I have never read any of the LOTR or the Hobbit, i am really interested in them after seeing the movies. Must I first read the hobbit or can i start in with LOTR.

You really should read the Hobbit first or you will not fully understand the LOTR trilogy. I actually enjoyed the Hobbit more than the following books, although every single one of them had great stories.

Yes, The Hobbit, formerly known as There and Back Again, is pretty essential to the understanding of what's going on. You'd probably be able to get by in LOTR without reading The Hobbit, but I imagine it'd be difficult.

Basicly the hobbit or there and back again is just a really long prelude to the lord of the rings, not to say that its boring or anything, I like the Hobbits just as much as the lord of the rings books. so you should definitly read the hobbit first.

I didn't read the Hobbit(and still haven't...) and understood LTR just fine... maybe watching that kick ass Hobbit movie helped, anybody seen it?

The animated one?

I've never read the Hobbit but I have read the Lord of the Rings. I really liked it. But you should know that it is a very long book, with several appendixes (some of which are a must read).

Originally posted by Victorian Rose
I've never read the Hobbit but I have read the Lord of the Rings. I really liked it. But you should know that it is a very long book, with several appendixes (some of which are a must read).
LOTR is a series of six books, not just one...you wouldn't call an encyclopedia collection of 50 volumes a book, would you?

LOTR is a series of six books, not just one...you wouldn't call an encyclopedia collection of 50 volumes a book, would you?



Actually LOTR is usually published as three books. However, Tolkien wrote it as one big book and was reportedly not happy about it being broke up. The version I read was in fact one big book (like Tolkien wrote it) called the Lord of the Rings. So in this case, yes I would call it one book. As for J.R.R. Tolkien's other two Middle Earth books (The Hobbit and The Silmarillion) or his short stories, I haven't read them.

Originally posted by Victorian Rose
Actually LOTR is usually published as three books. However, Tolkien wrote it as one big book and was reportedly not happy about it being broke up. The version I read was in fact one big book (like Tolkien wrote it) called the Lord of the Rings. So in this case, yes I would call it one book. As for J.R.R. Tolkien's other two Middle Earth books (The Hobbit and The Silmarillion) or his short stories, I haven't read them.
Tolkien wrote it as six books which were subsequently made into three volumes. All versions should have it split into six books, my version does.

Tolkien wrote it as six books which were subsequently made into three volumes. All versions should have it split into six books, my version does.


I think I see what you're talking about now. You're talking about the subdivisions within the novel. (i.e. Fellowship of the Ring: Book One and Book Two, The Two Towers: Book Three and Book Four, The Return of The King: Book Five and Book Six). But it is still one big novel (which is what I meant by book). And that is the way Tolkien wrote it. So to answer the first question I would call LOTR one Novel.

There are also many other Middle Earth books that have been released by Tolkein's kin. They are based on his notes and brainstormings of Middle Earth. Remember, this is the guy that invented these languages and came up with an entire history of Middle Earth. There are many more books out there in addition to the LotR, The Hobbit, and the Silmarillion.

Tolkien wrote it as six books which were subsequently made into three volumes. All versions should have it split into six books, my version does.
Uh, basically it is one book, six "acts", like in a play. It was written as one book, and meant to be. The publisher wouldn't make as much money if it was one huge book, so they split it into smaller sections, and as Rose said it, Tolkien was quite angry about it. That's why most of them are now one big volume that contains the three books, to make it look more like the one book it was supposed to be.

Second, the books were only written to give a reason for his languages. He was a linguist, not a writer, and the books were written for Sindarin and Quenya, not the other way around.

Originally posted by muad_dib
There are also many other Middle Earth books that have been released by Tolkein's kin. They are based on his notes and brainstormings of Middle Earth. Remember, this is the guy that invented these languages and came up with an entire history of Middle Earth. There are many more books out there in addition to the LotR, The Hobbit, and the Silmarillion.



There are also some books with collections of Tolkien's short stories. Like "A Tolkien Miscellany", "Unfinished Tales", and "The Book of Lost Tales" (Part 1 and Volume 2). Although, I haven't read any of them yet.