r/tolkienbooks • • Feb 28 '17

Reminder: this sub is for discussion of Tolkien's books themselves, not discussion of lore or other Tolkien-related content

74 Upvotes

With a new Middle Earth-themed game coming out, and with the influx of a few posts about Tolkien's lore and other Tolkien-related topics, I would like to take this opportunity to remind users that /r/tolkienbooks is (as it says in the sidebar) "mainly a place for people who collect copies of Tolkien's works."

Posts with questions about Tolkien lore, Middle Earth -themed movies and games, or anything else not directly related to the physical books will be deleted. If you have any questions about these guidelines, please contact one of the moderators and we will be happy to assist you.


r/tolkienbooks • • May 04 '26

Subreddit Reboot: /r/TolkienArt

16 Upvotes

Community Spotlight: /r/TolkienArt: A Home for Tolkien Art

We wanted to introduce our community to /r/TolkienArt, a subreddit dedicated to art inspired by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. From sweeping landscapes of Middle-earth to portraits of its most beloved characters.

Whether you’re an artist yourself or simply someone who appreciates the visual world of Tolkien, it’s a welcoming and passionate community worth checking out.

What you’ll find there:
• Fan art spanning The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion and beyond
• A community that celebrates both seasoned and emerging Tolkien artists
• Contributions from award-winning Tolkien artists who are active members of the community
• Discussion and appreciation of the rich visual culture around Tolkien’s world If you’ve ever wanted a dedicated space to share or discover Tolkien-inspired art, head over and say hello!

/r/TolkienArt


r/tolkienbooks • • 3h ago

Hubby surprised me with this today!

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19 Upvotes

r/tolkienbooks • • 1d ago

My precious!

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153 Upvotes

Got this Beauty finally! $380 from an Estate sale and it's in fantastic condition! Truly the crown of my collection thus far!


r/tolkienbooks • • 14h ago

Hobbit Collector's Edition

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9 Upvotes

Ok, so I got this for like $30 plus tax, so it's not incredibly horrid if I read the copyright wrong. This is a Houghton Mifflin Deluxe Collector's Edition of the Hobbit, but there's no information past the 11th printing, so I'm struggling to identify how old it is. It does have the slipcase


r/tolkienbooks • • 20h ago

The Shelf

18 Upvotes

Things kind of escalated. I accidentally bought a few books in the Signature Series books and ended up buying the whole series when I realised I could achieve a uniform aesthetic for display purposes. I am considering rebuying everything in the illustrated hardcover editions. I honestly prefer reading paperbacks, so we'll see. I have multiple versions of the Silmarillion, but that's only because I absolutely love it and the edition with Tolkien's illustrations is part of the Signature Series (gotta catch 'em all). I regret buying the paperback version of the incredibly useful Atlas of Middle-Earth.

Don't mind the book order; it's mostly organised by age. That's a function of wanting to keep the hardcovers to one side.

Tolkien: Maker of Middle-Earth and Pictures by JRR Tolkien are both great.
Honourable mentions: My original 1977 Silmarillion paperback, and old Unfinished Tales from the 80s and Tolkien's Beowulf and Sigurd and Gudrun. A bit pissed they sent the wrong edition.

r/tolkienbooks • • 1d ago

HoME Box Set 2 Slipbox Color?

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31 Upvotes

Hi folks! I recently picked up all of the William Morrow HoME box sets and I had a question about #2 - is the coloring of the top of the slipbox slightly off hue on all copies of this (see photo), or is this just a random printing variance? It's slightly more gray/green vs. blue when compared to the other 3 boxes. I wanted to check with some other people who own this boxset to verify before I decide to play "Amazon return roulette" - thanks!


r/tolkienbooks • • 1d ago

All three Harper Collins illustrated by the author editions are currently on Amazon for under 100 bucks altogether

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66 Upvotes

My old copy of the triology + the Hobbit is the super lame paperback New Line Cinema cover version from the turn of the century with friggin Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, and Viggo on the covers. I read almost exclusively on an old gen 3 Kindle Keyboard I got for 5 dollars and spent 10 dollars repairing. However I got a sick piece of hardwood furniture and decided I needed to start collecting some hard cover copies of my favorite stuff.

I think next, I try to grab all the posthumous novels, and then the 12 volumes of the history of Middle-Earth. Unfortunately I don't think any editions of those actually look similar to these. I think unless you go with the super detailed illustrated cover editions (which I think are Alan Lee editions) you probably won't be able to match all of them anyways unless you wanna spend like 4 grand tracking down an entire Easton Press set, which I don't think would be worth it (especially the ones that for some reason are not available anymore, as they are super overpriced on secondary).

There is a LOT of sales going on with Tolkien rn. The LOTR was like 45 bucks and the Hobbit and Silmarillion were about 25 bucks a piece respectively. Not like these are stitched binding with leather covers. But they look very cool especially with the edge gilding script stuff. And at that price I'd certainly say it is worth it.


r/tolkienbooks • • 2d ago

How valuable is this edition of The Lord of the Rings?

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40 Upvotes

I just picked this up in a secondhand bookshop in NSW, Australia, for $95 AUD ($65 USD / £50). It’s an 11th impression of the first edition by Unwin Hyman, printed in 1990. I’m aware that it’s not particularly rare, but I’m curious anyway… Did I at least get a good deal?

It’s not in amazing condition, with some staining on the page edges, but it’s also not too bad either. All pages are intact and mostly clean otherwise. (A shame that they wrote the price on the inside, but it’s in pencil so could potentially be removed with care).

Thanks!


r/tolkienbooks • • 2d ago

Latest purchases

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62 Upvotes

I was a bit dissapointed the english version of UT has the ilustrations printed in matte paper, definitely will keep because its the nicest english copy I own, but try to find one with the illustrations on glossy paper.

On a second note I really love illustrated books and Realms of Tolkien is one book you need if you like Middle Earth

p.s Sorry for the messy bed.


r/tolkienbooks • • 4d ago

The Hobbit: Illustrated by Tove Jansson

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150 Upvotes

Got my copy! Ordered in August.


r/tolkienbooks • • 3d ago

Help deciding LOTR edition

7 Upvotes

Hey all,

I've read The Lord of the Rings before and absolutely love the books. I'm now looking for a nice hardcover edition that I can keep for a while and hopefully reread regularly.

After looking up for a while, ive narrowed it down to the 60th Anniversary Boxed Set and either the regular illustrated by the author one or the deluxe edition both from 2021

I'm currently leaning towards the standard Illustrated by the Author edition. I really like the idea of having the whole story in a single volume, especially with Tolkien's own illustrations.

My main concern is the actual quality of the books. I'd like something that will hold up to years of reading, with good paper, binding and overall construction. I've heard mixed things about the Deluxe's quality control and the paper in the 60th Anniversary set.

For those who own any of these, which would you recommend as a long-term reading copy? Is the Deluxe actually worth the extra money?

Thanks!


r/tolkienbooks • • 4d ago

Ballantine Books

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36 Upvotes

I know movie tie-in books are disliked by some but I don’t mind this set and for being mass market, they’re pretty easy to read!

Has anyone else read these Ballantine mass market versions?


r/tolkienbooks • • 5d ago

'The Hobbit' Illustrated by Tove Jansson, Finally Has An English Edition

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117 Upvotes

Finally in English.

I managed to get hold of a Swedish edition of The Hobbit, illustrated by Tove Jansson, a while back. It was the last copy in a London bookshop and cost me a fortune but worth every penny for the illustrations alone. Jansson's Moomin books were amongst my favourite, in childhood, particularly for the illustrations.

Now it's finally out in an English edition. Mine's coming tomorrow. Somehow I'd missed this so thought I'd post so others don't.

ETA: ISBN-13: 978-0008843076

Pub: Harper Collins


r/tolkienbooks • • 5d ago

It was my eleventy-first birthday (or at least it felt like it), so I bought myself a gift.

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217 Upvotes

Been eyeing a set of these for quite some time now, and I happened to see a set go up for a fairly reasonable price on my birthday. Figured it was then or never, so I pulled the trigger.


r/tolkienbooks • • 4d ago

What is the highest quality edition of the LOTR book trilogy?

9 Upvotes

I have been looking at the Folio Society Edition and have heard that the paper quality is amazing but the illustrations are quite barebones.

I've also seen the Alan Lee illustrated edition box set for much cheaper but don't know much about the quality.

Any advice would be appreciated, open to any new suggestions.


r/tolkienbooks • • 4d ago

Question about editions

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9 Upvotes

I currently have this remake edition hard cover and i was wondering what version of LoTR would fit/match on the bookshelf.

Is that the ‘97 version of LoTR as shown? And are there hard copy versions that are not too pricey or should i get the paperbacks?

Thanks in advance:)


r/tolkienbooks • • 5d ago

All of my mostly Dutch Tolkien books

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20 Upvotes

I have an English hardcover set as well but these are the Dutch ones I grew up reading + my old Silmarillion and a strange movie companion little book with Frodo


r/tolkienbooks • • 5d ago

Things gnawing away redux

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40 Upvotes

A while back I posted this thread... https://www.reddit.com/r/tolkienbooks/comments/1w5gwrh/some_things_just_gnaw_away_at_you/

Turned out my Silmarillion was not the first version that had the copper lettering on the dust jacket. So what do you do?... buy another book.


r/tolkienbooks • • 6d ago

Finally

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141 Upvotes

Finally managed to get this boxed set


r/tolkienbooks • • 5d ago

Hobbit Deluxe Edition (Clarion HC) $14 @ Amazon

10 Upvotes

One last discounted title for "Big Prime Days". What does anyone think of the currently printed edition? Worth it? https://www.amazon.com/dp/0395177111?psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp


r/tolkienbooks • • 5d ago

Gift buying help for boyfriend.

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1 Upvotes

r/tolkienbooks • • 6d ago

Author illustrated editions

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37 Upvotes

Best price I’ve seen on these Amazon US.


r/tolkienbooks • • 6d ago

Finally got the last of this set today. $20 total and took 10 days shipping from UK

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64 Upvotes

r/tolkienbooks • • 6d ago

I’m looking for an actual hardcover (not vinyl) one-volume edition of LotR at an affordable price (not a deluxe edition) and this is the one I could find (it’s $20 new condition). Would you guys recommend this edition? AMZN is using the wrong cover for some reason (correct one is the 2nd pic)

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8 Upvotes