The Hobbit was originally published in 1937 and has fully cemented its places of the best-selling books of all time. This is the book that gave birth to the entire Lord of the Rings franchise and helped shape the entire fantasy genre into what it is today. It's one of those classic books that still holds up today and is absolutely worth reading again.

The deluxe illustrated edition of the book is the ultimate collector's edition of the book. It's a beautiful hardcover tome that comes in a luxuriously forest green slipcase. Inside the book you also get over 50 drawings, paintings, sketches, and maps illustrated by J.R.R. Tolkien himself. It's quite a bit more expensive than the standard illustrated edition, but what you get for that price is something that looks stunning on your shelf. This is one of the best LotR gifts you'll find anywhere.

The special edition is also on sale

If the deluxe illustrated edition is out of your price range, there's also the less expensive special edition. This version of the book includes illustrations from Tolkien at a third of the price of the deluxe edition and still looks pretty cool. In addition to a beautiful cover, the pages are also stencilled with Dwarvish writing.

Should You Wait for Prime Day to Buy?

This is the lowest price we've seen on these illustrated editions all year, and nearly the lowest price ever on Amazon. These are Prime-exclusive deals, so you do need a membership to actually get that price, but there's no doubt that the discounts are quite good. With many products experiencing price increases these days, there's no guarantee that prices are going to drop further in the future, so I'd generally recommend buying now instead of waiting for Prime Day.

The one caveat to that is that Amazon has historically offered some sort of '3 for 2' sale on books closer to Prime Day every year and could potentially do so again. These types of promotions tend to include these illustrated editions and are generally the best time to buy book collections all at once for the lowest possible price. So if you also want the Lord of the Rings and Silmarillion illustrated editions for your collection, it might be worth waiting.

Jacob Kienlen is a Senior Audience Development Strategist and Writer for IGN. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, he has considered the Northwest his home for his entire life. With a bachelor's degree in communication and 10 years of professional writing experience, his expertise is spread across a variety of different pop culture topics -- from TV series to books and the latest Pokémon games.