I tried to read these right after 'The Fellowship of the Ring' came out in theaters, but I got bogged down while they were hanging out with Tom Bombadil. After I actually watched the movie (I gave the expanded extended edition to my brother for X-mas), I was able to read all three books. After I finished them, I went back and read The Hobbit. I wanted to see The Two Towers in theaters, but I never got around to it, so now I have to wait for it to come out on video and DVD. A curious side-effect of reading the stories is that I started to echo Tolkein's writing style within my own stories. I wouldn't have minded, except I was in the middle of a story and a change in writing style would have been a little odd.

Jestana.