Those disappearing Lords of the Ringses...

[ladyofastolat]

Um... *looks sheepish* I found my hardback LotR. It was... er... next to my computer, where I now remember taking it a few weeks ago for reference while writing something. Pellinor has admitted that perhaps his old single volume copy never made it out of his parents' house. So it seems as if we're just a two Lord of the Rings household, after all, and that both copies are accounted for. Either that, or the person who stole our other copies has given us false memories to cover his tracks.

It occurs to me that most normal people would probably think that having two copies of The Lord of the Rings is a bit excessive. However, I am confident that, compared with many people reading this, we class as total lightweights.



(Interpret "own" in a way that works for you - e.g. whether you want to count copies in your house that are technically owned by someone else but are now shared, or if you want to count copies that you would claim as your own, but aren't currently living with you.)

[Poll #1128635]

Comments

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Philmophlegm has just informed me I have voted wrong. We have 4 LOTRS:

1 - 2 Alan Lee illustrated Incredibly Heavy one-volume editions (one each)*
2 - 2 different boxed set 3-volume editions. **

* I now regret buying my one of this edition, because although it's a quite nice edition, it's far too heavy to actually read in any sane way, and although it does have fold-out maps, they are not the proper full-size fold-out maps.

** philmophlegms 'reading edition' is a bit fragile, so I bought a new black-jacketed one for me.

[emily-shore.livejournal.com]

Technically none, because the one I read growing up is at home and it belongs to my mother anyway. She bought it in 1966 before she went away to university. It's falling apart now, but much loved.

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

Twelve, I think. And sixteen Hobbits. And twenty Silmarillions.

[king-pellinor.livejournal.com]

My old single-volume one didn't make it out of my parents' house, but that's partly because half of it was missing anyway.

I did buy a new second-hand one in Oxford, but I think you got rid of it a few years ago on the grounds that yours was nicer. I only managed to persuade you to keep the 3 volume set on the grounds it was easier to read than your big hardback.

[sigisgrim.livejournal.com]

I can't remember which way round our numbers of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are, but there are 16 of one and 23 of the other. We have several Silmarillions, but only in single figures, a couple of Unfinished Tales and two full sets of The History of Middle-earth. I think we have three copies of Carpenter's Biography.

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

I prefer reading small paperbacks to a large hardback. I do remember running out of space in the fantasy bookcase in my room, and removing some books from it and asking you if you could fit them in the bookcases in your room (since you don't mind double-stacking, and I have my librarian neat freak thing going.) I remember you misunderstanding this and saying that I wanted to get rid of them completely. Perhaps this is what happened with your three volume set?

[rustica.livejournal.com]

I actually own slightly less than 2 1/3 copies.

One complete single-volume copy
One copy of the Return of the King
One disintegrated single-volume copy, probably now missing a few pages.

[philmophlegm.livejournal.com]

My 'reading edition' is a bit fragile because it was the main copy used for the Taruithorn dramatic reading.

[pellegrina.livejournal.com]

We have my one-volume India-paper inna-battered-box, malaheed's copy of the three-volume Allen & Unwin pbk with the same cover as my mother's when I was growing up (and possibly an extra FotR, TTT or RotK to replace a missing volume that may or may not have resurfaced), and a set in Spanish. I think I have it in French somewhere, but not in this country. I keep meaning to buy it in Italian and German.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

... I would like to add that I think in a 2-person household, 2 LOTRs is normal.

I would strongly recommend to all the parents out there, the purchase of an LOTR for each child at an early age. That way you don't get it trashed by a small child. My parents had 2 more or less mint first edition LOTRs before they had kids...

Preciouses!

[themis1.livejournal.com]

Two. My original, much-read, 3-volume set of hardbacks (1st imprint, 2nd edition - 1966 - with now rather scruffy jackets) - and a box set of paperbacks which we bought so we didn't further reduce the value of the former!

LATER: it's three, apparently - Phoebesmum has one as well. And does having a copy of the Hobbit in French count for anything?

[evilmissbecky.livejournal.com]

Only one here, but since Kaylee probably isn't going to be stealing it from me any time soon, I feel safe in only having one copy.

[intertext.livejournal.com]

I have the Alun Lee hardcover set, an Unwin paperback 3 vol "reading copy," and the 1970's boxed india paper one volume, black, with the colored insignia on the front. I once owned the yellow one volume pb, the one with the Pauline Baynes cover, and lent it to someone who never returned it - may she burn in hell. And I had a boxed pb Canadian edition that fell to pieces.

[the-marquis.livejournal.com]

Ahem ...

42 LotR (3 German, 1 each Chinese, Polish, & French)

38 TH (2 Annotated editions, 3 German, 1 each Chinese, Danish, & Dutch)

10 Sil (1 German)

between us, but the majority came with me and that's not counting a couple that are duplicates to be Ebayed. Of course now I'm sitting here thinking I may have missed a couple ...

[segh.livejournal.com]

Two - paperback and hardback; but at least the hardback's signed.

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

Ooh nice!

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

Bl**dy hell that's a lot! (Are any / all of the o/seas editions illustrated?)

[muuranker.livejournal.com]

If any of you librarything, you can see just how many we (Rivendell) have.

[sally_maria]

I have two, the black Millennium boxed edition and a three volume hardback set.

But then my Dad has a one-volume hardback (without most of the appendices), my brother has a one-volume paperback (with full appendices) and the TS Library has 2 complete sets and two other Fellowships. (We tend to use the Library three volume paperback set for reading copies as they are the smallest and lightest.)

I also have two Hobbits and three Silmarillions (curse Ted Nasmith and his new illustrations :-D).

[jane-somebody.livejournal.com]

My 'reading edition' is in much the same state for much the same reason ;-) (This is also why it has my name written in the front - I think it is the same cover as yours, certainly it's the same as Skordh's and some others that regularly turned up.)

[phoebesmum.livejournal.com]

Judy already answered, I see, but there are perfectly good reasons why we have three sets: hers is an early edition which would be worth a fortune if it were in better nick and, as it is, would fetch a few hundred in the right marketplace (ie: not eBay), which, once I realised it, I forbade her to read it any more. Mine's a three-volume paperback set from the late 70s, which is similarly not without some collectable value. So we bought a cheap boxed set when the movies came out. Aside from all else, it has some amendments to the appendices that aren't in either of our editions and oh my god, how nerdy is it that I checked that out ...?

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

I'm not particularly fanatical about Tolkien, but we have the one volume edition illustrated by Alan Lee, because it is lovely to read. My copy of the original Unwin three volume hardback is the unrevised first edition (though the umpteenth impression.) For various reasons, I actually prefer this version (mainly because there is a hint of a sense of humour - and exasperation - in the version of Aragorn in the heaviest changed passage) but inamac has the three volume second (revised) edition still in its DJ. So we have reasons for keeping all three...

[the-marquis.livejournal.com]

I'd have to go double-check, mostly its slip case sets so the pics are on the box!

[the-marquis.livejournal.com]

I looked on LibraryThing and found only

"Error: Rampaging elephant error. Hide the peanuts and try again later."

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

Ah, I see - yes, I did know you collected slipcased sets.

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

Ah, I see - yes, I did know you collected slipcased sets.

[amberwoodrose.livejournal.com]

Hi There, I just came upon your journal by chance and was wondering if I could friend you as I'm hoping to make some new friends on LJ for this new year :-) Oh, and BTW, I did have 2 copies of LOR but gave one set away so now just down to one!

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

Certainly! :-) *friends back*