With the Tolkien diversion I mentioned yesterday, I decided that I needed a plan to execute it. I outlined my rather simplistic goals to ChatGPT (o1) and then asked for it to consider my goals and produce a reading list in the order that provides maximum entertainment, while also considering my desire to deep dive into the lore and the literary archaeology thereof. What follows is a slightly altered reading list that I intend to follow. The linked editions are the editions that I own. There are, of course, plenty of less expensive editions available.

1. Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien by Humphrey Carpenter
2. J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter
3. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
4. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
5. The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien
6. Unfinished Tales by J.R.R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien
7. The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien
8. Beren and Lúthien by J.R.R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien
9. The Fall of Gondolin by J.R.R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien
10. The Complete History of Middle-Earth (12 books in 3 volumes) by Christopher Tolkien

I have not set any dates for completing this. I’ve learned over the years that with something like this, I have to go with the flow. It took me 24 years to complete Will Durant’s Story of Civilization, and I was perfectly fine with that. Not that it will necessarily take me as long to complete the Tolkien books, but I am a sucker for that butterfly, and so the journey will almost certainly be interrupted here and there.

I haven’t decided yet how to count some of these books on my reading list. The Lord of the Rings has often been published as three volumes (Fellowship, Two Towers, Return of the King), and the History of Middle-Earth was originally published as 12 volumes. I could, therefore, count a total of 23 books over the span of time—or as few as 12. I’m leaning toward the former because (a) my list, my rules; and (b) it makes it easier to divert for other things along the way.