Studies on Tolkien by Other Authors

[Tar-Elendil13]

To those who don't know me, I am a newbie to Tolkienology. Would you suggest reading books that study Tolkien's work, but aren't written by Tolkien, and use them as a reference? Examples would be The Hobbit: a Companion or A Tolkien Bestiary.

[Wraithguard]

I'd rather eat my own tongue than read those. However there are some that are better than others. I use Tolkien's World from A to Z: The Complete guide to Middle-Earth and The Atlas of Middle-Earth for references but that's about all they are good for. I say that simply because books written about Tolkien's books are just that. ABOUT THEM! If you want to learn more about Thorin and company then just read The Hobbit! (That's just an example)

[Starbrow]

I received The Annotated Hobbit for Christmas and I really enjoyed having the extra information in it.