Another edition of the Roving Ranger has just been sent to its subscribers (#1 for 2026; the Epiphany Edition!) Including: Grocery Boy in The Hobbit; accessible Hobbit; Tolkien & Austen; Hunt for Gollum facts; thermal insulation of hobbit holes; hobbit pinball; books & games and more...

Things you should know as a Tolkien fan 😅 "Thermal Insulation of Hobbit Holes. Comfort in the Shire" "This paper analyses the thermal insulation of Bag End using precise scaling from Fonstad’s plan... burial depth and material selection enable sustainable heating with∼ 18 kg of wood daily."

Should you take an interest in Oxford - the city in general - then the 2025 write-up of the @oxfordclarion.bsky.social is a must. Not just for the facts, but for the hilarity of its writers. "March: ... In other poo news three men were convicted of stealing Blenheim Palace’s golden toilet." 😅

Just seen a casting call for a youth theatre edition of "The Hobbit" - I am always happy to share this as I believe seeing this wonderful book come alive on stage is a great way of showing this amazing story. However, for the live of me I cannot remember whether there is a GROCERY BOY in it? 😄

Ha fallecido Walter S. Judd, uno de los autores del fantástico y completísimo «Flora of Middle-earth». Si no lo habéis leído y entendéis bien el inglés, os lo recomiendo encarecidamente. Gracias a @roryq.bsky.social por comentarlo.

Both as a budding plant taxonomist and a huge fan of _The Flora of Middle-earth_ this is heavy news 💔

The art for January 2026 is "Before the rising of the sun Eärendil slew Ancalagon the Black", by Nancy Martsch. Nancy started the Beyond Bree newsletter in 1981, and has been publishing it monthly since then without fail. This piece previously appeared in the 2020 and 1988 calendars. 3/4

I may regret this, but for every like, I'll give a fact about the "Hunt for Gollum" story from the text.

The longer generative AI exists, the more of what we take for granted is going to become toxic cognito-hazard waste. We are living in the era of contamination. It is happening all around us, and the people doing it have names and addresses. 13/13

Ignoring minor mistakes & misunderstandings in this - I am unfortunately realising that my enthusiasm and joy about sharing my interest in Tolkien's life and works in younger years will have to turn into a fight against neo-fascists trying to make his works their own in my olden days... 😔🤔🤬

🧙‍♂️ #TolkienTrewsday 📆 Week 150 (06/01/26): “JRR Tolkien” Celebrating the birthday (3 January 1892) and life of J.R.R. Tolkien. We also hit the 150th milestone of Tolkien Trewsday this week! #TolkienTuesday #Tolkien

@tolkiendil.bsky.social L'année commence bien! J'ai complètement oublié de vous annoncer le prochain #ArbrediTolkien ( #TolkienTrewsday) !😅 Mais comme toujours, il sera consacré à l'anniversaire de JRR TOLKIEN! Cette année, vous pouvez poster: 📖ce que vous aimez chez Tolkien

For this year’s toast, I’ll be meeting up with some local smial members later tonight 😊

Delayed by the Yuletide festivities finally finished Illustrating The Lord of the Rings in the Soviet Bloc by @joelmerriner.bsky.social Brilliant read If you are interested in #Tolkien and art I can severely recommend getting a copy Responsible for my newfound love of Alexander Korotich's #LOTR art

Primer libro de 2026 para mi biblioteca: edición revisada de «La lengua de los elfos», de Luis González Baixauli. Ha sido un regalo de mi compañero de la @soctolkien.bsky.social Ricard «Adanost», y viene dedicado y firmado por el autor. Primer #Tolkien del año, esto empieza bien.

Updated our main site digitaltolkien.com with the various things that have happened in the last couple of months (HoMe Base, Year in Review, Books DB, etc)

Thank you all for the contributions to #TolkienTrewsday #TolkienTuesday this week, your support and love for #Tolkien is much appreciated! Coming tomorrow…

😆😄😂🫣😭🤪

Today is the final day of the Yuletide Festival! Make sure to claim your rewards before 3:00 AM Eastern (-5 GMT) on January 5th. #LOTRO

WORK IN PROGRESS: #TOLKIEN BIRTHDAY TOAST! Events all across the world, collected via Google Maps! Let me know if you want to be added! maps.app.goo.gl/vCDSFPzAC6zd...

#OTD J.R.R. Tolkien, born 1892, 134 years ago. The philologist, writer, poet, and artist was born in Bloemfontein (today Republic of South Africa), son to Mabel & Arthur Tolkien.

New series on Patreon: Dive into the archives with me! (Re)discover old art, starting with two beauties from 2004 and 1999, respectively. (Free-for-all post!) www.patreon.com/posts/friday...

@tolkiendil.bsky.social #TolkienTrewsday #ArbrediTolkien "Des cendres un feu sera rallumé, Une lumière des ombres surgira." Tolkien, Le Seigneur des Anneaux, I,9

Si vivís en VALLADOLID, LEÓN o MALLORCA y os gusta TOLKIEN, prestad especial ATENCIÓN. El sábado 3 de enero celebramos en esos tres lugares el cumpleaños de #Tolkien. Os dejo los carteles con toda la información. ¿Te gustaría compartir tu fragmento favorito de la obra de Tolkien? Vente y celebramos

Each month I am going to share with you a bit about the art in the Beyond Bree 2026 Calendar, as I am very proud of it, and the artists who are featured. For January, I will also talk about the fantastic cover art. This calendar is still available for ordering from beyondbree.org 1/4 🧵

I have a theory that is even further supported by the fact that Tom Shippey’s Road to Middle-earth was given an ISBN starting 0-04-80 not 0-04-82. They chose to assign ISBNs based on the Dewey Decimal Class! (820 = English Literature; 800 = Literary Criticism) Can anyone officially confirm? 2/2

2025 was in all probability one of the three worst years of my existence... I'll have to write a lot about this coming into 2026 to better come to terms with that. Having said this, much beauty and joy also happened and I am grateful for this. If you feel like helping me start well into 2026...

Sitting a stewing in frustration isn't nearly as cathartic as just designing a poster. Let's see how often I remember that in 2026.

あけましておめでとうございます🎍🌅🎍 Happy New Year!! 🎉

Last #Tolkien purchase of the year. Had never seen this before but familiar with the artist. Print of Gandalf by Russ Nicholson. Takes me back. His art was to be found in the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. Think the runes say "Gandalf climbed to top of his tree" #TheHobbit @joelmerriner.bsky.social

The TolkienGuide team will do our livestream end-of-year wrapup on Saturday January 3rd - hope to see some of you there! youtu.be/kERKDUjcHXk

🎆 Desde la Sociedad Tolkien Española brindamos por un 2026 cargado de aventuras, compañerismo y fantasía. Deseamos seguir disfrutando de las obras de Tolkien desde los smiales, las comisiones y todos los espacios de encuentro. #Feliz2026

congratulations to 365 entries for this #Tolkien year 👏🎉💐

"A full and a exhaustive list of all the kings and queens of Gondor, including the number of generations you will be removed from that Elvish girl you like if things work out." Part iii.

My girl bought Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Remastered. She loves to steal, burglar, assassinate and burn to a crisp. I'm doomed. 😂

Looking up in the Radcliffe Camera. 🆙 (This view never gets old)

📖 【完全版】 エッダ: 古代北欧歌謡集 amzn.asia/d/96UKJZB 発売日 ‎2026/2/18

Welcome new followers! I realize a lot of you came via a broader Tolkien starter pack but if you’re interested in the Digital Tolkien Project, here’s a recent video…

363 of 365 - The #Hobbit 50th Anniversary edition #Tolkien

🥂 El 3 de enero celebrareremos 134 años del nacimiento de Tolkien y lo haremos con el tradicional Brindis: copa en alto y «¡Por el Profesor!».​ 🗺️ Lista de smiales con brindis presenciales y online por toda la península y el ciberespacio: ℹ️ www.sociedadtolkien.org/blog/2025/12...

Don't forget - if you're new to Bluesky or you want to welcome lovely people in the new year... Simply check out the amazing starter packs out there... Like this one 🎁🙏 #Tolkien go.bsky.app/RQdWq5f

Well, hello, Twitter refugees! We have tea, cookies, Stormlight, CritRole, and Tolkien. 🧡

🎄🎅 Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays 🎁🌲 You know, you may have found the right person to be by your side when she gifts you with an individualised boxed edition of the L.A. Times historic newspaper - Tolkien-themed, of course 😇 - you have been wanting for a long time...

Another edition of the Roving Ranger has just been sent to its subscribers. Including: Isengard in Oxford; consider gifting a membership to my crowdfunding; more JTR; a disfigured moon; Black Pine Collection; one copy sold only games; and much, much more... steady.page/en/thetolkie...

¿Sabíais que muchas pinturas rupestres, incluyendo algunas españolas, influyeron en "Las cartas de Papá Noel" de #Tolkien? ¿Podemos encontrar alguno de los animales retratados en Altamira en dibujos del propio Profesor? Las respuestas, en este artículo. finduriel.blogspot.com/2022/05/tolk...

Doomscrolling Denethor #tolkien #art

Yes. And translators, badly paid, have been trying to make people aware of this, but they have only a small platform. Need writers and readers to be aware and speak out. All my foreign language contracts going forward will stipulate that a real person translates.

Yesterday I received the last specimen copy of any translation I have ever made. After more than twenty years my job as a freelance translator is over... on the weekend before Christmas. 😢 Well, I'll just have to reinvent myself for 2026. Onward. Forward.

I mean jfc CNN just *sat down and interviewed* a group of Christian nationalist leaders who want to repeal women’s right to vote! open.substack.com/pub/jessica/...

It was the 'Age of Empires II barack sound' that made this follow a must...