Public Research: The Book You Started with

[HerenIstarion]

The title must be self explaining :)

In my case it was the Hobbit, second came Smith, and than the rest

Public Research Project (http://69.51.5.41/showthread.php?p=440718#post440718)

[gralin musicteeth]

My social worker read Roverandom to me when I was a kid, but the first one I read by myself was The Hobbit.

[AbercrombieOfRohan]

I started with the Two Towers, got really confused, gave up, realised it was a series and began again with The Hobbit. I voted The Hobbit for the purpose of this poll because it was the first Tolkien book I finished reading.

[JennyHallu]

Wow...I'd almost forgotten Roverandum. Haven't seen it in years. Started with the hobbit...but I had forgotten Roverandum.

Gee..I have absolutely no excuse to feel this old.

[Nogrod]

I voted for the Hobbit, even though it was first read to me by my father.

The first translation of the Hobbit in Finland went by a name "The Dragon mountain". It was considerably abridged and formed into a children's book: all the dwarves' had funny bedtimestory names and so on... The illustrations were nice though. They had been made by Tove Jansson, the author of the Moomin -characters with which some of you might be familiar with.

But still. Luckily we got a whole translation with more loyally tolkienish names & stuff at the 80's. Kind of missed the illustrations though. :p

[Lush]

LotR. Totally. "Ooh, it has a picture of Orlando Bloom on the back.... Wow, it's actually an amazing book!... Holy crap, I'm in love! And not with Orlando Bloom" The rest is history.

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

A really old edition of LOTR with the worst drawings I ever saw and pages that departed the book as I read it. It was brilliant !

[Holbytlass]

The Hobbit, after being interested in the upcoming movies.
Walmart had Ballantine paperbacks with neat illustrations by Ted Nasmith for $6.99 each. I bought The Hobbit and LOTR and started there.

[JennyHallu]

My father read the hobbit to me when I was little. I never lost the fascination.

[Eönwë]

The hobbit when I was 7/8, just before (or at the same time as) the movies came out

[Galadriel55]

My first book was LOTR, simply because that was the only Tolkien's book that was in the house at the time. I read TH, The Sil, and COH less than a year ago (finally layed my hands on a copy! :)), and I' planning on reading UT, HOME, Roverandom, and others as soon as I can get hold of a copy.

[LadyBrooke]

It was like this:
There's a book of Lord of the Rings. OMG, this is the best book ever but I wish there was more about the Elves.

A few weeks later, I bought The Silmarillion and fell in love with with it.

Then I found out that UT has more info on Celeborn bought it. Then the Hobbit so I could read about Thranduil.

Then I found a copy of Sir Gawain and the Freen Knight/ Pearl/ Sir Orfeo and a copy of The Tolkien Reader.

After reading them I wanted to know more about Tolkien so I ordered a copy of Letters.

Along with Letters I ordered Letters from Father Christmas, Morgoth's Ring, War of the Jewels, and the Peoples of Middle Earth.

And I'll get the rest as soon as I have the money.

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

My first book was LOTR, simply because that was the only Tolkien's book that was in the house at the time. I read TH, The Sil, and COH less than a year ago (finally layed my hands on a copy! :)), and I' planning on reading UT, HOME, Roverandom, and others as soon as I can get hold of a copy.

Roverandom is a charming little book. :) When and if I have children that will be the first bedtime story I read to them, followed by The Hobbit. I do recommend reading it, but of course, any Tolkien nerd will want to. ;)

The first Tolkien book I read was The Hobbit, of course. My grandmother got the EEs for my father one Christmas and I really liked them. When my friend came over and started complaining about inaccurate they are I decided that reading the books would be a fantastic idea. Now I have one shelf of a bookcase dedicated to Tolkien (except my first box set, that has a special place on my bed), and that isn't enough books. D: