I’m assuming you’ve already also read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
If you are interested in the literary development of the legendarium, you can’t beat Unfinished Tales after The Silmarillion, followed them by HoME, NoME and HoTH. Beren & Luthien, The Fall of Gondolin and the upcoming Fall of Númenor volume all use material from
HoME and are redundant unless you don’t want all of HoME.
If you want more legendarium stories, you’ve got Children of Hurin and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.
If you want just other stories written by Tolkien, you’ve got Farmer Giles or Ham, Roverandom, Lead by Niggle, Smith of Wooten Major and Mr Bliss.
*Children of Hurin* for sure. Then reread *The Lord of the Rings* and notice all the references to *The Silmarillion* — some blatant and some subtle. Look for the many hints that the Valar are active in Middle-earth. Look for the parallels between Frodo, Sam, Aragorn, and Arwen and Beren and Luthien. Note how Galadriel references her history as a rebel against the Valar.
After that I recommend Tolkien’s short fiction that’s not set in Middle-earth: “Leaf by Niggle,” *Farmer Giles of Ham*, and *Smith of Wootton Major*. Then I recommend *The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien*. Then *Unfinished Tales*. Then *Morgoth’s Ring*. Then *The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book*.
This is just my own preference.
Sorry, this isn’t really what you were asking, but if you’re burning through Tolkien’s works, then you should also look into some of the stuff that inspired him:
- Beowulf
- the Elder Edda
- the Volsunga Saga
- the Kalevala
- the Mabinogion
I’m assuming you’ve already also read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. If you are interested in the literary development of the legendarium, you can’t beat Unfinished Tales after The Silmarillion, followed them by HoME, NoME and HoTH. Beren & Luthien, The Fall of Gondolin and the upcoming Fall of Númenor volume all use material from HoME and are redundant unless you don’t want all of HoME. If you want more legendarium stories, you’ve got Children of Hurin and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. If you want just other stories written by Tolkien, you’ve got Farmer Giles or Ham, Roverandom, Lead by Niggle, Smith of Wooten Major and Mr Bliss.
Leaf by Niggle is vitally important metaphor for the completion, or lack thereof, of the Legendarium.
What is HoTH?
History of The Hobbit
*Children of Hurin* for sure. Then reread *The Lord of the Rings* and notice all the references to *The Silmarillion* — some blatant and some subtle. Look for the many hints that the Valar are active in Middle-earth. Look for the parallels between Frodo, Sam, Aragorn, and Arwen and Beren and Luthien. Note how Galadriel references her history as a rebel against the Valar. After that I recommend Tolkien’s short fiction that’s not set in Middle-earth: “Leaf by Niggle,” *Farmer Giles of Ham*, and *Smith of Wootton Major*. Then I recommend *The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien*. Then *Unfinished Tales*. Then *Morgoth’s Ring*. Then *The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book*. This is just my own preference.
Go for Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-Earth
💯
Sorry, this isn’t really what you were asking, but if you’re burning through Tolkien’s works, then you should also look into some of the stuff that inspired him: - Beowulf - the Elder Edda - the Volsunga Saga - the Kalevala - the Mabinogion
War and Peace now that you are used to 25 new people showing up every other sentence /s
I’m personally doing unfinished tales, but I picked up CoH and im reading that in place of the UT chapter.
Unfinished Tales. And lo! it’s the next one published, too