Lord of the rings??

Question

I wanted to read everything about lord of the rings, written by Tolken (it's author).
which books should I read in chronological order, to get good grip on the story, understand it better, and enjoy it as well?
I have no knowledge about anything associated with the Lord Of the Rings, I havent seen the films too. So, I wanted to make a start on the story from the books, but am confused which to start first. Plz help.

Answer 1

I wouldn't suggest reading Silmarillion first, because it is rather difficult and you might get bored pretty soon.
Firstly you should read Hobbit and if you enjoy it you should continue with the Lord of the Rings trilogy
-The Fellowship of the Ring
-The Two Towers
-The Return of the King
If you like them go on with the Silmarillion and after that the Unfinished Tales. As soon as you finish those two, providing that you are still interested, I would suggest reading The History of Middle Earth.

Answer 2

Read the Hobbit first, it provides a wonderful opening into Middle Earth, the world Tolkein created, and you'll see it just as Bilbo, the hero of the story, does.
Read the Lord Of The Rings trilogy next - first the Fellowship Of The Ring, next the Two Towers, and finally the Return Of The King.
If you find that you like it, you can then proceed to read the Silmarillion, which tells briefly the history of middle earth, and then Children Of Hurin, which is an expanded tale from the Silmarillion.
And, only if you are completely hooked, should you move on to The History Of Middle Earth, which is a collection of tales and their earlier versions compiled by Christopher Tolkein from his father's notebooks. However, they can get a bit annoyiing, what with all those notes and different names, so don't read it if you aren't that passionate about his works.

Answer 3

The right answer to this is going to depend on how dedicated and, to a degree, how experienced, a reader you are.

The writings vary a lot in style, language, intent and even consistency.

They are not best taken as a single extended novel, but rather as a set of different sources (with inevitable gaps, overlaps and conflicts) covering the history of an ancient world.
For example, the Silmarillion starts back with earliest of myths (taken as true myth) of the creation of the world.
It's start varies in tone from "The Lord of the Rings " as the book of Genesis in the bible varies from a war correspondent's account of WW2.

That's deliberate. Tolkien was imaginging both the history of an imagined world *and* how accounts of that world would be passed down as saga, tale and myth through generations.

In terms of chronology, the tales of the Silmarillion come first.
Then the various unfinished writings, then The Hobbit and lastly The Lord of The Rings.

The Hobbit is a tale that might have been told to children.
Elements of it with harder, sharper (more historical?) edges are found in Lord of the Rings. It isn't a simple prequel.

Unless you are determined to work in order, I would start with the Hobbit (and put it aside to return to later if you find it too simple) and than tackle the Lord of the Rings. The Silmarillion will then expand and explain the state of the world in which the story of the ring is played out. Only then tackle the unfinished and lost tales.

Answer 4

Don't read the Silmarillion until you are hooked on The Hobbit and the Trilogy (and then keep on not reading it).

The correct order for the LOTR is Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and Return of the King. Read the Hobbit first, but the trilogy still makes sense without the Hobbit.

Answer 5

Start with the first one, Fellowship of the Ring, then go on to the Two Towers, then the Return of the King. If you want, you could read The Hobbit first, but it's really not required to understand the story.

Answer 6

If you only want "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, start with "The Hobbit" and then read "Fellowship of the Ring", "The Two Towers, and "The Return of the King". "The Hobbit" helps understand about why the ring was so important and how Bilbo came to possess it. If you want more Middle Earth, Tolkein wrote several more books about it although they are of different times and the characters are different.

Answer 7

I'd start with the Hobbit. Tolkien wrote a bunch of stuff about Middle Earth, but the Hobbit's a good place to start. It lays the foundation for the LOR trilogy.

Answer 8

Start with the Silmarillion. Then go through all the Lost Tales books. Then go for the Tolkien biographies. Then try the Legend of Hurin.

Answer 9

Read The Sirmarillion then The Hobbit then The Trilogy then if you are hooked and fascinated and all that read the add on stories/explanations/ephemera put together by his son.

Answer 10

-The Hobbit
-LOTR The Fellowship of The Ring
-LOTR The Two Towers
-LOTR Return of the King

youre gonna be HOOKED!

ps. im not sure if theres one befor the hobbit.
have fun!