[Mithalwen]

You can get the history of LOTR volumes as a cased set (with the bit that overspills in a slim volume) so there is clearly a market for those volumes separate from the hard core full set.

I guess I am a little sensitive because I was taught that it was a character weakness not to finish a book and still feel a little guilty if I don't (unless the book is utter tripe) but while reading all sequentially may well be ideal if you are up to the task, I just wanted to emphasize that it is worth looking at the later volumes even if you are daunted by the early ones.