I don't recall a 'breakthrough' experience, but I do remember being very not-in-the-mood-to-read-detailed-histories when I first picked it up many years ago.
Nonetheless, I doggedly read it telling myself it was a worthy effort and repeating the mantra: 'Tolkien wrote this;I should read it!'with every tedious (or so I thought then) page.
Now, being old enough to have a little history myself, I have re-read it several times and appreciate the effort he put into it very much. I do like reading it in conjunction with the B'sOLT. They add an even richer dimension to this well-fleshed out history of Arda.
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Eldest, that’s what I am . . . I knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless - before the Dark Lord came from Outside.
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