How did you first encounter Tolkien's works?

When I was little, I saw the animated "Hobbit" in a video store. It looked interesting, but my mom wouldn't rent it because she said it would spoil the book for me when I read it. Not too long after that, when I was about 7, my aunt gave the book to me as a birthday present. When I got to the first sentence, I demanded to know what a hobbit was. My mom just told me to continue reading. Obviously, Tolkien explained what a hobbit was. I loved the book, and wanted to read LotR as soon as possible but my mom said I was too young to fully appreciate it (I probably was). A year later, at about 8, I started Fellowship. I couldn't put the book down! I would stay up all night reading just to find out what happened. After I was done, I quickly decided it was my favorite book. I tried to get everyone I knew interested in it. I read the first two LotR books out loud to my little brother. (By the time we got to RotK, it had been a year and I was tired of it so he never got to hear that one ) I convinced all my friends to read it. Few of them got past The Two Towers. One didn't even make it past the first chapter of "Hobbit"! Of course, I was probably starting them too early but I didn't realize it at the time . Ok, now that you've listened to my boring story... When did you first encounter Tolkien?

I had not heard of Tolkien until after high school. Up to that point, I had no interest in the medeival period in general, but at thirteen I had begun making a prodigious effort to start work on a science fiction series which would encompass a minimum of seven trilogies and span likely a.. who knows.. a billion years. (That particular legacy is still waiting for a suitable platform, which I anticipate, all going well, next year.) So I was 18 and graduated when I was introduced to Tolkien by a 45-ish year old chick/friend who had been through the 60's resurgence era. She could recite the first parts of the Hobbit ever since she had memorized them in college. The first words I heard of Tolkien's were, ish, "In a hole in a hill live a Hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty hole but a comfortable hole etc etc.." My curiosity was piqued. I had been blown away by Greg Bear's cyclopean EON; I was game now to try going to other way on the continuum of time - from eternity to 'never-ty.' So I tried it. Liked it. Got my friend into it. He went through the Silmarillion before me and got into the Elves while I was still on Numenor. We'd walk under the stars philosphizing and dining on ashes like Dead Poets. By this time I had read the main stuff once. Once I was driving, I'd take day-trips to scenic natural and geologic areas that looked as keenly of Middle-Earth as I could find. Precipice mountains and cliffs overlooking broad rivers far below; secluded little dells and dales; broad open glades in the middle of natural forests; old-stands of Norway Spruce that had been planted in rows innumerable but that had been left to grow; gorges with high waterfalls; tunnels of pine eaves; snow-covered fields. I learned the value of Twilight and of the Elvish seasons known as Stirring and Fading. I began to worship nature and earth itself, and in such decision there reached completeness. There is no religion. There is life. For a short time I was playing Middle-earth RISK with my younger brother and his friend, and we made armies of Orcs, Gondor, Arnor, Lorien, Imladris, and Iron Hills. And for each game, we were each allowed one miracle per team. It had to be a good one. Soon I was tempted to begin jotting down my own envisionings, and that made it easy to desire writing a medeival story in addition to the space story I had on the back burner. After a few years of subconscious munching, they both came together. If they get written; you'll see them. But life is already huge without even writing. At the very least, I desire to leave my mark with a webpage of educational proportion, so Tolkien readers can see at a glance the sources he pulled from. The movies will be here soon.

Back in fourth grade my parents were reading Lord of the Rings. The covers scared me. They were old ace paperbacks with Gandalf menacing on the first, a nazgul on a flying horse menacing on the second book, and Sauron menacing on the third. The books stayed on top of my father's "read" pile for a long time. No books stayed there for long, so it got my attention. (He was rereading.) I got my courage together, "borrowed" Fellowship and read it, despite the cover. Dad did reclaim the books when I was done, another unusual thing for him to do. When I think about it the third book's cover is still chilling. I think I used to open RotK and not look at the picture in order to avoid scaring myself. The cover was a giant black wraith encicling it's own black tower/mountain with defensive soldiers crouching below. *shiver*

I first encountered them in a dark ally... But seriously, my friend was reading Hobbit, we always liked what each other read so I read it. Pretty soon we were presenting almost identical book reports every month (we read at basically the same pace). Now we discuss the books (and upcoming movies) on a regular basis. He has no artistic talent and I'm an artist, so I put both our ideas on paper. I'm gonna scan in my LOTR art pretty soon and then I can post it here for all to see.

Perhaps you could eventually submit it to the largest gallery at Rolozo.

a little guy with furry feet was selling books on a corner... i bought one. It was one of the best books i ever read, untill i found the lord of therings, it is the best book that i have ever read.

I first read the Hobbit at age seven. I liked it very much, and when I learned about the Lord of the Rings a year later, I immediately got a copy and read it through in about two weeks. When I was done, I decided it was the best book I had ever read, and read the whole thing through again a month later.

I first remember being read 'the hobbit' at the age of about 3. I read LOTR for the first time when I was 8 (i had tried to read it before then, but mum's old copy of it was so past it that pieces kept falling out, and I had to get a new copy). I read 'the silmarillion' when I was 10, because by then I was seriously into tolkien, and still am I got the box set with the hobbit in 2, the one only avaliable in England. the covers have tolkien's own sketches on them. and I have the limited edition one 2, but i've been forbidden to touch that one, in case I ruin it.

I wasn't what you would call a reader, until college (college will do that for you). A friend had asked me if I had read LOTR. Of course I hadn't, but he encouraged me to pick it up. Since then I have read the Trilogy once a year. I have also read it aloud to my boyfriend. My whole life had changed after I had read those books. Now it seems I can get enough books to read.

Only once a year? That's less than me...

How often do you read it Elrond?

4 times, this year... I'm giving it a rest now, though. I'm re- reading some of the others like The silmarillion, and Unfinished tales.

I..i feel really dumb...i didn't actually read tlotr untill i was like 12 :P Bieng read the hobbit at age 3 is just plain...wierd

Not realy... It wasn't being read to me, I was just listening. Mum was reading it for my cousin, who was 7 at the time.

Wow! Just, wow!

My younger brother got passionately excited over Tolkien books. He and my older sister in sixth grade read the Hobbit when I was in 5th grade, and told me repeatedly that I should read it, but I thought it was dumb and wouldn't. Besides, I imagined a hobbit as some icky limping black monster, a foot tall after they told me it was a little creature. So I wouldn't even consider reading the book until I saw my sister's book report, a close-up 3-d map of mirkwood, with the Lonely Mountain and label, "giant spiders". One boring day when I had nothing else to do, my brother kept bothering me and making me feel like a meanie, so I picked up the Hobbit and read it in two days. I stole FotR from under his pillow and read it in a week. The rest is history. Most of my family has fun reading these books, but it's frustrating that none of them likes the books as much as me.

In 3rd grade, I looked around the school library for a big, thick book to read, and found The Hobbit, and read it.

My older brother, sister, and another sister had read the Hobbit and LotR and really liked them, so when I was in 3rd grade I read all of them in about a month.They are now my favorite books. Since then I have never read them straight through again, but skip around, and often carry one of the books around in my pocket to read whenever I have time.

When I was a kid one of my uncles always talked about how I should read LOTR because they were so good. So at the age of twelve I picked it up and I loved it.Now I consider it the best book I have ever read. But LOTR wasn´t enough for me. So a few years later, when I found out about The Hobbit and The Silmarillion I wanted to read those as well. Anyway, I bought them and I really enjoyed them.

Hi, bmilder. Finally i´m here. I´ve adapted my name to made it more suitable. This is my first post, so hello all!! As someone said above, Tolkien found me. When i was 10 an elder cousin told me he was reading TLotR. He did me a briefing of what he had read. I cannot remember much, but i know i liked the story and specially the names: Aragorn, Gandalf. But at that age i wasn´t a reader. In fact i only remember to have read a kids version of Saint Joan of Arc and other of Dumas´ The Three Mosqueters (is that the english word?), so i didn´t read the book and fogot it. Four years after, during a three hours car travel a friend (a great friend) told me the story of the Silmarillion. He had read many times all Tolkien books, so he told the story with much detail. He told it so well that i didn´t care to be spoiled. At the end of the travel i firmly decided to read that book. Yes, i first read Silmarillion. I´m the only person i know who has read the books in their chronological order. I´ve heard many times people saying that silmarillion is a queer, difficult book, but i cannot agree. As i said, i wasn´t a good reader (by that time i believe i´d only added two F. Forsyth books to my short list), but the story caught me, and then i began to delight the poetry of the text, the names... i fall in love with Luthien and that day my destiny was made. That year i read The Hobbit and TLotR. When i was finishing it i was wondering how will be Tolkien able to find a worthy crown to that huge work. I began to think he won´t be able, but then i reached the Fields of Pelennor and i fell competely overwhelmed. I thought it was insuperable, but i cannot imagine the scene at the Doom´s Mountain... Now, at 28 i´m a great reader, i like good literature and i´m proud to say that Tolkiens books still are of the best books i ever read. I keep re-reading the books or consulting chapters frequently. Now i´m reading the books in English (i´d used always translated versions) and i´m re-descovering them. Well, that´s my history. Nice to be with you.