Thursday 29 January 2015

My J.R.R.Tolkien collection



 
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.

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