Sparkling Jewels

There was nothing in Middle Earth like the sparkling simarils which held the light of the two trees...nothing so beautiful nor so destructive to the Eldar.

What does that mean? It means I really enjoyed reading the Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien. I have heard people say it is hard to read...and indeed they might be right, but I loved it. In the introductory material by Tolkien's editor/son, he mentions that it was labelled as "old testament" in a negative sense. My knowledge and appreciation for THE Old Testament perhaps gave me greater understanding as I read the tales that Tolkien birthed into a world of his own imagination.

Its really been a summer filled with Tolkien for me...I watched the extended addition movies by Jackson (again) and read the books (again) then picked up The Hobbit, which I hadn't read since Jr. High, and watched the animated movie of that from my childhood. Then, I was on to the Silmarillion...which is really 4 different works in one book.

I then tried to read the Book of Lost Tales, but I was disappointed in that it is interrupted with much commentary, which I'm sure some people love, but for me it chopped up the stories. Some of the stories were the same as in the Silmarillion, but I guess I'm not really studying Tolkien but enjoying his work at this time in my life. Perhaps someday I'll explore the linguistic study of Sindarin or Quenya...I enjoyed my linguistics study in college (English and Spanish), but that's just not where I am in life right now.

Now what do I read?????