How old were you the first time you read The Lord of The Rin

[Solarum]

I was just curious how old everyone was when they were first introduced to the genius of Tolken. I myself was in the 2rd grade. It was a really tough read for me (I was 6 or so). I really didn't get into his writing until my early teens. This of couse led to the unavoidable connection to RPG's and other fantasy novels. Oh well, I guess being a geek is okay

Just wanted to see the responses.

Can't be as bad as never having read them..
but may be someday I'll give it a try...

[Nilredwen]

Actually first came The Hobbit when I was about 9 or 10 since I was home sick a few days and very down so my mom started reading it to me and I was so hooked by the end of the first few chapters and flew through the rest on my own once I was better. I was ecstatic when my mom informed me there were three more books by this incredible author and I plunged into them shortly thereafter and have loved them ever since, and the fantasy gendre in general.

I am amazed Solarum that you were able to read through them at age 6! I always read stuff above my reading level but Tolkien at 6 would never have worked for me!:)

[Solarum]

They were tough. I was in an advance reading class in school and the teach required it. Really didn't enjoy them until much later.

I'm glad I was forced to reread them when I was older. I only remember how hard they were to read and most likely would have never touched them again.

[Old Soul]

I was in grade school when I started to read the Hobbits and the Lord of the Ring series. I enjoyed the book so much. I started to read it to my little brother as his bed time stories. He as well as I would pretend we were out on some hobbit adventures when we would hike out into the massive fields and woods. I, being so much taller then he was, couldn

[noblerot]

I haven't read The Lord of the Rings, but I did read The Hobbit not too long ago. A few years ago I suppose, I read it to my daughter and she's too old (11) for bedtime stories now.

sorry to say I have not read LOTR, but I did see the frist moive, the very old one.
But I will buy the flim and watch that, all my family have seen it, but I was ill at the time so i miss it.

star38

[Kikishwa]

My mother read me "The Hobbit" as a bedtime story when I was 8 and gave me "The Lord of the Rings" for my 10th birthday and I've been reading them both ever since.:D

I got to the Silmarillion and the Unfinished Tales in my middle teens and only recently began to look at Christopher Tolkien's "History of Middle Earth" series which are interesting but not books you actually really READ.

Kikishwa

[Josslyn]

I was never a real fan of fantasy literature. I knew that eventually I would read them. (I try to read classics in every genre except romance.) Polished the trilogy and The Hobbit off a few months before the first film came out.

[elizabeth vanharlingen]

I read "The Hobbit" and "LotR" when I was twelve or thirteen.

Vandevere

[Matt Gemmell]

I was about 14 when my English teacher introduced me to the books . He knew of my love for horror movies and literature and was trying to broaden my horizons .
I enjoyed them but soon went back to James Herbert and Stephen King . To date , The Rings are the only fantasy books I have read

[Patricia Smith]

...and I tended to prefer teachers who taught either Shakespeare or German writers, such as Hermann Hesse (in translation, of course; I don't speak German, wish I did). However, I got curious, when I was about 15 or so, and saw all these people running around carrying The Hobbit, reading it for English class. So, I went and read that, then I read LotR. Tried to read The Silmarillion, but at that time, I found it unreadable. I may try it again, now that, at the ripe old age of nearly 45, I have had some time to change, and become, well, more me than I used to be.

I have read so many books in my lifetime, it is not worth it to bore anyone with a load of details at this point. It is a good thing that these movies are being made. It is a much better thing, however, that Mr. Lee is a part of them, as he DID know the late Mr. Tolkien, and has enough knowledge to be able to keep the moviemakers on track unless they really do not care about the movies they make.

[Michelle77]

I am currently reading TTT and just have to say that it just keeps on getting better! I was never really into reading this kind of fantasy fiction before, but now I realise I should have read them a long time ago!

It is wonderful to be transported from a dreary crowded train to the magical land of hobbits, elves and wizards and by the time I have finished a couple of chapters, my usually twice daily, boring journey is over and I am sad that I have to put my book away! And it is actually the first book that I have actually stood up reading whilst waiting for my train on the platform! :)

[Colin Bushby]

I started to read it when I was a very young 40 ! never finished it though, I got a copy just before it came on at the cinema so I gave up and waited to watch it on the big screen. I used to be an avid reader, but it is a time issue now. Too much work and not enough time, or is it the other way around ?

[Alfonso Casal]

...and I tended to prefer teachers who taught either Shakespeare or German writers, such as Hermann Hesse (in translation, of course; I don't speak German, wish I did).  

Odd that you say that, Arlyss. In my High School there were two cliques among the "brainy" kids: There was the LORD OF THE RINGS/DUNE crowd; and there was the Hermann Hesse group. The first were sort of geeky, techno-science types. The second were artsy, long-suffering-existentialist wannabes (kind of paleo-goths, really). I was among the latter.

Even though I became a fan of fantastic literature, I never got into LOTR until hearing that Mr. Lee was going to be starring in the film verision of the books. So, I first read LOTR two years ago. Interesting. . . I wonder how I would have responded to it as an adolescent?