# Tolkien Fans - what are the 'must haves' in terms of his books? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 11, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tolkien-fans-what-are-the-must-haves-in-terms-of-his-books/429635 "2007-12-11T18:11:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tolkien-fans-what-are-the-must-haves-in-terms-of-his-books/429635/1 "2007-12-11T18:11:59Z")
Title says it all - clearly The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings and the Silmirillian are there, but what other books should adorn the shelves? Are particular editions ‘better’ than others? (Not so much for collectibility, but are certain revisions more important than others - if they exist)? What about for Collectability? I recently aquired the Red Leather volume from 73 and a true first of the US silmirillian hardcover - what else should I start looking for? ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2007, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tolkien-fans-what-are-the-must-haves-in-terms-of-his-books/429635/2 "2007-12-11T19:56:28Z")
For a better understanding of the stories, “Letters” is essential. He gives reasons for many story elements and a few fascinating what-ifs. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2007, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tolkien-fans-what-are-the-must-haves-in-terms-of-his-books/429635/3 "2007-12-11T20:15:00Z")
The volumes of _The History_ are fascinating for lovers of minutiae and those who want to see Tolkien’s works in construction, but they’re not essential if you aren’t one of those people. _Letters_ is important, as **rowrrbazzle** noted. For a non-Tolkien book that can give some geographical insight into Middle-Earth, I’d recommend finding a copy of Karen Wynn Fonstad’s _Atlas of Middle-Earth_. The maps in the published editions of the trilogy and the Silmarillion are unwieldy and not terribly naturalistic, whereas Fonstad’s maps tend to be more carefully drawn and she’s an incredible cartographer, so her maps are very carefully faithful to the text, when that’s possible. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2007, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tolkien-fans-what-are-the-must-haves-in-terms-of-his-books/429635/4 "2007-12-11T20:40:13Z")
_Unfinished Tales_ gives some great tidbits and fragments which you won’t find anywhere else. As the title suggests, none of what’s in it is finished, but most of what there is is of very high quality. The recently-released _Children of Hurin_ contains a novel-length treatment of the Tale of Turin Turambar. It is, in places, some of the best writing Tolkien has ever produced, if the subject matter doesn’t drive you to suicide. It overlaps with _Unfinished_, in that parts of it were published there before Christopher was able to scrounge up enough old manuscripts to assemble the full thing. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2007, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tolkien-fans-what-are-the-must-haves-in-terms-of-his-books/429635/5 "2007-12-11T20:45:52Z")
I strongly recommend obtaining two older paperbacks of works by the Professor: _Smith of Wooten Major/Farmer Giles of Ham_, and _The Tolkien Reader_. They have some wonderful stories and poems that show that he was a very good writer, beyond just his ability to write about the mythology of his “Middle-Earth.” You should, of course, obtain both the excellent biography of Tolkien written by Humphrey Carpenter, and _The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien_, published by the combined efforts of Carpenter and Tolkien’s son, Christopher. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2007, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tolkien-fans-what-are-the-must-haves-in-terms-of-his-books/429635/6 "2007-12-11T20:48:47Z")
I would say Unfinished Tales and Letters are great additions. I would also add the often overlooked novella masterpiece [Smith of Wootton Major](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_of_Wootton_Major) As you specifically mentioned “what other books should adorn the shelves?” I would say the [Red Leather single volume of the Lord of the Rings](http://mysite.verizon.net/aznirb/mtr/deluxe.gif). The one I need to pick up soon is [The Lord of the Rings: A Reader’s Companion](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0618642676/ref=nosim/mikestolkienreso) ISBN: 0618642676. I think at least one Hard Cover of the Hobbit should adorn a book shelf. > **[Amazon.com: The Hobbit (or There and Back Again): 0807728455477: J. R. R....](https://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-There-Back-Again/dp/0395177111)** > > Amazon.com: The Hobbit (or There and Back Again): 0807728455477: J. R. R. Tolkien: Books > **[Amazon.com: The Hobbit: 75th Anniversary Edition: 9780618968633: Tolkien,...](https://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0618968636)** > > Amazon.com: The Hobbit: 75th Anniversary Edition: 9780618968633: Tolkien, J.R.R., Tolkien, J.R.R.: Books Jim ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2007, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tolkien-fans-what-are-the-must-haves-in-terms-of-his-books/429635/7 "2007-12-11T21:10:59Z")
Another enthusiastic vote for _Unfinished Tales_ and _Letters_, which are treasure-troves of Tolkien lore and inside stuff. I’d also add _The Annotated Hobbit_, which has a lot of cool stuff, incl. the derivations of all of Bilbo’s and Gollum’s riddles, the German postcard which inspired JRRT to create Gandalf, Gandalf’s post-Sauron explanation of how he selected Biblo to be the burglar, etc. Well worth a read. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tolkien-fans-what-are-the-must-haves-in-terms-of-his-books/429635/8 "2007-12-12T01:03:13Z")
One of my favorite Tolkien works is _Tree & Leaf_, collected in _The Tolkien Reader_. The first part is non-fiction, being Tolkien’s explanation & defense of Fantasy; the second part is an odd little story which feels like, but may not be, allegory. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tolkien-fans-what-are-the-must-haves-in-terms-of-his-books/429635/9 "2007-12-12T01:08:45Z")
[Smith of Wootan Major](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_of_Wootton_Major), and [Farmer Giles of Ham](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmer_Giles_of_Ham) are must haves IMO. There is a book that contains both of these stories, with wondrous illustations, I think Hildebrandt did them? Not certain, and cannot dig up the book right now. ETA: **What Exit?** , Great Minds think alike, eh? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tolkien-fans-what-are-the-must-haves-in-terms-of-his-books/429635/10 "2007-12-12T01:54:14Z")
Others have mentioned them already, but I’ll give my “essential” list. (Essential for knowing 90% of Middle Earth. I leave out JRRT’s other works in other fields) The Hobbit LOTR The Silmarillion Unfinished Tales The Children of Hurin The Atlas of Middle Earth If you’re a real minimalist, skip Unfinished Tales and The Children of Hurin, but not the Atlas! HOMES is for the Uber-student of Middle-Earth & JRRT. As are most of the analyses, commentaries, and essays on JRRT. Shippey writes good stuff. Avoid “Middle Earth for Dummies”. It gets too much just slightly wrong. And it’s poorly organized. J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide is lovely for the enthusiastic student who’s considering becoming waaaay too into the topic. Just IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tolkien-fans-what-are-the-must-haves-in-terms-of-his-books/429635/11 "2007-12-12T01:59:19Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] The Atlas of Middle Earth If you’re a real minimalist, skip Unfinished Tales and The Children of Hurin, but not the Atlas! [/QUOTE] I get this warm, fuzzy feeling knowing that you share my opinion of the Fonstad. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tolkien-fans-what-are-the-must-haves-in-terms-of-his-books/429635/12 "2007-12-12T02:20:16Z")
Although JRRT didn’t write it, I’ve found _The Complete Guide to Middle-Earth_ by Robert Foster (Del Rey Books, 1971, 2001) to be an invaluable resource. It’s got just about everything Tolkienesque that you’ll ever need to look up - alphabetically, concisely and accurately described. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tolkien-fans-what-are-the-must-haves-in-terms-of-his-books/429635/13 "2007-12-12T03:18:57Z")
Thanks for all of the hints - I have a tendency to become a completest - but knowing where to start makes SimWife much happier… … quickly goes to revise the Christmas wish list… ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tolkien-fans-what-are-the-must-haves-in-terms-of-his-books/429635/14 "2007-12-12T03:41:31Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] I get this warm, fuzzy feeling knowing that you share my opinion of the Fonstad. 😃 [/QUOTE] Oh yeah. The Atlas is what first made Silmarillion really accessible for me. I’d read Sil with the Atlas on my lap, and suddenly I ‘got’ it. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tolkien-fans-what-are-the-must-haves-in-terms-of-his-books/429635/15 "2007-12-12T03:52:40Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] Oh yeah. The Atlas is what first made Silmarillion really accessible for me. I’d read Sil with the Atlas on my lap, and suddenly I ‘got’ it. [/QUOTE] I just love her Atlas series, pretty much every one of them. The only one I currently own, though, is the Middle-Earth one. I still pull that out just to look at the maps and read it. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tolkien-fans-what-are-the-must-haves-in-terms-of-his-books/429635/16 "2007-12-12T03:54:16Z")
I’m partial to Mr. Bliss. Having a Girabbit for a pet was a secret quest of mine for much of my childhood. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tolkien-fans-what-are-the-must-haves-in-terms-of-his-books/429635/17 "2007-12-12T04:02:11Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] I just love her Atlas series, pretty much every one of them. The only one I currently own, though, is the Middle-Earth one. I still pull that out just to look at the maps and read it. [/QUOTE] I know I have the Middle-Earth one, I keep it in my office with one of every Tolkien book. I think I have the Atlas of Pern somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tolkien-fans-what-are-the-must-haves-in-terms-of-his-books/429635/18 "2007-12-12T04:13:32Z")
> [@](#): > > Avoid “Middle Earth for Dummies”. It gets too much just slightly wrong. And it’s poorly organized. Besides, if you want a good “for dummies” guide to the books, there’s already a [perfectly good one](http://flyingmoose.org/tolksarc/homework.htm) available online. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tolkien-fans-what-are-the-must-haves-in-terms-of-his-books/429635/19 "2007-12-12T04:13:33Z")
Here’s a bibliography for all of the Inklings: [http://www.mythsoc.org/inklings.html](http://www.mythsoc.org/inklings.html) You can use it as a source for good secondary material on Tolkien. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tolkien-fans-what-are-the-must-haves-in-terms-of-his-books/429635/20 "2007-12-12T04:55:17Z")
Another excellent online resource: the Encyclopedia of Arda. [http://www.glyphweb.com/ARDA/](http://www.glyphweb.com/ARDA/) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tolkien-fans-what-are-the-must-haves-in-terms-of-his-books/429635.md?page=2)