I first "read" it when my mom read it to me. I must have been either nine or ten, (because I was still dating things by where I lived, so I couldn't have gotten used to the idea of actually staying in one place yet, which means the first couple of years in Alaska). I totally loved it at the time, but I'd mostly forgotten it (although I still remebered vividly certain parts of it - Saruman's multi-colored cloak and the story of Aragorn's death in particular. I read it again as a "school" book when I was...um...I think thirteen, maybe twelve, and that time it stuck. I read Sil, the HoMEs, UT, etc, etc. I don't remember when The Hobbit came in. I think my mom read it to me, but I don't really remember it (although I know the story well enough to be able to fumble through the Spanish version, so I had to have read it sometime...
)
I loved the sense of history behind everything. The idea that there was something before now, and before that, and even before that, and that it all affected what was happening now in such an important way. I also loved the languages, particularly elvish. That's what brought me online - I was looking for elvish resources. Through a very roundabout way, that ended up here. (Very, very roundabout - including my mom having tea with
Nurumaiel's grandmother and mother, and happening to mention LotR. Ah, Lady Luck will have her say.
) Anyway, during my first read-through I was so engrossed, my mom wouldn't even know where I was for hours on end, because I would hole up somewhere and totally forget where I was (a common conversation was "Lottie, take out the garbage." "Okay." *an hour later* "Lottie, take out the garbage." "Okay." *an hour later* ... you get the idea, only with my real name instead of Lottie.
)