Where to begin
A good place to start with J.R.R. Tolkien
The Return of the King
4.9 / 5The Return of the King delivers epic victory while devoting equal moral attention to exhaustion, grief, mercy, and the difficulty of returning home.
Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary
4.5 / 5Tolkien's Beowulf is a deliberately archaic, attentive translation whose commentary is often more revealing than the version's surface accessibility.
The Father Christmas Letters
4.5 / 5The Father Christmas Letters preserve an affectionate family tradition whose drawings, handwriting, jokes, and yearly continuity create more charm than a conventional published story could.
Series buying note
Collected editions worth comparing
These are useful only when you want several books in the same run. The notes below spell out what each package includes and, just as importantly, what it leaves out.
Four-book paperback box set
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Boxed Set
The box gives a first-time Middle-earth reader the cleanest route from Bilbo's adventure through the complete Lord of the Rings story.
Included: The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King
Our buying note: It is a sensible first Tolkien set, not a complete Middle-earth library. The Silmarillion and the later First Age books are separate purchases.
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Three-volume hardcover box set
Great Tales of Middle-earth Box Set
These three First Age stories belong together on the shelf, but they do not all read like conventional finished novels. The Children of Hurin is the most continuous narrative.
Included: The Children of Húrin, Beren and Lúthien, The Fall of Gondolin
Our buying note: This is best for readers already invested in Tolkien's deeper legendarium. Start with The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings if names, textual variants, and editorial commentary sound like work rather than pleasure.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Bibliography
Books by J.R.R. Tolkien
Reviews and book guides open on Book Review Guide. The full list comes from the linked bibliography source.
Reviewed
The Fellowship of the Ring
Reviewed
Roverandom
Reviewed
The Fall of Gondolin
Reviewed
The Silmarillion
Reviewed
Beren and Lúthien
Reviewed
The Return of the King
Reviewed
The Hobbit
Reviewed
The Two Towers
Reviewed
Tree and Leaf
Reviewed
The Fall of Númenor
Reviewed
Farmer Giles of Ham
Reviewed
Mr Bliss
Reviewed
Smith of Wootton Major
Reviewed
The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún
Reviewed
Tales from the Perilous Realm
Reviewed
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
Reviewed
Leaf by Niggle
Reviewed
The Father Christmas Letters
Reviewed
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
Reviewed
The Children of Húrin
Reviewed
The Fall of Arthur
Reviewed
The Story of Kullervo
Reviewed
The Nature of Middle-earth
Not reviewed yet
Shene ha-tseriḥim
Not reviewed yet
Beowulf and the Finnesburg Fragment
Not reviewed yet
Sir Gawain & the Green Knight
Not reviewed yet
Smith of Wooten Major and Farmer Giles of Ham
Not reviewed yet
The Tolkien Reader
Not reviewed yet
The Complete History of Middle-Earth
Not reviewed yet
The History of the Lord of the Rings
Not reviewed yet
The history of Middle-Earth III
Not reviewed yet
The Histories of Middle Earth, Volumes 1-5
Not reviewed yet
The Lost Road and Other Writings
Not reviewed yet
The Lays of Beleriand
![Cover of The Book of Lost Tales [2/2]](https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/8220093-M.jpg)
Not reviewed yet
The Book of Lost Tales [2/2]
![Cover of The Book of Lost Tales [1/2]](https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/9293488-M.jpg)
Not reviewed yet
The Book of Lost Tales [1/2]
Not reviewed yet
The Return of the Shadow
Not reviewed yet
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo
Not reviewed yet
The History of Middle-earth
Not reviewed yet
A Middle English vocabulary
Not reviewed yet
The Legend Of Sigurd & Gudrun
Not reviewed yet
Tolkien's Medievalism in Ruins
Not reviewed yet
The Lord of the Rings Part One the Fellowship of the Ring
Not reviewed yet
The Lord of the Rings
Not reviewed yet
The Lord of the Rings 3 Books Box Set By J. R. R. Tolkien
Not reviewed yet
J.R.R. Tolkien's The hobbit
Not reviewed yet
O Hobbit
Not reviewed yet
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
Not reviewed yet
Tolkien Myths and Legends Box Set
Not reviewed yet
Bovadium Fragments
Not reviewed yet
Caída de Númenor / the Fall of Númenor
Not reviewed yet
Il signore degli anelli
Not reviewed yet
Hobbit Graphic Novel
Not reviewed yet
Doomed to Die
Not reviewed yet
ROVERANDOM-CLEGATA
Not reviewed yet
Return of the King (SparkNotes Literature Guide)
Not reviewed yet
Hobbit SparkNotes Literature Guide
Not reviewed yet
Two Towers (SparkNotes Literature Guide)
Not reviewed yet
Fellowship of the Ring (SparkNotes Literature Guide)
Not reviewed yet
Sagan om konungens återkomst
Not reviewed yet
Señor de Los Anillos
Not reviewed yet
Feanorian alphabet
Not reviewed yet
O Senhor dos Anéis
Not reviewed yet
O Senhor dos Anéis - A Sociedade do Anel
Not reviewed yet
Lost Manuscript (or the Books of the Kings)
Not reviewed yet
Treebeard
Not reviewed yet
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, 3 Volumes boxed Set
Not reviewed yet
Lord of the Rings the Film Book
Not reviewed yet
Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Illustrated by Alan Lee Box Set
Books on this site
J.R.R. Tolkien reviews and guides