Tolkien: books, podcasts and much more!

Do you fancy the beauty of languages? Does the original, deep meaning of words (etymology) intrigue you? Do you find Norse (Scandinavian) mythology astonishing? Do you hold [Christian] values—such as holding your oath or the sacred bond of a true friendship?

If you answered no to most of these questions, then perhaps you should choose another writer—and skip this post, of course!

But for those who appreciate all these things… beware! Once Professor Tolkien enters your life, he lingers forever, impacting your soul—for good.

Welcome, fellow traveler!

In this quick post I’m sure you will discover a book, podcast, film or even a video game that will make you fall deeper in love with Tolkien’s world.

Contents:

I’ll even share some memes - though they may be more Orc-work than Elven craft!

lotr meme - Galadriel does not gift stick to Sam

Books

For new readers, let’s find out if this suits your taste.

Give a try to the children’s book The Hobbit. Then the first chapters of Tolkien’s most famous novel, The Lord of the Rings, short lotr. That’s it in my opinion. If you don’t fancy this Middle Earth world, then stop here.

On the other hand, if these reading were pleasant, then:

  • Enjoy lotr till the last drop
  • Give a try to the The Silmarillion, though it’s somewhat complex. Help yourself along the journey by watching excellent writings analyses, check the Video content creators section, to clarify your doubts. No shame on needing help understanding the legendarium. More tips for reading the Silmarillion here, I highlight the audio-book advise, the Martin Shaw’s reading; more about audio-books in its section.
Tolkien monogram

For a complete reading order check:

Special Tolkien’s publications are directly sold in The Tolkien Society shop, more about this society in its section. They may not be commercial hits, but they are worth reading.

Audio books

English

A Guide to Tolkien Audiobooks by Nerd of the Rings:

That’s it. These twelve minutes are of the finest mithril! This recommends enhanced audio books too, like:

German

The Hobbit

Der Herr der Ringe

The Silmarillion

Create your own

If you want to contribute, in any language, please share your reading recordings in LibriVox. This platform holds many public domain audio books (and more). Though Tolkien’s works in LibriVox are almost none. Luckily in Internet Archive there are more than one thousand Tolkien related audios.

Podcasts

Episodes that fly by as we:

  • Trace Tolkien’s Catholic roots—from his education under a Spanish Jesuit mentor to the quiet faith woven through his stories.
  • Delve into every corner of his work, the rich details in each line, both in Tolkien’s own writing and his son Christopher’s careful editing.
  • Laugh, debate, and connect with fellow fans who love Middle Earth too.

I just listen next two, though for sure there are many more broadcasting, fell free to make a PR.

Video content creators

Actually, this is not my strongest point. I have only three favourites:

Tolkien Untangled is focused on Tolkien’s writtings. So any of his videos is a flawless choice. Directly open a playlist and watch all its videos in a row (during various days, optional). Of the Lords of Beleriand is my favourite.

Other creators offer more variety, they cover many more topics than just Middle Earth, they also inform, note the cursive, about some merchandise products that I just don’t care. So, here also filter by video collections:

Films and series

Complete list on IMDb.

The world-famous Peter Jackson adaptations

In chronological order:

The backstage hours are pure entertainment too, link - how they prepared the filming, the cut scenes, New Zealand’s breathtaking landscapes, and all the magic behind the camera.

More blockbusters

  • The War of the Rohirrim (2024) directed by Kamiyama
  • “Better to stay silent than speak ill”, “Lieber schweigen als etwas Böses sagen” in German, or “En boca cerrada no entran moscas” in Spanish. Thus, I’ll just say… the Rings of Power series could have been better made.

Underrated indie films

In chronological order, filtering just the best ones:

And if you’re a true fan, the 1978 LOTR cartoon is a must!

Biography and documentaries

In chronological order:

The Tolkien Society

Meet fellow fans, further disscuss Tolkien’s writting, celebre events and much more! The Tolkien Society summaries its purposes so:

We are an educational charity and literary society devoted to the study and promotion of the life and works of the author and academic J.R.R. Tolkien. The Tolkien Society publishes a bulletin and a journal at regular intervals, and organises various events throughout the year.

Find your local branch here and join!

German speakers visit Deutschen Tolkien Gesellschaft e.V. bitteschön. Notice this is not an official Smial - these organizations are independent.

Memes

Why not some fun? Well yes,… and no. I will just mention two platforms for brevity, the rest shall not pass!

Extra. An amusing joke by Ben Kahn

Gandalf: Bad news, Sauron knows everything that Pippin knows. Good news, Pippin doesn’t know jack shit

Video games

Did someone mention fun? More?? Wasn’t this suppose to be about Tolkien’s serious legendarium?

Well, yes, but that's not the point

For a full list of Middle-earth games, check Wikipedia.

I played a few, but The Battle for Middle-earth II and its expansion keep a special place in my teen’s memories. Back then I spent countless hours at a cybercafé with my friends, battling over Middle Earth.

Alas! Sadly the official servers have long ago vanished into the West. But dedicated gamers kept the spirit alive through other servers (though the connection speeds in the early 2010s, when I played a few times, were… humble).

Gandalf Hope GIF from Gandalf GIFs

Now the flame of Hope is rekindled! A non-commercial project, called BFME: Reforged and crafted by faithful fans, shall restore light to forgotten glories in years to come.

Miscellaneous

As mithril threads through mountain stone, Tolkien’s world gleams in unexpected places, these are some:

Artwork

Including original Tolkien artwork, fan art, and official illustrations.

The most famous artist associated with Middle Earth illustrations is widely regarded as Alan Lee. My first lotr book had his cover. More here.

Ted Nasmith illustrations are also well-known. The interviews are also worth listening to.

Not to mention Tolkien’s own artwork: Wikipedia, tolkienestate.com and tolkiengateway.net.

Maps & Geography

Exploring the detailed maps of Middle Earth and discussions about the geography, regions, and journeys in Tolkien’s lore.

Journey with the Fellowship and Thorin’s Company across Middle-earth interactive map (or explore this alternative) and Beleriand. E.g.

Are you as satisfied as a Hobbit with a single bite of lembas? Then… Second breakfast is ready! Wikipedia, lotr.fandom, theonering.com,…

Languages & Linguistics

Delving into Professor Tolkien’s constructed languages like Quenya and Sindarin, with resources for even learning them.

Let us not overlook Tolkien’s elegant calligraphy.

Bonus. Tolkien fonts

This Middle Earth font is awesome! Credits to Joanna Vu

To use it in your Hugo website just:

  1. Download it from here
  2. Unzip the .zip file
  3. Move the .ttf to static/webfonts (of your Hugo repo)
  4. Append to assets/css/fonts.css next:
/* MiddleEarth JoannaVu - latin */
/* https://www.makerstype.com/fonts/middle-earth/ private use */
@font-face {
  font-family: 'MiddleEarth JoannaVu';
  src: local(''),
       url('../webfonts/Middleearth-ao6m.ttf') format('truetype'); /* Safari, Android, iOS */
  font-weight: normal;
  font-style: normal;
}
  1. Use it in your Hugo markdown:
{{< rawhtml >}}
 <span>Let's try it: </span>
 <span style="font-size: 1.5em; font-family: 'MiddleEarth JoannaVu';">This line is written with the MiddleEarth JoannaVu font!</span>
{{< /rawhtml >}}

For details check my post 😎 Installing custom fonts: system-wide setup & Hugo integration .

More Tolkien’s fonts:

And a little off topic. Joanna Vu also created a great collection of fonts for kids:

...what about using them to code your kids a Hugo Scroll website? Check the steps in my post How to create a Hugo-scroll website.

Hidden extra

Did you read this far my fellow friend? You have earned a precious treasure, the last meme!

group chat meme lord of the rings saruman.

Farewell

Finally, let us warmly thank Christopher Tolkien and Professor Tolkien for creating this magical world.

J. R. R. Tolkien, ca. 1925 (cropped)

Namárië!



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J. Marinero - Data Scientist & AI Engineer