16 What is the best order in which to read the books? (Tolkien)
Description
This article is from the Tolkien Newsgroups FAQ, by Steuard Jensen sbjensen@midway.uchicago.edu with numerous contributions by others.
16 What is the best order in which to read the books? (Tolkien)
This depends on each person's personal preferences. Unless you
strongly dislike stories written for children, most recommend reading
_The Hobbit_ first. _The Lord of the Rings_ is certainly next (feel
free to skip the Prologue if you find it dull, and after the main text
try to read at least Appendix A.I.v about Aragorn and Arwen).
If you enjoy any part of the Appendices to LotR, there are things in
Tolkien's other books that you are likely to enjoy as well. Most
suggest reading _The Silmarillion_ and _Unfinished Tales_ next, in some
order. Many people find the early parts of Silm. slow to read (like a
history book or the Bible) and prefer the stories and essays in UT, but
some of the best parts of UT will only make sense after reading Silm.
(The Third Age stories in UT can be fully enjoyed even if you have only
read LotR, and many of the Second Age stories and the general essays in
Part 4 can be read then, too).
For more details (and more books), try getting a personalized
recommendation from the Custom Tolkien Book List, on the web at
http://tolkien.slimy.com/books.html
(This URL redirects to the longer and messier URL of the actual list.)
Continue to:
My Books
