"New" Tolkien Book and Other Summer Reading

Tolkien fans rejoice! In less than three weeks a previously unpublished book by J. R. R. Tolkien will go on sale. The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun is "Tolkien’s extensive retelling in English narrative verse of the epic Norse tales of Sigurd the Völsung and The Fall of the Niflungs" (description from Amazon.com). Since Tolkien wrote this before The Hobbit, LOTR, or The Silmarillion it should be interesting to see how much of it spilled over into his most famous works. I know that some versions of this legend feature a dwarf who kills his friend over a treasure (a ring in some versions) which gives great power to its possessor...aka Smeagol and Deagol. I think that some version of the legend may also include one of the heroes unknowingly fathering a child with his sister...aka Turin Turambar and Nienor Niniel? Should be an interesting read!

When I found out about this book yesterday it shot straight to the top of my "books I want to read this summer" list. That list started out unreasonably long, but I've managed to pare it down to 12 books (about 3600 pages). That may still be unrealistically optimistic considering that I have 2 summer classes going through July, a new baby arriving in June, and a move to Michigan in August, but we'll see. Here's the list I came up with (not necessarily in the order I plan to read them):

The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun by J. R. R. Tolkien - Described above.

Eric by Terry Pratchett - Part of the Discworld series (fantasy written in a style very similar to that of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "trilogy") featuring my favorite character, Rincewind the wizard who can't do magic (last seen trapped in the dungeon dimension).

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith - The entire original text of the Jane Austen classic interwoven with a storyline in which Elizabeth leads the battle against the hordes of the undead. I've been trying to talk myself into reading Pride and Prejudice since it's Karen's favorite book (and I don't mind character-driven classics), but I couldn't bring myself to read something so girlie...here's the solution...or maybe I just have a bizarre sense of humor.

The Hope: A Novel by Herman Wouk - Historical fiction about the history of modern Israel from its independence through the Six-Days War.

Phantastes: A Faerie Romance by George MacDonald - The book that inspired C. S. Lewis to become the author he became.

The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis - Lewis's insights on temptation and how to overcome it presented as a series of advice-filled letters from a "senior demon" named Screwtape to his nephew (Wormwood) who is a "junior tempter."

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald - J. R. R. Tolkien's favorite book as a child according to some accounts.

Pensees and Other Writings by Blaise Pascal - Some philosophy just for fun.

Knowing God by J. I. Packer - A book I've heard recommended and quoted many times.

The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis - Another Lewis classic.

J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter - More bits of trivia to add to my Tolkien lore.

Republic by Plato - A dash of classic pagan philosophy (which influenced a number of church fathers and theologians).

Only two more weeks and summer break starts...all one week of it before summer classes begin. So many books, so little time!