Wow, Mark, I have that
poster ! It's been in my bedroom, wherever I have lived, since I was little. I love it. I used to cover up the Eye though, when I was small, as it gave me nightmares. I've got it in a frame now, as the corners are so tatty and worn.
I first read The Hobbit - or had it read to me, I'm not sure - when I was about six or seven. That was 23 years ago. I then read LotR with my father the following year. We read it aloud, which helped me understand the difficult bits. He likes the books, but isn't as keen as I am now. I really got into LotR after the BBC radio version, which I loved, back in the early 80s. Since then I've read it often, and have read many parts of the Silmarillion, HoME, UT etc, but never managed to really get into them in the same way as I did with the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
It's great to hear from some fellow long-term fans. Apart from my father, I don't know anyone else who likes - or who has even read - the books. I definitely plan to read them to my children when, or if, I have any. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]
[ January 29, 2003: Message edited by: Elanor ]