The Lord of the Rings Books in Order: How to Read J.R.R. Tolkien

Are you looking to reread The Lord of the Rings? Or maybe you’ve watched the movies for years but have never picked up the books. Either way, I’ll walk you through the best way to read The Lord of the Rings books in order, plus where The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and the other Middle-earth books fit.

The simplest answer is this: start with The Hobbit, then read The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. That gives you the main story in the order most readers should experience it.

After that, you can go deeper into Tolkien’s world with books like The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, The Children of Húrin, and The Fall of Númenor. Those books add a lot of background, but I wouldn’t start there unless you already know you want the heavier lore.

Jump to:

• The Lord of the Rings Books in Publication Order
• The Lord of the Rings Books in Chronological Order
• Should You Read The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings First?
• What About The Fall of Númenor?
• More Middle-earth Books and Deep Dives
• The Lord of the Rings Movies in Order
• The Rings of Power TV Show
• Lord of the Rings Series Summary

The Lord of the Rings Books in Publication Order

If this is your first time reading Tolkien, publication order is the way I’d go. You get introduced to Middle-earth through Bilbo’s adventure before moving into Frodo’s story and the deeper history behind the world.

This list focuses on the main Middle-earth books most readers are looking for. I’ve left the heavier manuscript collections for the deep-dive section below.

1. The Hobbit (1937)
2. The Fellowship of the Ring (1954)
3. The Two Towers (1954)
4. The Return of the King (1955)
5. The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (1962)
6. The Silmarillion (1977)
7. Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth (1980)
8. The Children of Húrin (2007)
9. Beren and Lúthien (2017)
10. The Fall of Gondolin (2018)
11. The Nature of Middle-earth (2021)
12. The Fall of Númenor (2022)

The Lord of the Rings Books in Chronological Order

Chronological order is better for a reread. It starts with the creation myths and ancient history of Middle-earth before moving toward the story of Bilbo, Frodo, and the Ring.

I don’t recommend this order for new readers. The Silmarillion is incredible, but it is a harder place to begin. If you’re still getting used to Tolkien’s world, start with The Hobbit instead.

1. The Silmarillion
2. Beren and Lúthien
3. The Children of Húrin
4. The Fall of Gondolin
5. The Fall of Númenor
6. Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth
7. The Hobbit
8. The Fellowship of the Ring
9. The Two Towers
10. The Return of the King
11. Bilbo’s Last Song

A quick note on Unfinished Tales: it does not sit neatly in one place. It includes material from more than one age of Middle-earth, so think of that spot as the most practical place to read it rather than a perfect timeline placement.

Should You Read The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings First?

I’d read The Hobbit first. It is the better introduction to Middle-earth, and it gives you Bilbo’s story before The Lord of the Rings shifts the focus to Frodo.

The Hobbit also explains how Bilbo finds the One Ring, why Gollum matters, and why Bilbo seems so unusual when The Fellowship of the Ring begins. You can understand The Lord of the Rings without reading it first, but you’ll miss some of the setup.

The tone is different, though. The Hobbit reads more like a children’s adventure, while The Lord of the Rings is older, darker, and much bigger in scope. That shift can surprise people, but I think it works best when you experience it in that order.

What About The Fall of Númenor?

The Fall of Númenor is a collection of Tolkien’s Second Age writings, assembled by Brian Sibley and illustrated by Alan Lee. It brings together material that had already appeared across Tolkien’s other books and presents it in one volume.

If you’re interested in Númenor, the forging of the Rings, Sauron’s rise, or the background behind The Rings of Power, this is one of the most useful Tolkien books to have nearby.

I would not read it before The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings. It works better once you already care about Middle-earth and want to understand the older history behind the story.

More Middle-earth Books and Deep Dives

If you want the fuller Tolkien shelf, there are more books worth knowing about. Some are short works tied to Middle-earth. Others are manuscript collections that show how Tolkien built and revised his world over time.

Optional Middle-earth Short Works

1. The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (1962)
2. Bilbo’s Last Song (1990 book edition)

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil is a poetry collection connected to the Red Book tradition inside Tolkien’s world. Bilbo’s Last Song is a short illustrated poem that works like a quiet farewell after The Return of the King. Neither one is required, but both are worth including if you want a more complete Middle-earth reading order.

The History of Middle-earth Books in Order

These are the deep-dive books. I would save them until after you’ve read the main stories and know you want Tolkien’s drafts, alternate versions, and background notes.

1. The Book of Lost Tales, Part I (1983)
2. The Book of Lost Tales, Part II (1984)
3. The Lays of Beleriand (1985)
4. The Shaping of Middle-earth (1986)
5. The Lost Road and Other Writings (1987)
6. The Return of the Shadow (1988)
7. The Treason of Isengard (1989)
8. The War of the Ring (1990)
9. Sauron Defeated (1992)
10. Morgoth’s Ring (1993)
11. The War of the Jewels (1994)
12. The Peoples of Middle-earth (1996)
13. The History of Middle-earth Index (2002)

You do not need these books to understand The Lord of the Rings. They are for readers who want to see how the stories changed as Tolkien worked through them.

The History of The Hobbit

The History of The Hobbit is another good deep-dive pick. It focuses on Tolkien’s drafts of The Hobbit, so it fits best after you’ve read the book and want to see how Bilbo’s story took shape.

The Lord of the Rings Movies in Order

There are two easy ways to watch the Middle-earth movies: release order or chronological order. I prefer release order if it’s your first time, especially because Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy was made before The Hobbit trilogy.

The Lord of the Rings Movies in Release Order

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
4. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
5. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
6. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

The Lord of the Rings Movies in Chronological Order

Chronological order starts with Bilbo before moving into Frodo’s story. It makes sense once you already know the films, but I still think release order is the better first watch.

1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
3. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
4. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
5. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
6. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

The Rings of Power TV Show

The Rings of Power is Prime Video’s TV adaptation set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, long before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

If you’re watching the show and want book background, start with The Fall of Númenor. It gathers Tolkien’s Second Age material and is much easier to use for that specific purpose than jumping all over the other books.

After that, read The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth if you want more context. Just don’t expect the show to match the books scene for scene. It uses Tolkien’s world, but it also compresses the timeline and adds characters of its own.

Lord of the Rings Series Summary

J.R.R. Tolkien first introduced Middle-earth to readers with The Hobbit, the story of Bilbo Baggins, a quiet hobbit pulled into an adventure with Gandalf and a company of dwarves. Along the way, Bilbo finds the One Ring, which becomes the center of the much larger story that follows.

The Lord of the Rings was written as one novel, but it is usually published as three volumes: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King.

The story follows Frodo Baggins after Bilbo leaves him the Ring. Frodo’s journey takes him far beyond the Shire as he and his companions try to destroy the Ring before Sauron can reclaim it.

That is why I recommend reading The Hobbit first, then the three Lord of the Rings volumes. Once you’ve finished those, the rest of Tolkien’s Middle-earth books become much easier to place.

Looking for more books in order?

If you want more fantasy authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Fantasy Books in Order index.

• Books in Order (Full Index)
• The Chronicles of Narnia Books in Order
• The Wheel of Time Books in Order
• Shannara Books in Order