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![Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses [Revised and Expanded Edition]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51NZ22J0AXL._SL500_.jpg)
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Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy series. Either the 2nd or 3rd book I believe? They're all fairly short, I bought ultimate edition on Amazon and get all like 5 of them together.
Edit: for everyone asking, here's the book I got
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0345453743/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_8nOngEkZkw2tO
Suggestions: Find yourself a map of Beleriand (Fonstad's "Atlas of Middle-Earth is the best thing ever), also consult the family tree of Finwë when needed.
And if you're going to read O'Brian, you need a copy of <em>A Sea of Words</em>, which is a dictionary created by rabid O'Brian fans.
"Marthambles", what a lovely name for a disease!
It doesn't hurt to be more knowledgeable about seafaring, because it will help to unpack some of the denser maneuvers and the like that are a big part of the battles and cutting-out expeditions, and suchlike. Luckily there are a number of companion volumes aimed at lubbers that will help. I picked up this one on my first run through, and it helped get a handle on things. It's still sometimes frustrating to have to look up a number of different terms all at once, but once you have a better sense of them the action flows a little smoother, imo.
But no, I wouldn't say the later books are overburdened with impenetrable naval terminology, or at least none that I remember as being particularly bad. There are some really terrific scenes that I remember vividly coming up for you, too.
Please please please: if you read Ulysses, do it with a friend AND a guide like this one. It will make the process a much more enjoyable one, and will make everything more digestible and comprehensible.
Speaking of maps, you'll probably be a very happy camper if you reward your new achievement (and prep for the Silmarillion) by spending around $20 for this atlas. Helps with not just locations, but populations, battles, journeys, and even timelines. Indispensable and so readable you'll sit with it just turning the pages, not only for reference.
And congratulations on completing your first read of Hobbit and LOTR! Be sure to check in here as you go while reading the Silmarillion. First-time readers have a special honored place here :-)
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy includes all 5 that were written by Douglas Adams. The one I have on my shelf has a different cover than what Amazon currently shows, but it looks like it's all there. There is another Hitchhiker's book by Eoin Colfer working on Douglas Adams' notes called And Another Thing... you might also want to check out. Though you're probably better off switching to Dirk Gently before you get to that one.
The HoMe books are really just the collected earlier, abandoned and alternative drafts of the main 'canon' material that makes up the contents of the Silmarillion and LOTR. There are some very interesting bits and pieces that are only found in them, but yeah I'd read the main books again first. Also, if you want a quick path to a deeper understanding of the whole mythos, add to your list one more book, the Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, which does in fact touch on this and a whole lot of other fascinating core details.
OP, this is the correct answer right here.
And even if you aren't looking for a whole book, you should still get Fonstad's Atlas. It's a bargain and gives you way more info than a mere book of maps. I once read it nearly cover to cover.
https://www.amazon.com/Letters-J-R-R-Tolkien-J-R/dp/0618056998 An Amazon link to The Letters of Tolkien Unfortunately I can't help you I asked because I plan to do the same after I finish with the Witcher and I wasn't sure about the order
‘Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell’ by Susanna Clarke. It’s not horror, but I think you will still appreciate reading about the exploits of these two great magicians.
https://www.amazon.ca/Jonathan-Strange-Mr-Norrell-Novel/dp/0765356155
JKR 'uses' quite a few folklore and myths, but never really goes into any depth with them. It's all very surface level, that's why fairies are depicted like little glowing Tinkerbells rather than the powerful, chaotic, unknowable, and all-around strange creatures they are in folklore. If you expect her to have any depth in what she does, you're going to be sadly mistaken.
Edit: If you want a story which truly does go deep into the myths and folklore it draws upon, I recommend Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke.
Not exactly an Encyclopedia, but The Atlas of Middle Earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad is excellent.
Everything is incredibly well sourced (including showing you exactly where in the texts she gets her information) and I personally consider it the most accurate and "essential" book on Middle Earth not written by a Tolkien. It has a ton of information, and maps to accompany all of it. It is a lot more than just maps though.
Looks like you can snag it used on Amazon for less than $10 too. https://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Middle-Earth-Revised-Karen-Fonstad/dp/0618126996
While we were scared of an Orwellian future what we got was even more sinister. Current future is more like Huxley’s Brave New World
Alexa belongs to this future
Are you familiar with Tolkien's World from A to Z: The Complete Guide to Middle-Earth.
This is what I was hoping that the Companion would try to be. It has everything in it. Everything. Even the page listings for each entry! Robert Foster put a lot of time and hard work into it, and it shows. I LOVE this thing.
I was extremely disappointed that Jordan's work could not get the same treatment. Not even remotely close.
This, OP. Buy it. It's cheap. It's indispensable. It's interesting enough to sit and read by itself.
As others have said recommended I'd start with Silmarillion first, though I'd also recommend picking up The Atlas of Middle-Earth to have close by so you can reference as needed when reading.
/u/italia06823834 mentions it in that post, but I just want to reiterate, if you're interested in maps of Tolkien's works I highly recommend Karen Wynn Fonstad's The Atlas of Middle-Earth. It's only $16 and it's well worth it.
i'm a huge Tolkien fan too. if you read his letters https://www.amazon.com/Letters-J-R-R-Tolkien-J-R/dp/0618056998 it discussed this and says that a different letter was probably sent to the German publisher. the one that you quoted was in Tolkien's publishers files which means it wasn't actually sent.
When somebody types Letters, in italics, they are referring to this book:
> it seems like there are some really valuable Tolkien insight into the lore.
Absolutely. There’s a tremendous wealth of info on the Legendarium buried in them.
> Is there a good reliable place for me to find them to read and take notes on?
They’re collected in *The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Humphrey Carpenter with a little help from Christopher Tolkien. You can buy it here, or from any other reputable retailer.
There is indeed! It would be this one here.
I know there are a few different listings for Tolkien that use "Tolkien+Letters" in the title, so I feel ya.
Seriously, just buy Fonstad's Atlas right now. Look how cheap it is! You won't have to do any printing and you'll get not just maps, but explanations of the maps. And SO MANY MAPS. All the maps. Maps of places, maps of populations, maps of battles! You will end up reading this thing on its own like a regular book. If you love Tolkien you need this book.
Never fear. We know how Tolkien felt on this issues... he was very vocal in his opinions & wrote many letters making his views clear.
His son Christopher once went to South Africa under apartheid during WWII & was shocked at the poverty & misery of POC & the indigenous people there.
He wrote his father, to which Tolkien replied:
"As for what you say or hint of 'local' conditions: I knew of them. I don't think they have much changed (even for the worse). I used to hear them discussed by my mother; and have ever since taken a special interest in that part of the world. The treatment of colour nearly always horrifies anyone going out from Britain & not only in South Africa." (Letter, April 19, 1944).
So he wasn't into racist, colorist apartheid at all.
He was also vocal in rejection of white supremacy & anti-Semitism. His German publisher before the war once dared wrote him to ask if he was "Aryan." Tolkien fired back (while slamming their abuse of the word Aryan): "I am not of Aryan extraction: that is Indo-Iranian... But if I am to understand that you are enquiring whether I am of Jewish origin, I can only reply that I regret that I appear to have no ancestors of that gifted people." (Letter, July 29, 1938)
Tolkien was raised & lived in a racist, imperialist & colonialist UK. He was not perfect; he was human. However for a person of his time, he was extremely progressive.
He was also an environmentalist & was against nuclear weapons from their very invention.
https://www.amazon.com/Letters-J-R-R-Tolkien-J-R/dp/0618056998
We're all obligated to chime in here because OP is a new reader and might not get the joke :-)
OP, avoid all the works of David Day like the plague, he will lead you astray. But do go ahead and buy the wonderful Atlas of Middle-earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad, you won't regret it!
You don't *need* it, but you might want Forster's Complete Guide to Middle Earth. It's handy for looking up obscure in-world allusions and references, keeping track of uncommon characters, etc. Theses days it's fairly easy to find a website or app that does the same thing (Encyclopedia of Arda is a good one) but I like old fashioned printed reference works.
Otherwise, welcome to Middle Earth! Enjoy your travels here!
I haven’t seen all editions of LOTR, obviously, but all of my copies have the same small maps. If you really want a good resource for tracking their travels, I’d recommend “The Atlas of Middle-earth” by Karen Wynn Fonstad.
The Atlas of Middle-Earth (Revised Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0618126996/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_WV6A129ZBPV2JRDPXGEZ
This was made by Karen Wynn Fonstad, a geographer/cartographer and serious Tolkien student. It's from her Tolkien atlas, which is not infallible but is widely praised and seen as one of the best resources we have. She based her work on not just the published "canon" but also on the additional materials that came out in HoMe.