Where do I start with the Lord of the Rings literaric universe?

You don't have to, but you should.

definitely read the hobbit, dude

Idk dude I just straight up read the books because life is short and i hate niggers

The Hobbit is great,

read it.

The Hobbit is far better Than Lord of the Fags Fucking Guys in the Ass Fagology

>not reading the Hobbit
Why even live or eat or breathe

>>9278708
ok kevin

Just go with publication order: don't skip the Hobbit, and don't forget to read your Silmarillion and the other published posthumous tales after LOTR

Why are people so adverse to reading the Hobbit, is it because of the shitty movies? It's a really great book.

>>9278907
Because books cost money

read the hobbit, preferably twice

>>9278937
>not memorizing the Hobbit by rote before beginning the Lord of the Rings

>asking whether you should read a book that children manage to finish off in several hours

>>9278914
>paying for books when the author is dead

>literaric

>>9278977
I prefer physical books and I need a collection to convince other people I'm smart.

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>>9278685
I've just started reading this series. I started with the Hobbit, I'm through Fellowship and tonight I'll be starting Two Towers.

Pros to reading the Hobbit first: it won't hurt to, it might even help since places and events from the Hobbit are referenced throughout Fellowship, and it's not too long. You'll be able to follow everything that happens in Fellowship a bit more closely if you're familiar with the Hobbit already.

That being said, I would not say it's necessary, and if you want to save it for later you'd be okay. Frodo is meant to be a vehicle for someone who perhaps isn't totally familiar with the first installment.

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>>9278685
This is the reading order I would recommend. I've gotten lost down the rabbit hole though.
One, four, five, and six aren't part of the Lord of the Rings/Third Age of Middle Earth. One is an essay. The others take place long before.
>Tolkien on Fairy Stories (essay)
>The Hobbit (bedtime story for kids... still fucking great)
>The Lord of the Rings (its what you really want)
>The Simarillion (Mythology)
>Beren and Luthien(when it comes out)
>The Children of Hurin (depressing but good)

>>9280113
This is a good list.

>>9280113
If you're gonna include the essay on fairy stories you should also have smith of wootan major. It's an essential companion piece. While we're at it, farmer giles needs to be in the list as well.

>>9278685
You can absolutely read the trilogy as a standalone. If you want, read The Hobbit first, you can easily finish it in a day.

If you want to go nuts after that, here's a reading list of the whole legendarium:

The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings
The Silmarillion
The Children of Hurin
Beren and Luthien (out this Summer)
Unfinished Tales
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
The Road Goes Ever On (song book, rare)

For background info about Tolkien's writing process:

The Letters of JRR Tolkien
The History of Middle Earth (12 volumes, written by JRR's son)

Also informative:

The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion
The History of the Hobbit

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>>9280186
Neither of those actually connect to Middle Earth though other than being fairy tales. I'd slap Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics on before those two.

>>9280186
Basically read Tales From The Perilous Realm, which collects all those extra stories.

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>>9278685
the trilogy then the hobbit

and then if you dare the silmarilon

>>9278708
Spoken like a true gentleman

>>9280113

Was Morgoth ever described as significantly larger than a man?