New Tolkien Books:updates - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Lalwendë · 11-01-2006, 12:36 PM

Well by happy coincidence the need to collect the car after repairs, an excess of worked hours and the opening times of the local post office all happened at the same time this afternoon so the books were retrieved.

I've spent the past few hours absorbed in them (have put them down now as their rightful owner will soon be home and he will want to read them

) and I can honestly say they are excellent. Thorough is the word that springs to mind right away. Fascinating is the second one. One volume is taken up with a day-by-day chronology of Tolkien's life (you may, if old and silly enough, be able to see what Tolkien was doing the day you were born) including who he was writing to, what he was lecturing in, who he visited etc, plus extensive information on his family, and a wallet-tingling bibliography of all his works (I hear eBay calling...).

The other volume is a huge A-Z of themes, people and places (and other things too) associated with Tolkien, e.g. sections on H Rider Haggard (and an interesting consideration of how LotR has echoes from She, a fave of Tolkien's), the Lancashire Fusiliers, Fairy Tales, GK Chesterton (Tolkien got fed up with Chesterton apparently), George MacDonald (likewise he got fed up with MacDonald and Phantastes 'afflicted me with profound dislike'). We also learn that Tolkien once played Thomas The Tank Engine in the street outside Merton College, wandered the streets of Oxford dressed in a bearskin rug and had a swimming race wearing a panama hat and smoking a pipe.

I see its on offer on Amazon so it could be a good time to buy it! It will keep you quiet for days, this one, and after that you will have lots of things to say.

Estelyn Telcontar · 11-01-2006, 01:39 PM

Oooh, thanks for the info on that one, Lal! I immediately added it to my Amazon order; it will take a couple of weeks, but now I have even more to which I can look forward!

Lalwendë · 11-01-2006, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

Oooh, thanks for the info on that one, Lal! I immediately added it to my Amazon order; it will take a couple of weeks, but now I have even more to which I can look forward!

I wouldn't like to be your postman! Carrying it back from the post office has left my arms a few inches longer due to the ridiculously big box it was in.

If anyone has the three volume hardback set of HoME (with the black dustjackets, and which I don't touch as they're far too heavy for everyday reading - I prefer paperbacks

) it looks very good next to them on the shelves.

Next comes Children of Hurin (which also will come in a special limited edition) and then Mr Baggins, so it's time to reinforce those bookshelves...

If these all arrive in time for Christmas, Esty, you will have plenty to keep you busy!

davem · 02-09-2007, 04:08 PM

There's a new hardback edition of TH http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hobbit-There...e=UTF8&s=books out now to celebrate the 70th anniversary of publication, designed to match the recent 'uniform' (matte dustjacket) edition by Harper Collins of FotR, TT, RotK, TS & UT & in October there's a 25th anniversary edition of Mr Bliss.

Kuruharan · 02-09-2007, 04:35 PM

I think this is supposed to be the final cover of the Children of Hurin.

http://tolkiengateway.net/w/images/8...urin_cover.jpg

I'm not a tremendous fan of Alan Lee's work, but I have to admit I quite like that picture.

davem · 02-09-2007, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kuruharan

I think this is supposed to be the final cover of the Children of Hurin.

http://tolkiengateway.net/w/images/8...urin_cover.jpg

I'm not a tremendous fan of Alan Lee's work, but I have to admit I quite like that picture.

Must praise Alan Lee's choice of cover picture - the 'old' one (with Glaurung crossing the Narog) was a bit too 'sword & sorcery' for me, & gave the wrong impression of the work. This one fits a work of great literature. (And not an emu or Christmas tree in sight )

The Squatter of Amon Rûdh · 02-12-2007, 04:01 AM

I'm going to miss the impressionistic approach. Everything's so literal and representational in the world of Tolkien art; we need the fresh perspective offered by illustrators who haven't had their interpretations coloured by reading the books.

I'm glad that they chose this picture of Turin. The depiction of him killing Glaurung tended to reduce him to that one event, whereas that's arguably one of his less important acts . However, this does tend to focus the attention rather on Turin than the other players in this drama. Perhaps some depiction of Turin's first meeting with Nienor might have fitted the bill better, although that's just nitpicking.

It's good to think that the Dragon Helm will be gracing bookshelves in full fig rather than as bare-armed action hero: that depiction lends him a dignity that some of his other guises lack.

11-01-2006, 12:36 PM	#1
Lalwendë A Mere Boggart Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: under the bed Posts: 4,737	Well by happy coincidence the need to collect the car after repairs, an excess of worked hours and the opening times of the local post office all happened at the same time this afternoon so the books were retrieved. I've spent the past few hours absorbed in them (have put them down now as their rightful owner will soon be home and he will want to read them ) and I can honestly say they are excellent. Thorough is the word that springs to mind right away. Fascinating is the second one. One volume is taken up with a day-by-day chronology of Tolkien's life (you may, if old and silly enough, be able to see what Tolkien was doing the day you were born) including who he was writing to, what he was lecturing in, who he visited etc, plus extensive information on his family, and a wallet-tingling bibliography of all his works (I hear eBay calling...). The other volume is a huge A-Z of themes, people and places (and other things too) associated with Tolkien, e.g. sections on H Rider Haggard (and an interesting consideration of how LotR has echoes from She, a fave of Tolkien's), the Lancashire Fusiliers, Fairy Tales, GK Chesterton (Tolkien got fed up with Chesterton apparently), George MacDonald (likewise he got fed up with MacDonald and Phantastes 'afflicted me with profound dislike'). We also learn that Tolkien once played Thomas The Tank Engine in the street outside Merton College, wandered the streets of Oxford dressed in a bearskin rug and had a swimming race wearing a panama hat and smoking a pipe. I see its on offer on Amazon so it could be a good time to buy it! It will keep you quiet for days, this one, and after that you will have lots of things to say. __________________ Gordon's alive!

11-01-2006, 01:39 PM	#2
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	Oooh, thanks for the info on that one, Lal! I immediately added it to my Amazon order; it will take a couple of weeks, but now I have even more to which I can look forward! __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'

02-09-2007, 04:08 PM	#4
davem Illustrious Ulair Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties Posts: 4,240	There's a new hardback edition of TH http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hobbit-There...e=UTF8&s=books out now to celebrate the 70th anniversary of publication, designed to match the recent 'uniform' (matte dustjacket) edition by Harper Collins of FotR, TT, RotK, TS & UT & in October there's a 25th anniversary edition of Mr Bliss. __________________ “Everything was an object. If you killed a dwarf you could use it as a weapon – it was no different to other large heavy objects."

02-09-2007, 04:35 PM	#5
Kuruharan Regal Dwarven Shade Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: A Remote Dwarven Hold Posts: 3,593	I think this is supposed to be the final cover of the Children of Hurin. http://tolkiengateway.net/w/images/8...urin_cover.jpg I'm not a tremendous fan of Alan Lee's work, but I have to admit I quite like that picture. __________________ ...finding a path that cannot be found, walking a road that cannot be seen, climbing a ladder that was never placed, or reading a paragraph that has no...

02-12-2007, 04:01 AM	#7
The Squatter of Amon Rûdh Spectre of Decay Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Bar-en-Danwedh Posts: 2,178	Cover story I'm going to miss the impressionistic approach. Everything's so literal and representational in the world of Tolkien art; we need the fresh perspective offered by illustrators who haven't had their interpretations coloured by reading the books. I'm glad that they chose this picture of Turin. The depiction of him killing Glaurung tended to reduce him to that one event, whereas that's arguably one of his less important acts . However, this does tend to focus the attention rather on Turin than the other players in this drama. Perhaps some depiction of Turin's first meeting with Nienor might have fitted the bill better, although that's just nitpicking. It's good to think that the Dragon Helm will be gracing bookshelves in full fig rather than as bare-armed action hero: that depiction lends him a dignity that some of his other guises lack. __________________ Man kenuva métim' andúne?

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