How old were you the first time you read LOTR?

[miellien]

I have an ulterior motive here. My son is almost 10 and I've been wondering when to give him the books. I don't want it to be too early and spoil it for him. But here's my story:

9 years old. Got FotR on a Friday, on Saturday announced to my parents that I was not leaving the house until they got me the rest of the books and I finished reading them!! I've been reading them anually ever since. What's your story?
-Mi- smilies/biggrin.gif

[Nilpaurion Felagund]

I'm relatively new to LotR. I first knew of it when they showed the FotR movie. Then my sister (Lhunardawen) started reading the books. I began to read the books a few weeks before the TTT movie.

Wala lang!
->The True Son of Finrod, and of Amarie the Vanyar

EDIT: Sorry! The question was how old! I'm 17 now, and I read the book last year. That makes me 16 when I first read LotR.

[ October 10, 2003: Message edited by: Nilpaurion Felagund ]

[Elvish Archer]

I first read them when I was about 10. I read about how Legolas could shoot and wanted to be just like him. So I pestered my father until he got me a bow. Hard as I try I still can't do it. smilies/wink.gif

[Morgul Queen]

hmmm, The Hobbit at 5, Part of Fellowship at 7 (I had a short attention span, I Was SEVEN!!), But I finally read the entire trilogy at 12.

[Iargwath]

I read The Lord of the Rings at 13...i started reading it a month after i finished reading The Hobbit...i couldn't really help myself smilies/smile.gif

[Meela]

Hobbit ~ aged 3.

Lotr ~ not sure.

Everything else ~ recently.

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings when I was 17 and The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales when I was 18. Coupled with the introduction to the world of Andrew W.K, this period was the point when my life completely changed!

I sometimes wonder if it was the right time to start reading it. Maybe if I had been younger it wouldn't have meant so much today, because I possibly wouldn't have been so disillusionised with the real world back then.

[kittygirl02]

I read the Hobbit when I was ten, and started the other books when I was 11.

[Annalaliath]

I think that there has already been a topic like this but not with the motive. But I was exposed to Tolkien sience birth. If he is ten then give him the Hobbit and then let him read it slowly, I think I was about that age when I read it. But anyway I think that it could also make a neet family event. You can also go to your Library and get it on tape and let him listen to it.

Rant Rant Rant...... I love exposing the young ones to Tolkien! when you influence inncent children to read The Hobbit from the you know your obbsessed thread... the old one.a funny thing.... (http://forum.barrowdowns.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=17&t=000379&p=4)

[Elentári_O_Most_Mighty_1]

I read the Hobbit then LOTR when I was 11. But I don't think you should start your son on LOTR that young, because frankly I didn't understand it properly. I didn't understand Éowyn at all, and I really regret that, because having seen the films I can see what a great character she really is, and no matter how many times you read them you can't really recapture that feeling you had when you first read it- the sheer wonder and awe. Being able to have understood the whole Éowyn-Aragorn thing first time would have made the experience much more complete. The thing is, when you are that young, the sutblety (sp?) just leaves you confused. It's like reading Thomas Hardy, for goodness' sake. I read that last year, when I was 14, and the sutblety was so extreme that I wouldn't have noticed that the girl got raped had my english teacher not warned me beforehand.
Ok, long post and not much point...except to say not too young. Maybe 13 or 14, when you are more certain that Éowyn is suffering from unrequited love- or supposedly anyway.

[Lily Bracegirdle]

I was 12 when I read LOTR but I didn't really appreciate it at the time. The parts where Sam and Frodo were slogging through Mordor bored me to tears. The writing style changed so much from FotR to RotK and became much more "grown up" so that it was hard for me to pay attention at that age. I appreciate the books more now that I'm older.

Maybe physical age has less to do with it than emotional/mental age. What sorts of books does your son like to read now? If he's not such a big reader, he may like easier books like Harry Potter or Narnia or the Chronicles of Prydain.

-Lily

[Finwe]

I was 8 years old when I first read LotR, and surprisingly, I loved it. I had read the Hobbit a year before, and I had gone completely crazy about all things Middle-earth. Thankfully, my parents were busy with their Residency/Ph.D's, and couldn't afford a TV with a bunch of channels, so all I could do was read, which was what I did.

[Elennar Starfire]

When I was four, my dad started reading a chapter of The Hobbit every night as a bedtime story. I didn't find it all that hard to understand, but then, maybe I'm just smart. smilies/wink.gif

[Shenaran]

This doesn't sound good....but I was tweenty-six, now I'm tweenty-seven...but I did read The Hobbit when I was younger.

[Goldberry]

I think I was 12 when I first read The Hobbit and LotR. But that was after having seen the FotR movie, so I understood much better since I already knew the basics.

[miellien]

Oooh, goody, advice!! I was thinking there may have been a topic like this previously, but when I tried to search my computer just sat there for 15 minutes so I gave up. Plus, I really appreciate the input directed at my "ulterior motive." I'll keep reading- it's great to see I'm not the only person who warped their childhood ...I mean started reading the books young and becoming obsessed!! smilies/smile.gif

[Gorwingel]

I first read the entire trilogy when I was 16, after I had seen FOTR. Yes, I am ashamed sometimes that I had not discovered the books at an earlier age (well, I did kind of discover them while I was in 7th grade, but that is a long and complicated story), but at least I discovered them.

I think it is okay though to give him the books at 10, that is definitely not too young. It could be a very lovely birthday or holiday present. And if it is too difficult for him at this time, you could read it too him, or he could just have the books there, and then pick them up when he is ready smilies/smile.gif

[lindil]

I read them at 11 and the Silm prob at 12.

As for being to young, my opine is that the archetypal images and beutiful writing convey much even if one does not understand all the nuances. I read the Hobbit to both of my girls when they were 3 or 4 and my oldest started reading the LotR herself [after we had finished it] at five.

[Faye Took]

Hmm, I think I was about 12 or 13 years old. The movies got me introduced. My birthday is usually after the movies so I think I had just turned 13. This year Return of the King is the day before my birthday! December 16th! I'm a RotK eve baby ;-) smilies/tongue.gif

[The Saucepan Man]

I must have been about 10 when I was first introduced to the Hobbit - we read it in class at school. I went on to read LotR aged about 11 or so. I wouldn't discourage reading it at that age. I have since drawn a lot more from it in subsequent readings, and learned a lot more about Tolkien's world from the other books and from this site, but none of that comes anywhere near to matching the sheer wonder and magic of the book that I experienced when I first read it.

I have recently read the Hobbit to my 5 year old daughter, and she loved it. And I will encourage her to read it herself when she is a bit older. If she is still interested when she is age 10 (which, knowing her, I imagine she will be), I will encourage her to read LotR (or perhaps we shall read it together).

Which all goes to say, miellien. that I would think 9/10 to be an excellent age to introduce your son to the Hobbit, closely followed by LotR. smilies/smile.gif

[Nilpaurion Felagund]

Yes, I am ashamed sometimes that I had not discovered the books at an earlier age...


Yes, so true...so true...now my friends tell me that it's just a fad hyped by the movie...wish I had been a Tolkien reader earlier in my life... smilies/frown.gif

[Tinuviel of Denton]

Too young.

I was eight, and while I understood the story, it wasn't until almost now that I've begun to understand some of the underlying meanings in the books. They're so much deeper than I at first knew.

And I was 11 when I read the Silm, but the real meat of that was about ten miles over my head. I got the story, but not the story, if that makes sense.

[miellien]

I really appreciate everybody's input so far!! I'm pretty sure I'm going to start my son on The Hobbit and see if he asks to read the "sequels" on his own. He has enjoyed the DVDs so far, so at least he'll be familiar with the storyline.
Nobody else barricaded themselves in their room and refused to come out for anything but food and other necessities until they completed all three plus appendices? smilies/smile.gif

[Theoric Windcaller]

I was 12, in fact, a year ago yesterday I finished the TTT.8) Bring sback memories.

[Meela]

Nobody else barricaded themselves in their room and refused to come out for anything but food and other necessities until they completed all three plus appendices?

I think it's taken me two years or more so far to read Lotr, and I still have bits to read. I would barricade myself in my room, but I'd probably die smilies/smile.gif

But I did deprive myself of sleep for about 2 weeks so I could get through the Silmarillion. That was to please the rest of the Barrow Downs members, because I said I would never read the Sil, and I wanted to show them that I could actually read it. I also spent most of my nights re-reading Lotr, because they refused to believe I had read it in the first place.

I'm a very dedicated member smilies/smile.gif

[Finwe]

I barricaded myself in my room, with a large supply of food (Pringles, Hershey Bars, and Diet Coke) until I finished the Silmarillion and the Unfinished Tales. I think that was about a 36-hour reading sprint! (I'm a speed-reader so it wasn't overly hard).

[dancing spawn of ungoliant]

LotR at 14, Hobbit at 6 (I think), The Sil at 15, UT at 16 and all the books ever since smilies/smile.gif

[Kaiserin]

I was around ten years old myself when I was first acquainted with LOTR (that was a real long time ago...) I discovered The Hobbit a year later. I don't think age ten is "too early" to get started on Tolkien. Some parents even read bits of LOTR to their preschoolers at bedtime.

Hello miellien: smilies/biggrin.gif Even if your boy is young, I'm sure he will fall in love with the story, the charactes and Middle-Earth itself - even if he misses the subtle clues and undertones. One needen't be the overly intelligent and perceptive type. Anyway, if there would be some things that he may be "too young" to grasp, he can always re-read and re-read the books, delving deeper into Tolkien-dom as his mind matures.

It's great to be back at the 'Downs!

Digging with the dead,
Kaiserin

[kittiewhirl1677]

I was about 10 when I read the Hobbit, in fourth grade, ages ago. It's hard to read LotR straight on, it's so long... I wanted to read other books, too...So I spread it out over the past four years. I'm still finishing RotK. smilies/rolleyes.gif

[ October 14, 2003: Message edited by: kittiewhirl1677 ]

[ainur]

I guess I was about 12 when I read LotR, and "The Hobbit" a few days after I finished RotK. I wanted to know more, more, more about Middle Earth. I wish I had read "The Hobbit" first, not because of the chronology, but because after crying with Sam all the way back from the Gray Havens, it was a bit of a let down to start in on the comic antics if 13 dwarves and a hobbit on a treasure hunt. "The Hobbit" has never been as close to my heart as the rest of Tolkien's work because of that. Not that I don't like it, just that I don't love it as much as LotR or Sil.

[StarJewel]

I think I was around 7 when I first read The Hobbit. I started to read everything else when Fellowship came out, when I was 15. I have been reading everything else (Silm, UT, and other Tolkein related stuff) since.

[Jack]

My mom read the Hobbit to me when I was 3... I have read on my own twice.
I read the trilogy, correction I finnished the trilogy when I was 13...

~Jack

[Wraith]

I was 11, and it took me 5 weeks to get through The Hobbit and all of LOTR, and I got the Silmarrilion on my 12th b-day.

[Failivrin]

i read the hobbit when i was, ooooooh, 10 or 11 and it took me a week.

i read LOTR when i was 14 and it took me 12 days

[Nalyah]

I hardly remember how old I was. I believe I was 6 or 7. My father read the books to me when I was very young, and I decided to read the Silmarillion on my own when I was at least 7. So, I would say any age would be fine/

[Enorëiel]

I read the Hobbit when I was about 13 but I never truly read LotR until about a year ago (age 16). I only read the books after I had seen FotR and decided that before I watched TTT I HAD to read the books. I only finished TTT before watching the movie but... at least I read it. My goal is to read the trilogy again before ROTK comes out but I'm only half way through TTT and my schedule prevents me from getting time to read so... (yeah that was a bit off topic....) I have Sim. but haven't read it yet and as for the other books I plan on reading those before I graduate.

As for being too young, I think as long as they are willing to read it and are interested in it then they are of a good enough age to read it.

[kittygirl02]

Younger readers will not appriciate the beautiful works of LOTR, I did not understand it.

[kittygirl02]

But i do not have the opinion of the whole world, nor every young reader.

[The Saucepan Man]

Younger readers will not appriciate the beautiful works of LOTR, I did not understand it.

No, I didn't understand it, in the sense that I understand it now, when I first read it. There was much that I missed. But I did derive a great sense of wonder from it. Looking back now, I feel that there is an immense amount to be gained from the Books when you are young and your imagination is at its height that you can never totally recapture as an adult reader, however greater your understanding is in other ways.

So, I don't think it matters at all that a young reader may not appreciate everything about the work - especially when they have many years of re-reading pleasure before them. smilies/wink.gif

Edit:

He has enjoyed the DVDs so far, so at least he'll be familiar with the storyline.

I meant to come back to this point, miellien. I was not at all sure that I should have let my children watch the film, in case it impairs the sense of wonder that I hope that they will experience on first reading the Book. In many ways I would rather they had been given the opportunity to form their own impressions before being influenced by the images presented in the films.

In the end, I let them watch FotR, principally because I cannot imagine that they would not in any event have watched it themselves before coming round to read the Book. But I do wonder whether that was the right thing to so.

[ October 17, 2003: Message edited by: The Saucepan Man ]

[Knight of Gondor]

It kind of disturbs me that so many young kids cheered and oogled when Lurtz got his little spinal surgery courtesy of Aragorn, but I'm not here to preach on youth's downfalls.

Being still somewhat young myself, I only discovered Lord of the Rings two years ago. Hopefully, I can now rub elbows with the best of Tolkienites after severe, self-inflicted training, but I would bet that for kids under 10 the book might be scary, and for kids under 12 the movie is too much. Just my humble opinion.

Not to mention that a lot of kids might get choked up on the style Tolkien has.

[ArcticWyrm]

I was 9 when I read the Hobbit, and 10 when I read the rest. Im 14 right now and a bookworm. smilies/tongue.gif

[Luthien_ Tinuviel]

I read The Hobbit when I was eight, and LOTR when I was nine. And every year after that.

Nobody else barricaded themselves in their room and refused to come out for anything but food and other necessities until they completed all three plus appendices?

Well, the first time I read it, I basically spent the whole summer in my room reading... so if that counts....

Younger readers will not appriciate the beautiful works of LOTR, I did not understand it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

No, I didn't understand it, in the sense that I understand it now, when I first read it. There was much that I missed. But I did derive a great sense of wonder from it. Looking back now, I feel that there is an immense amount to be gained from the Books when you are young and your imagination is at its height that you can never totally recapture as an adult reader, however greater your understanding is in other ways.

So, I don't think it matters at all that a young reader may not appreciate everything about the work - especially when they have many years of re-reading pleasure before them.


I agre, Saucepan.... I loved it, and I think I got most of it, but every time I read it again, I pick up more.... Altogether quite a pleasant arrangement.

Not to mention that a lot of kids might get choked up on the style Tolkien has.


Now, I don't want to sound arrogant here, but it seems to me that a lot of us who love and really "get" Tolkien are the intelligent ones. It's the so-called "smart kids" who can read and enjoy LOTR, whereas the others get bored and quit (I saw this happen to two boys in my sixth grade). I think young kids reading LOTR is great, as long as they enjoy it. I for one wasn't scared by it.... well, maybe a little bit.... okay, okay, I admit, some things still scare me, but the scary parts are scary by necessity. And I have problems with Shelob because I'm rather arachnophobic.

Anyway, back to the point, miellien, I think that as long as your son wants to read the Hobbit and LOTR, he should go for it.

[Seagull Jonathan L.]

I was 14.I remember that I didn't let my brother come into the house until he brought me the second book.It was fun

[Earendil Halfelven]

I was in 7th grade when I first started to read the Hobbit and then the LOTR trilogy. All thanks to my dad for having an old book collection in which was contained 1960's editions of the Hobbit and LOTR. I'm 18 now, but I don't feel like doing the math. Typical lazy teen, huh? smilies/biggrin.gif

[Eggy]

Well i first read the Hobbit when i was 16 and since then ive ate all tolkien i could find, but i think if somebody were to read it when they were too young they would miss alot of the little beauties. Or mabey im just to sad in my old age. (19 hehe)

[miellien]

Wow, this has gone all the way to 2 pgs! About the kid in question: he hardly reads anything beyond a 10 chapter book, although I know he's capable of more. I would like him to be a Tolkien fan, but not necessarily fan-atic. I don't think it's genetic; or maybe his dad's lack of interest cancels out my fanatic genes. Did that make any sense? So I guess when you combine an avid reader of all topics and an anti-reader who is obsessed with sports, you get a boy who reads sports books. Would like to expand that realm!!When I let him watch the movies, it was all part of my evil plan to do so! smilies/evil.gif

[The_Hand]

Its very fun to read about this! Here's my story...
I am a new fanatic. I dived right into it! But when I was young I watched The Hobbit all the time. It was only until after I heard they were making a movie I thought I should read the books. And now two years later I'm on my forth history of middle-earth book and I love it! Everyone thinks I'm crazy and I think I am. Even my sister who read Lotr first and told me to says I'm insane. Now I'm the one trying to convice HER to read Silm... got any ideas by the way on how to make/force/get her to read it!? smilies/biggrin.gif smilies/evil.gif

[Donnoliel, Elven Warrior Princess]

i first read the lord of the rings at 7, after seeing a play version of the hobbit. i only got past the first chapter and didn't understand it at all. after fotr came out in cinemas i read it again at 12. didn't understand the concept or difference of ringwraiths or orcs.

[Snowdog]

I was 17 when I read the hobbit and started on the Fellowship. I think I was at the Prancing Pony when I turned 18 (how appropriate) and read the rest of the trilogy at that age. I was 19 when the Silmarillion came out and I read some of it, but got bogged down in it and didn't pick it up again until I was 20. I was 27 when I picked up a copy of the Unfinished Tales.

[Phervasaion]

I read Lotr recently, i tjink i was 13 and im 15 now. I have also recently started reading the sillmarilion.

[Eggy]

I thinks its all about wanting to read, "the collection" as its called in my house, or needing to read "the collection". I had to read it to keep myself sane(a kinda stress relief more than anything else) because the story kept just playing over and over again in my head, and i couldnt put it down because i was always wanting to know wat happened next...

[Guinevere]

What strikes me in this thread - almost everyone here had their first encounter with LotR as children or teenagers! Maybe because you belong to a generation whose parents were already fond of Tolkien and so introduced their children to his works?

Well, I am the big exception here, since with me, it was just the other way round. I first read LotR at the age of 50 !! (That was 2 1/2 years ago. I surely must be the grandmother of this forum smilies/eek.gif smilies/wink.gif )

´Heaven knows why I never came across Tolkien before. It was only when my son (then 15) read the Hobbit and LotR that I discovered it.
The funny thing is that I soon got much more "hooked" than he! For him it was just another exciting adventure and fantasy story, but for me it was kind of a revelation.
I have read much in my life, yet no other book has ever so thrilled, moved and fascinated me and stirred such an interest in its author and all his writings and thoughts.

Miellien, I understand you very well. I also have a husband who never reads any fiction... My boys both like fiction and fantasy but they were both very late and slow readers (they preferred for a long time that I read to them) I hope they will reread LotR (in English, since they only read the German translation which lacks all the charm and beauty of Tolkiens wonderful language) later in life.
Because, as several others have mentioned adults do get more out of LotR!

Like Tolkien himself stated in one of his letters (189): I find that many children become interested, even engrossed, in The Lord of the Rings, from about 10 onwards. I think it rather a pity, really. It was not written for them. But then I am a very "unvoracious" reader, and since I can seldom bring myself to read a work twice, I think of the many things that I read - too soon! Nothing, not even a (possible) deeper appreciation, for me replaces the bloom on a book, the freshness of the unread. Still what we read and when goes, like the people we meet, by "fate".
On the other hand, Tolkien had stated in "On Fairy-stories": ...though it may be better for children to read some things, especially fairy-stories, that are beyond their measure rather than short of it. Their books, like their clothes should allow for growth, and their books at any rate should encourage it.

[Fyara]

I read the hobbit when i was like 7 years old and also lotr. Ive been reading all my life and have read about 3000 books :P im currently 18 will be 19 on april 9 :P

[Arathiriel]

I read the books first when I was 23 years old, in January 2002, after a failed
viewing of FOTR in theaters - yes the orcs scared me silly as I didn't understand what they were. I saw enough of the movie that I had to read the books to find out what happened to Frodo after he was stabbed by the Witch King and so I read the books - and LOVED them!!!

I have since reread them once since then and I have now stalled (just outside of Moria) on a third reading as I began to read another series...

[ArathorofBarahir]

I saw the making of the movie for the Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring before Christmas Break of 2001 when I was 15, and I was totally awestruck by it, and after watching the behind he scenes special, I went out and bought the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and read them in a few days, fell in love with the story and feel the exact same about the books to this day. They are classics.

[Galenondowen]

My cousin recommended LOTR to me, about the same time the Fellowship of the Ring's about to be shown in cinemas. I, by then 14 or so, had never heard of LOTR, and thought that nothing's gonna be better than Harry Potter. (Ignorant, huh?) Anyway, I listened to my cousin's advice, and got myself a copy. I watched both the film and books at the same time, and became totally obsessed with it. The passion dies down a little now, but I still regard LOTR as the best books and movies ever. ^_^
Sorry for drifting off! -_-;; I read Hobbit at the age of 15 I think, and then Silmarilion some time before turning 16.

Oh, do you know where I can get some good avatars?

[Elizabeth Elindel]

I read them when I was about 13, actally, I have a funny story about that. See, my younger brother got "The Hobbit" first, and read it (he was 12). He kept talking to me about "this great book that I really should read", but I didn't want to admit that I was intersted. <sigh> At last, I happened to pick it up one day, read it in about four hours (yeah, I read fast) and was hooked. However, I didn't want to let on. Next, he wanted me to get the FotR for him. I got it, but secretly read it first, hiding it under my pillow. I gave it back to him after I was done (about three days later) and admited it to him. BUT... guess what? I did the same thing with the TT! We never got the RotK from the liberay, I got the set for Christmas. I've been hooked ever since. :-)
~ Elizabeth Elindel

[Mantauriel]

I remember it... I was seven. Though it's only been about four years scince I began! smilies/eek.gif

[GhastlyInnocence]

I read them either just before or after I turned 16 I can’t remember anymore.

[Arothir]

I read Hobbit when I was 10 and LotR when I was 11. Hmm... that was only a few years back and now I have all of the History of Middle-earth and I've read the Silmarillion!

[Leona]

I actually had my father read me "The Hobbit" when I was about 7, so 10 is not too young. We began reading the FOTR, but never got very far. I kind of forgot about it, and saw the FOTR movie without even thinking about reading the books first. Amazingly, the entire movie made perfect sense, and so did the FOTR when I finally got around to reading it. But TTT was so much more complicated for me, I got it and everything, but it was just so much more complex. I think that seeing the movie helped me get a general idea of the direction of the story, so I could consentrate on some of the details that made the story so memorable. People say that seeing the movie ruines the experience, but from where I'm standing, you did the right thing by letting him see the movie before he reads the books. But, that is just my opinion, hope it helps.

Later,
Leona

P.S. Come to think of it, I'm still working on locating any other books on Middle Earth. I am not very determined, I should try harder.

[miellien]

Hobbit flashback!!I suddenly realized that i wore out a recording of "The Hobbit" which went with a little illustrated book when I was about 5. Now, that was to go with the old animated movie, and it was on a record. Spinning discs that contained sounds that we had in the olden days. So, my own ME obsession goes back farther than I originally remembered.
The unsuspecting boy's b-day is this month. I'm not making The Hobbit his present, but I will get him his own copy this month and see what happens. smilies/biggrin.gif

[Gorlim]

Age o' 9 years here! I was an extremely literary child, though. My mum introduced the books to me when I was in 4th grade and I've been in love with them ever since.

[Eowyn:Lady of Rohan]

I began reading LOTR when I was 14 years old. I've read it two more times since then, and I'm 18 years old. As one gets older he/she will understand the book better.

[barandilwen]

When i first read the Hobbit, i was 11 yrs. old. My uncle gave it to me as a birthday present, then he gave me Lotr, Fotr and Lotr, Ttt, Christmas that year, and eventually i read it and the rest was history! i'm now 14 years old and I have read 7 books of Tolkein smilies/tongue.gif

[Arwen_Evenstar]

I read the Hobbit first, then found LOTR too complicated (i was nine at the time). Then i fogot about the trilogy until FotR came out at the movies, then when i saw that i FELL IN LOVE! By the time TTT came out I had read the trilogy Three times, and now i have read it four. My plan is to read it anually from now on.

Now i have read the Sil, UT, Tales of the Perilous Realm, A few of the HoM-E, and many more that I can't bring to mind at present...but i have two shelves dedicated to the Wonderful World of Tolkien!
There's my story!!!
smilies/smile.gif
Have a nice day!

[ November 07, 2003: Message edited by: Arwen_Evenstar ]

[Dolenarda]

I was 11 when i read the hobbit, and 13 when i read the fellowship. I didnt see the fellowship movie till this year, and i'm 24

[lothiriel]

When I first read FotR I was 10 or 11. I found it sooo boring, I stopped reading it before I even had read the prologue!

Then, two years ago, when I was 13, I started reading it again. And I LOVED it. Then I got The Hobbit for Christmas, and I liked it, too. But I found it a bit irritating to read, as it was translated differently than the trilogy. They had different words for "hobbit" and some of the place names, and such.

As you can see I read the trilogy before I read The Hobbit, and I regret that a bit...

I read the Silmarillion when I was 14, and the Unfinished Tales earlier this year, in the age of 15. Right now I'm reading the Book of Lost Tales 1.

That's my story. I won't let my children read the trilogy before they read the trilogy. And I won't let them read the trilogy before I think they are able to understand it.

[kittiegirl]

Um, okay, I read the Hobbit when I was almost 12, and I skipped through parts of it because i thought it was boring.
Then I did the same thing with the trilogy.
I saw the movies after I "read" the books, and I only really read the parts which were in the movies(which proves how much I actually read)

Then in January of this year, I read The Hobbit again, and i was a little shocked at how much I had missed out on.
I read The trilogy again too,(This started my anguish against Peter Jackson)

I highly reccomend kids, like say 11 at the youngest NOT reading LOTR because they will not be able to comprehend the stories.

[Lady Snickerdoodle]

Hey Kittiegirl, at first I was gonna say something really rude about skipping but then i read the rest of your message! smilies/tongue.gif so many skip-readers don't change their ways... kudos to you..
anyway I read the hobbit when I was 7 and the whole trilogy when I was 8. I suggest only reading little kids the books if you can already tell that they love to read and if they can sit still and are not one of those immature snot nosed hyper brats. If they are, just forget about it until they become immature hyper brats.

[kittiegirl]

Yes, I agree with that too.
For example, my friend's mom read her The Hobbit when she was younger, and my friend loved it.
i think it just depends on the person too, like, some people have longer attention spans than others, or certain things hold their interests more than others.

[Celeburiel]

I read The Hobbit and LOTR in my junior year of high school many, choke, many years ago after being turned on to them by a good Lit teacher. I think The Hobbit is suitable for a 10 year old, but LOTR might be a little dark and deep for your son. I remember being somewhat affected by some of the darker story lines, bad dreams and a certain amount of....not depression, call it blue funk, because the 'real world' didn't look much better. I was also quite upset by Frodo not being able to enjoy the benefits of his sacrifices, at that age you still expect life to be fair.

[Theron Bugtussle]

miellien,

I have some boys, too. The oldest read FotR at about 13-14 years. He is very smart. He found it boring, too detailed, not enough action. But he had already read many other fantasy books. I assume they are not as full textured as Tolkien, though I have not read most of them. I think they appeal to an adolescent mind and attention, especially boys raised on computer and video games, and action movies.

The next two boys have both read only FotR. probably around 12-13 yrs of age. They both failed to continue. They are both smart. One is more of a reader than the other.

I think if I read it out loud with them, they would appreciate it more. (I have read out loud with all my sons, quite a number of books.) It takes a long commitment for such a large book, though, so I have not done it with them as of yet. (I murdered The Hobbit with them a few years ago, taking too long, so they definitely lost interest. smilies/frown.gif )

This weekend I read part of a chapter to the 12 year old. He enjoyed it.

Finally, I read it myself when about 13-14. I discovered it in the library, and thought I was the only person in the world who knew how great this was!

[Temril]

38... and counting. Still haven't finished TTT smilies/redface.gif

[Rilwen Gamgee]

I read the books ("LotR") a few months before my 13th birthday, after "FotR" came out in theaters. I read the books after my sister recommemded them. I admit, I skiped some parts, but finally got around to re-reading them. I found out how much more enjoyable they were after that. I read "The Hobbit" last year. It all kind of depends on reading level, but 9 or 10 seems like a resonable age for reading "The Hobbit" and 11 or 13 for "LotR".

[Laitoste]

Ai. I had already written a reply and my computer deleted it. I HATE COMPUTERS!! smilies/mad.gif

Anyway, I vaguely remember reading the Fellowship in 5th grade, I think, at around 10-11 years old. Maybe. Then in 6th grade, my teacher started to read the Hobbit to us, and I went out and bought it because it wasn't in my dad's collection. In 8th grade, I read the Fellowship and the Two Towers. We moved, so I had to wait a few months to read the Return of the King, in the October of my freshman year of high school. That was right before the movie came out. I was obsessed before the movies! Yay! smilies/biggrin.gif I read the Silmarillion that same year, and have read it a couple times since, as I didn't understand it at first. I'm trying to read the Histories of Middle-Earth now, but am finding them a bit hard to get through. If you have any hints, PM me!

My dad loved LotR in high school too. All of my books were previously his, except the Hobbit. I like the old ones better than the new ones; they have more character (which is completely irrevelant. Oh well! smilies/wink.gif )

[ 9:56 PM November 29, 2003: Message edited by: Laitoste ]

[Iris Alantiel]

My dad absolutely loves Tolkien, so he got me started with The Hobbit when I was about eight. We would read it together every night before bed. When I was nine or ten, we started reading The Lord of the Rings together. I was really excited about it, and I even did a school project on Tolkien when I was in Sixth Grade (too bad no one else in the class had any idea who Tolkien was. Seriously, even the teacher, when I said who I was doing the project on, was like, "Who??")

Miellien - all I can really recommend to you is to judge by when you think your son is ready, as opposed to when it's still too early. But I wouldn't stress too much about it. There were some things that I was too young to appreciate in The Lord of the Rings the first time around; it's no big deal, I picked them up when I read it again.

[Cuthalion]

I was 15 when I first read The Hobbit...I subsequently devoured LotR and the Sil, taught myself to write using Feanorian letters and am currently working my way through HoME...at the urging of Maika.

I am now 45 and my love for JRRT's works has never faded.

[BlackRose]

i have read all of tolkien books when i was 14 years old...

[The Human Of Our Time]

I was 17 when I read it last Christmas. I read all of The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings over my Christmas break. I want to read it a second time before the movie comes out but I don't think I have enough free time to do so.

[Elladan and Elrohir]

I knew my Mom and Dad liked Tolkien, because they had the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings on our bookcase. So, about two years ago, at age 12, I picked up The Hobbit and decided to read it.

I read Chapter 1 and was bored to tears. I almost gave up, but, thankfully, didn't. By the end of chapter 2, I was hooked. I finished it in about a day.

That night, I started Fellowship and was COMPLETELY hooked. Mesmerized in the world of Middle-Earth. The only thing I skimmed while reading it for the first time was the Council of Elrond chapter, in which I was completely lost after about two pages of monologues. But I plunged forward, and, in less than a week, I had finished LOTR.

Since then, I've read LOTR no less than ten times, and I've read The Hobbit about eight times. A year ago, I finally persuaded my brother (who was 11 at the time) to read The Hobbit, and he got hooked on it and LOTR just like I did. Can't get him to read The Silmarillion, though.

So there it is. I've read LOTR and Hobbit multiple times, Silmarillion once, and Volumes 6-9 of History of M-E twice. I tried reading The Book of Lost Tales but was bored to tears. I'm dying to get my hands on Unfinished Tales.

FRODO LIVES!!!

[ 11:35 PM November 29, 2003: Message edited by: Elladan and Elrohir ]

[The Only Real Estel]

I was 9 or 10 when I started reading the Fellowship, & the rest followed. smilies/cool.gif

[yavanna II]

I got my Hobbit from my dad when I was 7, but I never read that till I was 10. Because of so much damn school pressure, i finished that at 12. I read the whole triology when I was 13, together w/ the Sil & Lost tales 1-2. smilies/smile.gif

[Firefoot]

I was 12 when I read the Hobbit - I was hooked by the second page. I started (and finished) the Lord of the Rings a few days later. I understood it pretty well too. I was absolutely enraptured by it while I was reading it...still am. smilies/smile.gif

[Tuor Turambar,Cursed by the Valar]

Age 7, when I was going into third grade. But i didn't understand most of the words.

[matherion]

I was twelve years old when I first set my eyes on The fellowship of the Ring and I started by reading the three books in english (not my native langauge).
When I was 13 I read Silmarillion and The hobbit.
I have never read them in Swedish because I fear that would spoil it all.. smilies/biggrin.gif

[lord_of_rohan2003]

Im another late bloomer,I read lotr after I saw the first movie at 22,and now im 24.But I dont feel to bad about it,heck after all Christopher Lee didin't read LOTR until he was in his late 30's early 40's!

[Aule-Master_of_Crafts]

I read it after the first film came out. And finished it after the Two Towers came out. I took a year because the old Forest was so boring.

[Eol Telemnar]

I was 9 when I read the Hobbit. I did not understand anything, so I did not read a tolkien book till I was 11. I then read the hobbit again, then the three, (FOTR,TT,ROTK)
then, just last year, I read The silmarillion and the lost tales. I'm reading the silmarillion again because I forgot most of it, and it would be kind of hard to answer some questions on this site!

[Aredhel Ar-Feiniel]

I have been reading the HObbit since February 2002, and i mean that literally. I mean (no offence) it is soooo boring, and is it just me or does Elrond almost seem like a happy guy?

As for LOTR i read them in 2000, and i read them constantly. I love them, thank heavens they arent a little dull!

[Gashberz]

I was 12 years old!!! Thanks J.R.R

[Jess]

well I'm thirteen and I just finished reading them all... now I have to admit I was not a fan before the movies came out but I really enjoy the story a lot, much more than the movies. I want to read some of Tolkien's other books based around LotR.

[Novberaid]

I was old then at 22. To quote an older song - "I am much younger now."

[miellien]

Oh my! I guess I've sort of neglected this thread. I actually haven't been able to post for a long time. My computer shuts down- so I've just been able to read. The news on my youngster: He's decided that after he sees all 3 movies on DVD, then he'll probably read the books. That's good enough for me! My heart trembles at the thought of discussing Tolkien w/o a computer or a long distance phone call! smilies/biggrin.gif

[Kransha]

I'm no prodigy, but I think I capably understood the Hobbit when I read it at age 9. I didn't know there was more for a year, when I discovered the trilogy. I spent a two weeks at age 10 reading some every night for almost three hours and finished the three of them (times probably inaccurate). Now I re-read every year. The Silmarillion came at 11, since it didn't seem as good. It turned out that it was even more epic, but still not as great as the trilogy itself.

[Tasslehoff_55]

i read the hobbit when i was young so one day i decided to start the fellowship. i finished the trilogy and i've read the trilogy last ones over and over since then! i'm obsessed with them!!!!! smilies/biggrin.gif

[Samwise]

I was 12, in Jr. High. A friend left a copy of TTT in my lap after explaining to me a bit about the story. I took it home, read it really fast (it was a library book) and returned it to her. She said, "well, you have to read the First book!" and lent me FOTR. The rest, as they say, is history. ;)

[Alexus Varus]

I was fourteen and I was looking in my aunt's library for a book on fairies, surprise! It was the best accident that i ever had.

[silma]

I was 7 when I read The Hobbit and i started LotR straight after. My mum couldn't believe that I'd read them and she used to give me pop quizzes on the books to see if she could catch me out..needless to say she never caught me out!!
I've since lost track of how many times I've read LotR, I'm usually constantly reading it. As to TolKiens other books I've managed to read most of them, I just can't get enough.

[TheLadyAerowen]

I think I first read the Lord of the Rings trilogy in..fourth grade. I'm trying to remember how old that would have been... maybe not. That would have been like, 9 or 10. That seems too young ;) I then read the trilogy in sixth grade, and then eighth grade, and twice more during high school. They're just the kind of books that never get boring. :)

[Arcuwen]

I read The Hobbit at 12 years, the LOTR trilogy at 13, and I am now reading the Silmarillion at 14 years of age. When should you introduce kids to Tolkien? It all depends on the child's reading level and appreciation for books and fantasy. I think I read each book at good age, where I could understand all the aspects of the story and really enjoy them. If your child is dying to read them, let them! But if they're really young, read it to them or let them read it to you. That way you can spend time together and you can help them understand everything.

[Eorl of Rohan]

I believe I learned English with LOTR, since it is not my native langauge. :cool: Maybe three years ago?

[galadriel'smaiden]

I was 4. (yes, 4, i learned to read early.)

To date, the trilogy has been read 16 and 1/4 times!!!:D

[Otrebor]

I read the hobbit when i was six, and i read LOTR when i was 8..



P.S
i am now 16:smokin:

[Leyrana Silumiel]

Well, I first read The Hobbit in seventh grade (1997--I was...11) and Lord of the Rings in eighth grade (when I was 12). I didn't really get interested in The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, etc. until 2000.

[Galadel Vinorel]

I first read LOTR when I was 14 years old. I loved it so much that I read the rest of J.R.R. Tolkien's books as soon as I could get my hands on them. They were the greatest books that I have ever read, and still are.:D

[Lhundulinwen]

I read the hobbit for a book report in 7th grade. I devoured it! I was 12 (it was before my birthday) and when I presented it too my classmates, they looked at me like I was insane. And I explained it pretty well. I think it depends on the emotional age of the person. Well, I got the LOTR one volume edition for my 13th b-day, and really was going to read it, and got about 1/2 way through the FOTR before my backpack (and back!) just about broke from the weight. So, I decided to get the single volumes out of the library. Finally, this year, I'm 15 now, my high school library got the FOTR in (someone "lost it") so I devoured it, And went and bought the other two. Read all in under two weeks, about two months ago. So, I'm a newbie to the Tolkien world, but am very much in love with it. I plan to reread it multiple times, to understand even deeper the subplots and enjoy the characters. (Next pet I get will be called Frodo or Legolas or Arwen. Not sure yet!) :)

[Eorl of Rohan]

I can't believe people read LOTR when they were seven or so! It is a very difficult book - or is it so because English is not my native language?

[ArathorofBarahir]

I was 15.

[Lalwendë]

I was 12 - so it says in my very first message, just posted - and I won't ever forget first reading it! I pinched it from my brother, and it took me a couple of weeks because I enjoyed it so much I made sure I read it really slowly, so as not to accidentally miss anything!

I used to take it to school and sneak into the cloakroom and hide every break so I could read in peace. When I emerged from the book, my friends were horrified to find I had been changed utterly! I got so much from it - I got into linguistics, mythology, folklore, weaponry, the list goes on... I also got into bother for spoiling the book spines...

[Lindalirien O Lorien]

I was nine when I first read the Hobbit. When I was ten I picked up the Fellowship of the Ring for the first time. I have read all three of the books over the past four year several times. Now I am fourteen and just picked up the Silmarillon yesterday. (I know it took me so long to finally start it but I've been reading other books lately) I am on chapter five or six (can't remember at the moment) and love it already.:D

[mark12_30]

Hobbit: 11. LOTR: 12.

That was thirty years ago.

Middle-Earth was my "neighborhood" that I grew up in. Good neighbors.

[Fingolfin II]

I was 10 when I first read the Hobbit and 12 when I read LoTR. I read The Return of the King first, then the Fellowship, then TTT. I only read RoTK because of Gandalf and Frodo, so I abandoned it. When I turned 13 I read all the books again and loved it. I read the Sil when I was 14, as well as Lost Tales and the Quenta. I'm 15 now.

[I_Love_Lij1213]

haahaa im still on the 4th chapter of the fellowship...:D ...i liek the movie better

[DarkRose]

I was about.. 11 when my dad first tried to read FotR to me. (It sort of a family tradition to read the LotR books to the kids when they get old enough. ;D) We got a bit into it, up until the Tom Bombadil area, when I decided to quit. I know, I know. I suppose I just wasn't ready.

After seeing the FotR movie a couple of years ago, I was inspired to give the books another try. I was 13, then. I picked up Fellowship, finished it, loved it. Picked up Towers, finished it, loved it. Picked up Return, loved it, finished it. This took about a year.

So, I read LOTR from age 13 to age 14. It was a marvelous experience.

[Miriel Undomiel]

I bought LotR after my confirmation. I had then just turned 14. Read the Hobbit and the Silmarill right after I finished LotR.

[starkat]

I didn't read the LotR until this past December. I have since read The Hobbit and The Simarillion and am working on The Unfinished Tales.

[Kylan MacConnell]

I read the FotR at 14 as a liturature project in High school. That was quite a few years ago. Managed to get one of the First Printing, First Edition hard bound Silms when they hit the shelves, actually had one pre-ordered at the book store, got the 4th one out of the box! Have not read much in the HoME set yet.

[Mad Baggins]

In eighth grade, when I was 13, my teacher had the books. Unfortunately, the first one was snatched up by my friend so I had to start with Book One of Two Towers. Of course, I had no idea whatsoever about anything that was going on, so I set it aside. Then I found a box set in my basement and got to work on the Fellowship.

[greyeyedpirate17]

I read the Hobbit in like 6th grade and then again in 8 grade and I realzed that I didn't understand a bit of it the first time around. And I think that I started the books in like 7th or 8th grade. My friend got them for me for Christmas.

[Amanaduial the archer]

I started Fellowship and was COMPLETELY hooked. Mesmerized in the world of Middle-Earth. The only thing I skimmed while reading it for the first time was the Council of Elrond chapter, in which I was completely lost after about two pages of monologues. But I plunged forward, and, in less than a week, I had finished LOTR.

You are a person of my own heart, Elladan and Elrohir! ;) I skimmed a few other parts such as the first chapter in my first reading, but never fear, I have gone back and re-read...

I also read Lord of the Rings when I was 12, three years ago but blissfully unaware of the films' almost imminent arrival about four months later. I read the hobbit several years before though, when I was in year three or four in primary school - so at about eight years old.

[elfearz1]

It was only a few years ago. I was I think like 14 at the time.

[Etharius]

18

[Silent Sam]

On my eighth Christmas, I recieved the whole LOTR hardcover trilogy including The Hobbit, from my aunt. She said I needed something new to read (I've read every book in my house at least 5 times over, and I read books that are much higher than my age level : Crime and Punishment, etc. I don't do it on purpose, I just prefer them over kids books... :confused: )

I finished them by the early summer.

[starkat]

22
I'm a recent LotR fan.

[samwise8504]

i was about 16 when i read the lord of the rings and the hobbit but ive only just read the silmarillion

[Smeagol]

Hobbit~6

FotR (1st attempt)~7

FotR (2nd attempt)~9

TTT~9

RotK~9

Sil.~ 11

HoME~12

UT1~12

UT2~12

[Amanaduial the archer]

Lol, very detailed, Smeagol! ;)

[Kath]

I was 7 when I first read the Hobbit and 8 when I read LotR. I read while I was at my grans so I must have finished it within two weeks, but my parents wouldn't believe me! They actually quizzed me on it to make sure I wasn't lying!

[Araréiel]

Sad, I was 21 when I first read The Hobbit, and 21 when I first read LotR-starting the day after the first one came out on DVD. *sigh* So much time wasted.

I know this is an old thread, but I beleive in giving children books and letting them decide for themselves when they are ready to read them. If a child glances at it and doesn't read it, then he's not ready. But he may pick up a book and devour it! Better to have that option available.

[Mithalwen]

I agree with that. I read the Hobbit aged 8 or 9 after it was serialised on Jackanory (a wonderful programme but probably far too low tech for today when children are expected to maintain attention for no more than a nanosecond - an actor reading a book with a few drawings would probably not cut the mustard ) and loved it. So I was given the LOTR the following Christmas. Although I was a quick reader and reading books way above my age range, I ground to a halt at the end of the 2 towers - this was before I was old enough to appreciate Faramir and i have always found the endless slogging agross wastelands with Frodo, Sam and Gollum the worst bit of the book.... by the time I got back to Gandalf and Pippin at the beginning of ROTK I had lost the plot..... I went back to it about 2or 3 years later and happily escaped into middle earth for the rest of my adolescence..... :)

[Pippin Pondlily]

I first read The Hobbit for school when I was in 4th grade -- so maybe 8 years old? Then I read the Lord of the Rings books the summer before 6th grade that would be about 10 years old then. I really enjoyed them even if I had some trouble with the vocabulary and immagery but I've read at least FotR annually since and parts of The Two Towers (my favorite of the 3) and RotK as well. But just recently I had to reread and analyze all three LotR books and I really got to appreciate the literature WHICH led me to this website.

I loved The Hobbit the most and I think that that is an excellent book to read to toddlers before bed or nap/kip time, I did to the little girl (4.5 years old at the time) that I babysit and she actually enjoyed it.

Happy reading eh?

- P. Pondlily

[Alda]

I remember doing a book report on the Hobbit in fifth or sixth grade. We had to use a shoe box and create a scene from our book inside. You would place the lid of the shoebox back on and peer inside through a peephole, the inside of the box being illuminated by one of those small white christmas lights. I don't think I recieved a very good grade, I wasn't (and am still not) very artistically inclined. But I was proud of my paper cutout of Bilbo stabbing a paper spider. :D

I read, and reread, and reread, the trilogy and the Silmarillion while in junior high. I discovered Unfinished Tales while I was in highschool. I remember being thrilled and kind of mad at the same time. I found the book at the library and saw that it had been published three years earlier. They had just gotten around to getting a copy. But seeing as I didn't even know it existed imagine my suprise. :)

I suppose it would be too much to hope that there might be another unfinished manuscript that Christopher Tolkien is busy editing at this very moment? A dusty sheaf of hand written notes recently found locked in a desk in the basement at Oxford? I dare not hope to believe in such treasures beyond the cellar door. ;)

[Himhenwen]

I don't rightly know when I first started to read the books. I had started the Hobbit and thought it was to slow for me. Then about four years ago my best friend told me that I should try again. I just finished the last book about six months ago. And I am rereading them all again.

[ninlaith]

I believe I started reading The Hobbit when I was 13, only because I didn't even know we had the books, and started reading LOTR directly after.

[Encaitare]

I found a copy of FotR in my house when I was around 12. I liked it but just couldn't get past the part with Tom Bombadil, simply because it moved so ..s-l-o-w-l-y.. Then I saw the first two movies and loved them, and decided to read the books. Since I already had a basic idea of what was going on, I found them a lot easier to read, and I loved learning about all the things not in the movies. I simply couldn't wait to find out what happened in the end, so I read RotK very quickly (and nearly went mad trying to not leak out spoilers to my friends!). I've become much more of a disciplined reader since I was 12, so I went and read the Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales, and I'm currently reading the Lays of Beleriand. It's just interesting how differently I view the books now, because I now feel that I can really appreciate everything in them as opposed to being turned off to them because of the slow pacing. Long live Tom Bombadil! :D

[Isowen]

I was 6 when I first read the hobbit. I was 8 when I read the fellowship of the ring, I was also 8 when I read the two towers, and I was 10 when I read Return of the king (it didnt take me two years to read the two towers though!\ :) ) and I read the silmarillion when I was 12, and I read them all in order, over and over again. I don't ever get bored of them! I read a chapter to my little sister every night before she goes to bed and she became attached to it, so on her 8th birthday, we bought her her own lotr books!

[Morsul the Dark]

I was a wee lad of 13 or 14 when I read the trilogy and here I am 3 years Later attempting(without luck) to read it a second time