Give a Tolkien Book This Christmas

 

Christmas is coming up, and it's a magical time of year - not even a virus can stop that.

I have a strong association of fantasy with Christmas: it's the time of year that I first read The Hobbit (and The Lord of the Rings not long after), as well as it was when all three of the films had come out.

As is my seemingly annual tradition, I'm going to suggest some great Tolkien editions for gifting - whether for someone on your list, or yourself.



THE HOBBIT ('young edition')

ISBN: 9780007458424

I recommend this edition as often as I can. It's great for a few reasons:
- it goes with other Tolkien paperbacks quite well
- it's a great way to get someone started on Tolkien that doesn't own any of his books yet and has expressed an interest
- it's also the only edition to offer David Wyatt's chapter illustrations. I might be biased towards those, as the first edition of The Hobbit that I've read/owned featured his chapter illustrations. Also, John Howe's cover, 'Smaug the Golden' can't be beat: in my opinion, no one can draw dragons the way that he can, and dragons are him at his best.

So all in all, a great paperback edition. It's reasonably well-priced and of great quality considering, in terms of quality of the book as a physical item in relation to the price. The font is a decent size: not too large to be considered a 'large print book.' If shopping in-store, it's possible that it might be in the kids or teen section of a bookstore, as opposed to under 'T' for 'Tolkien' in the fantasy section.

Recommended gifting method: as a stocking stuffer or under the tree.




THE HOBBIT (illustrated by Jemima Catlin)

Hardback ISBN: 9780007497904

Paperback ISBN: 9780007497935

This edition takes The Hobbit back to its 'children's story' roots. Definitely recommended for 'bedtime reading', or for any younger readers. Of course it can also appeal to adults, as well. The artwork is just whimsical, much in the same way that the Winnie the Pooh books are illustrated. The art work was so appealing to me, I just HAD to get a copy! As with the edition mentioned above, it's possible that it might be in the kids or teen section of a bookstore, as opposed to under 'T' for 'Tolkien' in the fantasy section. Both the hardback and paperback editions are very well-designed.

The Hardback doesn't go with other Tolkien books, though it would look great next to them - especially The Lord of the Rings illustrated slipcased edition. The paperback, height-wise, DOES go with other Tolkien paperbacks, though it's a bit 'wider' (spine to edge of cover, looking at it cover front-on, going from left to right)

Recommended gifting method: under the tree

THE HOBBIT (pocket edition)

ISBN: 9780007440849

Part of the set called 'A Middle-earth Treasury', this is the only  book from that set to be sold on its own - none of The Lord of the Rings books can be bought 'outside' the set. I should also add that this edition goes very well with any of the titles in the 'Tolkien Treasury' set (The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, Farmer Giles of Ham, Roverandom, and Smith of Wootton Major).

It is a great take on the 'classic' edition of The Hobbit, and is illustrated by Tolkien himself. In terms of contents/features, it's very similar - if not identical - to the 70th anniversary ('classic edition') of The Hobbit, just sized down. It is pocket sized so it may not line up EVERY Tolkien hardback......but it DOES line up with the 'Tolkien Treasury' titles mentioned above!

Recommended gifting method: stocking stuffer




THE LORD OF THE RINGS (illustrated slipcased edition)

ISBN: 9780007525546

First of all I wanted to mention that this book is quite large and quite heavy. I'd recommend reading it 'table reading' style - think of Gandalf at Denethor's libraries in Minas Tirith. This will also help protect its spine. It is, after all, the complete novel as one book, WITH the illustrations by Alan Lee. The slipcase can be a bit tricky to work with. My advice is to keep it in it when it's not a book you're currently reading. (Say you're doing a read through - keep it out of the slipcase. But, once you've finished the book, cover-to-cover, keep it in there. This will help protect the book while it's not part of your reading pile, with minimal damage to both the slipcase as well as the book while 'fumbling' to get it back in. Anyone that gets it right the first attempt deserves a medal! The more you take it in and out, the more chances there'll be of either getting damaged.) 

I may personally prefer to go with the recent hardback boxed set of The Hobbit + The Lord of the Rings that came out this year when it comes to an illustrated edition; though this one is a great value & great quality for what you get. Here are some highlights:

- the most accurate, definitive text to date

- re-scanned illustrations by Alan Lee, so that the artwork looks its very best

- a ribbon marker

- maps (with red ink used) on both endpapers (Middle-earth on one, and Rohan/Gondor/Mordor on the other)

- great quality of paper (this is a great factor, considering that usually one-book editions of The Lord of the Rings may need to have font or paper quality slightly sacrificed in order to make everything fit into a single book. Though that's not the case with this edition)

- the frontispiece of the Nazgul flying to Minas Tirith appears as a full-sized image in the form of a fold-out sheet

All in all it's a great edition, and the most cost effective way to get a copy of The Lord of the Rings in hardback. It may not EXACTLY go with other Tolkien hardbacks 100%, though it would still look great with them, including the collector's editions. This is due in part to it having some of the staples of a collector's edition. If buying for someone else, they'd be beyond thrilled to receive this. If it's for yourself, it's a great treasure.

Note: this edition comes with its own cardboard box. It has the ISBN and barcode on it as a sticker. These boxes were also used for the limited editions of The Children of Hurin and The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun. It was most recently seen with the illustrated collector's edition of Unfinished Tales (and every collector's edition after that, starting with that book). If you're getting this to 'collect' then I'd advise keeping the box, due to it being 'original packaging'.

Recommended gifting method: under the tree (with the cardboard brown box - if supplied. SOME retailers may discard it)




UNFINISHED TALES (illustrated edition)

ISBN: 9780008387952

​This year's 'main Tolkien book' is the new illustrated edition of Unfinished Tales, published to celebrate its 40th anniversary. Design-wise, it matches perfectly with this year's The Hobbit + The Lord of the Rings illustrated hardback boxed set, and looks great with the great tales books, as well. It looks great with any Tolkien hardback, really, but those ones especially.

The front of the dusjacket, depicts Alan Lee's rendering of Numenorean ships. This image does not appear in the book itself, much like the front and rear dustjacket images for The Silmarillion (1998 illustrated hardback). It features both the maps of Beleriand and Middle-earth on the endpapers. It uses blue ink in spots, much like how the new illustrated Hobbit of this year used green, and The Lord of the Rings with red.

Lots of great artwork by Ted Nasmith, Alan Lee and John Howe, including one of my favourites, 'The Blue Wizards Journeying East' by Ted Nasmith.

While nothing is confirmed, it's possible that Sept-Nov of 2021, there will be a paperback edition. This will be good news for those that collect the 2008 illustrated paperbacks of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, but missed out on Unfinished Tales from 2010. So if you're after a copy of Unfinished Tales to go with the other illustrated paperbacks, wait it out. It's also possible that this year's new illustrated hardback editions of The Hobbit + The Lord of the Rings may find their way to paperback: either by the 2008 editions being re-published, or a 'new' book (different cover and ISBN than the 2008 ones).

Recommended gifting method: under the tree




THE CHILDREN OF HURIN ('basic' paperback)

ISBN: 9780007597338

Note: the other great tales, Beren and Luthien and The Fall of Gondolin don't (yet?) exist in this style.

A budget-friendly way to read The Children of Hurin. It features pencil sketches throughout by Alan Lee (he also designed the helm used as the cover) but not his colour illustrations. Goes with most Tolkien paperbacks.

Recommended gifting method: as a stocking stuffer, or under the tree




THE CHILDREN OF HURIN (Collector's Edition)

ISBN: 9780618904419

This is for someone really special - or if you're feeling extra generous! The Children of Hurin is already on this list, though I wanted to post something that would appeal to collectors, as well as those who shop various marketplaces.

This edition of The Children of Hurin is out of print, hence the marketplace mention. It is the Houghton Mifflin edition - the HarperCollins collector's edition is still in print.

This is also one of the two collector's editions to get a 'mirrored' publication: the other was The Legend of Sigurd & Gudrun, which only got one printing. Sigurd & Gudrun was also the last collector's edition to this date by Houghton Mifflin. So this item on my list is a sort of collector's item because of that.

Other collector's editions offered by Houghton Mifflin are quite different from their HarperCollins counterparts - for instance, compare both of their collector's editions of The Lord of the Rings 50th anniversary edition. It can be found on Abebooks, eBay, and likely can be found on Amazon US - though not sold by Amazon themselves, due to it being out of print. 

Recommended gifting method: under the tree





LETTERS FROM FATHER CHRISTMAS (various editions)

Finally, we come to Letters From Father Christmas, a great Christmas tradition, including those by Tolkien fans.

There a few different editions available right now, so I won't spotlight any particular edition. Presently, there is:
- a paperback
- a hardback
- a new, over-sized hardback
- collector's edition
- audiobook (CD and digital)

That being said, the ISBN of the latest edition is 9780008406844. Any edition published after 2004/2005 is relatively complete - the collector's edition and this year's over-sized hardback bring a few extra things to the table, but the core of the book has remained pretty much the same with editions from 2004/2005 to present. (If you happen to own or find an older edition, that is completely fine - I was talking about completeness in terms of what's presently in print.)

The reading by Sir Derek Jacobi is not to be missed - he does a terrific reading as Father Christmas.

In short, I wanted to showcase certain editions of Tolkien's works. No matter who would receive any of these, I'm sure that they will be very well-received.