Listening to J R R Tolkien read 'Lord of the Rings' is amazing

Did your parents have a "story book" voice? A subtle variation on their own tones that heralded "You better settle down and start edging towards sleep else there'll be trouble"?

Were they ever brave (or foolish) enough to embark on a reading of Lord of the Rings, impressing their voice on your inner narrative and subsequently ruining any chance of you rereading them?

Then this might undo the damage - J R R Tolkien himself, reading his work 'as it was meant'.

Brain Pickings has unearthed a superb set of recordings, made in 1952 after Tolkien reportedly took delight in mucking about with a tape recorder.

Two quivering recordings have been added to SoundCloud: the first begins with the opening poem of The Fellowship of the Ring, while the second gives voice to one of the book's many songs (it's okay, we skipped them too) with Tolkien singing Sam’s Rhyme of the Troll.

Are you sitting comfortably? Then let the Lord of fiction begin...