The first movie came out when I was 14. A friend of mine suggested that I read at least the first book before we went and watched the movie. I was absolutely astonished by the book and even more surprise to find that the movie depicted the pictures in my head quite accurately. I then went on to read the rest of the series and Silmarillion before the second movie came out. Needless to say I was infatuated with the world and storycraft. This became the basis of everything I have read since then. Thank you for the video, it's always a good reminder to reread these great works of literature.
One of the reasons I love The Silmarillion, and why I think it’s in the top 5 books ever, is because it leaves so much to the imagination. My mind is able to conjure up so many grand images of the stories that are told. It makes you wonder well after you’ve finished reading.
I don't think the Fall of Numenor is as bad as you described. It's nice to have all the second age stories laid out in one book, so you can read it as one great tale without having to flip back and forth between books.
i do agree with it being a cash grab tho because there is no new material in it. it just put together the material form the other books while having the show rings of power in mind
My son has nearly finished the hobbit and has really enjoyed it. He’s asked for the lord of the rings trilogy for his birthday so he’s getting that soon :) he’s never seen the films though so won’t be comparing the action scenes. I really should give the series a read at some point, I’ve only ever seen the films.
my favorite part in the books "And Eowyn looked at Faramir long and steadily; and Faramir said: 'Do not scorn pity that is the gift of a gentle heart, Eowyn! But I do not offer you my pity. For you are a lady high and valiant and have yourself won renown that shall not be forgotten; and you are a lady beautiful, I deem, beyond even the words of the Elven-tongue to tell. And I love you. Once I pitied your sorrow. But now, were you sorrowless, without fear or any lack, were you the blissful Queen of Gondor, still I would love you. Eowyn, do you not love me?" and this is beautiful
you did great at explaining why The Silmarillion is the best of them! I read it every winter. I try to read the others as well, but I do manage to do The Silmarillion.
Dude. I’m probably younger and you’re making me feel older than you. I first saw fellowship when I was like 5 when my dad was watching it late at night and I snuck in and watched a good chunk of it from behind the door. It was also one of the few DVD’s we owned at the time. We had a lot of VHS tapes still
I'm traditionally a lurker and not a commenter but felt compelled to tell you how much I've enjoyed your videos and now look forward to new ones! For the most part we seem to have near identical taste as I've actually read most of the books you've discussed so far- but that makes me very keen to read the few I haven't, as I should enjoy them if you did ha As a teenager I read James Barclay's Chronicles of the Raven and enjoyed them. Is that a series you've tried? I never see much discussion about those books.
@@Severian1Yeah, they do seem underappreciated. The fact that nobody talks about them made me wonder whether they just weren't that good and my teenage brain just didn't 'get that' but I'm happy to see someone else enjoyed them! 😊 I remember them being good quality though, but I'm going to have to give them another read now to be sure!
Thank you so much!! I'm a lurker too, when I watch other people's videos. Respect! I haven't even heard of Chronicles of the Raven. But one google search later and they've been added to my reading list. 😁
Worthy of mention would also be the letters of Tolkien. They are largely his responses to fan questions regarding LOTR and the Hobbit. If you have some burning questions about the books or you would just enjoy a casual glimpse into the mind of a literary giant it is worth browsing.
I love your take on this. Not enough people who talk about the book talk about the huge difference in tone and action from the movies. It took me some reflection and thinking to understand the things you talked about in this book after I read the books and I love that you're just coming out and saying it. Awesome channel! Keep up the good work!
I have to disagree about Children of Hurin. If you love any Tolkien work you will love children of hurin. Reading it in the silmarilion and unfinished tales is not enough to grasp the beauty of Tolkien’s writing in that story. Most parts are *significantly* improved in the full book. Glaurung’s encounters are very iconic and you have to appreciate it in the extended version.
It's funny that you mention oral tradition in regards to The Silmarillion, because earlier this year i wrote my bachelor's thesis on the poetry in The Lord of the Rings, contextualising the poems. A big part of that was how Tolkien filled his world with a rich oral tradition, how stories are passed down via songs and poems. Chief examples of this in the Lord of the Rings are poems like Eärendil was a Mariner and The Lay of Lúthien.
When I first read the Silmarillion I really struggled with it, but I've now read it several times. It gets easier to read with each read through. It's now one of my favoutire books :)
I was your age when the movies released and I went to the books and it was great it was exactly what I wanted. I was a HUGE JRPG fan at the time so I wanted a slower paced more character focused adventure. I fell in love, the immediate 3 book reports following the movies were about the books.
After watching this I'm totally rereading LOTR for the 4th time 😂 Besides, for people wandering where to start with Tolkien's work, I would add that, if you start with The Hobbit and don't like it, try with The Fellowship of the Ring anyway, because it's really really different.
YES! I am like the third generation of being a fan of these books so there probably isn't anything you can tell me about them that I don't already know, is that going to stop me from watching this video? No, of course not, it's about the books that are responsible for making me a fantasy fan in the first place!
@@alananimus9145 which is ok, he wasn’t a writer, more of a world builder and language genius. That reasonably creates a writing style that doesn’t resonate for everyone, especially as styles have changed and his becomes more archaic.
@alananimus9145 Ha ha wow, bad writer how though? Like do you not like his prose? his dialogue? the Eagles? Or are you just saying this to get me to defend him?
@@maybelore Not saying it to get you to defend him. Depending on what someone means by his prose then that can be part of what I mean. He was a good poet, I would go so far as to say great. But as a storyteller he is only moderate at best. Cutting LoTR by about 30-40% would improve it's readability. The dialogue isn't too bad, but again there it could be tightened up a bit. Not nearly as much but a bit. While the LoTR was revolutionary at the time, and he deserves respect for what he managed to do. But his contribution is somewhat over stated as is how good the final product is. I think it's important to recognize contributions, but as a written storyteller he's not that great. (LoTR works much better as an oral story) which makes sense given his inspiration.
I am a baby boomer and first read the Lord of the Rings when I was about 16 (1968) and it was very much a part of hippie culture. It will always be an important part of my life. Obviously your experience of first seeing the movie is different but It shows how a work of art can inspire many generations.
i too immediately read the entire lotr trilogy after watching the fellowship movie when it came out when i was 12!!! i absolutely loved it and was shocked at how faithful & pretty damn accurate the movies were to the books (something i was super disappointed about with the harry potter movies in contrast). thank you for making this video because i've been meaning to read simarillion since i fell in love with lotr decades ago but kind of forgot about it but now i really really want to read it!! :)
At this point basically everyone knows LOTR first thru the movies, so I think people should read the books if they sat thru the theatrical cuts and then the extended editions and STILL wanted more. Fellowship also shouldn’t be someone’s first book after years of not reading for fun (like me right after I graduated from college and hadn’t read for fun since early high school) it’s super hard to get into, even if you Used To read a lot for fun as a kid! I think your point in your GoT video stands here - you gotta build up those reading muscles before diving in, To me, these big epic finely crafted fantasy series are like preparing a home cooked meal, while the YA is sort of like a microwave meal. DONT get me wrong, I love the ease and simplicity of a microwave meal, and it can be delicious and nutritious, but there’s nothing like using every iota of cooking ability to prepare a big meal and enjoying the payoff of that. Reading Fourth Wing this year was super fun but it was a totally different type of fun than getting thru all of the Witcher books. I hope that analogy made sense lol.
Title of the Video - The answer is yes lol obviously everyone should 😂 I think there is room in fantasy for those you follow in Tolkien’s footsteps and for those you want to carve a new path. But there is no doubt Tolkien is an all time great.
I remember reading the books at junior high after the first hobbit movie came out and i loved them (even the silmarillion at that age). In the last 5 years I've wanted to read them multiple times but never gotten around to it yet. I probably would have sooner but I've got them translated and i want to read it in English because i think it will make the experience even better.
Great video, but before you re-read The Silmarillion, I’d recommend one take a moment to go thru Appendix E in RotK (trust me, it’ll enrich the experience immensely).
In regards to whether we move on from Tolkien's influence I am in and always will be in the camp of no, never. He is one of four authors that literally changed my life. I will be forever indebted to him
I love your video, but how am I supposed to read everything you recommend in each video in a week so I can read what your next video's about 😭(this is a joke obviously, but seriously keep up the awesome work, you've quickly become one of my favorite booktubers)
I read the LOTR in highschool. I'm not a big book reader, but i read it during "homework/reading session" usually just before lunchtime (teenagers get tired and hungry by then!) . I remember zoning out for couple pages, and then realized i read half of the battle of helms deep without realizing it! haha
LOTR books were daunting to read, especially the first book when Tolkein was depicting the happy hobbit life of Frodo & co. I tried 3 times to start reading them, and ended up truly going through them in audiobook format. Everything ramps up the moment they meet the elves, and Boromir's temptation in the books was what truly hooked me in. Ever since going back to the books, the movies do not do it for me anymore, tolkein's writing, though slow it may be, is inherently beautiful and nuanced. The characters are well crafted in the books, I disliked Movie Frodo, but book frodo is truly courageous, a hobbit, who while physically weak, is the most determined and brave of all, resisting temptation of the one ring throughout his whole journey when elves and noble man failed to resist upon glancing Ishilfur's bane. I love Phil Dragash's audiobooks.
I'm kind of old - bless you! I was 32 when Fellowship came out at the cinema. Lol I really enjoyed your take on this, especially your take of Silmarillion. I have read LoTR five times now since my first read at 14 and in general I loved the films, but as you said thematically they are very different from the books. The books are quite simply exquisite and I take something different from them at each read.
Thanks for a very eloborate and wonderfully explained video. I am a Tolkien fan of many years and my favourite book of all time is The Silmarillion, which, like you, I have read several times, and which I constantly refer to, even to this day. I was first introduced to Tolkien by a friend of my parents, when I was about 15 years old. I found the first 100 pages of Lord of the Rings hard going, but once I reached Rivendell, my natural love of "world building" was kindled, and the story also began to be more exciting to me. I soon read The Hobbit, which I liked, and then The Silmarillion, which changed my love of literature for good. Interestingly, it was around the same time that I became a fan of Shakespeare, and in particular, Macbeth. In collecting books at that time, I also read much of Tolkien's other works (e.g. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Farmer Giles of Ham, The Father Christmas Letters, and most importantly, Tree and Leaf, containing Tolkien's own example of the perfect "faerie tale", Leaf by Niggle. I noted, you didn't mention any of these books in your video, I guess, because they are not directly part of Tolkien's "Legendarium". However, I will add for your viewers that Leaf by Niggle is an excellent story, and very short. No other fantasy author has inspired me as much as Tolkien, and I have read the works of the others you describe. I would say Frank Herbert's Dune came a not so close second, although I lost interest with each of the Dune books until I stopped reading them after number four. The first one I would still keep on the same shelf as The Silmarillion, Macbeth, and The Lord of the Rings. I hope you don't think I have rambled too much, but I wanted to give a decent reply to the work you have undertaken in presenting your wonderful video. 😎😎❤❤👍👍
Im gonna have to re-read LoTR because I was not impressed and barely remember the books when I read em for the first time as an adult years ago. You are good at selling books I was lukewarm on!
For audiobooks I cannot recommend projects like The Hobbit by Bluefax or TLOTR by Phil Dragash enough. They are simply astounding. So much effort and love were put into them. I highly recommend them for the ultimate immersive middle earth audiobook experience.
lol, I'm noticing a lot of The Emperor's new groove clips in this, did you re-watch it recently or something? 33:06 I think there is a lot to learn from Tolkien and we shouldn't throw that away but that doesn't mean we can't forge our own paths. I don't see it as limiting at all. I would recommend reading the book of lost tales at least the story bits between the notes. As I find them very funny, especially the Melko parts.
Ha! I noticed that too. Three clips from New Groove. But I swear, there were just no other clips in existence that worked for those jokes! New Groove is something else.
This is the best guide I have ever watched for Tolkien works! Thank you! I miss Christopher a lot recently, especially as now the Tolkien estate is full of privileged, money grab vampires. He was the last person in that family that cherished Tolkien s legacy.
When I heard that movie adaptations were being made of _The Lord of the Rings,_ I rushed to read the books because I wanted to read it first . . . and after that, I read everything else translated into Finnish from Tolkien by the time, including _Leaf by Niggle,_ _Roverandom,_ and so forth (and _Farmer Giles of Ham_ might actually be my favourite Tolkien book). I did not even care about the movies anymore. I just wanted to read the books, and I ended up deciding that I do not want to make comics after all but write novels. (I did watch the movies once from televison a few years later. They're fine but I'm probably not going to watch them another time.) PS. I am almost certain Tolkien took the idea for demigod eagles from Finnish mythology that he knew somewhat well. I have never seen that being mentioned when talking about Tolkien's influences. Túrin's similarities with Kullervo do get mentioned and Quenya's connection to Finnish language. PPS. Please, Australians, make sure Ungolianth doesn't get away anymore. We all know you have her. Somewhere. Under Uluru or something. Just saying. Go check every once in a while.
yeah yeah LotR is cool and all, but the same-edition collection of the Elderling books behind you is amazing as well (mine are all from different editions because of the pricing of each book)
The Silmarillion with the fall of Gondolin is my favourite story ever... Sadly i probly know more about the history of middle earth than i do about real history 😅😅
Would you recommend me getting all (3 lotr) in one book edition or seperately (1 by 1)? I remember read silmarillion when I was 12 and got bored, now I'm 30 and dying to read from scratch including history of middle earth...
I was 7,8,9 when the movies came out and tried to read the books after watching the movies but it was such a hard read at that age. Never got back to it :(
@actavisprime514 I did something similar. Tried fellowship at aged 12 and was bored. But tried again at...maybe 18 ish? Loved it. 😍 we enjoy books differently at each stage of life. Now might be a good time for you!
I remember in Middle School my friend and I were in the library, and he said he wanted to read Tolkien. I went to grab the Hobbit off the shelf, but he said he wanted to read it all in chronological order. I tried to warn him, but he wouldn't listen, so I handed him the Silmarillion. He hasn't been seen again since.
I think you're right about the Hobbit book being very kiddie friendly compared to LOTRs, which makes me wish it was rewritten in the same style as LOTRs to match its epicness and maturity (maybe using Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy as the basis for the rewrite). Haha, that'd make all the stuck-up Tolkien purists have a conniption fit.
The book of lost tales is more like a novel narrative version of The Silmarillion. I prefer the more detailed version of the stories told in Silmarillion which is found in Book of lost tales. Even though it's an earlier version I prefer the way it's written like a novel.
“Quicker to read the book than watch the movie”. LOL, I never thought of it that way but you're quite right. The Hobbit is a wonderful older children’s book that is very enjoyable to read as an adult and the best way to enter Middle Earth while the movie is an overdone and overly ambitious attempt to make an epic.
Tolkien's work is not what limits fantasy, it is simply imagination (or lack thereof) that creates artificial limitations. For artists who feel entrapped by Tolkien's legacy, do what Tolkien himself did and find the boldness to find your own world or space with its own rules.
I'm probably one of the few people that hadn't watched the movies yet so I decided to read the book first and men they were an amazing experience! I can't recommend it enough. Right now I'm halfway through the first movie (extended edition) and boy is it bad, I really don't like the script for the movie at all. The settings and costumes are amazing but everything else? It's all wrong, things are being discovered too early or not early enough, the characters all feel extremely dumbed down and it generally lacks cohesion. So if you want to enjoy the movies definitely watch does first, if you want to live through the journey read the book, it's so much better!
That laugh with Martin’s name… a bit of 😈 in it. 😂 Who knows why? I saw the movies later. I had LotR for… I don’t know read before it came out in cinema. Definitely it’s better read first. But it’s a very good addition to the books. It’s not the Gollum game… Not really sure that Malazan is anti-Tolkien this strong but for sure the people needed a new way. What we see is why they quit reading is exactly that: they expect!!! things from fantasy and Malazan is not giving it. It’s progressive. Hard to adjust that for some people but worth it.
I do think Fall of Numenor is worthy of its publication, but yeah, it was totally published to make a quick buck. I will say, the 2nd age is only briefly covered in the Silmarillion. Most of the actual stories are scattered between various posthumous volumes released by Christopher, and it gets very complicated trying to read the full 2nd age story. This book takes all known 2nd age tales across Tolkien's Legendarium, and puts them in a nice chronological book. It's the definitive way to read all the 2nd age stories, I think. If I knew someone who'd just finished the Silmarillion, and loved all the 1st age stuff, I'd definitely point them to this as their next book. But yeah, the only reason the publishers did this was for the money lol
I liked this video and thought it did a great job of explaining what it was trying to explain at the level of detail it was aiming for. The one statement I took exception to was about the Wizard of Earthsea books being a similar to LOTR written by a copycat author. Unfair and inaccurate characterization of both the books and the author. The themes, style, intent, and characters are really very different than Tolkien’s. Radically different in some regards. Tolkien’s work is better in most ways than anyone else’s ever in my opinion but the Earthsea saga is up there in the same tier in terms of quality and significance as a work of fiction. Just saying. Tolkien is the undisputed king of fantasy literature, but several other writers well deserve their place in the royal court. Ursula K. Le Guin is one such writer. (To be clear, my focus is only on her Earthsea books. Like many other writers, there is certainly different degrees of room for debate with each of their books. But the Earthsea books are stellar.)
I love fantasy but I hated Lord of the rings movies for some reason. I have never watched it again. I would like to read the books but dont do it due to my dislike of the films.
Some of the worst books I've tried to get into, so dull, slow and overblown with unassay language. Nobody I know actually has finished them and all my friends are massive fantasy and older sci-fi fans.
Parts of it are a bit tough to get through, especially the first time with limited familiarity. However, there are parts that are AMAZING... I always say it isn't for everyone though..
“He’s been gone half a century and still publishes more often than George RR Martin.”
The first movie came out when I was 14. A friend of mine suggested that I read at least the first book before we went and watched the movie. I was absolutely astonished by the book and even more surprise to find that the movie depicted the pictures in my head quite accurately. I then went on to read the rest of the series and Silmarillion before the second movie came out. Needless to say I was infatuated with the world and storycraft. This became the basis of everything I have read since then. Thank you for the video, it's always a good reminder to reread these great works of literature.
One of the reasons I love The Silmarillion, and why I think it’s in the top 5 books ever, is because it leaves so much to the imagination. My mind is able to conjure up so many grand images of the stories that are told. It makes you wonder well after you’ve finished reading.
I don't think the Fall of Numenor is as bad as you described. It's nice to have all the second age stories laid out in one book, so you can read it as one great tale without having to flip back and forth between books.
That’s my feeling too!
i do agree with it being a cash grab tho because there is no new material in it. it just put together the material form the other books while having the show rings of power in mind
My son has nearly finished the hobbit and has really enjoyed it. He’s asked for the lord of the rings trilogy for his birthday so he’s getting that soon :) he’s never seen the films though so won’t be comparing the action scenes. I really should give the series a read at some point, I’ve only ever seen the films.
You are a great parent!!! ❤👏👏👏
The books are amazing! I read them before watching the movies, almost 20 years ago and I am very proud of that decision.❤
my favorite part in the books "And Eowyn looked at Faramir long and steadily; and Faramir said: 'Do not scorn pity that is the gift of a gentle heart, Eowyn! But I do not offer you my pity. For you are a lady high and valiant and have yourself won renown that shall not be forgotten; and you are a lady beautiful, I deem, beyond even the words of the Elven-tongue to tell. And I love you. Once I pitied your sorrow. But now, were you sorrowless, without fear or any lack, were you the blissful Queen of Gondor, still I would love you. Eowyn, do you not love me?" and this is beautiful
you did great at explaining why The Silmarillion is the best of them! I read it every winter. I try to read the others as well, but I do manage to do The Silmarillion.
Dude. I’m probably younger and you’re making me feel older than you. I first saw fellowship when I was like 5 when my dad was watching it late at night and I snuck in and watched a good chunk of it from behind the door. It was also one of the few DVD’s we owned at the time. We had a lot of VHS tapes still
Love the new intro. I was shook without the guitar solo.
I'm traditionally a lurker and not a commenter but felt compelled to tell you how much I've enjoyed your videos and now look forward to new ones!
For the most part we seem to have near identical taste as I've actually read most of the books you've discussed so far- but that makes me very keen to read the few I haven't, as I should enjoy them if you did ha
As a teenager I read James Barclay's Chronicles of the Raven and enjoyed them. Is that a series you've tried? I never see much discussion about those books.
This is the first time I've seen someone else talk about Barclay's books! Some of the first fantasy books I ever read. They are so underrated.
@@Severian1Yeah, they do seem underappreciated. The fact that nobody talks about them made me wonder whether they just weren't that good and my teenage brain just didn't 'get that' but I'm happy to see someone else enjoyed them! 😊 I remember them being good quality though, but I'm going to have to give them another read now to be sure!
@@ThePengfish I'll have to reread them too. I remember enjoying them a lot.
Thank you so much!! I'm a lurker too, when I watch other people's videos. Respect!
I haven't even heard of Chronicles of the Raven. But one google search later and they've been added to my reading list. 😁
@@cronkthebookguy Hope you enjoy them mate! Though I'm guessing that list isn't short
Worthy of mention would also be the letters of Tolkien. They are largely his responses to fan questions regarding LOTR and the Hobbit. If you have some burning questions about the books or you would just enjoy a casual glimpse into the mind of a literary giant it is worth browsing.
I love your take on this. Not enough people who talk about the book talk about the huge difference in tone and action from the movies. It took me some reflection and thinking to understand the things you talked about in this book after I read the books and I love that you're just coming out and saying it. Awesome channel! Keep up the good work!
I haven’t been this excited for a RUclips video is a while
This is the first video of yours I’ve ever seen and I instantly loved it! Thank you for such a well thought out video 😊
Love Love Love the new title opening perfection
I have to disagree about Children of Hurin. If you love any Tolkien work you will love children of hurin. Reading it in the silmarilion and unfinished tales is not enough to grasp the beauty of Tolkien’s writing in that story. Most parts are *significantly* improved in the full book. Glaurung’s encounters are very iconic and you have to appreciate it in the extended version.
It's funny that you mention oral tradition in regards to The Silmarillion, because earlier this year i wrote my bachelor's thesis on the poetry in The Lord of the Rings, contextualising the poems. A big part of that was how Tolkien filled his world with a rich oral tradition, how stories are passed down via songs and poems. Chief examples of this in the Lord of the Rings are poems like Eärendil was a Mariner and The Lay of Lúthien.
I can’t wait to see your channel explode even more. You’re a gift to the reading community
THANK YOU! 😁
4:59 Thank you, now I know difference to look forward to and feel incentivized to read.
When I first read the Silmarillion I really struggled with it, but I've now read it several times. It gets easier to read with each read through. It's now one of my favoutire books :)
Serkis narrates the Silmarilion too??! This is the kick in the arse I needed.
I was your age when the movies released and I went to the books and it was great it was exactly what I wanted. I was a HUGE JRPG fan at the time so I wanted a slower paced more character focused adventure.
I fell in love, the immediate 3 book reports following the movies were about the books.
After watching this I'm totally rereading LOTR for the 4th time 😂 Besides, for people wandering where to start with Tolkien's work, I would add that, if you start with The Hobbit and don't like it, try with The Fellowship of the Ring anyway, because it's really really different.
YES! I am like the third generation of being a fan of these books so there probably isn't anything you can tell me about them that I don't already know, is that going to stop me from watching this video? No, of course not, it's about the books that are responsible for making me a fantasy fan in the first place!
Same, I always watch things about everything I already know, but it doesn’t stop me because I enjoy the opinions of others!
I understand I am a minority but I hate Tolkien. Like all of it. I appreciate what he did for fantasy but he's a bad writer.
@@alananimus9145 which is ok, he wasn’t a writer, more of a world builder and language genius. That reasonably creates a writing style that doesn’t resonate for everyone, especially as styles have changed and his becomes more archaic.
@alananimus9145 Ha ha wow, bad writer how though? Like do you not like his prose? his dialogue? the Eagles? Or are you just saying this to get me to defend him?
@@maybelore Not saying it to get you to defend him. Depending on what someone means by his prose then that can be part of what I mean. He was a good poet, I would go so far as to say great. But as a storyteller he is only moderate at best. Cutting LoTR by about 30-40% would improve it's readability. The dialogue isn't too bad, but again there it could be tightened up a bit. Not nearly as much but a bit.
While the LoTR was revolutionary at the time, and he deserves respect for what he managed to do. But his contribution is somewhat over stated as is how good the final product is.
I think it's important to recognize contributions, but as a written storyteller he's not that great. (LoTR works much better as an oral story) which makes sense given his inspiration.
You got me... I might finally read it. Only read The Hobbit when I was a teenager (same edition as yours actually)
I am a baby boomer and first read the Lord of the Rings when I was about 16 (1968) and it was very much a part of hippie culture. It will always be an important part of my life. Obviously your experience of first seeing the movie is different but It shows how a work of art can inspire many generations.
i too immediately read the entire lotr trilogy after watching the fellowship movie when it came out when i was 12!!! i absolutely loved it and was shocked at how faithful & pretty damn accurate the movies were to the books (something i was super disappointed about with the harry potter movies in contrast). thank you for making this video because i've been meaning to read simarillion since i fell in love with lotr decades ago but kind of forgot about it but now i really really want to read it!! :)
At this point basically everyone knows LOTR first thru the movies, so I think people should read the books if they sat thru the theatrical cuts and then the extended editions and STILL wanted more. Fellowship also shouldn’t be someone’s first book after years of not reading for fun (like me right after I graduated from college and hadn’t read for fun since early high school) it’s super hard to get into, even if you Used To read a lot for fun as a kid! I think your point in your GoT video stands here - you gotta build up those reading muscles before diving in, To me, these big epic finely crafted fantasy series are like preparing a home cooked meal, while the YA is sort of like a microwave meal. DONT get me wrong, I love the ease and simplicity of a microwave meal, and it can be delicious and nutritious, but there’s nothing like using every iota of cooking ability to prepare a big meal and enjoying the payoff of that. Reading Fourth Wing this year was super fun but it was a totally different type of fun than getting thru all of the Witcher books. I hope that analogy made sense lol.
Title of the Video - The answer is yes lol obviously everyone should 😂
I think there is room in fantasy for those you follow in Tolkien’s footsteps and for those you want to carve a new path. But there is no doubt Tolkien is an all time great.
I remember reading the books at junior high after the first hobbit movie came out and i loved them (even the silmarillion at that age). In the last 5 years I've wanted to read them multiple times but never gotten around to it yet. I probably would have sooner but I've got them translated and i want to read it in English because i think it will make the experience even better.
Great video, but before you re-read The Silmarillion, I’d recommend one take a moment to go thru Appendix E in RotK (trust me, it’ll enrich the experience immensely).
In regards to whether we move on from Tolkien's influence I am in and always will be in the camp of no, never. He is one of four authors that literally changed my life. I will be forever indebted to him
I love your video, but how am I supposed to read everything you recommend in each video in a week so I can read what your next video's about 😭(this is a joke obviously, but seriously keep up the awesome work, you've quickly become one of my favorite booktubers)
For real!! Like give me a little to finish Malazan first 😭😭
@@ADHDlanguages Fr I'm bouta read House of Chains
@@PokeJoshNY sweet, you're a book ahead of me I'm about to finish Deadhouse Gates.
I read the LOTR in highschool. I'm not a big book reader, but i read it during "homework/reading session" usually just before lunchtime (teenagers get tired and hungry by then!) . I remember zoning out for couple pages, and then realized i read half of the battle of helms deep without realizing it! haha
I cracked up at the Captions. "Andy Circus". Sir, are you sure? xD
LOTR books were daunting to read, especially the first book when Tolkein was depicting the happy hobbit life of Frodo & co. I tried 3 times to start reading them, and ended up truly going through them in audiobook format. Everything ramps up the moment they meet the elves, and Boromir's temptation in the books was what truly hooked me in.
Ever since going back to the books, the movies do not do it for me anymore, tolkein's writing, though slow it may be, is inherently beautiful and nuanced. The characters are well crafted in the books, I disliked Movie Frodo, but book frodo is truly courageous, a hobbit, who while physically weak, is the most determined and brave of all, resisting temptation of the one ring throughout his whole journey when elves and noble man failed to resist upon glancing Ishilfur's bane.
I love Phil Dragash's audiobooks.
Stop watching at min 1, go read everything, period 😂
I like your style. 😂
I'm kind of old - bless you! I was 32 when Fellowship came out at the cinema. Lol
I really enjoyed your take on this, especially your take of Silmarillion. I have read LoTR five times now since my first read at 14 and in general I loved the films, but as you said thematically they are very different from the books. The books are quite simply exquisite and I take something different from them at each read.
All of your intros are so good!
Thanks for a very eloborate and wonderfully explained video. I am a Tolkien fan of many years and my favourite book of all time is The Silmarillion, which, like you, I have read several times, and which I constantly refer to, even to this day.
I was first introduced to Tolkien by a friend of my parents, when I was about 15 years old. I found the first 100 pages of Lord of the Rings hard going, but once I reached Rivendell, my natural love of "world building" was kindled, and the story also began to be more exciting to me.
I soon read The Hobbit, which I liked, and then The Silmarillion, which changed my love of literature for good. Interestingly, it was around the same time that I became a fan of Shakespeare, and in particular, Macbeth.
In collecting books at that time, I also read much of Tolkien's other works (e.g. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Farmer Giles of Ham, The Father Christmas Letters, and most importantly, Tree and Leaf, containing Tolkien's own example of the perfect "faerie tale", Leaf by Niggle. I noted, you didn't mention any of these books in your video, I guess, because they are not directly part of Tolkien's "Legendarium". However, I will add for your viewers that Leaf by Niggle is an excellent story, and very short.
No other fantasy author has inspired me as much as Tolkien, and I have read the works of the others you describe. I would say Frank Herbert's Dune came a not so close second, although I lost interest with each of the Dune books until I stopped reading them after number four. The first one I would still keep on the same shelf as The Silmarillion, Macbeth, and The Lord of the Rings.
I hope you don't think I have rambled too much, but I wanted to give a decent reply to the work you have undertaken in presenting your wonderful video. 😎😎❤❤👍👍
Im gonna have to re-read LoTR because I was not impressed and barely remember the books when I read em for the first time as an adult years ago. You are good at selling books I was lukewarm on!
I had the same feeling about dvds and PlayStation. Then you said your old. That cut deep.
For audiobooks I cannot recommend projects like The Hobbit by Bluefax or TLOTR by Phil Dragash enough. They are simply astounding. So much effort and love were put into them. I highly recommend them for the ultimate immersive middle earth audiobook experience.
Best audiobook versions are Bluefax for The Hobbit, and Phil Dragash for the Lord Of The Rings. It's like watching a movie with your ears.
Silm pun I saw online once: Do you know what hikers and high elves have in common? They both live on Tuna.
Loved this!
Tolkien is the master, but make sure you get a chance to check out The Eternal Champion Series by Michael Moorcock for the flipside of the coin.
lol, I'm noticing a lot of The Emperor's new groove clips in this, did you re-watch it recently or something?
33:06 I think there is a lot to learn from Tolkien and we shouldn't throw that away but that doesn't mean we can't forge our own paths. I don't see it as limiting at all.
I would recommend reading the book of lost tales at least the story bits between the notes. As I find them very funny, especially the Melko parts.
Ha! I noticed that too. Three clips from New Groove. But I swear, there were just no other clips in existence that worked for those jokes! New Groove is something else.
I'm not complaining it's a great movie
I've read everything Tolkien wrote that I could get my hands on. A worthy endeavor.
Great video! I would also include books like "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil", "Bilbo's Last Song" and "The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien".
Farmer Giles of Ham is a nice read too.
Can you do some John Gwynne books. Like the faithful and the fallen or something like that.
This is the best guide I have ever watched for Tolkien works! Thank you! I miss Christopher a lot recently, especially as now the Tolkien estate is full of privileged, money grab vampires. He was the last person in that family that cherished Tolkien s legacy.
Thank you! Yes agreed. Christopher had so much respect for his fathers work. It's sad how the rest of the estate hasn't shown it to the same level.
When I heard that movie adaptations were being made of _The Lord of the Rings,_ I rushed to read the books because I wanted to read it first . . . and after that, I read everything else translated into Finnish from Tolkien by the time, including _Leaf by Niggle,_ _Roverandom,_ and so forth (and _Farmer Giles of Ham_ might actually be my favourite Tolkien book).
I did not even care about the movies anymore. I just wanted to read the books, and I ended up deciding that I do not want to make comics after all but write novels. (I did watch the movies once from televison a few years later. They're fine but I'm probably not going to watch them another time.)
PS. I am almost certain Tolkien took the idea for demigod eagles from Finnish mythology that he knew somewhat well. I have never seen that being mentioned when talking about Tolkien's influences. Túrin's similarities with Kullervo do get mentioned and Quenya's connection to Finnish language.
PPS. Please, Australians, make sure Ungolianth doesn't get away anymore. We all know you have her. Somewhere. Under Uluru or something. Just saying. Go check every once in a while.
I'm on a quest watching all your videos
It took me ages to get through LOTR, so I need a long break before jumping into another book in this universe 😂
I find them hard to follow I’m on the return of the king now
@@thomasneedham7912 I understand that!
yeah yeah LotR is cool and all, but the same-edition collection of the Elderling books behind you is amazing as well (mine are all from different editions because of the pricing of each book)
I've been waiting to read the Silmarillion for the first time. I am now convinced.
The Silmarillion with the fall of Gondolin is my favourite story ever...
Sadly i probly know more about the history of middle earth than i do about real history 😅😅
Would you recommend me getting all (3 lotr) in one book edition or seperately (1 by 1)?
I remember read silmarillion when I was 12 and got bored, now I'm 30 and dying to read from scratch including history of middle earth...
I was 7,8,9 when the movies came out and tried to read the books after watching the movies but it was such a hard read at that age. Never got back to it :(
@actavisprime514 I did something similar. Tried fellowship at aged 12 and was bored. But tried again at...maybe 18 ish? Loved it. 😍 we enjoy books differently at each stage of life. Now might be a good time for you!
I remember in Middle School my friend and I were in the library, and he said he wanted to read Tolkien. I went to grab the Hobbit off the shelf, but he said he wanted to read it all in chronological order. I tried to warn him, but he wouldn't listen, so I handed him the Silmarillion. He hasn't been seen again since.
At 19:26 in the vid you are standing in front of a lovely map of Middle Earth. Is that a poster or a Displate (metal version of map)?
Just a poster, but definitely one of my favourites.
I think you're right about the Hobbit book being very kiddie friendly compared to LOTRs, which makes me wish it was rewritten in the same style as LOTRs to match its epicness and maturity (maybe using Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy as the basis for the rewrite). Haha, that'd make all the stuck-up Tolkien purists have a conniption fit.
Read the silmarillion once 😆 🤣 😂 your kidding right ...
The opening montage is what most people think and want to do to a player who creates a Bard character in D&D 😂
The book of lost tales is more like a novel narrative version of The Silmarillion. I prefer the more detailed version of the stories told in Silmarillion which is found in Book of lost tales. Even though it's an earlier version I prefer the way it's written like a novel.
“Quicker to read the book than watch the movie”. LOL, I never thought of it that way but you're quite right. The Hobbit is a wonderful older children’s book that is very enjoyable to read as an adult and the best way to enter Middle Earth while the movie is an overdone and overly ambitious attempt to make an epic.
Tolkien's work is not what limits fantasy, it is simply imagination (or lack thereof) that creates artificial limitations. For artists who feel entrapped by Tolkien's legacy, do what Tolkien himself did and find the boldness to find your own world or space with its own rules.
I'm probably one of the few people that hadn't watched the movies yet so I decided to read the book first and men they were an amazing experience! I can't recommend it enough. Right now I'm halfway through the first movie (extended edition) and boy is it bad, I really don't like the script for the movie at all. The settings and costumes are amazing but everything else? It's all wrong, things are being discovered too early or not early enough, the characters all feel extremely dumbed down and it generally lacks cohesion. So if you want to enjoy the movies definitely watch does first, if you want to live through the journey read the book, it's so much better!
Well I watched the first dune movie and then I read the book right after, if it’s anything like that then I’ll give it a shot
no one should move on from tolkien, it would be sad. but its important that we dont limit ourselves to middle earth
Yes. 34 minutes cut to, yes.
Do Serkis also sing in his reading of The Hobbit and LotR trilogy audiobooks?
Yes 😁
@@irenerainy8 thank you :D
This could have been a 3 second video of you just saying, "Yes."
Yes, I should
The book guy: “The hobbit is for children”
Me: You’re for children!
The Silmarillion is a good cure for anyone who thinks Elves are too perfect. We get a lot of EBB (Elves Behaving Badly)
I wanna read this book so badly😭😭😭😭
You look like you had a late night ! Hair is on point though 😜
The big one
That laugh with Martin’s name… a bit of 😈 in it. 😂 Who knows why?
I saw the movies later. I had LotR for… I don’t know read before it came out in cinema. Definitely it’s better read first. But it’s a very good addition to the books. It’s not the Gollum game…
Not really sure that Malazan is anti-Tolkien this strong but for sure the people needed a new way. What we see is why they quit reading is exactly that: they expect!!! things from fantasy and Malazan is not giving it. It’s progressive. Hard to adjust that for some people but worth it.
Yes
Profoundly cool
I do think Fall of Numenor is worthy of its publication, but yeah, it was totally published to make a quick buck.
I will say, the 2nd age is only briefly covered in the Silmarillion. Most of the actual stories are scattered between various posthumous volumes released by Christopher, and it gets very complicated trying to read the full 2nd age story. This book takes all known 2nd age tales across Tolkien's Legendarium, and puts them in a nice chronological book. It's the definitive way to read all the 2nd age stories, I think. If I knew someone who'd just finished the Silmarillion, and loved all the 1st age stuff, I'd definitely point them to this as their next book.
But yeah, the only reason the publishers did this was for the money lol
I liked this video and thought it did a great job of explaining what it was trying to explain at the level of detail it was aiming for. The one statement I took exception to was about the Wizard of Earthsea books being a similar to LOTR written by a copycat author. Unfair and inaccurate characterization of both the books and the author. The themes, style, intent, and characters are really very different than Tolkien’s. Radically different in some regards. Tolkien’s work is better in most ways than anyone else’s ever in my opinion but the Earthsea saga is up there in the same tier in terms of quality and significance as a work of fiction. Just saying. Tolkien is the undisputed king of fantasy literature, but several other writers well deserve their place in the royal court. Ursula K. Le Guin is one such writer. (To be clear, my focus is only on her Earthsea books. Like many other writers, there is certainly different degrees of room for debate with each of their books. But the Earthsea books are stellar.)
I read the silmarillion before lord of the rings lol
Still my favorite series of all time. LOTR has ruined fantasy for me 😅 Nothing will ever compare for me.
What kind of question is that? OF COURSE YOU SHOULD READ THE BOOKS!!! Think of the films as illustrations.
You can't really compare the two. I can't stand the books but I love the movies.
If one gas so much time in their hands, just read them all
Lord of the rings should be ready in highschool
You think you’re old, I drove myself to see the Bakshi LOTR.😉
My friend. You bow to no one.
@@cronkthebookguy If I did I probably couldn’t get back up.
I read LOTR in its entirety every few months. It’s a manifestation of my mental illness.
Ive read it once and really didnt like it tbh. Probably will have to read it another time.
That's totally OK! Not every book suits every person. I'd definitely recommend trying again another time though.
I love fantasy but I hated Lord of the rings movies for some reason. I have never watched it again. I would like to read the books but dont do it due to my dislike of the films.
who dose not write publishes more offtan the G.R.R. Martin
😊😊😊😅
Are u a Aussie
Sure am! G'day.
Jrr tolkien🤍
Some of the worst books I've tried to get into, so dull, slow and overblown with unassay language. Nobody I know actually has finished them and all my friends are massive fantasy and older sci-fi fans.
Fuck no, the silmarilian’s boring as shit
Parts of it are a bit tough to get through, especially the first time with limited familiarity. However, there are parts that are AMAZING... I always say it isn't for everyone though..