The Tolkien Reading Group (Southampton UK), is also the Southfarthing smial. It has been running since 2005 and used to meet twice a month to discuss the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. It has recently switched to monthly meetings.

As a dedicated reading group, we have read all the major works at least once in that time, and worked through less familiar material including The Kalevala, The Notion Club Papers, and The Book of Lost Tales.

The group has a number of ‘virtual’ members who live at such a distance that they cannot join us in person but nevertheless receive blog reports and send their comments when they wish to actively participate in discussions.

We occasionally follow the habit of hobbits and go out for a meal together, choosing dates consistent with Tolkien-related events such as the Professor’s Birthday, Tolkien Reading Day, Midsummer, and Yule. As the group has changed and developed we now gather once a quarter for a ‘Supermoot’, which is another good excuse for a feast and catching up with members who cannot now attend regularly.

To see the scale and scope of our reading and discussions please take a look at the Recent Posts section in the left-hand sidebar. All these reports represent our collective and individual responses to Tolkien’s literary work.

N.B. In case you are unfamiliar with the word, the ‘Mathom’ part of our online address means ‘treasure’.