Finished reading The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit? This is the next Tolkien book I'd recommend, a good introduction to Tolkien the essayist and the short-story teller. The short story "Leaf by Niggle" and the essay "On Fairy Stories", alone, are worth the purchase, and the other pieces are pretty good too. (One wishes the poem "mythopoeia" were here too, but alas, it is not.)

The only downside to this book is that it overlaps with quite a few other Tolkien anthologies. But in most cases, that's okay, because the scholarly tone of most of Tolkien's work means only very few people collect all Tolkien the anthologies, anyway.

At any rate, if I were to come up with a list of BASIC Tolkieniana (er... that looks strange. No wonder that term isn't used more often), it would comprise of:
1. The Lord of the Rings;
2. The Hobbit;
3. The Tolkien Reader;
4. The Silmarillion; and
5. Humphrey Carpenter's "Tolkien: A Biography"

And then you can explore the rest of Tolkien's body of work as you see fit, based on what you've sampled. But if you want to get to know Tolkien's work with any degree of credibility, the material you find in "The Tolkien Reader" are must-reads.

RE de Leon
11:20 PM January 5, 2010
Agoo, La Union, Philippines

Even when he isn't writing about Middle Earth, Tolkien's stories capture the imagination. He writes such fun medieval-type stories. Of course, The Tolkien Reader does venture into Middle Earth, following Master Bombadil on his travels. Tolkien understands that fun and silliness do not negate wisdom or power and that is shown best in his fun and rhyming character of Tom Bombadil. For a collection of good stories for all ages The Tolkien Reader should be your choice.

A wonderful sampler of Tolkien’s various works: fiction & non-fiction, prose & poetry, light-hearted & serious. It’s all enjoyable!

I've read this one a number of times before, but usually not straight through. There are poems and such in it.

Too bad Americans aren't into statuary-- I would put a statue of Tolkien in my house if we did that sort of thing. I particularly enjoyed the moments of self-revelation in his essay about fairy stories. How he longed for dragons as a child, how he "had and has a wholly unsatisfied desire to shoot well with a bow," how he can make himself sit through a cricket match only by using things other than cricket to stay interested, such as a "wild, heraldic preference for dark blue over light blue." It was also amusing to see that he always skipped over the poetry in books when he was young.

In Leaf by Niggle, he shows his view of his own life, and what he expects to be doing in the afterlife.

I liked everything in this book, including the poetry. My son will recite Errantry to his class tomorrow, and as Bilbo recommends, he plans to keep going until they rise up in revolt.

Finally, my class finished this book

Толкин плюс прекрасни въвеждащи думи на Питър Бийгъл - какво повече да се каже?:)

Most of this was probably around 3 stars for me - fine, not memorable.

But it also includes a wonderful essay, "On Fairy-Stories." I would consider this required reading for anyone with a particular interest in the fantasy genre. What Tolkien has to say on subjects like originality, escapism, and the role of fairy stories in adult life is just as relevant today as it was when it was written.

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would… I’m not usually a huge fan of collections of short stories and essays, especially that are not necessarily connected to each other. However, I was surprised at how some of the stories really did draw me in and hold my attention. ‘Leaf by Niggle’ was my favorite; it is a story that I know I’ll think of often.

Any serious fan of Tolkien would enjoy this book, and would come to more deeply appreciate his Lord of the Rings masterpieces. Tolkien's essay "Tree and Leaf" gave me a new appreciation for "fairy stories" and the fantasy genre of literature. He was a deep thinker who took the ancient literature very seriously. This book helps to explain the strong connection that so many readers have with The Lord of the Rings. It's not just "escapism."

While I purchased this book to read "Leaf by Niggle" for a book group, most of the collection was delightful, although rather random. "The Homecoming of Beorhnoth" will appeal to readers who enjoy old plays (like Shakespeare) or ancient sagas (like Beowulf). "Farmer Giles from Ham" is lighthearted and feels like a forgotten fairy tale piece. I found the essay on the nature of fairy stories "Tree and Leaf" annoyingly pedantic and the thesis poorly established. As for the adventures of Tom Bombadil, I am glad he got some more time in the spotlight. This fascinating and absurd character was mercilessly cut out of the LOTR movies just because he poorly fit with the gritty fatalistic tone imparted by the film directors...or maybe it was because he seemed fit the stereotype of a druggie.

I reread this book because the first time (over 40 years ago) I couldn't really appreciate the stories therein, let alone Tolkien's essay on Faerie stories. Now that I'm almost mature, I find Leaf by Niggle to be one of the most beautiful tales I've ever read.