[Alassante]

I am thinking of purchasing more Tolkien books but I do not want crappy books that are way over my head and I cannot read (I saw one that was for thesis papers). I want something that tells me more about the characters and their stories etc. Like the story of Glorfindel or Thrandruil. I would like it in a language and level that us common people can understand. (I have a terrible time reading Silmarillion without flipping back and forth to the index) I am not a total moron but I do prefer language that I can understand rather than PHd level!!

Here are some I have found that I might be interested in but I wanted to know if anyone else has read them and find them helpful and easy to understand.

**Tolkien : The Illustrated Encyclopedia
**The Tolkien Companion
**J. R. R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth : Understanding Middle-Earth
**The Origins of Tolkien's Middle-Earth for Dummies
**Tolkien & the Silmarillion
**Tolkein Reader
** Tolkien's Ring
**Tolkien's World
**Tolkien : A Celebration Collected Writings on a Literary Legacy 3
**THE COMPLETE TOLKIEN COMPANION
**Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings : A Guide to Middle-Earth
**J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide
**Unfinished Tales: The Lost Lore of Middle-earth
**The Book of Lost Tales 2 (The History of Middle-Earth - Volume 2)
**Histories of Middle (all volume) - I have heard that only certain ones are any good.

[SpaceWeavil]

I like Unfinished Tales, (by JRR Tolkien) for info on the War of the Elves and Sauron, and there is some stuff about Thranduil in there too. Also People of Middle Earth (one of the History of ME series by Christopher Tolkien) has a few essays about Glorfindel.

As for guides and stuff, I have found it's best to avoid anything penned by David Day if you're looking for accuracy. Some of the illustrations are nice, but the facts are wacky at times. My favourite reference thing I have is The Complete Tolkien Companion by JEA Tyler.

[sindohte]

Middle Earth for Dummies is a good resource for fast facts. I have to second everything that SpaceWeavil said, esp. about David Day. Avoid anything written by him He has facts included in his writing that I have not seen listed in anyone else's books, while other facts are just plain wrong.

[Viv]

Ditto on the general goodness of Tyler's book and the utter badness of David Day. Also, anything edited by Chris Tolkien (Silm, Unfinished Tales, etc.) is good stuff, if a little dense. Keep in mind that all the Chris Tolkien stuff was pieced together from notes and early drafts, so a lot of it contradicts LoTR and The Hobbit (which makes for some lively "canon" discussions).

I'd also recommend Robert Foster's Complete Guide to Middle-earth and *especially* Karen Wynn Fonstad's The Atlas of Middle-earth. That's the single most helpful fic-writing resrouce I've found, well worth the price.

[SpaceWeavil]

[JayofLasgalen]

I agree generally about both Day and Tyler - but even Tyler can get the facts wrong. He claims that Elladan and Elrohir became mortal, when in fact we don't know what they chose. David Day gets that bit right.

As well as the other recommendations, I have 'Journeys of Frodo' by Barbara Strachey - like 'Atlas of Middle Earth' it's useful for writing stories when you need journey times or landscape details. 'Origins of Middle Earth for Dummies' is brilliant, too.


Jay

[Alassante]

[Gypsum]

Unfinished Tales is awesome.

So are wide swaths of HoME, but you have to like the Silmarillion. A lot. If you've not read it or didn't like it that much, most of HoME will bore you to death.

I haven't yet done anything more than skim Lost Tales. It has the earliest earliest versions of stories like the Fall of Gondolin and Beren and Luthien that are just vaguely recognizable as those stories.

Morgoth's Ring, People's of M-e, and War of the Jewels all have bits and pieces and various evolutions of what eventually wound up in the published Silmarillion. They also have other interesting pieces in them, like LACE, the Shibboleth of Feanor, Athrabeth Finrod Ah Andreth, etc. etc. I think they are very cool.

Have not read Lost Road or the Shaping of Middle-earth.

The remaining HoME volumes are about the Lord of the Rings and have earlier versions of that in them.

[Viv]

Considering that you have some elflings and elf marriages going on in your stories, you might find Morgoth's Ring interesting. Isn't Vanelosse part human? There's a lot of info in that book about how these things happen, and the difference between Men and Elves. Yes, it does include the infamous LACE passage, but there's really a lot more to that thing than "elves don't have casual sex," which isn't precisely what the prof said.

I've used a lot of info from Morgoth's Ring to drive plotbunnies and character development. It's a great resource for anyone writing about Tolkien's elves.

[Alassante]

[Gypsum]

Finding Morgoth's Ring, War of the Jewels, and Peoples of Middle-earth can be a bit dodgy in the United States, if that's where you are. I found my copies when I was in Ireland all last summer (yes, these and Irish trad music CDs is where my money went) but cannot recall ever seeing them in a bookstore in the US. I suppose now and then they show up, but not often. So if you are in the US, your best bet might be Amazon.com.

The other HoME books and UT are easy to find here.

[sindohte]

I didn't have a problem finding the various HoME books. I purchased all of them in person from either a Borders or Barnes & Noble. The only thing that I had to order from overseas because they don't publish or sell it here in the US, is the HoME index.

[Elandriel]

I don't know if anyone else has read 'Tolkien : The Illustrated Encyclopedia'...what did you guys think? I think it missed out quite a few places and people, although it's a good thick book and a pretty decent read... for example, there's no mention of Ithilien in there or what became of it after the war. I didn't particularly like the illustrations either (or is mine an old edition?!).

I've read the histories of middle earth - the one I really did enjoy was 'Morgoth's Ring'. If you like to read up on elven culture and marriage and children, this is the one to read. I go back and re-read it quite often. 'Unfinished Tales' is also a really good read, although it can be a bit frustrating sometimes when they they truly are unfinished!! I love reading Tolkein's little notes and scribbles... he was so utterly dedicated to his work.

[SpaceWeavil]

[VanatheEverYoung]

Couldn't agree more about Unfinished Tales. I adore that book. It inspired my current fic. I take "unfinished" to mean "flexible," and have fun with what I read there.