The only new part for me was On Fairy-Stories, to which the proper English word is 'ponderous', and The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son, which was also ponderous, but at least mercifully short.

The master. And to think he could not get published until a friend took pity on the old fool. Scribbling away, I swear he did not invent, he visited!

I enjoyed this! I won't review each selection in this anthology but overall it demonstrated Tolkien's creativity ranging (in my opinion) from fine to amazing. His essay on Faeries was uh, quite thorough and extensive. I get tired of talking about the same thing fairly quickly but not this man. I really appreciated the poetry which is a bit of a change for me and even the non-LOTR content was intriguing.

His essay on fairy stories is fantastic.

I’ve read a fair amount of posthumous Tolkien works, but the Tolkien Reader is something special. The poems are great, as are the stories Leaf by Niggle and Farmer Giles of Ham.

But especially interesting to me are The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son and On Fairy Stories. Beorhtnoth is a translation of Norse verse with contextual notes which was very interesting to read. On Fairy Stories is a rather long lecture-turned-essay that the professor gave in 1938(published in 45). It’s incredibly interesting to read his thoughts on fairytales and fantasy in general. He’s delightfully sassy.

I really enjoyed the essay “on fairy stories” , farmer giles of ham and leaf by niggle but the other stuff in here didn’t interest me. Still definitely a worthwhile read.

I would not have picked up this book had my reading group not chosen to read and discuss the story "Leaf by Niggle", but since I bought the book for that story, of course I chose to read all the essays, stories, and poetry contained within. Tolkien's essay "On Fairy-Stories" was dense but interesting reading, his allegory "Leaf by Niggle" thought-provoking, and the story "Farmer Giles of Ham" quite fun.

This is a lesser-known but excellent collection of Tolkien's minor works. There are some amazing gems here. The Adventures of Tom Bombadil is a collection of verse that shows some of the breadth of Tolkien's talent both as a very structured poet and as a storyteller. It includes some thought-provoking works for any fan of Lord of the Rings, including an account of the wedding of Tom Bombadil to the River Daughter. "Farmer Giles of Ham" is one of Tolkien's most delightful short stories. By far the crowning element in the collection is the careful, subtle essay "On Fairy Stories" and the accompanying short story, "Leaf by Niggle." These do a creditable job of summarizing Tolkien's own view of artistic work in general and his own writing in specific. And no artist can dismiss Niggle who struggles with his own inspiration and skill but eventually finds that all his effort is not in vain.

Excellent compilation of some of Tolkien's shorter works. Farmer Giles of Ham is a funny adventure story, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil is a collection of funny, epic, nonsense, and sad poems, only two of which are actually about Tom Bombadil. Leaf by Niggle is my all time favorite short story of Tolkien's. He's kind of poking fun at himself, working so hard on his legendarium that he gets grumpy when other duties get in the way, but in the end, he learns what is important. Niggle also learns that being creative is valued by God. This ties in directly to Tolkien's main point in his essay On Fairy Stories. He argued that fantasy is its own art form and shouldn't be relegated to children's stories. Instead, creating fantasy worlds is a reflection of our creator. He says "Fantasy remains a human right: we make in our measure and in our derivative mode, because we are made: and not only made, but made in the image and likeness of a Maker."

It feels weird to rate a Tolkien work less than 5 stars. I rated 4 because it left me wanting in regard to more Lotr lore.

It's a collection of writings by Tolkien. Most of it quality writing. Leaf by Niggle is by far the best part. Think Tolkien's version of Lewis' The Great Divorce.

All in all, it's a good read to add to anyone's Tolkien collection.

It took me a year, but the works in this anthology represent a range of Tolkien's creativity: essay, narrative poetry, poetry fragment translated from Old English, and stories. Especially memorable is the story "Leaf by Niggle."

"The Tolkien Reader" is an excellent collection of shorter writings by the Lord of the Rings author. Each of the pieces here represent a different genre - drama, essay, short fiction, and poetry - that are, for the most part, unrelated to Middle Earth, but if you've read The Hobbit and/or LOTR and aren't sure what to read next, this is a great place to start.

The Reader opens with "Tolkien's Magical Ring," a short preface by Peter S. Beagle, who is best known for his novel "The Last Unicorn." Fans of Tolkien might be tempted to skip over this, since Beagle spends most of it summarizing the story and themes in The Hobbit/LOTR. I'm really glad I didn't pass it over, though, because Beagle has nothing but the utmost admiration for Tolkien and there are some stunning lines. My favorite: "Old friends rediscover it, as I do... and we talk of it at once as though we had just read it for the first time, and as though we were remembering something that had happened to us together long ago. Something of ourselves has gone into reading it, and so it belongs to us." Later, he adds, "I believe that Tolkien has wandered in Middle-Earth, which exists nowhere but in himself, and I understand the sadness of the Elves, and I have seen Mordor." I've never read any of Beagle's fiction, but this brief essay alone makes me want to pick up "The Last Unicorn."

The first Tolkien-penned work in the Reader is "The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son," a one-act historical drama based on a battle fought between the English and the Danes in the 10th century. The drama itself is not particularly interesting; it's primarily a conversation between two characters as they search for the body of their fallen king in the aftermath of the battle. I was more interested in the two short essays that accompany this work to explain the historical background and themes. The idea of chivalry - and whether it's possible to be too chivalrous - is discussed in the second essay, and the influences of Anglo-Saxon culture on LOTR are quite obvious here.

Next is "On Fairy-Stories," which is probably the most important and interesting work in the Reader. If you can only read one piece in this anthology, it has to be this essay. Tolkien discusses the origins of fairy tales, how he believes they should be defined, who they are intended for (and who they *should* be intended for), and then broadens the scope of the essay to discuss the genre of fantasy fiction as a whole. The essay is long, dense, and wordy, in typical Tolkien fashion, but it sheds a lot of light on how Tolkien views fantasy. My favorite section of the essay is towards the end when he criticizes those who say that fantasy is a "lesser" genre because it is an escape from the problems of our world - and an unrealistic escape at that: "Fantasy can, of course, be carried to excess. It can be ill done. It can be put to evil uses. It may even delude the minds out of which it came. But of what human thing in this fallen world is that not true?"

Following Tolkien's essay is "Leaf by Niggle," a short story about a painter named Niggle. There are a couple of different ways to read this story; I prefer to interpret it as an allegorical tale about the creative process Tolkien undergoes when working on fiction. This is probably my favorite piece of fiction in the Reader.

After "Niggle" is "Farmer Giles of Ham," a story about a farmer named Giles who is tasked with slaying a dragon named Chrysophylax. It's easy to compare this story to The Hobbit, because at first glance the plots of both seem very similar (Giles and Bilbo are also cut of the same cloth). But Farmer Giles is much more of a lighthearted story, and Chrysophylax and Smaug are different characters. Very enjoyable and entertaining.

Finally, we have "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil," a collection of 16 poems from Middle Earth. The title of this section is deceiving; only two of the poems are about Tom Bombadil. I thoroughly enjoyed every single poem (some of which previously appeared in LOTR), especially "Princess Mee" and "The Sea-Bell." Additionally, if you haven't read The Hobbit or LOTR, the poems are still easily accessible because they don't directly reference any of the events in those works.

All in all, this is a fantastic anthology of Tolkien's writing. Apart from the essay, none of the pieces in the Reader are particularly long, so it's easy to read a story or poem here and there without feeling obligated to finish the entire collection (with that being said, I did read this in just a few days because I loved the stories so much). Recommended for anyone who appreciates Tolkien, whether you've read LOTR or not.