Prodigal First Born
I like that prodigal first-born category. I read the Hobbit and LotR back in my middle-school days in the late seveties (struggled a bit with LotR - skipped the Council of Elrond entirely). I got completely bogged down in the Silm. I re-read LotR in high school in the early 80s.
Then when the movies came out it rekindled my interest. After the first movie, I went out and purchased the single volume of LotR from Wallyworld and finished it in a month. I then picked up the trade paperbacks of the Silm and Hobbit and have read each twice. I currently on my second read (of this millenium) of LotR following along with the Chapter-by-Chapter discussion (which I highly recommend).
Two funny things - first, the Silm has become my favorite book. I had to set it aside from a third re-read to pick up LotR again.
Second, while the movies really pulled me back into Middle-Earth, and they are visual masterpieces, the more I read and appreciate the books, the less I appreciate the screenplays for the movies.
I think I have Unfinished Tales in my future...
Planning on reading The Hobbit to my two older children (8 and 4) next summer...
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