Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power – Reading Recommendation

With the release of the Amazon Prime show “The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power” many people are looking to return to, or start reading, the books that started it all. Of course, the main books are The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and The Silmarillion. Then there are others like the Unfinished Tales. For those who wish to dig deeper into the core of the Middle Earth lore, you have the 12-volume The History of the Middle Earth and the new The Nature of the Middle Earth.

If you are familiar with the material, I have seen a reference guide put together to get you up and running quickly. Below is the list of essential reading to understand the Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power story.

Please do note that the showrunners have rights to limited material from the Tolkien Estate, and the histories (from The Lord of the Rings appendices) do not always tell a story. In order to tell a cohesive story, there are some original characters introduced, timeline compressions, and other adjustments made for the medium of television. In my opinion, I am glad I am living in an age where an attempt is made to bring the world to this medium to bring new people to the journey through the Middle-Earth.

Without further adieu, here is your reading list,

The Lord of the Rings:

  • Volume 1, Book 1, Chapter 2: “The Shadow of the Past
  • Volume 1, Book 2, Chapter 2: “The Council of Elrond
  • Volume 2, Book 4, Chapter 5: “The Window on the West
  • Appendix A, “The Númenorean Kings
  • Appendix A, “Durin’s Folk
  • Appendix B, “The Second Age
  • Appendix D, “The Calendars
  • Appendix F I, “Of Men

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien:

  • Letter 131
  • Letter 144
  • Letter 154
  • Letter 181
  • Letter 211
  • Letter 227

The Silmarillion:

  • Part 4: “Akallabêth: The Downfall of Númenor
  • Part 5: “Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age

Unfinished Tales:

  • Part 2, “The Second Age
    • II “Aldarion and Erendis: The Mariner’s Wife
    • III “The Line of Elros: Kings of Númenor
    • IV “The Historv of Galadriel and Celeborn
  • Part 4,
    • I “The Drúedain
    • II “The Istari
    • III ‘The Palantíri

The History of Middle-Earth:

  • Volume 5: The Lost Road
    • Part 1 The Fall of Numenor.
  • Volume 9: Sauron Defeated
    • Part 2 The Notion Club Paners
    • Appendix on Adûnaic, the language of Númenor
  • Volume 10: Morgoth’s Ring
    • Part 4, Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth
  • Volume 12: The Peoples of Middle-earth
    • Part 1, Ch. 5. The History of the Akallabêth”
    • Part 4 Ch. XVII Tal-Elmar

The Nature of Middle-earth:

  • Part 1, Chapter XVII
  • Part 3
    Many chapters touch on Second Age, directly or indirectly in part 3

There are few things as rewarding as losing yourself in a great book series. With its expansive worldbuilding and complex characters, Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of those series. If you’re planning on binge-watching the television adaptation or are just looking for background material to expand your knowledge of the lore of the Middle-Earth, you can’t go wrong with the above list.

Happy reading! And Happy Watching.

Update:

J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fall of Númenor: And Other Tales from the Second Age of Middle-earth book by Brian Sibley & Alan Lee was released on November 15, 2022. You can get it from the link above.
In this book, editor Brian Sibley has assembled a single-volume chronicling the history of the Second Age of Middle-earth. It is told in the words of Tolkien from above mentioned as well as other published texts, includes new illustrations in watercolor and pencil by Alan Lee.
Brian Sibley has also added extensive footnotes and commentary throughout the book.
This is the one book to rule them for the Second Age History of Middle-Earth.

JPS Nagi
Sept. 6, 2022/ Updated Nov. 20, 2022

Dust Jacket Covers for Book Collectors

Book collecting is another hobby of mine. Over the years, I have seemed books that are printed on acid-free paper, with archival quality inks. This helps the paper to retain its color (not turn yellow) and the ink from not fading.

The other challenge is that the hardcovers books often come with dust jacket covers. Often while shelving these dust jacket covers get damaged, or frayed as you pull the books in and out of the shelves. The edges where the dust jacket turns are most susceptible to the kinks that can damage the look of the book. If exposed to a library with windows, the spines can show signs of fading (that also means that these are printed with non-archival quality inks).

As a collector of books, I like to protect the dust jackets of my hardcover books. When someone visits our home, they always comment that it must be a lot of work to do so. So I made a quick tutorial on how I take care of these books using mylar covers. To avoid spine fading, you can also check to see if there are any UV protective covers (but that is a whole another cost point you have to consider).

Take a look at the tutorial video below.

Also, check the links below for the supplies and books featured in the video. Your purchases helps this channel. I hope you find it useful.

Brodart Just-a-Fold III Archival Book Jacket Covers
Bone folder featured in the video is “8 Inch Real Bone Folder VENCINK”
Featured Books: The Hobbit & The Lord Of The Rings Boxed Set
Music by Michael Kobrin on Pixabay

JPS Nagi
May 16, 2021