Why do you read HoME?

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

I've dipped in and out of the other volumes, some I haven't read yet, but largely the attraction of HoMe to me is either the enjoyment of Tolkien's early writing or the acquisition of context/information to help understand the other texts. It really is a privilege and a joy to be able to see how Tolkien's writing was created.

I don't want to leave the impression that I'm totally opposed to reading HOME.

Like Bêth, what I have read (mostly regarding, as I said before, the writing of LOTR), has shed some light on that work, and allowed me to see some parts of the finished product in a new light.

Perhaps my fear of falling prey to Gandalf's warning about not "breaking a thing to find out what it is" is groundless, and one day I'll delve into the writing histories more deeply.