Actually it took Prof. Tolkien several years to write the whole thing as I understand it. And the reason it was split into 3 volumes is that it was felt that it would be too expensive back then to have it in one volume. Now days either the costs have come down or people are willing to spend more on a single book (or both) so you can find it in a one volume format.
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Originally Posted by JeremyZ
This is very subjective, and I haven't read all the classics yet.
But for my part, I would vote The Hobbit.
The Lord of the Rings was originally written as one book. The publishers finally got their way when it was published as a trilogy years after it was started. So I think you could, in all fairness, vote for The Lord of the Rings as your favorite classic book.
I didn't however. It is much harder to read than the Hobbit. At times, it is a bit long-winded and dry, and I didn't get much out of the overly frequent song lyrics. That said, this is my most often re-read book, so that says a lot. It helps that I have the beautifully-illustrated hardcover, which heightens the experience for me.
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