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Books Quotes by J.R.R. Tolkien

18 Books quotes by J.R.R. Tolkien

All Books quotes J.R.R. Tolkien’s page

When Tolkien talks about books, you hear the same reverence he gave to his own mythic worlds. These 18 snippets capture his view of reading as a gateway to adventure, imagination, and the quiet craft of world‑building. They’re a handy reminder of why a good story can feel like a journey through uncharted lands.

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“Need brooks no delay, yet late is better than never.”

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“A good vocabulary,’ he once wrote (April 1959), ‘is not acquired by reading books written according to some notion of the vocabulary…

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“The prime motive was the desire of a tale-teller to try his hand at a really long story that would hold the…

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“We're going on a bit too fast. You and I, Sam, are still stuck in the worst places of the story, and…

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“But this book does not offer a single page of original and unpublished work. What then is the need, now, for such…

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“I wrote The Lord of the Rings because I wished ‘to try my hand at a really long story that would hold…

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“We're going on a bit too fast. You and I, Sam, are still stuck in the worst places of the story, and…

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“That the printer had quietly reset The Fellowship of the Ring, and that copies had been issued without proof having been read…

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“An author cannot of course remain wholly unaffected by his experience, but the ways in which a story-germ uses the soil of…

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“This book is thus primarily addressed to such readers as may perhaps recall that the hide of Shelob was so horrendously hard…

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“As a guide I had only my own feelings for what is appealing or moving, and for many the guide was inevitably…

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“I want to see mountains again, Gandalf, mountains, and then find somewhere where I can rest. In peace and quiet, without a…

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“Literature shrivels in a universal language, and an uprooted language rots before it dies. And it should be possible to lift the…

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“When my father was a young man, during the years of the First World War and long before there was any inkling…

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“That Tolkien also included in Roverandom words such as paraphernalia, and phosphorescent, primordial, and rigmarole, is refreshing in these later days when…

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“wonder if we shall ever be put into songs or tales. We’re in one, of course; but I mean: put into words,…

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“Literature works from mind to mind and is more progenitive. It is at once more universal and more poignantly particular. If it…

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“Still, I wonder if we shall ever be put into songs or tales. We're in one, of course, but I mean: put…

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More by J.R.R. Tolkien

“I will vouch for him before the seat of Denethor,' said Gandalf. 'And as for valour, that cannot be computed by stature. He has…

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“I have chosen Mr Baggins and that ought to be enough for all of you. If I say he is a Burglar, a Burglar…

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“he can see through a brick wall in time (as they say in Bree). But”

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“No todos los que vagan están perdidos”

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“The consolation of fairy-stories, the joy of the happy ending; or more correctly of the good catastrophe, the sudden joyous "turn" (for there is…

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“Sméagol won't grub for roots and carrotses and - taters. What's taters, precious, eh, what's taters?' 'Po-ta-toes,' said Sam. 'The Gaffer's delight, and rare…

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“But the Queen Arwen said: 'A gift I will give you. For I am the daughter of Elrond. I shall not go with him…

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“If you lived near the edge of Mirkwood, you would take the word of no one that you did not know as well as…

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“He was dark-haired as his mother, and promised to be like her in mood also; for he was not merry, and spoke little, though…

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“Sam: Mordor. The one place in Middle-earth we don't want to see any closer, and the one place we're trying to get to. It's…

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“May your beer be laid under an enchantment of surpassing excellence for seven years!”

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“Though sword shall be rusted, And throne and crown perish With strength that men trusted And wealth that they cherish, Here grass is still…

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“Seguid si es vuestro deber —dijo—, yo me echaré aquí a dormir y a soñar con comida, ya que no puedo tenerla de otro…

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“Co to mělo v kapšiškách? Nechtělo to říct, ne, milášku. Podvodníšek mrňavá. Nefér otázka. Podvádělo to první. Poruššilo to pravidla. Měli šme to žmáčknout,…

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“it is horrible being all alone.”

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