I couldn't resist posting this link. It's an earlier incarnation of this thread, going back to 2002, and has some intriguing posts from folks, a number of them still active on the site and others who have journeyed on, describing how and when they became interested in Tolkien:
http://web.archive.org/web/200309250...4&t=000840&p=1
It's possible to link into this same thread directly from the present site index:
http://www.forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=4672
But somehow it seems more appropriate when framed by the older board.
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