As I was looking for information on the upcoming Amazon Lord of the Ring series for a different post, I found The One Ring post remembering J. R. R. Tolkien: https://www.theonering.net/torwp/2019/09/02/105478-today-in-middle-earth-september-2-in-remembrance-of-j-r-r-tolkien/. Note: I started this post a year ago and got busy with other things. I noticed it in my Drafts folder.
You can visit Tolkien’s BillionGraves record – https://billiongraves.com/grave/John-Ronald-Reuel-Tolkien/1639669 and Find-A-Grave memorial – https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1456/j_r_r_-tolkien.
I don’t remember when I first read Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit, but I was pretty young. I started to read Lord of the Rings first, but it was pretty dry for a late elementary student like myself so I didn’t finish it. However, I shortly after picked up The Hobbit and it was an easy read. That encouraged me to go back to Lord of the Rings and give it a second chance. I read several of his other books, including the first few edited by his son. However, I could not get into Book of Lost Tales I and Did Not Finish (DNF) it. I have wanted to read most of the History of Middle-Earth, but they don’t offer much in ebook form; in the case where they do offer ebook versions, it’s overpriced in my opinion. If I can get a paperback for slightly more than the ebook, that’s my preferred route. There are some later works edited by his son that I wouldn’t mind reading as the books sound less dry than Book of Lost Tales I. However, Book of Lost Tales II sounds about as dry as the first volume when I started reading it.