There are a few books that I annually re-read. I make a point to read The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings every year. For me, it’s like going on vacation to a familiar place with people you know.

One book that I don’t read every year, but probably every other year is The Silmarillion. It actually predates both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien started it in or around 1917 and worked on it continuously up until his death in 1973. It was published four years later.

It contains the mythology of the world behind the Lord of the Rings with its own creation account and the introduction of evil into the world. You find out that Sauron is but a servant of a greater evil, but you’ll have to read the book to find out who or what.

Reading the book again reminds me of why I love books in the first place. Tolkien writes with such lyrical prose that it’s easy to visualize what he’s writing about. It is much broader in scope than either The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings and contains a great deal more characters.

I can’t imagine how anyone could make a single cohesive movie from this book. Maybe a trilogy someday, but even then I don’t see how they could capture the essence of the book. I hope somebody proves me wrong one day.

The version to get is the one with the illustrations by Ted Naismith. Just follow this link if you don’t already have the book. http://www.amazon.com/Silmarillion-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0618391118/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1348371959&sr=1-1&keywords=the+silmarillion (The cover on the book is different than mine, but it has the same illustrations.)

It’s not a complete work and it is imperfect, but it is worth reading at least once (or if you’re like me, way more than once). I give it the ol’ Siskel and Ebert two thumbs up.