Most of Tolkien's books are available and can be easily obtained in local and online bookstores, but the selection is so huge that it is often confusing. The major differences of the books
of the same title differ mostly in their art cover, publishing company, binding, and illustrations. And in the U.S., the books are usually published by Houghton Mifflin, Mariner Books, and Ballantine Books; of all which, Ballantine is famous for its poor quality, especially the arts and spelling errors. Listed below are only the editions recommended:
| Books |
The Lord of the Rings
& The Hobbit
Gift Box Set
|
$31.50 |
Paperback, 4 large sized books, box set, Mariner; nice art design, large maps, book is light weighted; recommended for daily reading; (note: the Mass Market Paperback edition is sold at $19.57, but the quality is rather poor, several printing errors.) |
The Lord of the Rings
(Illustrated Edition)
 |
$49.00 |
Hardcover,1 big book, Houghton Mifflin; 50 nice drawings, a collector's item. To publish The Lord of the Rings in one self-contained volume was originally Tolkien's idea. But, in the 50's, a book of such size could be quite costly and could easily turn away buyers. Thus, the publishers insisted on publishing the books in three smaller volumes. |
The Lord of the Rings
(Collector's Edition)
 |
$52.50 |
Hardcover, 1 big book, Houghton Mifflin; The red leather bound looks nice, but it is actually artificial leather, not of high quality. The paper is nice, but the prining quality is rather controversial. Please read the reviews and decide for yourself. |
The Hobbit
(Collector's Edition)
 |
$24.50 |
Hardcover, a slipcase included, Houghton Mifflin; a very nice collector's item. |
The Silmarillion
 |
$11.20 |
Paperback, Mariner; If you would like to know more about the history of Middle-earth, read this when you have finished The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. (Hardcover - $19.60) |
Unfinished Tales
 |
$18.20 |
Hardcover, Houghton Mifflin; Read this only when you've finished The Silmarillion.(Paperback - $6.99, Ballantine.) |
The Tolkien Reader
 |
$6.99 |
Paperback, Ballantine. 5 short stories included are: The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth, Tree and Leaf(ie. On fairy-stories, and Leaf by Niggle), Farmer Giles of Ham, and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and other verses from the Red Book. |
J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography
(by Humphrey Carpenter)
 |
$11.20 |
Paperback, Houghton Mifflin. This book is the only official Tolkien biography; author Carpenter had actually interviewed Tolkien once in person, and has given the access to browse through Tolkien's manuscript. There are other biography in the market, but they aren't official. |
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
 |
$12.00 |
Paperback, Houghton Mifflin; a collection of 354 letters that Tolkien wrote to his family members, friends and fans during 1914~1973. Edited by Christopher Tolkien and Humphrey Carpenter; highly recommended; a lot of heartfelt letters and answers to the books. |
Letters from Father Christmas
(Revised Edition)
 |
$14.00 |
Hardcover, Houghton Mifflin; a collection of Tolkien's very entertaining drawings and stories and heartfelt letters that he sent to his children as Christmas gifts during 1920~1943; highly recommended for Tolkien fans and children. |
Bilbo's Last Song
 |
$10.36 |
Hardcover, 32 pages only; a poem written by Tolkien of Bilbo's farewell to Middle-earth just before Bilbo sails West. Color illustrations throughout, drawn by Pauline Baynes, whose drawning style was much liked by Tolkien. more images |
| Books by other authors |
Complete Guide to Middle-earth
 |
$10.36 |
Paperback, Ballantine, by Robert Foster; more images |
Atlas of Middle-earth
 |
$16.80 |
Paperback, Mariner Books, by Karen Wynn Fonstad. more images |
| Audiobooks |
Tolkien Audio Collection
 |
$17.50 |
4 CD's, 4.5 hours long. Tolkien reads excerpts in The Lord of the Rings, especially the poems and songs. His son Christopher Tolkien also reads "Of Beren and Luthien" from The Silmarillion. Listen to Tolkien sing and chant his wonderful poems! Listen to The Man's passion! A Must! more images |
The Lord of the Rings
Audio Gift Box
 |
$90.99 |
CD, unabridged; the narrator is Rob Inglis, a famous British theater actor. He is now mid-aged, hence his voice is a little grandpa-like, sounds somewhat like Tolkien, but without British accent. He also sings and chants songs. Excellent performance. For samples, please go to HarperCollins' Tolkien website at www.tolkien.co.uk |
The Silmarillion
 |
$45.46 |
13 CD's, unabridged, 15 hours long; reader is Martin Shaw; the voice is clear and masculine; excellent pronounciation and performance. Ever wondering about how to pronounce those names? This is all you need! more images |
The Hobbit
 |
$27.99 |
10 CD's, unabridged, reader is also Rob Inglis; Tolkien used to read The Hobbit as bedtime story to his children. (There is another edition read by Martin Shaw; not recommended, due to the nature of his voice--the seriousness, which was appropriate for The Silmarillion.)
more images |
Listed below are the British editions from HarperCollins,
which has always been Tolkien's publisher since the very beginning; thus,
the quality is more consistent and better than the American editions.
| Books |
The Lord of the Rings
(3-volume box set)
 |
$13.99 |
Paperback, HarperCollins; very nice art covers done by Tolkien himself. more images |
The Lord of the Rings
(7-volume box set)
 |
$17.49 |
Paperback,HarperCollins; Film tie-in edition; the books are slim and easy to hold, and the binding also seems solid; the letters are also a bit larger, which makes reading easier; each book has a different film picture on the back cover. |
The Hobbit
 |
$4.19 |
Paperback, HarperCollins. The arts are designed by Tolkien himself. This book includes 8 drawings by Tolkien, plus the first chapter of The Lord of the Rings! |
The Hobbit Gift Pack
 |
$13.99 |
Hardcover + CD, HarperCollins; CD contains Tolkien's reading of Gollum and Bilbo's riddle game (29 minutes); 8 color postcards; a booklet with a big color map. more images |
The Silmarillion
 |
$5.59 |
Paperback, HarperCollins. |
The Silmarillion Gift Pack
 |
$19.99 |
Hardcover + CD, HarperCollins; the CD contains Christopher Tolkien's reading of "Of Beren and Luthien." Included also is one fold-out color map of Beleriand, and one postcard with Tolkien's color drawing. more images |
The Lord of the Rings
Deluxe Edition
 |
$70.00 |
Hardcover, bound in cloth and leather and set in a clothbound slipcase, HarperCollins. more images |
The Silmarillion
Deluxe Edition
 |
$70.00 |
Hardcover, bound in cloth and leather and set in a clothbound slipcase, HarperCollins. |
Unfinished Tales
 |
$4.89 |
Paperback, HarperCollins. |
J.R.R. Tolkien
 |
$5.59 |
The new 2002 edition of the official biography, HarperCollins. |
The Monsters and the Critics
 |
$7.99 |
Paperback, HarperCollins; a collection of Tolkien's six scholarly essays plus his Oxford retirement speech. |
| Audio CD |
J.R.R. Tolkien:
An Audio Portrait
 |
$8.89 |
2 CD's of audio file of roughly 2 hours length; BBC Interview with Tolkien himself, his family members and friends. more images |
The Road Goes Ever On
 |
$16.99 |
Musical CD with 10 songs composed by Donald Swann, a famous UK pianist in the 60's. This album was first published around 70's and has been out of print for many years. This is the third edition. Swann actually had played these songs to Tolkien, and the tunes were approved by Tolkien himself. Style: panio with male vocalist. The song "Namárië" was taught to Swann by Tolkien). Recommended for collectors!
more images |
American Editions
The editions are inconsistent and incompleted so far by the publishers.
British Editions
This series, though may still be found at local bookstores, is now seriously back-ordered at Amazon UK. According to HarperCollins, the series are being reprinted with slight changes to the covers so that they somewhat match the black paperbacks.
   
Reprint Schedule: (2002)
Feb - 6 & 7
March - 8 & 9
May - 1 & 2
June - 3, 4 & 5
July - 10 & 11
Aug - 12 & an index book
(more images)
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