I only play ARAM and avoided picking Whitemane because I always ran out of mana. Finally learned how to play her and I’m now confident in my build and the rotations - and she’s amazing! I can’t believe I slept on Whitemane for this long.
After reading The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (a few times now - it's become a favorite Tolkien book to read), I’ve come to better understand the centrality of death in the legendarium.
While neither Elves nor Men are immortal (Elves have a kind of immortality called "serial longevity" and they "fade" and age, just at incredibly slow rates), Elves are bound to Arda and will be there until the end of the world (perhaps at the "Final Battle").^(1)
It is difficult for Elves to spend so long in Middle-earth because the decay around them taxes them and contributes to an increase in their weariness. This decay, of course, is stayed by the power of the Three Elven Rings, a power which is no more once The One is destroyed.^(2)
Men largely share in this fate and feel the decay as well, however, their experience of decay is so much faster and eventually they are released from the Circles of the World by the Gift of Ilúvatar.
I’m curious as to the differences in the experience of fading vs. decay from the perspectives of Elves and Men.
For example, we know that normally for Men (or Hobbits or Dwarves), they could not spend a lengthy amount of time in Aman because their nature is not compatible with the land of the Eldar. The Men are like fast burning flames and their decay would only be accelerated by being in Aman.^(3)
-Also, where is a good place to read more about the concepts of death and decay in Tolkien’s works?
^(1) "The real theme for me is about something much more permanent and difficult: Death and Immortality: the mystery of the love of the world in the hearts of a race ‘doomed’ to leave and seemingly lose it; the anguish in the hearts of a race ‘doomed’ not to leave it, until its whole evil-aroused story is complete." - Letter 186 (To Joanna de Bortadano, 1956)
^(2) "They wanted the peace and bliss and perfect memory of ‘The West’, and yet to remain on the ordinary earth where their prestige as the highest people... was greater than at the bottom of the hierarchy of Valinor. They thus became obsessed with ‘fading’, the mode in which the changes of time (the law of the world under the sun) was perceived by them. They became sad, and their art (shall we say) antiquarian, and their efforts all really a kind of embalming..." - Letter 131 (To Milton Waldman, 1951)
^(3) "Frodo was sent or allowed to pass over Sea to heal him — if that could be done, before he died. He would have eventually to ‘pass away’: no mortal could, or can, abide for ever on earth, or within Time. So he went both to a purgatory and to a reward, for a while: a period of reflection and peace..." - Letter 246 (To Eileen Elgar, 1963)
and
"...the mythical idea underlying is that for mortals, since their ‘kind’ cannot be changed for ever, this is strictly only a temporary reward: a healing and redress of suffering. They cannot abide for ever, and though they cannot return to mortal earth, they can and will ‘die’ — of free will, and leave the world." - Letter 154 (To Naomi Mitchison, 1954)
Pic 1: main collection
Pic 2: Deluxe collection
Pic 3: Movies/TV books
Remaining pics: close ups of main collection
I’ve been collecting for a few years now and I’ve assembled most of what I’d like to collect of Tolkien books.
I focused on US printings and really like my Houghton Mifflin collection. I also collected the UK printings that I liked the most (and could easily obtain). I haven’t ventured into first edition territory for LotR or Hobbit (my Hobbit is a 3rd edition). I would like an India paper LotR, but I’m waiting for the right one at a good price. I will also be picking up the new releases (I’m waiting for Black Friday/holiday sales).
Bottom shelf of main collection contains duplicates which I’ll gift to friends/family, donate, or sell.
There were several sites that I used to assist in collecting, which I’ll list a few here (these are all in the subreddit info). Of course this subreddit was invaluable as well - I am in awe of the collective knowledge here!
Tolkienbooks.us
Tolkienbooks.net
https://www.tolkienguide.com/
Next, I am putting dust jacket protectors on all the books. Also, anyone have recommendations for bookshelf lighting?
I’m home today resting after an outpatient procedure and was thinking about my collection. My first Tolkien book I purchased was the movie tie-in mass market paperback set in 2002-2003. I hadn’t read any Tolkien (I know, shocking!) before seeing the movies. I of course came to appreciate the movies for what they are, and saw the full masterpiece by Tolkien after diving into his works.
Fast forward to 2024ish and I saw The Return of the Shadow in a used book store for around $30. It was in brand new condition and was a first printing. Well, that’s what kicked off collecting Tolkien books for me. I got hooked on looking for deals on really good condition books, but I also started diving deep into reading the legendarium.
So, if you’d like, share your first Tolkien books (and pics), purchased or gifted, and what kicked off your collecting. It’ll help me while I’m laid up on the couch lol
I recently listened to these for the first time. I liked the narrator (Gail Chugg). For LotR I really did not care for the Frodo actor. And why did Elrond sound like Colonel Sanders? 😂
Overall, I enjoyed the experience. But I listened to the BBC dramatized broadcast and that was my favorite between these two. And the BBC one is getting a rerelease later this year (cd and vinyl)!
First printing of this edition, and it was remaindered lol. Interestingly enough, this edition was pretty hard to find. I guess most of these went unsold and got remaindered (or maybe pulped).
And what’s up with that cover art? That’s not a scene from LotR, is it? Cover art credited to…”Amazon Content Services.” 💀
Recently picked up my first copies of the 1992 Alan Lee three-volume set for $35 total. There’s some minor wear, sun fading, and a stain on one dust jacket, but overall very good copies.
I’m not a fan of the stark white paper or the typesetting, but this edition has some of the better reproductions of Alan Lee’s artwork (among other similar editions). The one-volume edition released at around the same time uses the same paper (but that one is so unwieldy to hold!).
Just got this and was pleasantly surprised that Brian Blessed plays Farmer Giles! This dramatization is great - originally aired by the BBC in 1992. Brian Sibley did the adaptation.
Just released July 21 is The Lost Road and Other Writings, William Morrow imprint from the signature paperback series. However, this style matches the Harper Collins style, while there are other William Morrow signature paperbacks in different styles.
Looking at my photo gallery, picture 4 shows the Great Tales and Adventures of Tom Bombadil in the William Morrow signature series (signature is on the bottom on the cover). The heights of the books are also different.
The last picture shows the "mountain signature series" that The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, and Hobbit and LotR boxset uses (signature on bottom, mountains on spine).
So that leaves us with 3 different "William Morrow Signature Series" variations. The Lays of Beleriand and The Shaping of Middle Earth release Sept 15, 2026 and January 26, 2027 (in the style of The Lost Road pictured here).
The Book of Lost Tales part 2 and part 2 are in the older Houghton Mifflin Style covers, as are The History of the Lord of the Rings (which does not have Sauron Defeated, only The End of the Third Age). Tree and Leaf and Smith of Wootton Major are also getting William Morrow trade paperback releases (Jan 26, 2027 and September 8, 2026) - but it is unclear what cover style it will use.
Why the different styles? Perhaps HoME will get updated to this uniform style and the other ones will have their own different style.
Why release The Lost Road in this new William Morrow style first and not the previous volumes in the series? Will The Book of Lost Tales and the rest of the HoME series release in this new William Morrow style (and replace the older covers)?
This is all very interesting to me - and a bit mystifying! What does the product vision look like for William Morrow?
Give us collectors clear communication about what to expect - and help out the US collectors with a unified series/style for this signature series. (I sent this feedback and my questions in an email to William Morrow directly)
Here is a Google Sheet with all of these volumes and information:
I like the design and artwork of the current US mass market paperback series. I like the primary / pastel colors used for the covers too. They’re not special or anything, but the overall aesthetic is nice imo. I believe these are all of the books published in this style.
For the US editions, I believe I am missing one MMPB, one trade paperback, and the Easton Press edition (had it but returned it due to printing defects on multiple attempts at getting a copy).
Edit: I forgot to add the “mountain” trade paperbacks to the picture!
Edit2: also missing the blue collector’s edition - I am not a fan of that series so I don’t have anything from it
For a no frills hardcover, I really like the Harper Collins deluxe slipcase. I generally like to look at the artwork in dedicated art books. The orange illustrated deluxe slipcase is such a nice book, and ranks high up there as well. Its main drawback is a very tight binding.
The author illustrated deluxe is quite nice as well (though it took a couple attempts to get a copy not marred by printing defects).
Curious as to what your favorite Silmarillion edition is from your own collection (or otherwise). I know I’d love to have the ultra deluxe limited first edition signed by Christopher Tolkien - but that I’ll just be dreaming about lol.
I wanted to share my collection of books about the movies (and some other art books). I focused on the LotR movies, but have some Hobbit material too. I absolutely love flipping through these books. My favorites are “Middle-Earth Script to Screen” and “The Music of the LotR Films.”
“Tolkien: Maker of Middle-Earth” is an incredible book about Tolkien, his artwork, writing, and his life. Highly recommend it as well.
Completed my set of Thorndike large print trade paperbacks. These were printed in 2003 and were not reprinted. This also completes my set of all of the US trade paperback three-volume editions of LotR!
I know this is a modernized spelling and abridged version, but I think it’s been a good way for me to ease into the archaic language. I’ve been looking things up every few sentences to make sure I understand the words and the meaning.
Edit: this is not abridged
It’s been very fun and rewarding. I just watched the movie Excalibur last night (John Boorman) and that was a great movie.
Just downloaded the Naxos audiobook read by Bill Homewood too.
I’m definitely going down a rabbit hole lol!
I wanted to share the deluxe cabinet from my collection. These are for the most part all in print except for some of the Houghton Mifflin volumes. I plan to do a post about my experience collecting the Harper Collins deluxe slipcase line (a rather frustrating experience).
I’m currently on my second reading of The Silmarillion, after that is a reread of Unfinished Tales and then I plan to tackle History of Middle Earth for the first time.
It's been some 12 years since the technical Alpha test. I remember first playing way back then... I used to play the DotA custom game in WC3 with my friends. HotS was like a dream come true.
I have taken breaks over the 12 years, but have been exclusively ARAM for a while. I have a blast in ARAM - always get into a game in less than 30 seconds anytime of day. The griefers and trolls are annoying but I guess not everything is perfect.
Any other Alpha players still kickin' around? What're you up to in the nexus these days?
I have been growing the Houghton Mifflin collection. These are just the recent additions and they are first edition / first prints.
I find it hilarious that Children of Húrin and Sigurd and Gudrún are the only two Houghton Mifflin (/ Harcourt) volumes printed for the deluxe slipcase series and they didn’t even make the spines match.
Just wanted to share my initial experience with collecting the Harper Collins deluxe line in 2026.
TLDR: there’s still quality control issues with this series but I am happy with many of the books; did not receive any printings from China (just Italy and India).
After reading copious posts here on Reddit, YouTube videos, Tolkien Collector Guide posts, etc., I knew that this quality of this series was inconsistent at best.
I have received many books that I’m very happy with (Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, Letters of JRRT), which is why I wanted to complete the series (and I like some of the design choices such as the way the maps fold out). But I have encountered some binding and printing problems.
Some books have signatures that aren’t bound up against the spine (one was printed by Replika Press India and the other Brilliant Printers India). Both those books also have ink stains on several pages and one has some excess glue on the tail band. On one of those books the pages are actually coming loose at the bottom. Another book has excess stitching coming out of the rear end paper (Rotolito).
There’s other issues that aren’t as bad, but these egregiously bad books will be exchanged. Interestingly enough, none of the books are printed in China. So far it’s all been Italy (Graphicom and Rotolito) and India (Replika and Brilliant Printers) (except Letters from Father Christmas does not specify and it is guessed that it is printed in China).
I’ll post a report of my experience collecting this series in 2026 (including which impressions I received and where they were printed). I placed orders with Blackwell’s, Awesomebooks, and Kenny’s, so I can share my experience with them with me as a buyer from the US.
