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"Three Rings for the Elven-Kings" is the start of the famous verse from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings that continues and eventually quotes the inscription on The One Ring itself, put there by Sauron to control all of the rings of power. In this episode of The Tolkien Podcast the origin, ownership and bittersweet end of the rings is explained!

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Tolkien is known for his language creation, but he was also masterful at creating calendars for the cultures and peoples that inhabit Middle-earth. The Shire calendar is beautifully practical - twelve months, thirty days each. Every month lines up neatly with the phases of the moon. That makes it much more regular than our messy Gregorian calendar, with its whole "thirty days hath September" guessing game. The hobbits liked their schedules steady and predictable. In fact, it's one of the few calendars where every date falls on the same day of the week every single year. So, if your birthday's on a Friday this year - bad news if you don't like Fridays - it's always on a Friday.

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In 2001, a film many thought would ruin a movie studio — a big budget fantasy film based on books by J.R.R. Tolkien — hit theaters on Dec. 19. It blew even the highest opening weekend predictions completely out of the water and went on to make and change cinema history. Next year the 25th Anniversary of the the LORD OF THE RINGS film trilogy will start with the extended editions returning to theaters.

That's great but it isn't the 25th Anniversary version or celebration of the films Peter Jackson and company wanted and it isn't the 25th celebration that fans deserve. In this edition of The Tolkien Podcast, we will examine the long hoped for  Ultimate Edition of the film trilogy AND how that relates to the ongoing battle to buy Warner Bros., and therefore the LOTR films.

"I'd love to do an ultimate edition, a final, definitive version when the time is right. There's still a lot of great material that hasn't been seen." - Peter Jackson, 2004

"There's so much more we could do. The amount of material we have is staggering. It's just a matter of finding the right time and format to release it." - Michael Pellerin, 2006

"Fans have been clamoring for an ultimate edition of the films for years, and both Jackson and Pellerin have hinted that it's something they'd like to do when the timing is right." - Larry D. Curtis, TheOneRing.net, 2009

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We start with a most remarkable letter from Tolkien available on auction today, the highest-priced Tolkien artifacts / books ever sold and then launch into a gift guide with some pretty amazing discounts available now, at least in the U.S., maybe everywhere. But long after those discounts are gone, here is a helpful list of Tolkien-themed gifts. In this episode we use affiliate links and offer a podcast-only discount code on one special item. The transcript contains links to all the goodies to help you find a perfect present for your fellow Tolkienites!

UPDATE: Hours after publication I spotted this desk that belonged to J.R.R. Tolkien for sale. It is believed LOTR was edited on it. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3r7pq9xlplo

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With a stage play about J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis currently running  — a popular topic — we examine how the myth maker who died more than a half century ago has himself become a myth.

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While moving recently, to a fourth-floor apartment with no elevator, I had to carefully evaluate which book — including which Tolkien books — are worth boxing, lifting and moving and keeping, in the face of space restrictions and physical exhaustion.

What's on your Tolkien bookshelf or what's in your Tolkien library? We take a look at the essential books that make up the core, the books that sit just outside the inner circle and then a lot of other books that fill out your shelf space. See the transcript for a full list of what this episode looks at.

These are works by J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien and Tolkien scholars. Not mentioned, and omitted by accident is the essential "Tolkien and the Great War," by John Garth and "The Atlas of Middle-earth" but, the last episode was dedicated to that key work. If other important works were missed send me at not at [email protected]

THE LIST OF BOOKS UNDER DISCUSSION

*Tolkien And The Great War
*Atlas of Middle-earth
The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings
The Silmarillion
Unfinished Tales
The Children of Húrin
Beren and Lúthien
The Fall of Gondolin
The Book of Lost Tales Part 1
The Book of Lost Tales Part 2
The Lays of Beleriand
The Lost Road and Other Writings
Morgoth's Ring and The War of the Jewels
The Shaping of Middle-earth
The Lost Road and Other Writings
The Return of the Shadow (The History of The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 1)
The Treason of Isengard (The History of The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 2)
The War of the Ring (The History of The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 3)
Sauron Defeated (The History of The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 4)
Morgoth's Ring (The Later Silmarillion, Part One) (1993)
The War of the Jewels (The Later Silmarillion, Part Two) (1994)
The Peoples of Middle-earth (1996)The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (poetry)
Smith of Wootton Major and Farmer Giles of Ham
Roverandom
The Fall of Arthur
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (edited Carpenter)
J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter
Letters from Father Christmas 1976
J. R. R. Tolkien: Artist & Illustrator
Tolkien On Fairy-stories (his essay on fantasy literature)
The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays
J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century 
The Road to Middle-Earth: How J. R. R. Tolkien Created a New MythologySplintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World
Interrupted Music: The Making of Tolkien’s Mythology
The Art of The Hobbit and The Art of The Lord of the Rings
* These titles were omitted but are essential part of the Tolkien Library.

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In this episode of The Tolkien Podcast we discuss a hidden gem THE ATLAS OF MIDDLE-EARTH and how it helps readers of THE HOBBIT, THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE SILMARILLION enhance their reading experience. We also take a look at how its late creator, Karen Wynn Fonstad, produced the work as a fan turned creator, with host Larry D. Curtis.

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J.R.R. Tolkien's THE SILMARILLION provides the cosmology behind his best know works THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE HOBBIT. It presents all that came before, preparing Middle-earth for the War of the Ring. But lacking the same storytelling structure of those best known works, Tolkien's legendarium can present challenges to readers. Here we talk strategies, resources and tips for readers who may find the names, geography and massive volume of characters to be a challenge.

But if you are for the challenge, arm yourself with this advice and prepare to be richly rewarded by one of Tolkien's essential works. 

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Unlike many of the servants of Middle-earth's Dark Lord, The Mouth of Sauron was a mortal man who rose through the ranks to become the general and communicator of the great flaming eye. On The Tolkien Podcast, we read from select passages and discuss the person destined to help rule Middle-earth — if Sauron had won the War of the Ring. 

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Appearing only in a few pages of FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, with few mentions elsewhere, and not appearing in most adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's THE LORD OF THE RINGS, Tom Bombadil has always captured the imagination of readers. We look at who Tom is, which is really more an examination of WHAT Tom is. And, we look carefully at the recent and significant depiction of the merry fellow on TV screens. The show also introduces listeners to a hand-made Tolkien necklace as part of the growing support for THE TOLKIEN PODCAST.

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