Reddit reviews The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings (1)

The Hobbit: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/054792822X/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Fellowship of the Ring: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0547928211/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Two Towers: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0547928203/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Return of the King: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/054792819X/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Silmarillion: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0544338014/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0544337999/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm going to leave out wildly expensive editions, but:

I really like the new paperback set; it has really consistent, understated design and includes the Hobbit, LOTR, the Sil, UT, and CoH (FOTR for reference).


I also love this UK collector's edition from a few years ago, but it's not widely available (edit: apparently since I last checked this has become wildly expensive, due to scarcity, oops).

The Loneliness Of The Long Distance-Runner - Sillitoe

Discipline and Punishment - Foucault

Lord Of The Rings - Tolkien

are perfect prison books all for different reasons.

Fellowship: ISBN-10: 0547928211

here is the amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Fellowship-Ring-Being-First-Rings/dp/0547928211/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1454115194&sr=8-12&keywords=lord+of+the+rings

If you're read or seen "The Fellowship of the Ring", you'll remember that when Frodo noticed they were being stalked by Gollum in the Mines of Moria he said to Gandalf, "It's a pity that Bilbo didn't kill him when he had the chance."

To which Gandalf replied:

>>Pity? It was pity that stayed Bilbo’s hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death and judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play yet, for good or ill before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many.

In his letters, Tolkien writes concerning the "Passion" of Frodo:

>>Frodo ‘failed’. It is possible that once the ring was destroyed he had little recollection of the last scene. But one must face the fact: the power of Evil in the world is not finally resistible by incarnate creatures, however ‘good’; and the Writer of the Story is not one of us.

And in another place he wrote:

>>In this case the cause (not the ‘hero’) was triumphant, because by the exercise of pity, mercy, and forgiveness of injury, a situation was produced in which all was redressed and disaster averted. Gandalf certainly foresaw this. See Vol. I p. 68-9. Of course, he did not mean to say that one must be merciful, for it may prove useful later – it would not then be mercy or pity, which are only truly present when contrary to prudence. Not ours to plan! But we are assured that we must be ourselves extravagantly generous, if we are to hope for the extravagant generosity which the slightest easing of, or escape from, the consequences of our own follies and errors represents. And that mercy does sometimes occur in this life.

And just one more quote:

>>[Gollum] did rob him and injure [Frodo] in the end – but by a ‘grace’, that last betrayal was at a precise juncture when the final evil deed was the most beneficial thing any one cd. have done for Frodo! By a situation created by ‘forgiveness’, he was saved himself, and relieved of his burden.

What may we take from this?

One, that "pity" or "forgiveness", in order to be worthy of the name, must be something done contrary to prudence, contrary to our "best interests".

In Luke's Gospel, Jesus says:

>>If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return...Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

You write:

>I tell my friend that I can forgive people who honestly apologize (something my father never has) and who make a true effort to better themselves. I can forgive people who ask for help and seek help when their problems become too much for them or their family.

But that's just as much as to say you can forgive the forgivable--as if forgiveness, as if mercy (pity), is something that has to be earned. But is that forgiveness? Is that love? To love only the lovable?

And you write:

>From a humanistic perspective, I think there is very little reason to forgive my father for the decades of hell and unnecessary stress he has put us through. My mom has wished several times that he would die soon - but God must have other plans because he will be in his mid-70s in 2017.

Indeed. Plans that we can neither imagine nor foresee. But just as the pity of Bilbo created a situation in which the Cause (though not the "hero") was successful, so your own forgiveness of your father--even though he doesn't deserve it, even if he hasn't merited it through genuine repentance--may have positive effects that you can't predict.

None of this is to excuse your father's behavior or to minimize the consequences of the pain your father's behavior has brought upon you, your mother, or your family. But hopefully I've shown why maybe you should forgiven him--not that by doing so you might hope for some positive outcome in a utilitarian sense, but simply for the ultimate belief in the "value-in-itself of pity and generosity even if disastrous in the world of time."

(Quotes taken from The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Humphrey Carpenter and Christopher Tolkien, and The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien)

[This one is pretty nice.] (http://www.amazon.com/Fellowship-Ring-Being-First-Rings/dp/0547928211/ref=sr_1_2?)
[Though I reccomend you start off with the hobbit if you haven't already read it!] (http://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-There-Back-Again/dp/054792822X)

I have the Lord of the Rings:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0547928211/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0547928203/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/054792819X/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Hobbit:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/054792822X/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and The Silmarillion:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0544338014/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1


all in the same style.

I believe you can get the Unfinished Tales in the same style as well:
http://www.amazon.com/Unfinished-N%C3%BAmenor-Middle-earth-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0544337999/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1N4YZSYGC4PZZJ2QP50A

As for the Children of Hurin, I can't seem to find a matching copy online anywhere. BUT, I have found this copy, which seems to be made by the same publisher
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0007309368/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=X9DKISJSM7XL&coliid=I3T9I3PAEVZ12P

Again, I haven't bought Children of Hurin yet, so I'm not sure if it's the same style/shape as the other ones.

Hope this helps!

Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:

Amazon Smile Link: http://smile.amazon.com/The-Fellowship-Ring-Being-First/dp/0547928211/ref=sr_1_11


|Country|Link|
|:-----------|:------------|
|UK|amazon.co.uk|
|Spain|amazon.es|
|France|amazon.fr|
|Germany|amazon.de|
|Japan|amazon.co.jp|
|Canada|amazon.ca|
|Italy|amazon.it|
|China|amazon.cn|




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If I can be honest, I looked up all the books and found ones that didn't have Film images.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Fellowship-Ring-Being-First/dp/0547928211/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1397295322&sr=8-11&keywords=lord+of+the+rings

Quick edit: if you go to a Barnes and Noble you can find multiple covers of at least the hobbit other than random movie cover art.

The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings https://www.amazon.com/dp/0547928211/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_62H.zb1M8E8AQ

Scroll down a bit and you can add all 3 to your cart.