[MatthewM]

I will add on a little to what I said in my earlier post.

These chapters, The Old Forest-Tom Bombadil-The Barrow-Downs, are truly amazing and almost magical. I count them as one of my favorite parts in The Lord of the Rings. I believe that these chapters are a major part of what glued me to Tolkien when I first started reading the book.

With Tolkien, it is like you're actually reading history that happened in a time long forgotten. These chapters amplify that feeling, for me, and I actually feel the lingering fear of The Old Forest, the comfort of Tom's House and mysticism of Goldberry, and the dread that is the Barrow-Downs...these chapters are monumental.