Hey, man, what's a readable cosmology of Middle Earth?

I hate to admit it, but I cannot freaking read The Silmarillion or the books of lost tales, unfinished tales, and so on - their quasi-biblical style just bores me to tears for some reason, and I suddenly realize I’ve read three pages withuot actually reading a thing.

Is there some sort of “Cliff’s Notes” guide online that lays out the basic cosmology of Middle Earth - that is, the creation myth, the pre-history, and so on, everything leading up to the LOTR series?

There are several tries at what you want on the internet.
I don’t know of any in Print.
Here is a list of possible internet Readings:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ainulindale#Main_Synopsis Fairly good
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eru_Ilúvatar On Erü
http://www.physics.ccsu.edu/Larsen/jrrt.html
A strange take on it: http://www.ufodigest.com/quest4.html

Good Luck

Jim

Hey, thanks!

If you have questions after reading, toss them back here.
We can always try to gather up the Tolkien Experts. There are many of us.

Jim