Which one first? - Page 2

Radagast The Brown · 06-09-2003, 03:47 PM

Quote:

originally posted by Lin
And not only that it gives away the ending, but I think it's important to see if you're into Tolkien's world in the first place. People who have read LotR beforehand, have still been deterred from reading the Silm because of its complexity/difficulty. Imagine someone reading the Silm first, and assuming the rest of JRRT's works are in that style- they wouldn't even bother with LotR!

Right! didn't think about it.

Quote:

original;ly posted by Anglorfin
It doesn't really matter anymore with the movies coming out now. Besides when my friends read the Sil first they felt great that they weren't just part of the movie fanclub that flocked to LotR books right away. They had a bit more knowledge to wave over everybody else's heads.

I would also suggest to read the books before the movies, becuase the movies destroyed my imagination (I finished to rea dht ebooks just before the first movie - and when I saw Elrond... Now I imagine Elrond as an ugly man.

elixir · 07-26-2003, 08:24 PM

I read LOTR first and then Silmarillion, but now that I'm reading LOTR again I understand it a lot better thanks to Silmarillion.

But I think that it's better to read LOTR before Sil (and again after it) and The Hobbit before the LOTR of course. I mean if you had read Hobbit, which is a children's book and then start Sil, it might seem a little too difficult for you. And as LOTR is connected to the Hobbit, I think that's the best way to read those books. But that's just my opinion

kiwi52291 · 07-26-2003, 09:23 PM

I would read LOTR before the Silmarillion...just because it was published that way, so I think that's the way most people read them.

Rosie Gamgee · 08-12-2003, 05:09 PM

I read the Sil after I read The Hobbit and LOTR. I think it would be best to read it (the Sil) after LOTR, because LOTR is written from mostly the hobbits' point of view- so they wouldn't know all the history and backround of the elves. To enjoy LOTR, you have to be kind of in the moment, like the hobbits. If you know to much, it lacks mystery, and the elves as a people are no longer elusive, and you're no longer discovering a whole new world outside your personal 'Shire'. It would seem to me that the Sil would be a history book lying around in Rivendell that one might pick up after have destroyed the Ring.

Varda Oiolosseo · 08-12-2003, 05:15 PM

I read LOTR then The Hobbit and then the Silmarillion and then Unfinished Tales.

Valaróma · 08-12-2003, 05:18 PM

I read The Hobbit, LotR, HoMe including BoLT then the Silm.

Sheeana · 08-12-2003, 05:27 PM

You read HoME before the Sil? Wow.

It must have made no sense...

Oh, and welcome.

cee2lee2 · 08-12-2003, 11:56 PM

I didn't even know Sil existed until after I had read LOTR. I still haven't ever read it all.

Valaróma · 08-13-2003, 04:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sheeana
You read HoME before the Sil? Wow. It must have made no sense...

Oh, and welcome.

It didn't

I read it again after as well

Thanks as well

Sheeana · 08-13-2003, 04:46 AM

Yeah, I can imagine! I'd only read the Sil once before all the earlier HoMEs and I remember getting royally messed up because Tolkien changed all the 'F' names around.

den · 08-13-2003, 08:41 AM

I first read the Hobbit, which is still one of my favorites. Then LOTR, then the Sil. My advice- the Sil is deep. Very complex, with many stories within the story and very little dialog. Lots of characters. In many ways it reads like a history book. Maybe it's a good idea to read the other books first to introduce you to Middle Earth. I agree with those who say the Sil can turn someone off to Tolkien's work if they read it first. Then once you have a better understanding of his world and style, read the Sil, then go back and read LOTR and the rest. You'll have a much greater appreciation for it.

Quote:

I would also suggest to read the books before the movies, becuase the movies destroyed my imagination (I finished to rea dht ebooks just before the first movie - and when I saw Elrond... Now I imagine Elrond as an ugly man.

Yeah, now I think of Elrond as that guy from the Matrix... just killed it for me.

Elrond the Wise · 08-21-2003, 07:38 AM

First I read The Hobbit, then I waited for some years becuse I was to young to read loTR and then I read the Sil. and Unfinished Tales

Durin1 · 08-21-2003, 07:56 AM

I read The Hobbit first then LoTR and then The Silmarillion. Since then I have also read the Christopher Tolkien books - first UT and then the rest in random order.

I belive that this should be the order in which to read about Tolkien. I agree that LoTR rouses the curiosity of the reader with its cryptic references to the older age of Middle Earth and it triggers the imagination.

In terms of trying to get others to appreciate the full scale of Tolkien (especially newcomers who have only seen the movies), it becomes virtually impossible because of the cinematic concessions which inevitably arise from the way the movies were/are portrayed. I try to inform my friends of the deeper implications of characters such as Elrond, Galadriel and Aragorn, but find that it becomes virtually impossible unless they read LoTR and the other works.

To attempt to read The Silmarillion before LoTR will only confound a new reader.

Elrond the Wise · 08-22-2003, 10:19 AM

I thik the best order to read is The Hobbit then LOTR then The Silmarillion and then LOTR again.

nessa · 09-08-2003, 03:53 PM

I read the Hobbit first, then LOTR and then, some years later, Silmirillion. Difficult to say if reading Silm first would have made a difference. I was really young when i read Hobbit. If I had tried to read Silm first it would have put me off for life! Then see what I would have missed.

I've now read all of the books more times then I remember, which Opan, I'm sure you'll do and you become so familiar with them that they all interweave.

durin's bane · 09-08-2003, 06:59 PM

I read The Silmarillion after The Lord of the Rings because I had no choice. I had gotten it after.

Personally, though, I prefer to read things in chronological order. So when I'm done LotR and The Sil (I'm reading them at the same time), I'll go back and read The Silmarillion, then The Hobbit, then The Lord of the Rings.

Elenna Alaniel · 09-09-2003, 05:39 PM

I first read Hobbit (as soon as I learnt to read) and few years later LotR and Silmarillion.I think it is the best to read them like that becouse you can read them while growing up and you slowly enter that world,step by step.that is just my personal opinion but one is sure: it is the best way to get a great Tolkien-fan

gollum9630 · 09-09-2003, 09:33 PM

i read LotR first becasue i couldnt find a copy of the Hobbit, then i read the Hobbit after i got it for Christmas then i read the Sil

07-26-2003, 08:24 PM	#22
elixir Elven Warrior Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: wherever my dreams take me Posts: 356	I read LOTR first and then Silmarillion, but now that I'm reading LOTR again I understand it a lot better thanks to Silmarillion. But I think that it's better to read LOTR before Sil (and again after it) and The Hobbit before the LOTR of course. I mean if you had read Hobbit, which is a children's book and then start Sil, it might seem a little too difficult for you. And as LOTR is connected to the Hobbit, I think that's the best way to read those books. But that's just my opinion __________________ ~ Time is a drug. Too much of it kills you ~ "We've got a wizard and we're not afraid to use him!" HOBBITS NEEDED! Some dwarves as well !!!

08-12-2003, 05:09 PM	#24
Rosie Gamgee The Lovely Hobbit-Lass Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Bounded in a nut-shell Posts: 1,593	I read the Sil after I read The Hobbit and LOTR. I think it would be best to read it (the Sil) after LOTR, because LOTR is written from mostly the hobbits' point of view- so they wouldn't know all the history and backround of the elves. To enjoy LOTR, you have to be kind of in the moment, like the hobbits. If you know to much, it lacks mystery, and the elves as a people are no longer elusive, and you're no longer discovering a whole new world outside your personal 'Shire'. It would seem to me that the Sil would be a history book lying around in Rivendell that one might pick up after have destroyed the Ring. __________________ It's New Years Day, just like the day before; Same old skies of grey, same empty bottles on the floor. Another year's gone by, and I was thinking once again, How can I take this losing hand and somehow win? Just give me One Good Year To get my feet back on the ground. I've been chasing grace; Grace ain't so easily found One bad hand can devil a man, chase him and carry him down. I've got to get out of here, just give me One Good Year!

08-21-2003, 07:56 AM	#33
Durin1 Elven Warrior Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Birmingham, UK Posts: 221	I read The Hobbit first then LoTR and then The Silmarillion. Since then I have also read the Christopher Tolkien books - first UT and then the rest in random order. I belive that this should be the order in which to read about Tolkien. I agree that LoTR rouses the curiosity of the reader with its cryptic references to the older age of Middle Earth and it triggers the imagination. In terms of trying to get others to appreciate the full scale of Tolkien (especially newcomers who have only seen the movies), it becomes virtually impossible because of the cinematic concessions which inevitably arise from the way the movies were/are portrayed. I try to inform my friends of the deeper implications of characters such as Elrond, Galadriel and Aragorn, but find that it becomes virtually impossible unless they read LoTR and the other works. To attempt to read The Silmarillion before LoTR will only confound a new reader. __________________ Durin the Sleepless!

08-22-2003, 10:19 AM	#34
Elrond the Wise Sapling Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Europe Posts: 14	the pest way I thik the best order to read is The Hobbit then LOTR then The Silmarillion and then LOTR again.

09-08-2003, 03:53 PM	#35
nessa Enting Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: In the land of the setting sun. Posts: 58	I read the Hobbit first, then LOTR and then, some years later, Silmirillion. Difficult to say if reading Silm first would have made a difference. I was really young when i read Hobbit. If I had tried to read Silm first it would have put me off for life! Then see what I would have missed. I've now read all of the books more times then I remember, which Opan, I'm sure you'll do and you become so familiar with them that they all interweave. __________________ "In dancing she delights, and she dances in Valimar on lawns of never-fading green."

07-26-2003, 09:23 PM	#23
kiwi52291 Hobbit Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 43	I would read LOTR before the Silmarillion...just because it was published that way, so I think that's the way most people read them.

08-12-2003, 05:15 PM	#25
Varda Oiolosseo Tea Bag Queen Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mirkwood Posts: 973	I read LOTR then The Hobbit and then the Silmarillion and then Unfinished Tales.

08-12-2003, 05:18 PM	#26
Valaróma Banned Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: In a state of confusion Posts: 50	I read The Hobbit, LotR, HoMe including BoLT then the Silm.

08-12-2003, 05:27 PM	#27
Sheeana Lord of the Pants Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 1,382	You read HoME before the Sil? Wow. It must have made no sense... Oh, and welcome.

08-12-2003, 11:56 PM	#28
cee2lee2 Elf Lord Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: 2nd star to the left..... Posts: 566	I didn't even know Sil existed until after I had read LOTR. I still haven't ever read it all.

08-13-2003, 04:46 AM	#30
Sheeana Lord of the Pants Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 1,382	Yeah, I can imagine! I'd only read the Sil once before all the earlier HoMEs and I remember getting royally messed up because Tolkien changed all the 'F' names around.

08-21-2003, 07:38 AM	#32
Elrond the Wise Sapling Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Europe Posts: 14	First I read The Hobbit, then I waited for some years becuse I was to young to read loTR and then I read the Sil. and Unfinished Tales

09-08-2003, 06:59 PM	#36
durin's bane Lady of Westernesse Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Canada (Help! Our parliament building is melting!) Posts: 761	I read The Silmarillion after The Lord of the Rings because I had no choice. I had gotten it after. Personally, though, I prefer to read things in chronological order. So when I'm done LotR and The Sil (I'm reading them at the same time), I'll go back and read The Silmarillion, then The Hobbit, then The Lord of the Rings. __________________ Yada, yada, yada

09-09-2003, 05:39 PM	#37
Elenna Alaniel Hobbit Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Dorthonion Posts: 21	I first read Hobbit (as soon as I learnt to read) and few years later LotR and Silmarillion.I think it is the best to read them like that becouse you can read them while growing up and you slowly enter that world,step by step.that is just my personal opinion but one is sure: it is the best way to get a great Tolkien-fan __________________ Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.

09-09-2003, 09:33 PM	#38
gollum9630 Canadian Guy. Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: The true North Strong and Free Posts: 1,513	i read LotR first becasue i couldnt find a copy of the Hobbit, then i read the Hobbit after i got it for Christmas then i read the Sil __________________ "Canadians are so apathetic, but, what are you gonna do about it" -Glen Foster Wierd Harry Potter quotes the old nintendo duck hunt game Lemmings Swron Random Homer Simpson Quotes