The Lord of the Rings

by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Hobbit; or There and Back again

The story of Bilbo Baggins (uncle of Frodo). Gandalf whisks him away on a treasure hunting expedition on which he encounters ruthless trolls, beastly orcs, gigantic spiders, and hungry wolves and the fearsome dragon Smaug.

The Lord of the Rings

In case you need to read them again.

The Silmarillion

The story of the creation of the world and of the First Age, this is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back and in whose events some of them, such as Elrond and Galadriel, took part.

The legend of Sigurd and Gudrun

Before Tolkein there were the real myths of Northern Europe. This is Tolkein's telling of the epic tragedy of Sigurd the dragon-slayer, Brynhild who loved him and Sigurd's wife Gudrun originally told in stories such as the Poetic Edda, Volsung Saga and Nibelungenlied.

If you want to read the Anglo-Saxon and Norse myths and sagas which J.R.R. Tolkien was interested in, search the catalogue for Norse mythology. Beowulf is a famous Anglo-Saxon poem which tells of the adventures of Beowulf, a Scandinavian hero who saves the Danes. You may also be interested in books about the mythical hero King Arthur.

The Mythopoeic Society is a non-profit international literary and educational organization for the study, discussion, and enjoyment of fantastic and mythic literature, especially the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams and they sponsor annual awards for fiction and non-fiction which may also be of interest.

Authors and titles to try

If you like Middle Earth, you might like to try the following titles.

Piers Anthony

Henry N. Beard and Douglas C. Kenney

Bored of the rings: a parody of J. R. R. Tolkien's The lord of the rings

Terry Brooks

The Shannara series

Hugh Cook

Chronicles of an age of darkness

Stephen Donaldson

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever

David Eddings

The Belgariad series

Kate Elliott

David Farland

The Runelords series

Neil Gaiman

Stardust

William Goldman

The Princess Bride

Terry Goodkind

Sword of truth series

Barbara Hambly

Elizabeth Haydon

The Rhapsody trilogy

Robin Hobb

Brian Jacques

Redwall series

Robert Jordan

Wheel of time series

Guy Gavriel Kay

The Fionavar Tapestry

Katharine Kerr

The Deverry saga

Katherine Kurtz

Mercedes Lackey

Tanith Lee

C. S. Lewis

Chronicles of Narnia

Anne McCaffrey

Chronicles of Pern

Patricia McKillip

George R. R. Martin

Song of Ice and Fire series

L. E. Modesitt

Philip Pullman

His Dark Materials trilogy

Michael Scott Rohan

Winter of the World series

Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Death Gate Cycle

Tad Williams

Roger Zelazny

Marion Zimmer Bradley

Fantasy reading for kids

Try our fantasy related lists produced by the library for kids such as the Fantasy Readers' Maze and If you like Harry Potter guides.

Websites

Fan Sites

The One Ring

Forged by and for fans of J.R.R. Tolkien

The Tolkien Society

UK

J. R. R. Tolkien

The Harper Collins Publishers' site.

The Grey Havens

Many articles answering questions about Middle-Earth and its inhabitants. Includes the text of many of the songs.

Lord of the Rings.org

Another fan site which includes essays, products to buy, frequently asked questions etc.

Movie Sites

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

From the Internet movie database

LOTR and Narnia filming locations

Learn more about the beautiful locations used to make the films

New Zealand - home of Middle Earth

Film New Zealand

WetaFx

Peter Jackson's special effects company

Media Sites

Special report: Lord of the Rings

Guardian Unlimited

The Ring of Power

Wherein an Oxford don and his ragtag army of fans turn a fairy tale about hobbits into the ultimate virtual world. Can any movie ever do it justice? Erik Davis, Wired magazine October 2001: explores Middle-Earth as the first virtual reality, fandom and Tolkien's languages.

The Return of the King - World Premiere