Celebrating 50 -- J.R.R. Tolkien & The Lord of the Rings

More than 700 delegates from around the world have gathered at Aston University for Tolkien 2005, according to The Guardian. The events include a lecture from Professor Tom Shippey, hobbit dances, evening performances, and more. Read about Tolkien in the Land of Heroes to find out more about the mythology in Tolkien's works, and discover the biography of Tolkien with J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century.

Then, find a few top books about J.R.R. Tolkien: Tolkien Mythology, J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit, and Dragon Mythology.

Read a few quotes from J.R.R. Tolkien:

• "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort." -- "The Hobbit"
  
  
• "Pippin looked out from the shelter of Gandalf's cloak. He wondered if he was awake or still sleeping, still in the swift-moving dream in which he had been wrapped so long since the great ride began. The dark world was rushing by and the wind sang loudly in his ears. He could see nothing but the wheeling stars, and away to his right vast shadows against the sky where the mountains of the South marched past. Sleepily he tried to reckon the time and stages of their journey, but his memory was drowsy and uncertain." -- "The Return of the King"
  
  
• "All that is gold does not glitter,
  Not all those who wander are lost
  The old that is strong does not wither,
  Deep roots are not reached by frost."