I just saw a clip from LOTR Two Towers and I never got into LOTR and now feel like I lack some culture not having read any of it. I also haven’t watched any of the movies. I tried watching The Hobbit (first movie) but I didn’t understand any of it. Maybe it’s not for me? I like sci fi but not sure about phantasy. Can you understand each book without reading them in order? How many books are there? Is it still a trilogy?
I highly recommend the audiobooks narrated by Andy Serkis (who was Smeagol/Gollum in the movies). He’s SO good at it and clearly had a ton of fun doing it. I personally find LotR kind of hard to read in physical form, but these audiobooks were perfect for my last reread.