Tolkien's Writings

Discussion of topics concerning life in the middle ages around the world, including architecture, history, and warfare.

Which is the Best?

The Silmarillion
9
21%
The Children of Hurin
1
2%
The Hobbit
16
38%
The Fellowship of the Ring
3
7%
The Two Towers
5
12%
The Return of the King
6
14%
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
0
No votes
Farmer Giles of Ham
2
5%
 
Total votes: 42

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Re: Tolkien's Writings

Post by Handar »

Frank_Lloyd_Knight wrote:We shouldn't forget about the adventures of Tom Bombadil or Farmer Giles of Ham.
Or Smith of Wootton Major. It's my favourite of his short stories, followed by Leaf by Niggle. Both have a great deal of sadness to them.
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Re: Tolkien's Writings

Post by moose »

I think its kinda unfair because The Childern of Hurin I think isnt as well knowen as others
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Re: Tolkien's Writings

Post by Aimsworth »

I'm not surprised at all by the Hobbit being in the lead (as of the time of this post). I've read the 3(6) LoTR books twice, but I've read the hobbit more times than I have fingers (no lie!). It's a more self contained novel that has a defined start/middle/end to it. You can sit down and read it in a night (or a few for you non-speed readers). The LoTR books unfortunately have a lot of cliff hangers throughout the whole process and jumps around between so many characters. While it's not a bad thing, you really have to be dedicated to get through them all.
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Re: Tolkien's Writings

Post by ragnarok »

Although the books tell stories from one and the same universe, each of them (I'm counting the LoTR trilogy as one book) has its own unique style, setting and even its own audience. The Hobbit is certainly easy to read. It is to say the door to Tolkien's universe, a story which attracts kids but one can read it again and again. The Silmarilion on the other hand is hard core stuff - you have to know what it is about before starting it.
Personally I voted for the Return of the King - I love the ending which has a deep meaning. But to be honest I do not believe that one book is better than the others - each of them has its charm.
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Re: Tolkien's Writings

Post by katebleakley08 »

I haven't read all of his books. I've just read the LOTR trilogy. I think books are always better than the movies, though I think Peter Jackson did well in making the films. It was probably just hard to make a film knowing how good and detailed the book is.
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Re: Tolkien's Writings

Post by Napoleon »

katebleakley08 wrote:I haven't read all of his books. I've just read the LOTR trilogy. I think books are always better than the movies, though I think Peter Jackson did well in making the films. It was probably just hard to make a film knowing how good and detailed the book is.
I like both the movies and books equally. I definitely agree with your fourth sentence; many, including myself, are worrying if Del Torro is going to "movie-ify" The Hobbit in a negative way or if he will follow the book. We shall see...
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Re: Tolkien's Writings

Post by Blego7 »

Mine is ROTK. I just finished doing a huge research project on the entire LOTR trilogy and I found that Return of The King was the best.
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Re: Tolkien's Writings

Post by mpoh98 »

I really liked the two towers. Although the hobbit and the return of the king are close behind it.
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Re: Tolkien's Writings

Post by richardanthonyc »

The sack of Gondolin and the Nírnaeth Arnoediad are two of the most tragic tales that made me fall in love with Tolkien. It is the Silmarillion for me
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Re: Tolkien's Writings

Post by jrbaker »

It's interesting to me that this thread has just revived, because I've recently been re-reading through all of my Tolkien books (a lot of them, including his philology essays). I've come to the conclusion that my favorite book is "Unfinished Tales" because it includes snippets of information about Numinore (especially in, The Mariner's Wife, and other background about Isildur losing the Ring, the Woses, and so on.

I'll also put in a good word for the non-Arda-related stories like Farmer Giles of Ham or Smith of Wooton Major. Thematically, they are very similar -- dealing with "Faerie" and "loss". If you are interested, there's a book called Tales From the Perilous Realm that contains most of the best.

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Re: Tolkien's Writings

Post by Ferretclaw »

(Old post) I vote the hobbit. It is stand-alone, it is less heavy and deep then lotr (these are not bad qualities, I just enjoy books that are more cheerful, but still epic.) and I like the faster pace. I also really like the silmarrilion and rotk.
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Re: Tolkien's Writings

Post by ottoatm »

I just finished re-reading the Hobbit this morning - so good timing to bump this one. :)

I voted for the Hobbit (although I see I've voted once before).

It's just such a fun adventure - not deadly serious but fun, fantasy and very deep. I love it. It really feel like an adventure where you are exploring a new world.
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Re: Tolkien's Writings

Post by Sir Erathor »

The Return of the King is awesome, very (and I mean very) closely followed by the Two Towers and the Hobbit. All of Tolkien's works are great, I read them over and over again! Has anyone read 'Letters to Father Christmas', a collection of letters written to his children each Christmas?
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Re: Tolkien's Writings

Post by Aeridian »

I think I'm in the boat with the Return of the King fans. I love all of his work, but the RotK rose to the top for me even though I'm not one who likes finishing a really good novel... The Hobbit comes as a close second because of the lightheartedness, adventure and, of course, it's where Tolkien started it all.
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Re: Tolkien's Writings

Post by ForestFriend »

Its around 45 years since I first read Lord of the Rings [if I recall correctly]. I read the whole book in 3 or 4 days. It blew my mind. Ever since then my interest and fascination for swords and sorcery and medieval tales and activities has grown. Saw the film of the hobbit recently and really enjoyed it . Can't remember the Hobbit book so well. Yet the example of the courage, cunning and bond of brotherhood shown by the young hobbit were outstanding. So The Hobbit would get my vote at this stage. Will have to borrow the books from the library and re read them now that I've retired. :)
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