Book recommendation for July 2026: The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings is probably my favourite book. I have read it multiple times and I fully intend to read it multiple times again. I suppose everyone is familiar with it (or the films) but what I’d say is, if you haven’t read it yet, GO READ IT!
What it’s about: Sauron, a demigod like entity, forged a set of magical rings and gifted them to the races of elves, dwarves and men, but unbeknownst to them, Sauron (who was not then known to be evil) made one ring that would rule them all. A grand coalition of elves and men defeated Sauron, who was by then ‘The Dark Lord’, and the “one ring” was taken from him. But it was not destroyed. It lay hidden for thousands of years until it eventually found its way into the hands of Bilbo Baggins during the events of The Hobbit. Now, Sauron and his evil forces have risen once more, conquering all before them, though Sauron’s fate is linked entirely to the one ring. Bilbo’s nephew, Frodo, joins a fellowship of men, hobbits, an elf, and a dwarf, tasked with taking the one ring to Mount Doom to destroy it and, in so doing, defeat Sauron once and for all.
Why I love it: It’s simply the most epic tale of good versus evil, the dangerous allure and corrupting influence of absolute power, and the triumph of the small and courageous over the big and cruel in times of great peril. It has everything that a lover of fantasy (or just great storytelling) wants, and its influence over the genre is enormous. Brandon Sanderson even refers to J.R.R. Tolkien as “Grandpa Tolkien”. It was recently crowned as the top book in the Guardian Readers’ list of top 100 books, after controversially (in my view) not making the Guardian’s top 100 list of best novels. What more can I say?
Beyond the book: My wife and I lived in New Zealand between 2016 and 2018, which is where the LotR films were made. We both loved the films and went on various LotR excursions, such as the Weta Studio tour, and another in the hills above Wellington where our group recreated various scenes, such as dressing up as elves, and the famous scene where one of the Nazgul are ‘sniffing’ on a country track in the Shire to find Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin.
At our wedding, each of the tables were named after one of our favourite books, and our table was “The Lord of the Rings”. We even had a string quartet playing “Concerning Hobbits” as the wedding party made their way down the aisle. It’s safe to say I’m a LotR nerd, and I have the photos to prove it!
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