Henry Beard and Douglas Kenney wrote Bored of the Rings, which was published by Signet in 1969. The two Harvard University students later founded National Lampoon after creating this parody novel.
Moxie and Pepsi replace Merry and Pippin in the story to satirize consumer culture. These carbonated beverages appear throughout the narrative as slapstick substitutes for the original hobbits.
Bored of the Rings has stayed in print for over fifty years following its initial publication on the 2nd of May 1536. Mike Sacks notes that the book has been continuously available for over forty years as one of the earliest parodies of a modern popular bestseller.
The book has been translated into at least twelve languages worldwide including Czech, Estonian, Finnish, German, Hungarian, and Russian editions. Each translation adapts the title to reflect local humor such as Der Herr der Augenringe for German readers or Za pár prstenů for Czech audiences.
Michael K. Frith designed the Signet first edition cover which parodied the 1965 Ballantine paperback covers by Barbara Remington. Current editions feature different artwork by Douglas Carrel while William S. Donnell drew the parody map showing places like The Square Valley Between the Mounts.