I loved The Hobbit as a child. I tried to read LotR every summer for a period of about eight years. I never made it farther than the middle of the second book, and I finally decided that no books, no matter how well-known, were worth what I was putting myself through.

Part of the problem was the dryness of the language, but part of the problem was definitely also my familiarity with the source material Tolkien used in constructing LotR. I couldn't understand why he was praised so much for his originality when he'd borrowed stories wholecloth from the mythology and folklore I'd been raised on. A bit of questioning quickly revealed that it was because most people, even "scholarly literary" people, weren't that familiar with the mythology and folklore in question. So not only am I disinterested in Tolkien for his own sake, but I associate him with a loss of faith in a few people I had looked up to until I learned they weren't as well-read as they presented themselves to be. That sort of thing tends to make for some bitterness. *G*

As far as the movies go, though, my best friend saw them and was taken with the visualization of the world, with the attention to detail and the inclusion of spoken Elvish and the absolute beauty of the scenery. She never read the books and was only passingly familiar with most of the specific stories Tolkien drew from, but she knew my love for a) good world-building in movies and b) fannish TPTB who let their love shine through in their creations. She talked me into watching the movies with her at the beginning of the summer, and while I found them long and perhaps not as compelling as she did, I also really did love the way PJ's love shone through, the gorgeous visuals, the singing (Eowyn's lament startled me by making me cry), and of course the pretty, pretty people. Plus, I find Elijah Wood less freakish as a hobbit. *G*

And yes, Sam and Frodo were so married. ;-)