It wasn’t bad for me, but when I was about 12 my grandma got me a thriller - I think by Jan Guillou, and it opened with someone receiving a severed finger in the mail. I was riveted, but grandma was mortified about giving such a book to an impressionable young girl.

Oh, that sounds amazing! As a bookworm who grew up with little money (basically everything I had was hand-me-downs or from charity shops) I would have been over the moon.

I’m a pretty bi woman, and between Hannah and Brett there’s a lot for me to enjoy in this show besides the jokes and generally wholesome atmosphere.

I think I was about 10-11 when my mum first read me LotR and I was obsessed. This was way before the movies, for I am old (and I kind of hate you for reminding me that the movies have already been out for 20 years). It was my first introduction to more “serious/adult” fantasy after having devoured The Chronicles of Narnia and The Neverending Story (boy, was I pissed when that book ended - I actually thought it would somehow magically continue on forever… ).

That being said, I can totally see how after watching the films, to a kid, the books would a bit of a slog. It also helps that my mum is a fantastic narrator and storyteller. I’m just now listening to LotR on audiobook and I definitely have a newfound respect for Peter Jackson and his crew for keeping the integrity of the main story intact, while having to cut out so much side plot and lore.