As Qadgop says, no, there isn’t really. Still, you seem to be putting the cart before the horse. You still have the original work to read. Feel free to begin with The Hobbit, if you wish.
Or not. Under the circumstances (a passing familiarity with the overall story), interposing The Hobbit might hamper your momentum. It could make an interesting topic for discussion. Look for another thread on it in this forum.
I just finished watching the DVD of LOTRTT ( having watched the video of the first one when it first came out whenever that was.) and thoroughly enjoyed it.
I have only one nagging question:
Does anyone actually wash their hair in this book or what?
In response to Shirley’s spoiler: Heck, after watching the first movie, my wife said to me, “Looks like shampoo hasn’t been invented in Middle-Earth.”
And here I am thinking that Frodo left the Shire because, well, the Shire was boring, especially after all that he’s seen and been through, a sort of “you can’t go home again” ending.
I think the best answer to this might be found in the writings of that great Tolkien scholar Ozzy Ozbourne:
The chapter “A Conspiracy Unmasked” contains a reference to Frodo drying his hair after a bath.