# Lord of the Rings: Book or Movies First? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 5, 2016, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-book-or-movies-first/761799 "2016-08-05T02:13:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-book-or-movies-first/761799/1 "2016-08-05T02:13:48Z")
In spite of being an SF/Fantasy fan for decades, I’ve never read the books, and never seen the movies. I plan to rectify that, starting this week. Usually, when I watch a movie based on a book with a fairly complex plot, I wonder how anyone who hasn’t read the book could possibly know what’s going on. But these movies are pretty long, especially the extended editions, and they are so popular that people who didn’t read the books must have enjoyed them, so I’m wondering whether it might not be better to watch the movies first, then read the books. Assuming I read the books eventually, so I get everything that’s left out of the movies, would people who have enjoyed both the books and the movies recommend that I read the books first, or watch the movies first? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-book-or-movies-first/761799/2 "2016-08-05T02:16:04Z")
Read the book. It’s the greatest novel of the 20th century. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-book-or-movies-first/761799/3 "2016-08-05T02:26:24Z")
Whoo… I’d never go that far! Jolly good read, but as far as great books of the 20th century, not even in the top 100. Book first. You’ll know a lot more of what the heck is going on. If I’d seen the movies first, I’d still be totally bewildered about what the hell was going on. (And read “The Hobbit” before “Lord of the Rings.” It’s more fun that way.) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-book-or-movies-first/761799/4 "2016-08-05T02:28:04Z")
Watch _Fellowship of the Rings_ first, then read the books, then watch the last two movies. The first movie is one of the best page-to-screen adaptations I’ve ever seen. The first book drags a lot, and a lot of people bounce off of it, particularly if they’re reading it after already being a fantasy lit. fan for their whole lives. The first movie pares down a lot of the meandering and maundering into a tighter, more focused narrative. Having the film in your head already might help push through the drier bits of the book. The second and third movies aren’t nearly as strong as the first, although their still pretty good. The second and third books, on the other hand, improve vastly over the first, and should be enjoyed first on their own merits, before consuming their adaptations. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-book-or-movies-first/761799/5 "2016-08-05T02:35:43Z")
I never read the books all the way through until after the first movie came out. (All that poetry and lofty Edwardian prose can be off-putting to a teenager.) ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-book-or-movies-first/761799/6 "2016-08-05T02:40:17Z")
I’ve always been more of a movie first person, if I haven’t already read the book. I find the movies can be disappointing, since they always have to skip stuff, if I have the book in my head first. The other way around, I can enjoy the movie for what it is, and then the book fills everything in after. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-book-or-movies-first/761799/7 "2016-08-05T02:45:34Z")
If you are a reader, absolutely read _The Hobbit_ first, then _The Lord of the Rings_. Then see the movies, if you like. Do not let your visualization and understanding of the books be controlled and compromised by the movies. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-book-or-movies-first/761799/8 "2016-08-05T02:52:50Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > If you are a reader, absolutely read _The Hobbit_ first, then _The Lord of the Rings_. Then see the movies, if you like. Do not let your visualization and understanding of the books be controlled and compromised by the movies. This. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-book-or-movies-first/761799/9 "2016-08-05T04:05:37Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Whoo… I’d never go that far! Jolly good read, but as far as great books of the 20th century, not even in the top 100. I’m not alone. I know it topped a list on the 20th century English-language novels. A pretty distinguished list, too. [Here, Time has it #3, behind Mockingbird and 1984.](http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2681.Time_Magazine_s_All_Time_100_Novels) ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-book-or-movies-first/761799/10 "2016-08-05T05:47:44Z")
OK, the consensus seems to be, I should read the book first, except I should read The Hobbit first, except I should see the first movie of the trilogy first, unless I see all the movies first. Do I hear any recommendations for seeing the second movie first? 🙂 Seriously, thanks for all the responses. I’ll make the optimistic interpretation that I’ll like it no matter what order I end up using. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-book-or-movies-first/761799/11 "2016-08-05T06:08:08Z")
Read “The Hobbit” now. In my opinion, it’s the best out of the 4. Don’t bother with the “Hobbit” movies, though. Then read the trilogy. Movies later. The films are a great companion piece to the books, even though the books lose significant enjoyment after the first read. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-book-or-movies-first/761799/12 "2016-08-05T11:09:29Z")
I read a lot of abridged books when I was a kid, before moving on to the unabridged versions. Has anyone done an abridging of LotR? ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-book-or-movies-first/761799/13 "2016-08-05T11:17:01Z")
I’m old school. Absolutely books first. And I always treat LOTR not as a Trilogy, but I add The Hobbit as the first book, so a quartet. Then the three LOTR extended cut movies. A box set of the three extended cut versions in on [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-Extended-Trilogy-Movie-Collection/dp/B014GJBP54/ref=pd_sim_74_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=51umSu-0x1L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL320_SR240%2C320_&psc=1&refRID=8FRVR0CCSZPKX1Z40SJT) for under $60. As stated above, ignore the Hobbit movies. Horrible film making. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-book-or-movies-first/761799/14 "2016-08-05T11:33:13Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > If you are a reader, absolutely read _The Hobbit_ first, then _The Lord of the Rings_. Then see the movies, if you like. Do not let your visualization and understanding of the books be controlled and compromised by the movies. Yes, agree. Absolutely. Some people who hadn’t read the books first were confused by the rapid events and cuts of the movies, especially the second and third. Long as the movies are, they don’t cover everything. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-book-or-movies-first/761799/15 "2016-08-05T11:39:26Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I read a lot of abridged books when I was a kid, before moving on to the unabridged versions. Has anyone done an abridging of LotR? Just do like everyone else and skip over all the poems. Seems to cut the page count in half. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-book-or-movies-first/761799/16 "2016-08-05T11:41:42Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Read “The Hobbit” now. In my opinion, it’s the best out of the 4. Don’t bother with the “Hobbit” movies, though. > > Then read the trilogy. Movies later. The films are a great companion piece to the books, even though the books lose significant enjoyment after the first read. Just realize that the tone and voice of The Hobbit is lighter, for children. The tone of LotR is epic, high fantasy. It is more serious, draws on the great medieval European epics and medieval Scandinavian ballads and lore, the diction becomes more formal as the action progresses from the earthy affairs of the hobbits to the concerns of honor and good vs evil of the nobility. My own preference has always been for LotR, even when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-book-or-movies-first/761799/17 "2016-08-05T11:48:32Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Watch _Fellowship of the Rings_ first, then read the books, then watch the last two movies. The first movie is one of the best page-to-screen adaptations I’ve ever seen. The first book drags a lot, and a lot of people bounce off of it, particularly if they’re reading it after already being a fantasy lit. fan for their whole lives. The first movie pares down a lot of the meandering and maundering into a tighter, more focused narrative. Having the film in your head already might help push through the drier bits of the book. > > The second and third movies aren’t nearly as strong as the first, although their still pretty good. The second and third books, on the other hand, improve vastly over the first, and should be enjoyed first on their own merits, before consuming their adaptations. While I am a books first kind of guy, this is not bad advice for someone who has never seen or read either. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-book-or-movies-first/761799/18 "2016-08-05T12:19:42Z")
Book. Then read _Bored of the Rings_. ---
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-book-or-movies-first/761799/19 "2016-08-05T13:02:04Z")
Honestly? Movie. I tried numerous times to read LOTR, and I just couldn’t take it until after I saw the movies. I was already familiar with the plot from having seen the Ralph Bakshi version. But the book is often a total slog, and there are some lengthy portions that are very reader-unfriendly and should have been cut entirely (Tom Bombadil, anyone?) ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2016, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-book-or-movies-first/761799/20 "2016-08-05T13:08:46Z")
I’m a huge fan of the books, but I think I would say movies first (or at least, as suggested, the first movie first). The books are much richer, and for some people their familiarity with the books lessened their enjoyment of the movies. On the other hand, I don’t know that I’ve heard anyone complain that the movie ruined the books for them. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lord-of-the-rings-book-or-movies-first/761799.md?page=2)