This is my collection of books by J.R.R.Tolkien and his son
Christopher. I Know it’s not very big,
but compared to any other author I collect it is and I can proudly say it is
only Tolkien I regularly re-read. It
would be a dream to own rare editions but a) they are so expensive and b) I’m
not sure if I’d be able to own a high-value book and just let it sit there and
not be read!
I read The Hobbit
first when I was in primary school, then The
Lord of the Rings and then The
Silmarillion. It is probably The Silmarillion which is my
favourite owing to the sheer scale of Tolkien’s imagination and mythical
grandeur which I think reaches its maximum in this book. It was a hard read the first time, especially
the first few chapters but I simply never get tired of reading the epic tales
within it. My copy of Lord of the Rings is actually in my bedroom as I'm reading it again at the moment.
I enjoyed The Complete History of Middle-Earth, although
perhaps there was a lot of repetition of the stories of the First Age. Still, it is really nice to have the three volumes in hardback although some of the cover designs for the separate paperback parts were very nice. I also bought The Atlas of Middle-Earth late last year, which is a beautifully
presented book especially if you have a keen interest in geography and
maps!
There are a lot of collector’s editions of Tolkien’s works I
keep seeing on Amazon, hardback books with a fancy gold emblem on the cover
but I prefer the paperbacks with illustrated covers. although I did treat myself to a collector's edition of Unfinished Tales. I think the next one to get is The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, probably
the most mysterious character in The Lord
of the Rings and one which has sparked a whole host of discussions about
who or what he really is. I also recently got a graphic novel version of The Hobbit, which was great to read and something I look forward to reading to my children.
