The Great Tales as introduction

[Boromir88]

Something Mithadan mentioned in his post, got me thinking about my own thoughts when trying to read The Silmarillion for the first time (this would have been around 2007), but I couldn't get through it. It wasn't Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit, and I agree with Mithadan's point that it read more like a summary of events, distant and impersonal.

It was only after reading "Of Tuor and his coming to Gondolin" and "Narn I Hin Hurin" in Unfinished Tales, that I gave the Silmarillion another try. Because, in my opinion, "Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin" is the best single chapter/tale about Middle-earth history that Tolkien wrote. So, in my 2nd attempt, I wanted to get to Tuor's chapter in The Silmarilion (which was near the end), but I found I enjoyed many of the other chapters before it: Thingol and Melian, Feanor and the Unchaining of Melkor, Beren and Luthien, the Fall of Fingolfin, Turin Turambar. After my 2nd attempt, and successfully finishing The Silmarillion, it still misses the magic of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, but in my opinion it contains the 2 best individual tales (Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin, and Beren and Luthien).