It's kind of complicated. My parents didn't want me reading fantasy because they knew I'd get totally sucked in to the point where it messed up real life. Until a couple months ago, Narnia was far as I'd gone. Then, LotR came up on a Sherlock Holmes forum I frequent, and I was called a "despicable heathen" for living in ingnorance and told to "go, and read." I thought, "Hey, I'll be 18 in a few months, I can wait that long to read what I like."
Enter little brother, who checked out
The Hobbit from the library. I thought to myself, "You know, they've got the Trilogy in the staff lounge at work. I guess it won't hurt to read it now instead of in July." I borrowed the Trilogy, one volume at a time, and read the whole thing, plus
Hobbit, in about a week. If I'm careful, I can keep my LotR obsession down to quotes, the soundtrack on YouTube, and learning Quenya.
It may very well be early training, but I've found I don't care for fantasy outside of Narnia, LotR, Star Wars, and mythology.