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’m generally a sci-fi person too, currently reading LOTR after DNFing The Hobbit 20 years ago. I would recommend reading The Hobbit first if you haven’t seen the movies, just so you know wtf they are talking about regarding Bilbo’s adventure….but you don’t HAVE to. Or maybe read a synopsis of The Hobbit before you start Fellowship? But you can do whatever you want!
I really disagree with whoever said LOTR is dense. I have ADHD and dense books are really tough for me. I think Fellowship flows pretty quickly once Frodo leaves the shire and they don’t linger on battles for too long, which is where I get bored. Maybe it gets dense later? I also love that it’s never TOO scary or TOO gruesome or TOO sad (so far). It’s just fun and cozy and I really love it.