Tolkien's The Children of Húrin out today

I am a huge fan of J.R.R. Tolkien's works (not so much of Peter Jackson's films - they are good on its own, but hardly inspiring) that I have read some of his more difficult posthumous publications such as The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales. These two are my favourites outside the main books, especially Unfinished Tales where plenty of the back story to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings were outlined and explained.

The Children of Húrin, a newly written tale by his son Christopher Tolkien based on works and notes by Tolkien, is published today in the UK by HarperCollins in hardcover format. Parts of the narrative has already appeared in The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales, but as this is the first independent Middle-Earth book by Christoper Tolkien, the text are of his own, although wholly adapted from Tolkien's original manuscripts and notes.

I read The Lord of the Rings at least once a year since 1998, so a new story in the series is something that I welcome. If it is anything like The Silmarillion however I expect to finish this not before autumn! However the fact that this new chapter in the series is a complete narrative should make it a much easier task.

Slightly off-topic. If you reserve Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows from Waterstones they will guarantee a price of £9 (effectively halving the listed RRP), one pound cheaper than book six was when we got it from Borders two years ago. So you can get it on launch midnight at a price similar to purchasing it from Amazon, while joining in the revellers and soaking up the atmosphere.