Oh, by the way, the prices listed are the ones that Amazon.com had listed the last time I visited. I can't assure that they're the same now as they were then.
And one last thing. When I finished this page, I contacted the three pages that I think are the best Tolkien-related pages on the Net. Two of them responded saying that they would be more than happy to link to my page. The two pages were Niklas Wallenius's Tolkienpage, a superb source for links, and The Scrolls of Orthanc, a superb source for "ancient lore" and "teachings" about Tolkien's works. I would like to thank the owners of these pages once again, and I would encourage everyone to visit their sites, as they really are two of the best on the Web.
Now, on to the books!!!!! :-)
This book details the history of the First Age of Middle-Earth, including the creation of Arda, how the Valar came down to reside in Arda, the coming of Elves and Men, the story of how the Elves fought Melko for the Silmarils, and other tales. This also includes the Tale of Beren and Luthien and The Tale of Turin Turambar.
If you've never read a Tolkien book in your life, don't buy this. Read
either the Hobbit or the Lord of the Rings first. If you like those, and
wish to learn more about Middle-Earth its history, then by all means, buy
it. This book is more in-depth and scholarly than LOTR and Hobbit. It's
more of a history than a fairy tale or legend. Anyway, here are the books.
This book is a collection of smaller books written by Tolkien. They include Tree and Leaf, Farmer Giles of Ham, and (my personal favorite) The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, and other Verses from The Red Book. It also contains a short play written by Tolkien entitled "The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son." Tree and Leaf is a book written by Tolkien containing an essay on fairy tales, and then an example entitled "Leaf by Niggle." Even if you think the essay is boring and decide to skip it, you to read "Leaf by Niggle." Trust me, friend. This is for your own good. Unless you have lost ALL your aesthetic appreciation and respect, you'll enjoy this story. And if you HAVE lost your all your aesthetic appreciation and respect, well, I found that this story brought a good deal of my own back. Just trust me.
Of course, the rest of the book is good too. Farmer Giles of Ham is the story of an old farmer, who lives in a village called Ham, who attempts to tame "a somewhat untrustworthy dragon." Wonderful story. Then there's The Adventures of Tom Bombadil which is a collection of poems supposedly excerpted from The Red Book. They include poems by Bilbo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, old Hobbit tales, old Buckland tales, and poetry heard in the halls of Rivendell.
This book is amazingly cheap through Amazon.com. For Heaven knows what reason, they're selling it for about $5.00, or at least they were the last I saw. Who knows? Maybe the owners of Amazon.com just don't have any aesthetic appreciation. Maybe they should read "Leaf by Niggle." :-)
A collection of stories written by J.R.R. Tolkien that were either never perfected or just never published. It contains stories from the first three ages of Middle-Earth, plus essays on The Palantiri, the Istari, and the Dunedain. It's one of my favorites, and I probably would have enjoyed it more if I had been able to sit down and read it through without any interruptions. So here's my advice to you all: Wait until everything's quiet and you've got some time to yourself before you pick this book up and start reading. Also, IGNORE THE FOOTNOTES! They're very annoying and reveal little useful information. Okay, that's all. Enjoy!
This is probably Tolkien's most famous work. It was published in three parts, much to Tolkien's shock and dismay. It is the story of Frodo Baggins, who has inherited a magic ring with the power to turn its wearer invisible. But it turns out that the ring has stronger, more sinister powers than that. Now Frodo, with a select group of friends, must make a hard and wearying journey to destroy the ring.
Books can be purchased together by clicking on a link below, or you can buy any of the three books individually. The three books are: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King.
The Hobbit is Tolkien's other really famous work. It's the story of how Bilbo Baggins found the Ring in the first place. You know, the one that he gave to Frodo? Anyway, Tolkien told this story to his children when they were young, and later wrote it down and had it published. The book is aimed at a younger audience than The Lord of the Rings is. But it's a GREAT story, and it's a good one to start out on. But if you don't want to do it the old-fashioned way by actually reading it, then you can get the movie, which, in all honesty, is very good. It has WONDERFUL animation anyway, and they did a pretty good job of sticking to the story. Better than most people would have done, that's for sure! Oh, and if you want to buy an audio casette version of The Hobbit, the BBC Version, which is pictured, is the best.
The Video: