First off just let me say that, as an Aussie, I was a bit dubious at being asked to review a self help book based on the Shire. We tend to be a bit wary of these sorts of books and part of me jumped to the conclusion that such a book could only be an attempt to cash-in on the new Hobbit films. I am very pleased to say that my initial prejudices were completely unfounded. The Wisdom of the Shire is an excellent, well written book, by a true fan of Tolkien.
Following the success of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey called The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles, Art, & Design, HarperCollins has announced another amazingly comprehensive and detailed offering. The book called The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles, Creatures & Characters explores the amazing cast of heroes and villains, beasts and beings that populate Middle-earth. Richly illustrated with behind-the-scenes photographs, digital renders and film stills, this comprehensive book goes species by species, character by character, through the film’s huge ensemble of characters and bustling menagerie of creatures, both physical and digital, telling the stories of how each came to be realized for the film. Weta will start taking orders for this book in January with shipping in April of 2013. No word yet if there will be an autographed version but we can always hope for one! Of course stay tuned to TORn for further details! (more…)
As we’ve come to expect, Weta and Harper Collins have produced another sumptuous, richly-bound volume detailing the process of turning words and imagination into the films we see. It’s written by Daniel Falconer, who’s had a hands-on overview of the road to executing Jackson’s vision since the beginning of LOTR. Thus you see many sketches exploring the different concepts that inform the finished designs we see on screen, and a wealth of objects you only dream of studying at leisure and in detail. It’s full of insights into how the film’s creators saw the character and history of The Hobbit’s people, creatures and places. The actors get to speak about their characters too, so we learn for instance that Sylvester McCoy loves animals in real life – he whistles to birds and they whistle back! Definitely a book to treasure. It’s full of spoilers too promising scenes that we can hope to see in the extended edition DVDs if nowhere else – scenes with the Old Took and Belladonna Took, Gandalf’s first meeting with Bilbo when he was a young boy, and a closer look at more Shirefolk such as Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, Old Gammidge and Old Hob. Check out some scans below. [Purchase Today!] (more…)
Our friend Ethan Gilsdorf, author of “Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks” has been running a series of articles on The Hobbit for The Boston Globe.com. The entertaining pieces include an annotated map of Middle-earth, a Hobbit movie ‘cheat sheet’ and “Hobbit by the Numbers” for those of us who can’t get enough geeky statistics about the making of the three Hobbit movies. Visit ethangilsdorf.com for links to all his articles. Read More...
An amazing new publication from HarperCollins Publishers is coming your way on December 14th – yup, the same day ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ releases in theaters. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles: Art & Design is a sumptuous celebration of the creative vision of Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The book is packed with more than 1,000 images of concept artwork, photographs and development paintings by the artists working behind the scenes to bring Middle-earth to life, who each provide detailed and entertaining commentary that reveals the story behind the vision. Today we are privileged to share with you three exclusive images of this new book. (View them in the gallery below) But wait…there’s more! HarperCollins Publishers has generously given us (40) Forty copies of Thorin’s map to give to fans. (Due to shipping constraints, we can only offer this giveaway to US and Canadian Fans). Simply fill out the form below by December 19th and we’ll randomly choose (40) Forty winners. Enter the contest, check out the exclusive imagery and don’t forget to order your copy of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles: Art & Designtoday! [Click here]
In foramine terrae habitabat hobbitus. (‘In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit.’)
The Hobbit, is one of the world’s most popular classic stories, appealing to adults as much as to the children for whom J.R.R. Tolkien first wrote the book. Translated worldwide into more than 60 modern languages, now Hobbitus Ille is finally published in Latin, and will be of interest to all those who are studying the language, whether at school or at a higher level.
In the great tradition of publishing famous children’s books in Latin, professional classicist and lifelong Tolkien fan Mark Walker provides a deft translation of the entire book. His attention to detail, including the transformation of Tolkien’s songs and verses into classical Latin meters, will fascinate and entertain readers of all ability, even those with only a minimal acquaintance with the language. Read this full post for the Press Release and pick up your copy today! [Get your Copy!] (more…)
Jonathan Handel, a contributing editor for The Hollywood Reporter, covered that tense period during the late summer and early autumn of 2010, when it looked as though the Hobbit production might leave New Zealand. Readers will no doubt remember the labor union issues that raised that threat and the negotiations between Warner Bros. executives and the New Zealand government. Handel has revised and updated his reports into a short book, The New Zealand Hobbit Crisis, available in print form and for Kindle. If you weren’t paying much attention at the time or just have forgotten some of the details, now you can read about that episode secure in the knowledge that The Hobbit‘s production remained in New Zealand!
The cover for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: The World of Hobbits
Ethan Gilsdorf from Wired reviews several of the tie-in books for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
I recently got my hands on the five movie tie-in books (published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the U.S. publisher of all of Tolkien’s works). The titles are The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Official Movie Guide and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Visual Companion (these two are for adults, mostly); and The Movie Storybook, The World of Hobbits, and Activity Book (for kids, mostly; their titles are also preceded by the unwieldy “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”).
All are full-color, super glossy, and chock with images from Peter Jackson’s first film (and sometimes, a little bit beyond the first film), and all five include some minor insights, sneak previews and/or spoilers, depending on your point of view.
This month, J.W. looks at The Hobbit Storybook and gives away a Tolkien Encyclopedia in a contest. Meanwhile in his mailbag section below, he shares a riddle, talks about multi-headed trolls, and explains why The Return of the King DVDs were released both early and late.
In the United States, Tolkien publishers Houghton Mifflin Harcourt are releasing five books to tie-in with the first of Peter Jackson’s Hobbit movies – and they go on sale next Tuesday, 6th November. Here are the details:
Thanks to johobbit from the Silver Leaves journal team, who let us know that their journal issue number 4 is available now. She tells us, ‘Silver Leaves Issue 4 is hot off the press. The theme is Dragons and we are very excited about getting into the hands of Tolkien and fantasy fans. This is another superb issue, with contributors including Jef Murray, Colin Duriez, Alison Baird, Doug Adams, Tim Kirk, Peter S. Beagle, Constance Wagner, Anna Repp, and Ted Nasmith, among many other talented folk. Ordering information is available here. And always remember, ‘It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him!’ ‘
If you enjoy the journal and would like to contribute, they are currently accepting submissions for Issue 5, which is themed on The Hobbit. Deadline for submissions is 1st February 2013; further information here.
This month, J.W. looks at the new Hobbit Tribute magazine and holds a contest with a free issue as the prize. Meanwhile, in his mailbag section he answers questions about Tolkien and the movies Tolkien inspired.
being asked to review a self help book based on the Shire. We tend to be a bit wary of these sorts of books and part of me jumped to the conclusion that such a book could only be an attempt to cash-in on the new Hobbit films. I am very pleased to say that my initial prejudices were completely unfounded. The Wisdom of the Shire is an excellent, well written book, by a true fan of Tolkien.
An amazing new publication from HarperCollins Publishers is coming your way on December 14th – yup, the same day ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ releases in theaters. 
