Should I read the Hobbit first, before Lord of the Rings, or does it not matter?
I downloaded the Lord of the Rings from Amazon Prime. It’s three books in one. The Hobbit isn’t included. Should I read the Hobbit first, or does it not matter?
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Really does not matter, but reading the Hobbit first kind of gives you some useful pre”details”.
The Hobbit is a separate book. You don’t have to read it first. Also, remember that the Hobbit was written for children, so it’s got a completely different vibe.
Read the Hobbit first, it introduces you to the world Tolkien created. It might help keep things straight later when the names get complicated.
I read The Hobbit first and didn’t like it all that much. It turned me off of Tolkien, which actually kept me from reading LOTR for several years. However, I finally started reading Fellowhip of the Rings and fell in love with it, as well as with the rest of the trilogy. While LOTR makes references to some of the events in The Hobbit, it’s not necessary to read it first.
I didn’t read The Hobbit first, but I had seen the old animated movie has a kid so I knew the story going into reading LOTR
Just make sure you attempt The Silmarillion (sp?) last.
I LOVED it but it was hard going for me at the start.
Loved The Silmarillion, I have read it several times.
Took me years of attempts.
But i was going to somewhere fairly isolated and just took that with me.
I’d also just read about 5 of the viking sagas so the style wasn’t as foreign to me anymore.
I loved it.
But only read it once
Doesn’t matter but it is a part of the back story. It was written for young children and the style is very different.
I’ve never managed the whole Silmarillion myself although I’ve read LOTR several times and The Hobbit a few times too 😉
Read The Hobbit first ? you are so lucky to read Tolkien for the first time, hope you enjoy them and happy reading ? ?
It helps give context to the different cultures, lands, and ring thing. As others have said, The Hobbit is a children’s story so the tone is very different.
I’ve been reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy as a “slow read”: only read 10 pages every morning with coffee. Started October 1st and will finish at the end of January. Highly recommend this method of reading big classics — great way to really savor these books!!!
Read hobbit first
You don’t HAVE to read Hobbit first, but it really helped, in my opinion. My 12 year old son and I read them all together last year, and I’m not sure I would’ve totally understood the tone and and context without reading Hobbit first. But that could just be me…I have a hard time starting books with other worlds, though I always love them in the end!
I would.
I read LOTR years before i read Hobbit. I like LOTR better and don’t feel like I missed out on anything by reading them first.
I didn’t read the Hobbit until several years after I’d read the series. It helps to have some of the background, but it’s not necessary.
Not a compulsion, but “The Hobbit” is a great warmup for the scale and grandeur of LOTR. It is as well written by Tolkien.
does not matter
Read The Hobbit first. Like others have said, it was written for young people, so it is more light hearted and breezy than LOTR. I read The Hobbit for the first time when I was I think around nine, but have enjoyed it many times as an adult.
the hobbit was written first and set a long time before lord of the rings, so you might like to read it first. I personally like the Hobbit but could never get on with Lord of the Rings.
I agree!!!!
Hobbit!!!
Read Hobbit first for sure
The Hobbit is helpful but not necessary. If you really want to do it right start with the Silmarillion.
I suggest you read the Hobbit first for some background information.
The Hobbit is a charming children’s book. LOTR is for grown ups. All you need to know from The Hobbit is recounted in LOTR. (My favorite book ever.)
I gave LOTR to my 17 year old grandson for Christmas. He’s read the Hobbit and seen the movies but had never seen the LOTR movies. He loves fantasy and I think he’ll enjoy it. It’s huge but it’s 3 books in one so you can read one book at a time.
Hobbit first (that was my favorite one)
I read the Hobbit after. No biggie
I think it does matter…read Hobbit first
The Hobbit is super fun to read but was written after the trilogy because people wanted to hear more about hobbits! So it’s up to you when you read that one; although, it is a prequel.
The Hobbit was written before LOTR.
No, it’s the other way around. After the popularity of The Hobbit JRRT tried to write a sequel. He started and stopped, wrote and rewrote, and ended up with an epic grown up story–LOTR.
if you don’t know, don’t talk
Also, good to know! A friend of mine told me that and I thought it was interesting. The more you know ??♀️
I must have heard her wrong. Either way, my take away is that hobbits are delightful. ?
Perhaps she meant The Silmarillion was written first. That one (at least in a rough form) predates them all.
I haven’t read that one. I look forward to checking it out!
Tolkien made up the languages first. He started writing histories for the elves and was working on them in the trenches during WWI. The Hobbit was for his children and published in 1937. He kept working on them between the wars and mailed chapters of LOTR to his son Christopher when Kit was fighting in WWII. LOTR was published in 1954 and 1955. And he worked on things that were published after he died, like The Silmarillion. There is a section in the preface of LOTR “On the Finding of the Ring.”
Yes absolutely! It is the best one!
do read it first. things make more sense when read in order
Hobbit first!
I would start with the Hobbit
Hobbit first, fer sher.
I suggest that you read the Hobbit first, for “historical” context. ?
Thanks for asking I was kinda wondering that too!
Read The Hobbit first. It will enhance the experience.
Yay! I love those books. “The Hobbit” is a great place to start but it is not necessary to start there.