The Hobbit comes first. That’s what I mean.
Oh. Yeah, I’ve always known that Hobbit comes first in the story, I just thought that the books were released in the same order as the movies, and that’s the order I began reading them in. After I already was into Fellowship I learned that Hobbit actually was released first, and was intended to be the first book read.
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Oh, okay.
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Yeah I’ve read it about that many times and the LOTR books three times, each
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I should read The Story Of Kullervo.
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Try again.
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Unfinished Tales is great if you’ve already read the Silmarillion, but reading Tales first is pretty weird otherwise.
When did you guys get into Tolkien?
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Late 2011 for me. I think I might have read part of Hobbit prior, but that’s when I finished it and went into LotR.
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2008, I think. That’s when my mother first handed me The Hobbit.
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I got into Tolkien in middle school, when I read Fellowship for a book report after having the series recommended by my cousin. Currently, at age nineteen, Tolkien is now my favorite author, and the sheer brilliance of his work has inspired me to craft my own fantasy series, combining the intensely philosophical and descriptively rich aspects of LOTR with some grittier fantasy elements, like those in Game of Thrones–all in a world of my own creation.
I’m also currently taking a colloquium on Tolkien at my college, focused on the theological dimensions of his work (which are plentiful). The entire series offers so much insight and wisdom about humanity, hopefulness, and friendship. It’s a true masterpiece of literature that does not deserve the backlash and dismissiveness directed towards it because it’s “fantasy.” Tolkien was a brilliant man with an amazing mind, and in my opinion only the greatest of fools cannot recognize that when reading his work…
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Googles
Oh man, I hadn’t heard about that. It’ll be interesting to see how it connects to The Children of Húrin.
I’ve read most of the Silm. I’ve been so busy with school I haven’t gotten past the Battle of Unnumbered Tears.
2004, in grade school. My parents let me watch the movies, which were the most amazing thing at the time. I read the books (including The Hobbit) shortly after and haven’t looked back since. 
Wow. I am jealous!
Could not agree more. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis are my favorite authors by a wide margin.
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Yeah, it’s pretty awesome! I actually took it a year earlier than I probably should have, because if it had turned out to be super intense, I would’ve had a horrid semester of work. Luckily the professor’s really smart and made the coursework relatively light so we could enjoy the discussion more! Plus we get to watch the movies outside of class!
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Heh, that’s really cool. I wish my college had a course like that. I’ve seen a few interesting speeches about Tolkien on youtube, but that’s the closest I’ve come to something like that. (And getting to watch movies for class is always a nice bonus! )
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i am currently reading the silmarillion and have unfinished tales lined up next
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Tolkien and Asimov, both made in-depth fleshed out worlds in their respected fantasy thematics, both of their works I enjoy a great deal.
Rowling is still young and has much more to write, but she too is capable of making a in-depth fleshed out world, we have only scratched the surface of what can be read about it.
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One of the things that I love about the Silmarillion and the Hobbit is that the characters are so deeply fleshed out that you legitimately care about what happens to them. You actually feel really sad when someone dies.
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True this.
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