I have always been a fan of the fantasy genre, but I never read this trilogy until the movies came out. As much as I admire Tolkein's creativity, I think it's agreed that the writing is fairly archaic and stilted. There's a lot of detail about scenery and whatnot that's beautifully written, but sort of takes away from the adventure story. Anyway, I thought the movies really enhanced the books and helped readers visualize Tolkein's world. And who doesn't love Orlando Bloom as Legolas?! :)
As good child of the 60s and SF/fantasy fan (not so much now), I plowed through the Ring cycle (not the operas, but they are also long and somewhat pretentious). It took a long time. I thought they were worth reading--once. Tolkein did a lot with the languages and culture (I had friends who learned Elvish the way some GenXers learned Klingon). However, I have no intention of ever reading them again. I found the movies much more fun. And shorter. Even with all the delted scenes inserted.
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