I have always been intimidated by the size and level of detail present with the FR setting, but as I have gained experience as a DM, I have come to see this not a straight-jacket requiring slavish attention to every item published, but instead as an opportunity for my players and myself to experience exactly the kind of play we all would find satisfying.
I have the 3e and 4e books and once upon a time I had the 2e boxed set. I have also read a few of the Dark Elf novels, the Cleric Quintet, and a few other odds and ends. That was probably 15 years ago now though so I don't remember much of the details.
My question is where do I go from here? I like that the 4e books leave a lot of room for DM creativity but I would like more information about the setting to use as back-story and flavor. Waht do you who are more familiar with FR recommend? Should I read novels or old game modules? What do you regard as high quality immersive products to expand my knowledge?
Well unfortunately the wealth of Forgotten Realms Lore has been swept away by the Spellplauge. Alot of the older information about the Realms no longer applies and is now all outdated by atleast a 100 years, depending on when youre setting your campaign. Theres some older Realms stuff you can download here, but alot of it wont apply to the post Spellplauge Realms.
Signing up for D&D insider gives you some good Realms content you can use as its published in Dragon and Dungeon periodically, also theres other benefits that go with that as well such as the Monster and Player Character builder and the D&D compendium, just those last 3 things there make it worth it for me.
The Novels are another good one too, they usually have little tidbit here and there that you can use to flesh things out, just make sure you get a novel that covers the area and timeframe you want.
And this here message board is another good way to get info. If you have a specific question about an area or event or whathave you, post a question and Im sure somebody around here will answer it for you.
I'm not really concerned about the material being out of date. At the very least it would give me some backstory and possible adventure ideas. What novels would you recommend to read or avoid?
The books I have read that I thought was good and really added to the Lore of the Realms are in no particular order:
The Avatar trilogy - Shadowdale, Tantras, Waterdeep, Prince of Lies, Crucible, yes its a 5 part trilogy.
The Shadow of the Avatar Trilogy, its a real Trilogy.
The Elminster Books - Making of the Mage, Elminster in Myth Drannor, Elminster in Hell, Elminster's Daughter, etc.
Evermeet: Island of Elves by Elaine Cunningham, good one on the Early history of elves.
Those are the ones that really spring to my mind. I havnt read too many of the 3e books and none of the 4e novels. I really need to catch up. Im sure some of the others will post even more reading selections, and this could quickly turn into whats your favorite Realms book thread.
I would suggest the "Realms of ..." short story anthologies. They cover a lot of ground in a very few pages and should give you more than a few ideas if you managed to get your hands on a few of them
I would suggest the "Realms of ..." short story anthologies. They cover a lot of ground in a very few pages and should give you more than a few ideas if you managed to get your hands on a few of them
Hmmm... That sounds quite promising
They also showcase the talents and styles of different authors so that you can easily get a feel for whose tales you may or may not like. There are many in the series, Realms of war, Realms of the Elves, Realms of Dragons, Realms of Infamy so on and so forth. They tend to hang together thematically but are widely divergent in how they deal with the theme, where and through whom.
I really would give at least one of them a try if you want to get a feel for the Realms.
I have always been intimidated by the size and level of detail present with the FR setting,
Whether we like it or not, this is what I feel propelled the business decision to go ahead with the Spellplague. I don't want to reopen arguments on preceived ways of doing it better. I am happy to see you joining the Realms along with so many new faces 
Are some of these details covered in available source material or is the DM expected to create them? Of course a picture is worth a thousand words so if anyone knows where to find any imagery on the subject, that would be most helpful.
My question is where do I go from here? I like that the 4e books leave a lot of room for DM creativity but I would like more information about the setting to use as back-story and flavor. Waht do you who are more familiar with FR recommend? Should I read novels or old game modules? What do you regard as high quality immersive products to expand my knowledge?
I've been doing a 4e FR campaign for nearly a year now, and whenever I need some bit of lore or detail I go to the old books. That and the Grand History of the Realms.
For actually running a game, old game modules and campaign settings are what you want. Skip the novels. The modules can give you entire stories, NPCs, maps, etc to steal or convert. Who cares if the areas they describe no longer exist or the NPCs are long dead, whos to know? Odds are your players have never seen them either.
Example...I ran a few sessions in the High Moor. The moor gets a few lines in the 4e setting, but theres an entire extremely detailed TSR book on the area (elminster's ecologies). Great stuff.
And if you can't find it? Make it up!
And if you can't find it? Make it up!
Amen to that!!! Thats my number one DMing Rule right there.