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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2012 21:04:04 GMT -6
I friend of mine just got the History of Middle-earth books and has offered to let me read them if I want. I like the idea, but frankly reading 12 volumes seems pretty intimidating.
Thumbing through them, I get the impression that mostly the books are different drafts of some of the same stories. Seems like not all of these drafts are critical since they seem very similar to one another.
What I'd like to know is, which parts of which books are in the "must read" category? Would would make up "HOME's Greatest Hits"?
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Post by Falconer on Nov 22, 2012 11:58:16 GMT -6
Here are my recommendations, focusing on stories rather than essays and notes:
Level one: the absolute must-reads
“The Lay of Leithian” from vol. III
“The Fall of Gondolin” from vol. II
Level two: the complete early legendarium
“Ælfwine of England” from vol. II (pp. 312-22)
The Book of Lost Tales, Part I (complete)
“The Tale of Tinúviel” from vol. II
“The Lay of Leithian” from vol. III
The Children of Húrin (complete through p. 257)
“The Wanderings of Húrin” from vol. XI
“The Nauglafring” from vol. II (pp. 112-6; 221-42)
“The Fall of Gondolin” from vol. II
Level three: other gems
“The Notion Club Papers” from IX
“Finwë and Miriel” from X
“Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth” from X
“The Awaking of the Quendi” from XI (pp. 420-3)
“The New Shadow” from XII
“Tal-Elmar” from XII
I would be happy to elaborate. Currently I am reading “level two” aloud to my wife, and it’s going really well.
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Post by Falconer on Nov 22, 2012 12:02:28 GMT -6
Oh, I also greatly enjoy “The First Phase” from VI, as it is very fascinating to see the process of the genesis of The Lord of the Rings.
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Post by kesher on Nov 29, 2012 9:37:20 GMT -6
Falconer, Be Thou Exalted! yet again---that's a really useful list!
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Post by geoffrey on Nov 29, 2012 10:36:13 GMT -6
What I'd like to know is, which parts of which books are in the "must read" category? Would would make up "HOME's Greatest Hits"? 1. Read the Quenta Noldorwina in vol. 4: The Shaping of Middle-earth. This is the only complete Silmarillion ever written by J. R. R. Tolkien. It also was written at the same time that he wrote The Hobbit, thus giving a window into the professor's mind at that time. 2. Read "The Fall of Gondolin" in vol. 2: The Book of Lost Tales, part II. Excellent story. 3. Read "The Lay of Leithian" in vol. 3: The Lays of Beleriand. This is a heartbreaking narrative poem telling the love story of Beren and Luthien. 4. Read "Myths Transformed" in vol. 10: Morgoth's Ring. The texts contained in this section detail J. R. R. Tolkien's plans late in life to jettison some of what he and I consider to be unfortunate aspects of his mythology. For example, he intended to re-write his myths to replace the old notion of the Sun and Moon as fruits from the Two Trees that entered the heavens only after the awakening of the Elves. Instead, the professor intended for the origin of the Sun and Moon to be consistent with contemporary astronomy, and that Melkor used vile smokes to hide them and the stars from the awakened Elves. Later the Valar swept the smokes away with cleansing winds, thus revealing the sky and its celestial objects to the Elves. |
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Post by Falconer on Dec 20, 2012 22:14:29 GMT -6
Level two: the complete early legendarium“Ælfwine of England” from vol. II (pp. 312-22) The Book of Lost Tales, Part I (complete) “The Tale of Tinúviel” from vol. II “The Lay of Leithian” from vol. III The Children of Húrin (complete through p. 257) “The Wanderings of Húrin” from vol. XI “The Nauglafring” from vol. II (pp. 112-6; 221-42) “The Fall of Gondolin” from vol. II Currently I am reading “level two” aloud to my wife, and it’s going really well. Just a note, in case anyone was considering following this scheme, that I inserted “Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin” between chapters 12 and 13 of The Children of Húrin. I think that worked out perfectly. It’s a good time for a diversion, there are a lot of cross-references (the timeframe is basically exactly right), and wow, what an amazing piece of writing! When I get to “The Fall of Gondolin,” I’ll just skip the equivalent section. |
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Post by Falconer on Dec 20, 2012 22:20:57 GMT -6
Also, I once made a mash-up of the maps from XI to create this. Much cooler IMO than the 1977 map. Especially love the Thangorodrim doodle at top. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2012 14:14:52 GMT -6
"The Children of Húrin," while not strictly speaking HoME, is a wonderful book and highly recommended.
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Post by kent on Dec 23, 2012 17:27:24 GMT -6
Also, I once made a mash-up of the maps from XI to create this. Much cooler IMO than the 1977 map. Especially love the Thangorodrim doodle at top. Are you saying you joined sections from book XI to form the map? Why do you prefer it to the standard Beleriand map. |
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Post by Falconer on Dec 23, 2012 19:33:44 GMT -6
Are you saying you joined sections from book XI to form the map? Yes. Why do you prefer it to the standard Beleriand map. More authentic — CJRT painstakingly recreated his fathers actual map, so it’s the “real” one, at least more so than anything else we have. It’s “source material” in its own right from which original info can be gleaned. more interesting — there’s more stuff on it than just what was mentioned in the ’77 Silm, less white space more aesthetically pleasing to me — I like the red on the ’77 map, and the way he draws the mountains, but there’s something about the proportions and overall look of the “real” map that I like a lot gridded — means you can have a common point of reference |
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Post by kesher on Jan 9, 2013 15:28:39 GMT -6
Also, I once made a mash-up of the maps from XI to create this. Much cooler IMO than the 1977 map. Especially love the Thangorodrim doodle at top. That is freaking awesome. |
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Post by cadriel on Jan 9, 2013 17:49:54 GMT -6
It was honestly the second volume of the Book of Lost Tales that made me fall in love with Tolkien's legendarium - Beren & Lúthien, Turin Turambar, the Fall of Gondolin. But they gain a lot from the context of what precedes them; what the characters do is much greater when you know who Morgoth was and what the Silmarils were and represented. I would probably start with BoLT volume 2, then the "Quenta Silmarillion" from The Lost Road for the full thing (this was the version Tolkien had prepared for publication). Contra Falconer, I do not enjoy reading lengthy poetry and wouldn't spend too much time on The Lays of Beleriand, but for the rest I think he presents a good look at what to read.
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