JasonKoivu

The Silmarillion reads like a foreign language history book. In the modern sense, it is plotless. There is no single narrative with a main character to fall in love with or a satisfying conclusion. This is the history of Middle Earth. You've been warned.

Therefore this is easily argued as being for hardcore Tolkien fans only. If you are absolutely in love with the world the author created and wish to immerse yourself entirely in it, put everything down and read The Silmarillion! All others should probably skip it. Since I was about five years old I've loved The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I want to live in the Shire and drink at the Green Dragon. I'd give anything to wander down the Brandywine and maybe poke my head into the Old Forest on a day when I'm feeling brave. Or perhaps take a trip to Minas Tirith and do a driving tour of Rohan to snap some pics of Fangorn Forest and the Isengard ruins. There's a few other sites I'd like to see, but in the grand scheme of things, that's where it ends. I don't care so much about the great deeds through the ages of man and elf, of mighty kings and sorcerers, or even of the ones that created the world, all of which you'll find in this exhaustive text.