began but some think it is the book to read after you read The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. I read the Simarillion last and it gave me better insight into Hobbit and LotR.

My destiny is riding again, rolling in the rain, unwinding in the wind. My destiny is fighting again, secretly unwinding..what it was I was supposed to say...to say to you today.
PSK
Council Member
Posts: 1410
Send Message
Post
on: January 22, 2015 11:35
Yeah, I agree. If you are reading the Sil for the first time, then Hobbit, LotR, Sil, Children of Hurin, HOME. I don't think it is possible to enjoy the Silmarillion unless you have read the others, because they give you a good frame work for understanding it. Without that there are just too many places, people, ideas, and events, which will be much easier to understand and put chronological order or some kind of pattern in your brain if you have read the earlier (in terms of publishing) works. The first time I read the Sil I didn't have a good understanding of Middle-Earth and the Tolkienverse in general, so I was struggling to get all the information and it wasn't really enjoyable.

If its chronological then it would be Sil, Children of Hurin, Hobbit, LotR. I don't think of HOME (apart from Book of Lost Tales, which is confusing, and I would recommend to read after everything else) as part of the events, so I would recommend reading that last. If you've read them all already then I would say do this, it seems to be what you're looking for if I'm correct.
"Tears unnumbered ye shall shed; and the Valar will fence Valinor against you, and shut you out, so that not even the echo of your lamentation shall pass over the mountains." ~ The Doom of Mandos
Gandolorin
Council Member
Posts: 24040
Send Message
Post
on: January 22, 2015 12:26
I would agree that Book of Lost Tales 1 and 2 should be read last, even though they are the first books of HoME, fitting into the series' chronology. My Sil, UT, and BoLT 1 + 2 (all paperbacks) were all printed in 1986, so I'm guessing I bought the four simultaneously. My dim memory is being puzzled what the setting, participants and the stories told had to do with JRRT's mythology as far as I was familiar with it at the time. The interest in BoLT borders on the archaeological, as the setting was pretty much completely discarded; some names and phrases survived into the Sil, but BoLT has a distinct children's fairy-tale ambiance to it that JRRT later rejected rigorously.

[Edited on 01/22/2015 by Gandolorin]
Image
findemaxam48
Council Member
Posts: 9188
Send Message
Avatar
Post
on: January 22, 2015 03:53
Thank you everyone! I finished the Hobbit for the fourth time yesterday, and am now in FotR. I will move through the three, and then pick up the Sil, which I bought over a year ago and still haven't read. After that, I will jump into the chronological order, though I expect I will need lots of help at first.
We were one in the same, running like moths to the flame. You'd hang on every word I'd say, but now they only ricochet.
PSK
Council Member
Posts: 1410
Send Message
Post
on: January 23, 2015 10:19
Everyone does (need help) when reading the Sil. I had to read a few of the chapters three or four times to make sense of them...
"Tears unnumbered ye shall shed; and the Valar will fence Valinor against you, and shut you out, so that not even the echo of your lamentation shall pass over the mountains." ~ The Doom of Mandos
findemaxam48
Council Member
Posts: 9188
Send Message
Avatar
Post
on: January 23, 2015 12:46
It is a good thing that we have the CoE, then. I am halfway through chapter three of FotR!
We were one in the same, running like moths to the flame. You'd hang on every word I'd say, but now they only ricochet.
Dolwen
Store Admin & Head Weaver of Vairë
Posts: 15040
Send Message
Avatar
Post
on: January 27, 2015 06:27
I agree with everyone that The Sil, though chronologically before The Hobbit should be read after. Also, just so you know, a shortened version of The Children of Hurin is in the Sil so you should definitely read the stand alone book after, not before The Sil. Very few people grasp all the info in The Sil on a first reading, so you should be prepared to read it a couple of times. I think I would then read Unfinished Tales.
HoMe is more or less a collection of early story versions, notes, changes etc. It is Tolkien's notes of his development of Middle-earth edited together by his son it isn't a story and can be tough going in places. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of great information in the series of 12 books but one should be very familiar with The Sil before attempting it. Also, 4 of the books are The History of the LotR so again, you should be very familiar with the LotR narrative first. Then the is The History of the Hobbit but those are separate books from HoMe.
Basically, if you really enjoy the appendices to the LotR and enjoy learning how everything started and reading tid bits of the earliest versions of these stories then you'd probably enjoy HoMe but it is in no way necessary to the enjoyment of the actual completed books that we have.
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil are a collection of Tolkien's poetry some relating to Middle-earth and some not so it doesn't really fit into any chronological order.

By the way, when you are ready to read The Sil, we have a helpful survival guide right here on CoE that you might be interested in checking out. You can find it in Elrond's Library under Silmarillion Guide. http://www.councilofelrond.com/silarticle/

Happy Reading!
PSK
Council Member
Posts: 1410
Send Message
Post
on: January 28, 2015 11:28
I love BoLT, because I felt so fairytale-ish, and intriguing. I suppose I love the mystery in the stories, and seeing as the BoLT does not explicitly state lots of the settings, and leaves that sense of mystery and intrigue it makes it one of my favourite Tolkien works. However, having said this it is very confusing especially at first, and I don't really remember the specifics of what is in it, so it's not exactly memorable as a story.

Read it, but you should definitely read it last.
"Tears unnumbered ye shall shed; and the Valar will fence Valinor against you, and shut you out, so that not even the echo of your lamentation shall pass over the mountains." ~ The Doom of Mandos
ItarildeSirfalas
Council Member
Posts: 4266
Send Message
Avatar
Post
on: February 25, 2015 10:13
I finally started reading the Sil today, and thanks to CoE it is making sense I did read the guide in Elrond's library, but it's mainly because of the forum discussions and games that it's not confusing

Hooray for CoE!
Image Image
"Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere." ~ Elrond ♥
Members Online
Print Friendly, PDF & Email