Middle-earth: The World of J.R.R. Tolkien

No threads for this immersive literature (and film) series on ETS? Come on, nerds.

I recently got the bug to buy physical editions of the books and read them (they're my current reading project goals). I have read the Hobbit in elementary school so it's been ages but I am familiar with all the films, related video games and have only read snippets of scenes in the Lord of the Rings. Never touched the Silmarillion or other unfinished books and tales.

So I said go big or go home if I'm going to buy these!

I bought the 75th Anniversary Edition of The Hobbit (2012) and the 50th Anniversary of The Lord Of The Rings (2004). I'm trying to scout out out a similar edition of The Silmarillion (30th Anniversary Edition, however it'd be a UK import and over $65.00+ USD). However I might just buy a standard vanilla edition hardcover to just try and match in size (since there was also a collector's edition of the Hobbit I never bought by the same company that made my 50th Anniversary of LOTR so it would've matched.)

https://i.imgur.com/bUTpWrH.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/jIj9hjI.jpg?1https://i.imgur.com/A5MkoKv.jpg?1https://i.imgur.com/7TjB2up.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/20Ch4pQ.jpg?1

Show ETS your editions and let's talk?

Very cool editions, I considered both of them when I bought my copies recently. I bought mine around the holidays because I had a strong desire to re-read them (haven't since high school) and there were good deals. I'm on 'The Two Towers' at the moment. It's just incredible how thorough and detailed Tolkien was in his world-building and geography..it really feels complete and rich in ways that other fantasy series' can't match.

Marquette University, about an hour from where I live, actually has a lot of Tolkien's original manuscripts for LOTR and some of his other projects. The curator for that university inquired about them and got his hands on them before the series blew up and became as popular as it is. They do public showings a few times a year, capped at only 25 people, so you have to sign up well in advance. (They're filled up until January 2020 at the moment.) I'm going next month and I'm pretty damn excited.

My version of the hobbit:

https://images.bidsquare.com/item/xl/4969/4969558.jpeg

LOTR:

https://g.christianbook.com/dg/produ...400/489326.jpg