The Fireside

I am part of the Tolkien Society’s Facebook group. I don’t have an actual Tolkien Society membership (yet… I hope to sign up when it turns 50). As a way of saying thanks, as well as recommending some items to members both newly joined as well as seasoned, I have created this post for them. No, these aren’t “ultimate collector’s items” or anything elite, expensive, etc, but are targeted at some interests and trends I’ve noticed in the group since I’ve joined. With that, check out the items below, which are categorized as best as possible: THE CORE MIDDLE-EARTH BOOKS (or, A Great Place to Start) Of course, the best place to start any Tolkien collection, is what I like to consider “The Main Middle-earth” books. Now these aren’t all of them, but these give you a very great idea, and reading experience of Tolkien’s Middle-earth. The titles (in publication, and my suggested reading order) are: The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers...

Last night I saw Fantastic Beasts , the new entry into the Wizarding World by J.R. Rowling. This isn't quite a Harry Potter prequel. Well...it is and it isn't. It isn't because it has nothing to do with Harry himself whatsoever. It takes place in 1926, and the Harry Potter films begin in 2001. I know the Potter books take place in the '90s, but how else can you explain the flat screen owned by the Dursleys in Prisoner of Azkaban , or that bridge that collapses in the beginning of Half-Blood Prince ? Anyway, so it takes place decades before Harry's born. Because of that, the film slightly distances itself from Harry and Hogwarts, both by the time period, and the fact that it takes place in New York. This film doesn't 'set up' the main Harry Potter series, though there are some similarities. We are, after all, dealing with the same universe and mythos, so some connections will be there. This is a spoiler-free review, so that's all I'll say for...

I wanted to upload this post pre-Black Friday. As a geeky blogger, I’ve got some ideas to share with you, which may help your shopping. I understand my blog may have been a bit quiet lately, and when I do post, it’s about books. There will be books here, and other things. But all things geeky that most people will probably love. So here are some general geeky things I recommend to gift this season! HARRY POTTER With Fantastic Beasts now out, the 'mania' seems to have taken off again. While Tolkien will always be my #1 fandom, I'm kicking things off with Harry Potter / Wizarding World first, seeing how things in that fandom have been the most 'active' lately. Of course, I need to mention the books first and foremost! Like most other books, they exist in various formats and editions. The editions I am recommending, feature artwork by Jonny Duddle. They are the most recent editions, and therefore, the easiest to find because of that. I myself own the h...

Well, since the holidays are coming up quite quickly, I thought it’d be interesting to do a few posts on gift suggestions or ideas; either for yourself or for gifting. This week, I’m going to focus on the illustrated hardbacks of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings (as three volumes) and The Silmarillion . There may be a other 'gift posts' under the Tolkien Tuesday banner. These were published by both Harper Collins and Houghton Mifflin. They are ‘mirrored’ in all ways except publisher name, like of the other Tolkien books both publishers print. However, it seems that the ones by Houghton Mifflin are still being printed, easier to find, and less pricey than the exact same ones by Harper Collins. The two best places to get these are Amazon.com , or bookdepository.com. Barnes and Noble should also carry them, and there's always other online booksellers. A box set of all these does not exist. Imagine, though, the cost and weight if it would? Each book is pretty he...

Well the weekend is finally here. Thank God. This week seemed to creep and crawl, taking it’s sweet-ass time to get here. It wasn’t without enjoyment or merit, however. I’ve revised my manuscript thus far, as well as fixed some vocabulary. I’ve added sentence after that so I know where to head to next, or what my parting idea was that I could not fully develop at that time. I’ve done a few blog posts as well, as you might have seen. I’m not intending for this to happen, but it seems every time I do a blog post lately, something about Tolkien pops up! The book I’m reading is also coming along well. I’m finishing off Bernard Cornwell’s Warlord Trilogy, and am on the third book, Excalibur . Once I finish that, I’m not quite sure what I’ll feel like reading. I know what I have that’s unread, it’s just a question of what kind of mood I’ll be in when I finish Excalibur . Will it be Neil Gaiman? Will I finally get around the reading Alice? (I’ve got a sort of collection book ...

Today sees the re-publication of a Tolkien book that has been out of print for around 70 years – The Lay of Aortou and Itroun. The book is edited by Verlyn Flieger, as Christopher Tolkien was likely occupied with Beren and Luthien (which is set to arrive May 2017.) The book will be 128 pages. It is being published in the ebook and hardback formats. At present time, there is no word or listing of a possible deluxe edition coming. My guess is, if one were to exist, it would be published in the deluxe format (slipcased, etc) next year, likely after Beren and Luthien , in the fall or winter (Aug – Dec). I’m going to be wait a bit to get this one. If a deluxe edition comes along, then I shall deem Aotrou & Itroun worthy of owning a physical copy and add it ‘to the shelf’. If no deluxe edition is to exist, then I’ll get the ebook to save space for other books. (Remember, the Tolkien books I have ‘on the shelf’ mirror which titles have a deluxe edition available.) Th...

I have a theory. I believe that the 2018 Tolkien Calendar will feature Alan Lee's artwork. More than that, I believe it will be from the forthcoming Beren and Luthien , making it a "2018 Beren and Luthien Calendar." How did I arrive at this conclusion? Every so often, I check out sites like Amazon UK or Book Depository for listings of upcoming books (not limited to Tolkien). I saw that the 2018 Calendar was listed, so I went to the page there. It stated that Alan Lee is the illustrator. Also, it says this: Illustrations note 20 b/w, 12 col illus. Checking out the page for Beren and Luthien (also illustrated by Alan Lee) it states this: Illustrations note 20 b/w illus, 8 col plates, Index. Based on this, I believe it's fair to guess at this point that I may be accurate. Please note that when The Children of Hurin was published in 2007, the 2008 calendar featured artwork (from both the book) by Alan Lee. ...

This book definitely lives up to, and continues, the standard of quality established by the previous installment. It doesn't "feel" different, in that some sequels, or continuations do, from its predecessor. Includes a few unique and interesting takes on the Arthur saga, as well as elements about it. One thing in common with other, and traditional, Arthur tales: it features romance, heroism, and tragedy. Also includes an Author's Note once the story-portion of the book concludes, found at the back of the book. 5/5

Well, this is definitely unexpected! May 2017 will see the publication of Beren and Luthien ; the first new Middle-earth Tolkien book since The Children of Hurin . Much like The Children of Hurin , the story already exists in various Tolkien books. Also, like The children of Hurin , this will be illustrated by Alan Lee, and features the complete tale between its own covers. The book will be published in both hardback and deluxe edition. A paperback will follow, at the earliest, in 2018, for those that like that format. So know here comes the official word, as well as ISBNs. Please note that the deluxe edition artwork has yet to be revealed. "Painstakingly restored from Tolkien’s manuscripts and presented for the first time as a fully continuous and standalone story, the epic tale of Beren and Lúthien will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, Dwarves and Orcs and the rich landscape and creatures unique to Tolkien’s Middle-earth. ...

   One of the things that got me into books, not reading, but books, was seeing all the various editions and formats of (essentially) the same text. When I first got into Tolkien, it was late 2001. At that time, bookstores were that: bookstores. Nothing more, nothing less. Sure, sometimes at the cash line up they may have some gooodies here and there but back in those days it was all books. No home section. No American girl, nothing. And so, after getting The Lord of the Rings in Christmas 2001 (this edition: https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/usedphotosna/43903642_614.jpg ) I went to see what else by Tolkien there was. And, I was baffled that they carried 5 or 6 different types of The Lord of the Rings : paperback, hardback, one book, three books, seven books...). So it is because of that, that I'm "designing" some food-for-thought for Harper Collins for future editions of Tolkien's works. The following is meant to be the 'next wave' of delu...

We now have cover art! Oct. 20 , as of now, marks the publication date of the (long-awaited) deluxe edition of The Story of Kullervo . Why it was not published closer to the original hardback as per usual is beyond me, but here we have it! Looks like Harper Collins is going with a red/orange colour scheme, and an embossment of Tolkien's design. Aside from the fact the book is quarter-bound, slipcased and superior paper quality, I'm fully expecting the page s/ contents of the book to be the exact same as the standard hardback. Since it's not out yet, and no site list the 'features' of the deluxe, I can't list them off here. The rest of the post is official publisher info, so I'll close here by saying if you want to brush up on related knowledge to this book, check out The Kalevala (as far as I know the only 'readily available edition' is the paperback offered by Oxford.) Here are the specs: Pages: 192 ...

It was revealed today that the Fantastic Beasts series of movies went from 3 to 5. “I can say one thing, we were doing some script sessions the other day and we always knew it was going to be one movie. We always knew that from the start. We said a trilogy as a placeholder because we knew there would be more than one movie. Now I think we can say, I’ve done the plotting properly so we’re pretty sure it’s going to be five movies.” Fantastic Beasts: Part 2 is expected November 2018, and Part 3 of the then-planned trilogy will follow in 2020. If that trend continues, expect Part 4 to come 2022 and Part 5 in 2024; though 4 and 5 are guesswork on my part. We'll see if this is a wise move. There are times where too many films in a franchise can be a bad thing. We'll have to wait and see, but expanding '3 to 5' sounds ok, as they always had more films planned, but as the quote above mentions, now that they sat down and plotte dit out, it seems they have their focus. ...

Before I begin, please note that I am in no way saying anything negative about the people mentioned in this post. It is just an opinion, and speculation on my part. As of late, I have noticed that Christopher Tolkien is editing less Tolkien material, and that Veryln Flieger has been editing more. Is it entirely possible that Christopher Tolkien is either stepping away, reducing his duties or handing the reigns to someone else? Any, or all three, are possible. However, please note that this post is purely guesswork and opinion.  Christopher Tolkien has been editing Tolkien material since the 1970s (and assisting his father beforehand, as well) with projects such as The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales , and The History of Middle-earth. He edited other Tolkien books here and there, but continued to do so from 2007 - 2014, with publications such as The Children of Hurin, The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun, The Fall of Arthur and Beowulf . This year he turns 92. You may have notice...

I live in Canada. I was born in Canada, I live in Canada, very strong chance I'll die in Canada. Therefore, I am not a U.S. citizen. One thing that annoys me to no end is seeing updates on social media from fellows Canadians about the election and the debate, and anything going on in regards to US politics at the moment, and coming in Novemeber. Why? Because we're not U.S. citizens!! We cannot participate in the election!If Canadians could, then I'd be all for following it, and getting interested in it. Now, I'm not telling you what you can and can't watch, or what you should or shouldn't like, I'm just asking: what's the point?? We, here up North, can't do a damned thing about it!  The only time I would watch a U.S. debate like that, would be if I was interested in one of the candidates. Judging from people's comments, reactions, etc, nobody seemed to like either of them. Just my thoughts.

Well, I am excited for Fantastic Beasts . Initially I wasn't. The book is much smaller than The Hobbit, and getting 3 films ... and other factors. Like I've said many a-time on this blog, sometimes all it takes is a poster, photo or trailer to turn one's opinions. It was so with me and Fantastic Beasts , and the trailer named "final trailer", which was the only one I've seen. Anyway, so here is the soundtrack info - release dates, formats, tracklisting... So it's being released on the 3 main formats: vinyl (the ultimate way to own physical media. It seems CDs as an afterthought nowadays...), CD, and iTunes. The vinyl version will be arriving November 4th, and will be a "12" picture disc." Here are the available photos at this time: "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is an all new adventure returning us to the wizarding world created by J.K. Rowling. Featured on the picture disc are two early recordings by James Newton Howar...

I've set myself up a wishlist for vinyl LP records through Amazon.ca . Here is the link. https://www.amazon.ca/gp/registry/wishlist/F68MQXZEZHSG/ref=cm_wl_list_o_4? Now, this is out of interest to my readers. I'm not expecting any surprise vinyls to show up at my door. Please note, that I am after specific editions of albums. Those that are listed on my list are ones that I plan to get 'sometime'. Obviously, there are some that I wish to get sooner rather than later, but yeah. Not really a time limit on those, provided they aren't discontinued. I'll let the priority, and descriptions / comments speak for themselves. Feel free to leave comments here.

A set I've been interested in for a while, but was crazy expensive on the markets due to it out of print, is Wayne G. Hammond & Christina Scull's two-volume Tolkien Companion and Guide . However, it is being revised and set to be re-published next year. Here's the official word from Wayne G.Hammond and Christina Scull.... We were honoured to learn this past spring that HarperCollins want to continue to publish the Companion and Guide, not simply as a reprint of the existing text but in a new edition, corrected, revised, and enlarged. When we were commissioned to write a general book about Tolkien’s life and works, our first model was C.S. Lewis: A Companion and Guide by Walter Hooper, a thick volume of nearly a thousand pages; but we gathered so much material that our Chronology alone reached that length. Fortunately, HarperCollins agreed to give us two volumes, though we had to cut the text of the Reader’s Guide to fit the maximum number of pages the binding pr...