What to buy?

I'm going to buy the book trilogy soon, it's been ages since I read them. But I'd thought I'd ask how many different editions there were, and what you guys recommend. Any extra material, special bindings I should know about when choosing, or will any books do?

I'd go with one of the 50th Anniversary editions.

Leather bound for $53.55:

https://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-5...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261784580&sr=1-1

Or you can just go with the hardcover for under half that price:

https://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-5...&s=books&qid=1261784547&sr=1-1&condition=used

Depends on if you want keepsakes or books just to read. I went with ones like these....

https://www.borders.com/online/store/TitleDetail?sku=0618002227

I think I'll go with the leather binding. I usually don't buy books to show off, but I think these would be nice to look at in my bookshelf. I just hope I don't lose them, I imagine shipping to Sweden won't be the lowest.

-EDIT Nevermind, I found them for less than 50 bucks, including shipping, in Swedish online stores. Yay me.

Personally, I went with this one:


but I guess that basic 'leather binding' one would do.

theguru1 said:

Personally, I went with this one:

but I guess that basic 'leather binding' one would do.

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Me too!

HAS to be Alan Lee's illustrated edition surely!! You can even get them in small individual paperback volumes now so it's not so bulky.

FrodoEyes said:

HAS to be Alan Lee's illustrated edition surely!! You can even get them in small individual paperback volumes now so it's not so bulky.

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I agree with Jon...the Alan Lee illustrated edition is very nice!

the leather versions are overrated. if you want a nice display piece get the leather one but if you read it the spine will pretty much start to crease when you get to the middle of the book just from the weight. just get a nice 3 book set. it's the same words on the pages in any version. i got the leather version but i only read my little paperbacks cuz the giant leather version is so ackward.

The red version, what is it called? And is it three books, or three-in-one?

Seems like I need to reconsider the leather one(specially since the versikn i found taht thought was so cheap was the non-leather 50th anniversary edition). I first thought it was three books, not one.

So no extras? Because a 50th(not the leather) edition says there's "Includes revised and reset text and special features unique to this edition." It also says "To celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings this definitive, corrected version of the text was published".

So how many different versions of the text is out there?

Skytteflickan88 said:

The red version, what is it called? And is it three books, or three-in-one?

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That's the Red Book of Westmarch, it contains Bilbo's and Frodo's personal account of their adventures and is what the full Hobbit and LOTR is 'based' on.

https://www.indyprops.com/pp-rb.htm


Hi Rumi

Sounds neat, I'll have to buy that too.

Is it rare and hard to get? Or do I just need to find the right store?

Pretty rare. Very expensive. No stores.

I'm currently gathering payments for mine. And if you can buy that thing without making payments.. well.. you are better off than I am!

Husker75 said:

Pretty rare. Very expensive. No stores.

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yup, basically.

I did in fact pay in full and then waited around 2 months to get it.
It does take Indy a bit of time to make each one and depends on what else he's doing at the time.

Send him an email if your really interested, but keep in mind, the Red Book makes the $50 leather edition, more like a $5 second hand paperback.

theguru1 said:

Personally, I went with this one:

but I guess that basic 'leather binding' one would do.

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I love that picture, this book is gorgeous
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Wetanut said:

Me too!

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Me three
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Skytteflickan88 said:

Sounds neat, I'll have to buy that too.

Is it rare and hard to get? Or do I just need to find the right store?

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It's both rare and hard to get at $495 a copy but oh so worth it
It's a great addition to any book collection. I have several variations/copies of the books but this one has a display of it's own!
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Well, I planned on reading the book, so 495$ is way too much. Nice collectible, but I'd rather spend that money on other things.

I saw a few Red Book of Westmarch on ebay, the cheapest for 100USD. Are there cheaper versions of the book?

Yeah, there are more Red Book's such as this one on eBay:
https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Boxed-LORD-O...tZAntiquarian_Collectible?hash=item19b8a08ef9

So they are much cheaper as they are bulk productions of the actual book.

The collectable one that we are referring to is an exact replica of Bilbo's Red Book. It's meticulous and hand made in Red aged leather with the silver star and BB initials on the front as you can see with Guru's piccie (hi Anthony) along the personal handwriting and drawings of Bilbo, Frodo and Samwise inside, same as the actual Red Book had in the films.
So it is definately collectable catagory, still well worth a read just to see the outstanding pictures that are in it.

If its just a book to read, enjoy and may get bashed about in the process then I would suggest you go with one of the cheaper ones be it the LOTR/Hobbit/RedBook. Imo anyway.

Personally I have the Anniversary ones and Boxsets displayed and use a cheaper version of the books to actually read as I know the spine will be bent etc.
It's up to you really there are so many to choose from
Good luck in your search
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Adoptedscot said:

Me three
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Me four

Adoptedscot said:

It's both rare and hard to get at $495 a copy but oh so worth it
It's a great addition to any book collection. I have several variations/copies of the books but this one has a display of it's own!
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Definately However if you are looking for proper versions of the stroy, obviously not the version to get.

But let's be honest, whatever you get you can't go wrong with Rings.

Skytteflickan88 said:

Well, I planned on reading the book, so 495$ is way too much. Nice collectible, but I'd rather spend that money on other things.

I saw a few Red Book of Westmarch on ebay, the cheapest for 100USD. Are there cheaper versions of the book?

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O' don't get me wrong, I have a set of basic/cheap paperbacks of LOTR, but what I wanted was a really good/rare collectible version.
That tended to come down to a couple of options, something like that ebay link for 100-200USD, which in the end is little more then the paperback in some leather, etc cover and a box and the like, all dressed up as a 'fake' Red Book.
Or, some 1st edition, signed, etc, etc for $10,000+, so that was out of the question.

Then I came across the one I've got, which after asking a bunch of questions and saving up some money, ticked all the boxes, so thats the one I got.

Here's how I currently have it displayed:


But yes, this is for the serious LOTR collector, welcome to the club Husker75. If all you want is a copy to read, then any basic paperback from amazon is fine.

This is a good version for reading as its illustrated and comes in three books rather than the one big version:
https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Lord-of-the-...ItemQQptZUS_Fiction_Books?hash=item2ea9fd34e7

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