… but he then passed it on to me (when I was in the 7th grade) , so by the time I was a freshman in high school I had read LoTR and the Silmarillion.
Yep, though I didn’t know that I was right until a few years ago. Never was a Tolkein scholar when I was younger, but the buzz about the movies made me curious about stuff that wasn’t in the books (which I’d re-read a few times by then). That’s when I found internet sites and discussions that talked about his themes, the backstory that never made it in, letters, and the like. I had a few, “Ha! I thought so,” moments related to that. It’s always nice to know that your instincts are right.
Thank you Mr. Bradbury, my sixth-grade teacher!!!
He read us a chapter a day of The Hobbit. From there I read the LOTR on my own. It was not the first fantasy I’d ever read, but the first “deep” work.
It’s Mr. Bradbury who also like sci-fi, and encouraged us to read it. He even had us write a short story.
This was in 1966-7, (also the first year ST_TOS was shown.) If it wouldn’t have been for Mr. Bradbury I may not have developed my love of books. I can never thank him enough.
I was 22 when I started. Then I got to the 3,000 pages of Tom Bombadil and and it ruined it for me.
Several years later, when the last movie was in the theater, I revisited, skipping the 4,800 pages of Bombadil (I swear it was only 3,000 pages before) and enjoyed it immensly.
Ah, I did actually read The Hobbit several years before that and found it enjoyable for children’s writing.