The History of Middle-earth reading order

A plan for the whole series

12 volumes, 5,266 pages, about 95 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 4 months.

Stages

6 stages, with 5 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around March 31, 2027, about 4 weeks later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 120 habout 4 weeksby November 25, 2026

   • 1. The Book of Lost Tales1983 · 304 pages · 6 h
   • 2. The Book of Lost Tales: Part II1984 · 400 pages · 7 h
   • 3. The Lays of Beleriand1985 · 393 pages · 7 h
2. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by December 4, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 216 habout 3 weeksby December 25, 2026

   • 4. The Shaping of Middle-earth1986 · 400 pages · 7 h
   • 5. The Lost Road and Other Writings1987 · 464 pages · 9 h
4. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by December 29, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 318 habout 3 weeksby January 23, 2027

   • 6. The Return of the Shadow1988 · 497 pages · 9 h
   • 7. The Treason of Isengard · 504 pages · 9 h
6. Short breakThe Emperor's Soul · Brandon Sanderson · 96 pp. · score 8.82 h, by January 26, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 413 h17 daysby February 12, 2027

   • 8. The War of the Ring · 496 pages · 9 h
   • 9. Sauron Defeated1992 · 186 pages · 3 h
8. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by February 16, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
9. 5
   Stage 510 h13 daysby March 1, 2027

   • 10. Morgoth's Ring1993 · 534 pages · 10 h
10. Short breakAnimal Farm · George Orwell · 128 pp. · score 8.32 h, by March 5, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
11. 6
    Stage 620 habout 4 weeksby March 31, 2027

    • 11. The War of the Jewels1994 · 542 pages · 10 h
    • 12. The Peoples of Middle-earth1996 · 546 pages · 10 h
12. The end of the series

    March 31, 2027

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.