Tolkein wasn’t a novelist and never intended to be one. He was an Oxford Don who loved mythology/folklore and linguistics and it shows. He wanted to create a body of folklore for English people. I think the pipilarity of the books shows he was pretty successful. But the man did not know how to write a “ripping yarn”. His pacing and out of control expositioning ruin the flow of the story. The filmmakers did an absolutely brilliant job of “fixing” that to make the movie enjoyable without destroying the story and characters. But seeing the movies first is sure to make the books seem even duller, especially to a younger person.
I’m so glad I didn’t encounter that before being assigned to read it foe class. That would be so so confusing.