How old were you the first time you read LOTR?

[Elentári_O_Most_Mighty_1]

I read the Hobbit then LOTR when I was 11. But I don't think you should start your son on LOTR that young, because frankly I didn't understand it properly. I didn't understand Éowyn at all, and I really regret that, because having seen the films I can see what a great character she really is, and no matter how many times you read them you can't really recapture that feeling you had when you first read it- the sheer wonder and awe. Being able to have understood the whole Éowyn-Aragorn thing first time would have made the experience much more complete. The thing is, when you are that young, the sutblety (sp?) just leaves you confused. It's like reading Thomas Hardy, for goodness' sake. I read that last year, when I was 14, and the sutblety was so extreme that I wouldn't have noticed that the girl got raped had my english teacher not warned me beforehand.
Ok, long post and not much point...except to say not too young. Maybe 13 or 14, when you are more certain that Éowyn is suffering from unrequited love- or supposedly anyway.