Many years ago when I read Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, I was anxious to read more of Tolkiens work. I picked up Silmarillion and found myself confounded (I was only 12 at the time) given that the book is such a difficult read and is written as a history book. A history book, that would of course be completely alien to us. Most references to characters in the history would be completely unfamiliar to most all readers. Of all my friends, I have never known anyone who actually managed to read the whole thing.

Question is, have any of you read it? now that 19 years have passed since my last attempt, would this book be much easier, or does it still give many people a great deal of trouble.

Also, I know there are many works that were later edited (or finished) by Tolkiens family, are any of them worth reading? Or would they seem dissappointing, since Tolkien himself never really finished them (i.e. Book of Lost Tales) Is there anything else that was written purely by JRR, the only other thing I know of is a Poetic work on Beowulf.

A lot of people say that the Silmarillion is even better than the Lord of the Rings, but I just don't see it. It's interesting in places, but is more of a historical perspective than an actual novel. It does clear up some things, but I see it more as an extended appendix to LOTR than a stand-alone book. It is amazing how much back-story Tolkien developed for Middle-Earth.

I have the first volume of the Book of Lost Tales, which contains some of Tolkien's earliest stories. Some are good, some not so good, as he was still finding his voice. One of the later volumes is entitled the War of the Ring. Has anyone read that one? The War of the Ring is covered in the Silmarillion, but doesn't go into enough detail.

I have read it 3 times, though the first was when I was about 13 or so, and like you I had a great difficulty with it. But I now see the tremendous beauty in it. I say give it another shot. It is still a tough read, given the number of foreign names and the writing style. I even bought the unabridged 13-cd reading of it, so I can listen to it whenever I want.

As for his other writings... that's a mixed bag. Some contain full stories and are worth reading, but some contain basically his writing notes, where characters aren't how they are in the finished books at all (for example: Strider was called Trotter in early drafts, also, I seem to remember a couple other people being named Frodo, before the one we have come to know as Frodo. Hell, Bilbo was originally named Bingo. Those types of things only serve to confuse and annoy me, so I tend to stay away from his "published notes")

I actually read the whole thing last year after reading the Hobbit and LOTR. I am not a fan of fantasy writing and Tolkien is my first foray into the genre, but I have to admit I am somewhat addicted to him now. So the first thing I delved into was the Silmarillion. I absolutely loved it. It was rather slow in some parts, but in other parts it was simply amazing, imo. I'm a history buff anyway, so the writing of the book as a history text didn't bother me at all, since I have grown used to it over the years. I will admit, I don't think I would have made it through the Silmarillion when I was 12 or 13 (I didn't read it until I was 23). When I get the time and money, I will slowly start delving into some of his other work.

I've read Silm more than any other book. When you get passed its extreme condenscity, the plot it actually pretty simple and easy.

Actually, Frodo was Bingo in early manuscripts.
Unfinished Tales of Middle Earth is good, too. Especially the essays on the Istari and other more detailed accounts on the history of the Ring.

I can't recommend enough the books on tape version of the Silmarillion. It's so much easier to hear the stories told like oral folktales (which is actually what they are). It seems less dry and more exciting to listen to them. There are lots of cool stories that make Lord of the Rings come more alive when they are referenced.

Personally, I prefer books on tape over CDs because I can take up right where I left off easier.

I read Silmarillion about 4 months ago after getting through the orignal books for the first time and I think its great. I would agree that it is really not at all similar to the LOTR books and follows a completely different style. However, I would also argue that some of the chapters from Silmarillion are Tokien's best, and one example would be the story of Beren and Luthien that is mention by Aragorn in the EE version of Fellowship. I think there are lots of great stories like that in Silmarillion. Besides, its kewl to understand how the world was created, and to see all the nasty things the elves and dwarfs did in their time.

Understanding the whole history of the Elves, Morgoth, and Sauron brings a much greater sense of the LOTR trilogy.

The Lays of Beleriand is a good book because it gives you about 300 pages of Beren & Luthien goodness.