The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

I have to be honest.

I was not immediately smitten by Middle Earth as a child the way I was with Narnia. I was an impatient but imaginative child and Lewis’ sparse style kept the pace moving along and allowed me to fill in a lot of the details in my own imagination. Although I read the series in middle school, I didn’t really appreciate The Lord of the Rings until I was an adult and learned to slow down and savor the story. Now that I’ve read the series three times as an adult, I’ve really come to love it. For me, it was just an acquired taste, especially with Tom Bombadil. I just didn’t “get” him in the beginning.

This was not at all the case with my husband and a number of my children. In fact, their enthusiasm (as well as the excitement of the movies) helped me develop an interest in and eventually an enthusiasm for these great stories.

Coming soon: Some thoughts on The Lord of the Rings from my oldest daughter…