Has anyone else ever listened to the BBC broadcasts of these stories? They are really good. I have the american version on cd and the bbc version on mp3 and they are both well worth the price to listen to them.

I agree. I enjoy listening to them when I'm driving sometimes.

I just ordered "The Hobbit" HB with art by Alan Lee, "The Lord of the Rings" HB with 50 illustrations by Alan Lee, "The Simarillion" HB, and "The Hobbit" BBC 5 cds to listen to in the car after finishing reading the book first. All for $134.15 from buy.com.

I tried to read Tolkein when I was about 12 years old but did not finish it. With the trilogy being released on the big screen there should be increased interest in Tolkein's works. I plan on reading his Middle Earth stuff before the movie is released this year.

I believe the HBs I ordered are 60th anniversary editions. I decided to get the HBs instead of the $7 paperbacks because I would rather read the larger print in these HBs and see some cool illustrations along the way. I am really excited and cannot wait to get into "The Hobbit!" I ordered the books during buy.com's "Buy 4 Books, 3 Ship Free" coupon deal on April 29th!

I prefer unabridged CDs over cassettes and read that the BBC CDs are excellent. Has anyone listened to the wooden boxed CDs that are currently for sale? I may also purchase "The Simarillion" unabridged CD later, but I would like to purchase an unabridged CD of "The Lord of the Rings" but was unable to find an unabridged set. I guess one is out there somewhere. Has anyone listened to the abridged CD versions and are they worth it?

I have Tolkein fever all of the sudden!

The only unabridged version I've been able to find are cassettes (38 tapes). I haven't found them on Amazon's US site, but the UK site lists them. They are from ISIS Audio Books. I know I would almost certainly buy a set on CD if I could find one. The unabridged Silmarillion CD's are great.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...573613-9458062

I have the wooden Hobbit CD set. It's an ok dramatization.

I also have the abridged LOTR read by Brian Sibley on tape. It's pretty good FWIW. I pretty much dispise abridged stuff, but these aren't bad for passing the time in traffic every once in a while. There are some pretty big parts missing though.

"The Hobbit" cds I purchased are not abridged. I also do not purchase any abridged cds or cassettes. If this version is abridged then I will have to send it back but it should not be the abridged version. The retail was $45 on those suckers!

I will wait for unabridged versions. More Tolkein stuff should be released as the movies near release. I will probably purchase the "Simarillion" unabridged cds after I read all the books I just purchased. I guess I will stay away from the wooden cd sets for now.

Thanks for the feedback.

Is it this one?
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...905436-6453709

It is definately listed as Unabridged. One of the descriptions also lists it as an adaptation. Hopefully that just means it was "adapted" by scripting out the dialog for the different characters and nothing was changed or cut. I'd like to know what you think of them when you get them. If they are truly unabridged I'd definately be interested in getting them my self.

I hope that is it, but I ordered mine from buy.com which does not have very good background info on the product sometimes. I opted for the one with a retail at $45.00 since the cds are more expensive. If it is not the same one or is not unabridged then I may just send it back. I will let you know.

The editions of the books you got are the finest ones you could get, IMO. And I have about 20 editions of each of his books.

I Have most of the Audio stuff that has been released. I as well love the unabridged stuff. I recently coverted all of tapes from LOTR to CD so I could listen in my car. Yet, my favorite Is the BBC audio DRAMATIZATION of THE LORD OF THE RINGS!!!!
It does leave out some stuff but the character actors are great. In fact, Ian Holm, who will play Bilbo in the new movies is in the BBC version.

As far as the BBC version of the Hobbit, I like it as well but not as much as The LOTR.

Hope this helps.