[Jessica Jade]

I must admit that the movies inspired me to read the books. Before the movie, some of my friends had highly recommended the books to me, but i thought they looked too long and that i didn't have enough time to read them. (ah, i know how immature that sounds). After I saw the movie, though, i wanted to read the books because i could not get enough of Middle Earth. <P>I'm now on the last chapter of Fellowship, and i've developed an attachment to the Lord of the Rings...Tolkien is a genius;he has the incredible ability to bring the wide world of Middle Earth into the readers mind, down to the finest detail. I LOVEd the movie when i saw it (twice), but the old saying is true: the book is always better. I occasionally read over the movie script, and, although it contains very good dialogue and is very well-written, it seems so empty compared to the book...the book is so much more full and complete, and altogether satisfying.<P>I sort of regret not having read the books before i watched the movie, because i was sort of robbed of the chance to imagine the Tolkien's world all by myself. On the other hand, I am grateful ina way too, because, without having the book to compare it to,i was able to watch the movie for its own sake and appreciate how good the movie alone is, not just how well they adapted it from the book. The movie was INCREDIBLy beautiful-x0they did a superb job with everything! Although i think the book is a lot better, both it and the movie are wonderful in their own ways. It's almost like they are 2 separate things. <P>I can't wait to start Two Towers and Return of the King because now i have the chance to imagine everything on my own. It'll be interesting to see how the movie compares to how i imagine it.<P>I have a question for all of you who read the book before seeing the film: how did your interpretations compare? Was Middle Earth, and the characters in the movie at all like you imagined it?