The books? A hard choice, for each has it's wonderful moments. The Sil for it's lyric beauty, the LOTR for it's grand scale and yet it's personal moments of sadness and courage and the Hobbit... for it's light hearted adventure.
I would have to choose LOTR however. I first read the trilogy when I was eleven or twelve years old. mmmm... that was thirty years ago. I have read it many times since and it always seems fresh to me and brings meaning to the things happening in my life at that moment.
My favorite parts of LOTRs? They have changed over the years. I find now that it is the moments of sadness or great personal courge that move me the most. Sam seems to have a lot of these. When he takes the Ring from Frodo at Cirith Ungol... when Sam is on the plain of Gorgoroth as Frodo sleeps and realizes that he must follow his Mr Frodo to the bitter end... when Merry hurt by the Lord of the Nazgul follows the men who carry Eowyn to the Houses of Healing and loses his way and is found by Pippin... the fall of Gandalf in Moria... and of course the Grey Havens...
These books brought healing to me when I needed it and for that I will always thank Mr Tolkien and his grand creation.
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