Announcing Our Newest Read-Through Journey: The Return of the King

We're tackling Tolkien's The Return of the King this April; join the fellowship!

Happy Tolkien Reading Day 2026! I hope you’re celebrating; I sure am. Not only have I carved out some time (around work assignments) to read bits of Carpenter’s biography on Tolkien, I’ll also be reading Leaf by Niggle this evening.

It’s been over six months since our last read-through journey, so I think it’s time we hop back in. There’s been quite a bit of interest and commitment so far, so let’s go ahead and announce the journey, with a schedule and all:

Read-through: The Return of the King

I’m excited to announce our newest read-through: The Return of the King! Below will be our schedule. Every week (except for one) will total two chapters of reading. This isn’t a heavy pace, and that’s intentional. I believe The Lord of the Rings is meant to be poured over, studied and analyzed, not something to speedily consume and move past. Middle-earth is a place to dwell in and return to; we find so many ways it can shape the way we see the world. So, two chapters weekly will be our pace, starting the 20th of April:

As you’ll see, each Book (half) will take us 5 weeks—weeks, for schedule’s sake, will take place Monday through Sunday. Every Sunday, you’ll get a recap from Ringfolk summarizing that week’s reading: key passages, takeaways, applications, things to hang onto—really anything that’s noteworthy and needs to be tracked. At the end of the fifth week for each Book, there will be a brief summary of the book as a whole in addition to that week’s recap.

I wanted to use a graphic instead of a list so that you could easily save it and refer to it as often as you need. So go ahead and keep it handy!

The Poster

For the first time, I want to celebrate YOU, the ones taking part in this fellowship journey. Your names—and everyone else who joins between now and April 20th—will be handwritten on the custom-made poster. If you haven’t yet, just comment or send me a message and I’ll get your name added! To make it even more fun, at the end of the journey, I’ll mail the poster to one lucky person who participated!

I’m grateful for those who’ve committed so far—let’s add more to the party.

A Note on Our Guides

This journey won’t be led alone. I’m honored to partner with Noah Nevils of Make the People Human Again, Joe Krynn of The Brothers Krynn, and Kaleb Hammond of Saint Tolkien. It’s a fantastic cast, and I’m humbled to lead alongside them. Noah and Joe have taken part in Ringfolk read-through’s before—Noah being the pioneer—and they’ve done a terrific job. Kaleb is joining us for the first time, and I expect many of you are already familiar with his work over at Saint Tolkien. We also will be having art submitted by Matěj Čadil of Visions of Middle-earth—previously done or even possibly brand new—in any case, he’s a master of Tolkien art and will undoubtedly be a welcome addition to our experience.

Your Role

Reading is a must, obviously, if you’re going to be part of a read-through journey. But, Ringfolk isn’t meant to be a monologue. The strength of this community has always been, and will always be, the people. So, comment your thoughts on the weekly recaps. Send in thoughts and perspectives as you’re reading. Engage with one another throughout the journey. The Ring didn’t get destroyed by the work of one individual and neither will we accomplish this journey solo—so dig in, make a friend, and let’s crack open The Return of the King together.

Oh, and please help spread the word. The more, the Meriadoc. I digress.

April 20th will get here sooner than we realize, so get your copy (I prefer a used, worn, one so that I can take notes within) and let’s get ready to set off on a new adventure.

A Personal Note

Thank you all for your care and support as my wife and I have stepped into parenthood! We have our first month behind us; James is packing on the pounds, keeping us exhausted, and commanding our hearts in unfathomable ways. I cannot wait til he’s old enough to dive into Tolkien with his dad.