Which Lord of the Rings books to buy?

[04Stefan07]

Looking to buy a set of the Lord of the Rings books but there are so many editions out there that I have no idea which one to get! I have been eyeing off the 7 volume edition.

I am not sure if the later publications take the film into account or are the actual film.

Below I have various editions. Does anyone here own a particular set or know anything about them to help guide me into buying one? Don't worry about the websites I am just trying to show all the editions i am looking at.

Thanks!

http://www.langtoninfo.co.uk/showitem.aspx?isbn=0261102389&loc=AUD

http://www.bookworld.com.au/book/the-hobbit-the-lord-of-the-rings-boxed-set/24618374/

http://www.bookworld.com.au/book/hobbit-the-lord-of-the-rings-boxed-set/7738055/

http://www.bookworld.com.au/book/the-lord-of-the-rings-boxed-set/32805860/

http://www.bookworld.com.au/book/the-lord-of-the-rings/35237534/

[iceman]

I recently read The Hobbit, and LOTR 1, 2 and 3 on Kindle reader on my iPad.

Loved it!

This looks like a good set:
http://www.bookworld.com.au/book/the-hobbit-the-lord-of-the-rings-boxed-set/24618374/

[04Stefan07]

I was also looking at this set. Do you know if any of the later publications adapt itself to the films?

[michaellxv]

The only difference would be the artwork and the quality of the paper it's printed on.

If you haven't read any of them start with The Hobbit.
LOTR is generaly a 3 book set although can be found in a single volume.
If you want it to look nice on your bookshelf buy a set of all 4 books, they will change the cover before you get back to buy them individualy.

[iceman]

No I doubt it - they'd stick to the original.

[MikeyB]

The numerous editions of Tolkien's works differ only in such details as binding, page size, typeface, paper, illustrations, etc. The seven volume edition is just a carve-up of the original three volumes, splitting each of the three books in two and hiving off the lengthy appendices as a seventh book.

None of the published works by JRR Tolkien have been or will be amended to take account of Peter Jackson's movies, for which the screenwriters made numerous changes as they adapted the story to film. The Tolkien estate may have sold the movie rights, but the books have been a river of gold for the family for more than half a century and they aren't going to share their publishing royalties with outsiders!

If you want more of Middle Earth than The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, have a look at the books edited/written by JRR's son Christopher Tolkien (http://www.bookdepository.com/search/advanced?searchAuthor=Christopher+T olkien), who has spent his life furthering his father's epic fantasy creations. In my personal opinion, nothing other than The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings stands up very well as a 'good read', but others no doubt disagree. :)

[mithrandir]

Did you want a version to read or a collectable edition?

I was given the 1969 one volume edition (4th impression) in slip cover printed on India paper as a present. Google comes up with a few of copies on offer - at £195, £300 or £595 plus delivery.

I don't recommend the one volume paperbacks. Most do not have all the appendices.

You should read "The Hobbit" first. SWMBO has never read any of them and had trouble following the TLOTR movies. I expect the same problem when "An Unexpected Journey" hits the Gold Class screen.

[Shark Bait]

And when your done reading The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings, there is always the Silmarillion. It was written for the hard core fans who wanted to learn Elvish and the history of Middle Earth.

Go on, read it...you know you want to. Make Sheldon Cooper proud. :D

[JB80]

Out of the ones you posted I'd choose one of these two, as people said if you are going to read them there is not much point shelling out on a collectors edition.
The one with the Hobbit would be good because you will want to read that before you go see what Jackson has done to the tale for the movie.

http://www.bookworld.com.au/book/the-hobbit-the-lord-of-the-rings-boxed-set/24618374/

http://www.bookworld.com.au/book/the-lord-of-the-rings-boxed-set/32805860/

Alternatively get Game of Thrones instead, it's all kinds of awesome. It is immense, possibly the best series I have read and I'm not even finished it yet.

On that note can we get spoiler tags please?

[Trixie]

I have the illustrated set and it is lovely. A bit more expensive than the plain novels though.

[04Stefan07]

Thanks for the advice everyone!!

[Waxing_Gibbous]

"Bored of the Rings"
by the
Harvard Lampoon

[lacad01]

Sacrilege! :)

[ZeroID]

What MikeyB said ^^^^
Silmarillion is hard work, it's more a reference tome than a story. Tries to fill in 'past history' and background even further. Start with 'The Hobbit' and move onto the LOTR 1,2 & 3 if you want to get the best experience of it all. I read the original paperbacks which had a few illustrations which helped to get a feel for the lay of the land so to speak but it's the way Toliien describes it all that fills your mind with the pictures.
Make some time to enjoy them ... it's worth it.

[andyc]

Lord of the Rings is probably my favourite book - I'll happily read some of all of it on fairly regular occasions. I'd recommend a paper version rather than Kindle as you can then refer to the maps that are in the back of many of the editions - that way you can follow their travels across Middle Earth. I love the feeling of wildness and travelling that you get in the books - the imagery is superb. And despite the obvious fantasy elements, the world feels much more 'real' and natural, somehow, than many other fantasy worlds. The Hobbit is also a lot of fun - it starts out sounding a lot like a kids book (quite light-hearted), but by the end it has a tone a great deal more reminiscent of LotR. Other Tolkien books are definitely for the afficionadoes - I like the Silmarillion, but it's not a very easy book to read.

As an aside - for me, LotR beats A Song of Ice and Fire (the Game of Thrones books) out of the water. George RR Martin's ideas are great, and he has some lovely stories, but boy oh boy does he take a long time in telling them. I read all five published books in the past year, and while I found them hard to put down and loved the world they took me into, and the characters and stories weaving through them, I was not surprised to find out at the end that Martin had run out of space in his latest book! He failed to include potentially 'climactic' scenes that might have marked a natural breakpoint between A Dance with Dragons and The Winds of Winter (book 6, not yet published), and they will be at the start of the sixth book, whenever that is published. Not ideal storytelling, which distracts from some of the other great originality. Unfortunately Martin gets lost in the minutiae of each scene and so the story often does not progress as it should. The detail's great, but it's too much in too many places. He could learn a bit about how to tell stories within stories from other authors like Tolkien, Rowling or Cornwall. Just my opinion of course, and I did thoroughly enjoy the ASOIAF books, but if I had to take one series to a desert island, it would be Middle Earth, not Westeros.

[JB80]

I suppose it's not entirely fair to compare the two as one is essentially a kids book but I would disagree with you in saying that LoTR blows GoT out of the water, although it's purely subjective and there is no right or wrong answer.
One has a clear plot and destination. That's probably the biggest difference.

I am still reading GoT but the one thing you get from the tale that I never got with LoTR is the full range of emotion, it gets to the point when you physically don't want to read the book anymore(more than once) because you are hurt by what you have just read but there is no way you would ever dream of stopping. There is some hope in there too and in a way it's more realistic form of fantasy in a way.
I love the length too and the way that it's told, if this was a 3 novel story I'd feel cheated. Kind of the same way Tolkein fans are left wanting more.
I dread the day when it's finished to be honest.

I guess it's each to their own, my wife is a massive LoTR fan as well. I should ask her which she prefers but I think I know the answer. If you read Tolkein early on in your childhood I doubt that feeling can ever be replaced. WHich is the feeling I'm getting now with GoT, I haven't been this excited about anything since Star Wars.

[mithrandir]

I got about 50 pages into "A Feast for Crows" and gave up. The only reason characters get introduced in GOT seems to be so that they can be gruesomely murdered.

The books published after JRRT's death are all based on fragments and usually on multiple drafts of the same work. It's not surprising none of them form cohesive stories. Treat them as background to Hobbit and LOTR.