my "fantasy" format for the Lord of the Rings

[geoffrey]

I am a relatively recent convert to slender (no more than 300 pages) mass market paperbacks--books you can easily take with you anywhere, and which you can easily put in your pants pocket.

The division of The Lord of the Rings into 3 volumes was purely the wish and decision of Tolkien's publisher. It makes more sense to publish it as a single volume (which obviously wouldn't fit in your pocket!), or to publish it in 6 slender volumes. After all, Tolkien himself divided The Lord of the Rings into 6 books.

And fortunately, Tolkien himself provided his suggested sub-titles for the 6 books (while the overall title would of course be The Lord of the Rings):

1. The First Journey
2. The Journey of the Nine Companions
3. The Treason of Isengard
4. The Journey of the Ringbearers
5. The War of the Ring
6. The End of the Third Age

Each of the above volumes would be between 150 and 250 pages long, thus fitting comfortably in one's pocket.

Covers? Put on each one an illustration by J. R. R. Tolkien, of subject matter appropriate to each volume.

I'd love to have a set of those.

[Falconer]

There were a couple of 7-volume editions a few years ago (the seventh volume being the Appendices). The covers were just crappy movie posters or generic “elegant black”, unfortunately.

I admit to being partial to the weird Barbara Remington paperbacks that Tolkien himself so loathed, because that’s what I grew up with, and it sets such a mood:



But I also love the big read leatherette single-volume edition:



And the covers Tolkien himself made:

[waysoftheearth]

I have the red leather bound "collector's" edition pictured by Falconer. While it is certainly a beautiful thing, it is very thick and quite heavy and (sadly) not an easy thing to handle while reading. For me, anyway.

I also have a three paperback edition (not pictured), which is a more comfortable thing to handle while reading. Despite the much lower grade of paper and the more crowded text, I'd have to say the cheap paperbacks are a more practical choice.


edit:

My paperbacks are pictured here ;D : derhobbit-film.de/collect023.shtml?e

[Finarvyn]

Jul 10, 2011 0:55:11 GMT -6 Falconer said:

There were a couple of 7-volume editions a few years ago (the seventh volume being the Appendices). The covers were just crappy movie posters or generic “elegant black”, unfortunately.

The "elegant black" ones were titled as follows:
1. The Ring Sets Out
2. The Ring Goes South
3. The Treason of Isengard
4. The Ring Goes East
5. The War of The Ring
6. The End of The Third Age
7. Appendices

[kesher]

I have three trade paperbacks with the Tolkien-made covers. They're sooo beautiful, and so appropriate to the tone of the books. I think I got them through a book club.

And of course, they don't fit in yer pocket...

I'm intrigued by the seven-volume set. I especially like publishing the Appendices as a separate volume...

[Mike]

Wow! Never seen Tolkien's own covers before... Want!

[Falconer]

Here are the current HarperCollins editions:



I’m not sure, but I think I prefer the previous editions:



On another note, I will be curious to see whether they issue a two-volume version of The Hobbit.