[Arwen Imladris]

I agree, reading the books first is best. You understand so much more when you read th books first, even if they are hard to read. PJ had to cut out so much from the movies, but without the information the movie wouldn't make much sense. You would still be able to follow the basic story line, yes. But would you fully understand the threat of the ring? I don't think so. Can you keep track of the many characters? I don't think so. With the books you can take your time, go backwards and read a passage again, skip ahead etc. You don't do this in a movie nearly as much, even with a DVD. You also have the opertunity to look at the carefully drawn maps at the back of the book to check where you are in Middle Earth. The movies only provide an interpretation of the books.