The Lord of the Rings [7 Book Box set] (Paperback)

I had owned the book for some years before I got past the first couple of chapters and required prodding by a friend before I made the effort to read the book. Therefore I can understand and sympathise with people who have a problem with this book. I too hated The Hobbit when I first read it and this caused me to dislike The Lord of the Rings. Once I got past this irrational dislike for hobbits (midway through book 1) I found myself unable to put the book down.

Yes - it starts slowly. Yes - it requires effort upon the part of the reader to get the most from the book. If you are prepared to make this effort then you will be drawn in to the best-realised fantasy world that has been committed to paper. This book features some of the most beautiful places ever described in fantasy fiction and some of the darkest. It also features characters you will care deeply about with realistic motivations for their actions. Whilst some may complain about the lack of female characters I have never found this to be a flaw. Consideration must be given to the era in which the books were written and for the time there are in fact strong female role models (Eowyn and Galadriel).

My only word of warning is that reading this book may set you upon the path to obsession - where you will find yourself reading more and more Tolkien, surfing fan sites and watching the film too many times (if that is possible...). If you're prepared to risk this then this book is definitely recommended

This Seven book box is excellent, even though all the books are paperback. They seem to me fairly solid, and since each book is thinner, there is less chance of getting that typical "v-shaped" book.
Also, the letters are a bit larger than the other edition i've got. That makes it a bit easyer to read

Both the books and the box are finished in a nice black colour. The box have images of a hand that holds a ring, and the books each have a shoot from the movie on the back cover. Nice.

I would actually recommend reading these before you see any of the movies, at least once, then read them again afterwards. I am at my second reading now, and i notice a lot of nifty details and other things i overlooked in the first reading...

My first time visiting middle earth was at times hard I found that some of the characters did not sink in and images of middle earth were slow to generate in my mind. Often more concerned with understanding the text in the books. Once I completed the third volume, The return of the king, I decided to return to the first and start again.
This time I found the books more enjoyable with the characters coming to life, prior to the movie, and I could imagine Middle Earth almost see and feel the landscape as the fellowship moved with trial and error towards their various destinations. I truly believe in the magic of Tolkien and have started to read the book to my 4 year old daughter, the more questions she asks the more I involve myself in the book to the point where In less than 2 years I am reading it for the 3rd time.

Tolkien is a complex writer often taking much time to describe people, places and emotion which can be monotonous at times. I found the constant insertion of the song and rhyme texts to be a little perplexing and indeed I only read them if I feel like it.

There can be no doubt though that the hobbit and Lord of the rings will leave you feeling a sense of achievement and like myself I doubt many will ever only read them once. All in all I would not consider the books read, but more experienced something that I found a bit lacking in the movie but never the less the adaptations are not too bad.

So my honest advice is if you fancy a read that will take you to the very edge of joy, humour, despair and adventure then you should not pass these books by. The read is sometimes difficult and occasionally almost too descriptive, but bear with it as the feeling that you are part of the bok leaves you empty once you have completed it. Probably why I am reading it for the third time and it will not be the last.

Special Advice to parents, get these books for your children as they have some of the best written English I have ever experienced, great in the days of slang and lazy street speech

So visit Middle Earth and say hi to Frodo, The hobbits Aragaorn and the Elves for me next time you are there.....