Why We Love Middle-earth

Shawn E. Marchese went down the hobbit hole in his teens after finding a reference to Tolkien in a book about Pink Floyd, and has been in love with Middle-earth (and progressive rock) ever since. He’s especially drawn to the linguistic aspects of Tolkien’s work, and shares his obsession for languages with listeners every week as The Prancing Pony Podcast’s resident word-nerd.  Shawn met Alan seven years ago in a Facebook group for Tolkien fans, and still remembers the day he casually agreed to do a podcast with him “like, maybe once a month”. When not working on the podcast, Shawn can be found at his day job as a compliance officer, writing, brewing ales, or working on his geeky dad credentials with his wife and two children. The Prancing Pony Podcast was the winner of the Tolkien Society 2020 Award for Best Online Content. Alan Sisto has been reading Tolkien since the Rankin & Bass animated Hobbit came out before he was born. Or right after. An all-around Tolkien nerd, Alan can be found enjoying Tolkien’s lesser-known works—“Leaf by Niggle” is his favorite—just as often as he gets lost in First Age histories and Third Age adventures.  Alan has worked with Shawn for nearly six years to grow The Prancing Pony Podcast each season, and spends much of his working time producing the show. He also provides narration and commercial voiceovers (alansisto.com) and has also been an architectural photographer for 15 years (freshpageimages.com). His wife and two children give him the freedom to indulge his inner nerd.  

Foreword



Prologue: Who Was John Ronald Reuel Tolkien?



Part One: Discovering Tolkien’s Books: What Should I Read Next?





The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings
The Silmarillion
Unfinished Tales
The “Great Tales”: The Children of Húrin, Beren & Lúthien, The Fall of Gondolin



Part Two: Tolkien in Adaptation





Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit Trilogy
Ralph Bakshi’s The Lord of the Rings
Rankin/Bass’s The Hobbit and The Return of the King
BBC Radio Play
Video Game Adaptations: The Lord of the Rings Online and many more
Audiobooks



Part Three: Expressions of Fandom





Collecting Tolkien
Tolkien’s Invented Languages
Tolkien Studies
Art and Artists
Fan Organizations
Online Content
DIY (cosplay, crafting, cooking, brewing)