Today’s discussion is going to be a little different.  Today’s discussion is about J.R.R. Tolkien’s book The Lord of the Rings.

There is a common misconception about Lord of the Rings, that it is a trilogy, it isn’t, it’s one book broken up into three separate volumes, and there are two ways to read it.  It can be read as three separate volumes or as one book.  I created a poll on Twitter and asked how people have read the book.  91% read it as three separate volumes and 9% read the bind up.  I have read the book both ways.  The first time I read the book I was in middle school and I read it as three separate volumes, I had the movie covers.  I recently read the book again for the first time since middle school and I read the bind up.  Even though the bind up is a brick of a book, I actually preferred reading it that way as opposed to the three volumes.  I felt it was a more cohesive reading experience.  And if anyone is wondering what bind up I have, I have the leatherbound 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition.

If you have read Lord of the Rings, how did you read it?