Celebrate Hobbit Day and Tolkien Week!

Hobbit Day started in 1978 and was chosen to be September 22nd, the date referenced in The Hobbit and The Lord of the RIngs as being the birthdate of both the hobbits Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. Tolkien Week – a celebration of both J. R. R. Tolkien and his son and editor, Christopher J. R. Tolkien – takes place through the whole calendar week of Hobbit Day, which this year would fall from Sunday, September 20th through Saturday, September 26th.

In honor of this Middle Earthian Celebration, we invite you to check out Tolkein’s books (in physical or digital formats) as well as the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies (which currently have no check out fee)! You’ll also find some other hobbit and LOTR-related items which can teach you more about Middle Earth and the brave creatures therein.

Tolkien’s Tales of Middle Earth 

The Hobbit (print copies and annotated version, book on CD, Overdrive ebooks and e-audiobooks, and hoopla ebook and e-audiobook)

The Fellowship of the Ring (print copies, Overdrive ebooks and e-audiobook, and hoopla e-audiobook)

The Two Towers (print copies, book on CD, Overdrive ebook and e-audiobook, and hoopla e-audiobook)

The Return of the King (print copies, book on CD, Overdrive ebook and e-audiobook, and hoopla e-audiobook)

Bilbo’s Last Song (print and ebook)

The Silmarillion (print and ebook)

The Fall of Gondolin

Narn i chîn Húrin : the Tale of the Children of Húrin  

The Book of Lost Tales: Part One (print and ebook)

The Book of Lost Tales: Part Two (print and ebook)

Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth (print and ebook)

The Lost Road and Other Writings: Language and Legend Before ‘The Lord of the Rings’

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings Movies and Music

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Check out the music from or inspired by The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings on hoopla!

Other Books By Tolkein

Beowulf (print and ebook) 

The Fall of Arthur (print, Overdrive ebook, and hoopla ebook)

The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún (print and ebook)

Letters from Father Christmas

Tales From The Perilous Realm 

The Lay Of Aotrou & Itroun 

The Story of Kullervo 

A Rare Recording Of J.R.R. Tolkien

Check out all the books by J. R. R. Tolkien in the library catalog, Overdrive, and hoopla. Hoopla also has a multitude of Tolkien biographies and materials about hobbits, which include trivia books, reader’s companions, literary criticisms, and more!

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Bedtime Stories for “Adulting” Fatigue

In times like these, “adulting” is more a necessity than an option. And if you’re feeling somewhat world-weary in consequence, you might take inspiration from one of Boston’s WCRB Classical Radio presenters, who has begun the charming Aurora Bedtime Story Project on Facebook Live and YouTube. Night after quarantined night, you can tune in at 9:30 pm (EST, Sundays-Fridays) to listen yourself into a not-so-grown-up state of wonder and relaxation. On the storytime menu? Alice in Wonderland, Winnie-the-Pooh, The Cricket in Times Square, several Beatrix Potter gems, some Grimm fairy tales, and The Wind in the Willows.

So, in the midst of  this very “adult” crisis, there is still that one, great childhood pleasure available to us: the inestimable comfort of being read to. If you don’t have the freedom in your schedule to tune into live performances, APL’s digital library is here for you 24/7! Our newly-curated hoopla audiobook collection–2020 APL Bedtime Stories for “Adulting” Fatigue–showcases some of the titles mentioned above, along with a number of other classic favorites.

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So, if you’ve been meaning to read The Chronicles of Narnia–or at least The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe–since your fifth-grade classmate raved about it decades ago, now is your chance! Or escape into the wondrous world created by C. S. Lewis’s good friend J. R. R. Tolkien in The Hobbit. Or perhaps step into an enchanted Yorkshire realm as you unlock the gate to The Secret Garden. Even if you have read these or the other suggested titles before, it may well be therapeutic to tune in to a tucked-in, ready-for-a-bedtime-story feeling. Happy listening, and sweet dreams!