[R.R.J Tolkien]

Originally Posted by Formendacil

Huinesoron's overview of the books is generally accurate, and his main point that it comes down to what you want is spot-on.

Personally, I think The Book of Lost Tales volumes are the most essential from a literary standpoint. Where the other Silmarillion-centric volumes offer a wealth of information, but are essentially similar to the published Silmarillion in terms of story content, The Book of Lost Tales is like reading the Grimm fairy-tales when you're familiar with the Disney versions.

My favourite volumes tend to be the ones you've already bought--the post-LotR Silmarillion-centric volumes. They are drier though, not least because the texts that are original to them tend to be philosophical or speculative, whereas the narrative is basically the same as the published Silmarillion. That's not a bad thing--I personally really enjoy Tolkien's "non-fiction" take on Middle-earth (what nerd doesn't?), but it's not the same aesthetic, immersive experience.

And I'd personally plug The Peoples of Middle-earth. Like Sauron Defeated it's kind of a hybrid volume. The first half, dealing with the history of texts we already have (namely the Appendices and the Akallabêth) isn't required reading, though we do get some details not seen elsewhere, like the family tree of the House of Dol Amroth. The back half of the book is totally worth it, though--personally, I'd buy the book for "The Shibboleth of Fëanor" alone. The back half of the book is basically Unfinished Tales, Part II. While it is certainly a valid argument to say that Unfinished Tales as a project makes the whole History of Middle-earth series a big incomplete, because CT changed his process, it's still a personal favourite and I like that we get more texts in that vein. Besides the Shibboleth, I think Tal-Elmar and the New Shadow are each worth the price of admission.

So than much of the published sil comes from Tolkiens later writings post 1937?