Question about "History of Middle-earth" and other books

[Sigikrates]

Hi there,

I've only read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings so far, and going to pick up the Silmarillion next.

Now I found also the following two books at the bookstore:
- The Complete History of Middle-earth
- The Complete Guide to Middle-earth
Am I right that these books are different?

I've also seen the book The Nature of Middle-earth. Is this worth reading?

 

[Ealdwyn]

History of ME, Guide to ME and Nature of ME are all different. These are not stories of ME.

If you want to read Tolkien's stories of ME then these are the Hobbit, LotR and the Silmarillion.

The History of ME books detail the development and writing of LotR and Silm, and the many different versions that the stories went through. Guide to ME is a reference book. The Nature of ME provides more background to the writing. I would not recommend reading these before the Silmarillion, and I would not recommend them at all unless you are particularly interested in Tolkien's creative process.

Hope this helps.

 

[Ent]

Is this worth reading?

Welcome aboard Sigikrates.
First, I agree with friend Ealdwyn completely. The others mentioned, though great, are more for the 'studious.'
There are other books available that are easier reads yet provide a bit of 'background' as well.

If you want to keep track of people, places and things, and help tie things together fairly well as you move along, I might suggest a couple books:
J.E.A. Tyler's "The Complete Tolkien Companion" and Robert Foster's "The Complete Guide to Middle-Earth".

These are 'dictionaries' or little 'encyclopedias' of Tolkien's world and can help greatly - especially as 'memory devices' after you've been inside Silmarillion for a little while. There's just a lot to keep track of..!

Enjoy your journey.
And here you have MANY people ready and willing to help you along the way.

 

[Ealdwyn]

I found The Altas of Middle Earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad very useful when first reading the Silmarillion

 

[Ent]

The Altas of Middle Earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad

Oh absolutely, thanks for adding it here.
A must have.
Both the background provided and the maps... tremendous.
Almost literally the 'mud between the bricks' or 'the putty that fills the gaps' or whatever metaphor one may choose.
Fills a little different but very important need. And most enjoyable.

 

[ZehnWaters]

Hi there,

I've only read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings so far, and going to pick up the Silmarillion next.

Now I found also the following two books at the bookstore:
- The Complete History of Middle-earth
- The Complete Guide to Middle-earth
Am I right that these books are different?

I've also seen the book The Nature of Middle-earth. Is this worth reading?

The Nature of Middle-Earth is totally worth it.

 

[ZehnWaters]

I found The Altas of Middle Earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad very useful when first reading the Silmarillion

Mostly good. She assumes Mordor and the Sea of Rhun are under the Sea of Helcar but this is later contradicted in some texts.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Hi, Sigikrates, and welcome to the forum. 🙂

The Silmarillion is an easy recommendation for your next read, but keep in mind that it's in a very different style from Hobbit and LOTR, enough so that some find it disconcerting; some early readers likened it to reading the Old Testament. So be prepared.

I'll add another suggestion to those so far offered; if you want to find out what happened during the battles at the Fords of Isen, where Theoden's son Theodred was killed, or hear in Gandalf's words how he managed the quest to destroy Smaug, or learn more about the Palantirs, or the Wizards, or even the Druedain, I recommend Unfinished Tales. You'll find those, and many other things, in that book.

 

[ZehnWaters]

History of ME, Guide to ME and Nature of ME are all different. These are not stories of ME.

If you want to read Tolkien's stories of ME then these are the Hobbit, LotR and the Silmarillion.

The History of ME books detail the development and writing of LotR and Silm, and the many different versions that the stories went through. Guide to ME is a reference book. The Nature of ME provides more background to the writing. I would not recommend reading these before the Silmarillion, and I would not recommend them at all unless you are particularly interested in Tolkien's creative process.

Hope this helps.

Tolkien Gateway is also a good online resource but it does incorporate the notes from The History of Middle-Earth.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

And let's not forget our own TTF Wiki. 😀

BTW, you can find many discussions of all the the books mentioned right here, in various threads. Well worth searching out.