[Mänwe]

Well I will have to break that mould of yours landlord, for I was not ill when I first read the trilogy. I was eleven years old at the time and as in your case not all the words made much sense to me.

However I got into it because during the evenings when there was nothing on TV I would be stuck for something to do. My parents suggested that I look for something on their bookshelf, and further suggested that I might read Lord of the Rings. I know that it became particularly interesting after my father said he had not been able to finish reading it.

So I took it from the shelf, I am fortunate enough to have the HUGE hardback copy that weighs an awful lot which combines the entire narrative. My eyes were immediately drawn to the front cover illustration by John Howe depicting Sam, Frodo and Gollum outside the Black Gate and the wealth of detail in the appendix and the maps. I am a sucker at times for the detail and illustrations!

My father and I then and there decided to read it to its conclusion. I would read it until I was ready to sleep handing it to him before I did so. Oh how enthralled I became, the illustrations throughout the book were a godsend for they bought to life the landscape and characters I could not always visualise through the terrific but long winded descriptions.

Many many nights later I read the last words. Rather a nostalgic moment.