One of my favorite things about the characters is the fact that they are all friends. Not that I'm against anything or anyone, it's just really refreshing to see how deep a love can go in a friendship

When I read the lord of the rings for the first time I kept having this weird sense of deja vu. When I later told my mom about this. She told me that when I was about 5 years old she and my dad was watching the movies with me in the room. They didn't think I was paying attencion to the movies because I was playing with my toys at the time (but it seems that I was whatching it because when I kept reading the books and I remebered glimses of the films - it was the most surreal reading experience ever!) P.S. sorry for the bad grammer - english is my second language

The thing about Pippin, that a lot of people overlook, is that he's the annoying teenager in the group.

recommend: Men of the west and hello future me

Who on earth said there is no character work in LotR? The characters and the relationships between them are amazing! Granted, nothing is spelled out and nobody is sitting around the campfire disgussing their feelings, but that doesn't mean there is no character work. It just means the reader has to use their own brain and pay attention. It's so much better if you get to know a character though his actions instead of being told he is brave, loyal etc. Man, I have to reread these books.

Merphy: I really enjoy a book with high stakes where everyone dies at the end, I swear I'm not that bloodthirsty guys. Also Merphy: I just really want the Ent-Wives to come back and have a happy ending.

I need to know what you think of Faramir: he was Tolkien’s own personal favorite character, and he’s definitely one of my favorites too. What do you think about him?

What?! Who hates the ents? How can anyone hate the ents?! I absolutely adore them! 💚 And I agree with you on the monologues. As much as I love the books, I'd love to see more instead of being told about.

Its a hobbit... of course he is carrying a spare pipe in his pocket.

20:00 Men of the West i absolutely recommend this channel You will love it😁

I love your story about Return of the King and your grandfather’s passing. I have a very similar story with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, I started the book a day or two before my own grandpa passed away, and I finished it the day after he died. The story and Dumbledore’s death helped me process my own grief.

I loved Treebeard. People actually don't like the ents?

The thing is that Frodo is bearing the ring and he understands the suffering Gollum is going through. He sees himself in Gollum and so he wants to save him. Un the 2nd chapter of Fellowship, Frodo tells Gandalf "What a pitty [Bilbo] didn't stab the foul creature!". After carrying the ring for so long he sympathizes with him.

When I finally read these last year the thing that struck me was just how entertaining it was and how real the characters felt. The whole Treebeard with Marry and Pippin chapter is awesome

I've watched the movies and I started the book series back in 2017 but stopped at like page 64 because of such a stressing student schedule!! I'm planning on starting it again in Jan, 2020!Sending love and support from Pakistan, merphy!!

These books are legit my favorite books ever. My parents got me the pocket versions you have for Christmas because my old ones have fallen apart. I started my reread of them again a few days ago and I swear, as soon as I read the first sentence, it was like an old friend was calling me in to sit by the fire and share cookies. They just create this sense of being home. Every time I finish Return of the King, I get hit with this wave of homesickness and I just want to jump right back to the beginning again. I think the chapters in Moria are some of my favorites but I also love the way Tolkien does family relationships. Eowyn and Eomer’s connection with their uncle are some of my favorites. And Merry and Pippin are some of my favorite characters and I love seeing their growth. Pippin especially. And Gollum deserves a video all to himself. I’m going to say definitely check out Men of the West and Hello Future Me for more Tolkien. Hello Future Me did a video on Tolkien’s philosophy was really well done. kzfaq.info/love/ItHdUEqlpfvDlcCeyZwH6w kzfaq.info/love/FQMO-YL87u-6Rt8hIVsRjA Also if you haven’t read the Letters of Tolkien, definitely do so. Tons of info there!

As far as I remember, Gimli wasn't talking about his home but the caverns of Hornburg(Helm's Deep).

I read these books when i was a kid. I was amazed by the writing and pacing. One of my favourite books ever 😃

Men of the West is a channel you'd love!

I loved the scene with Pippin and Gandalf just riding and Pippin asking all this questions. :D

I think Gollum/Smeagol is the most important character in the entire Lord of the Rings from a purely storytelling perspective (not a plot perspective) I think Frodo, Gandalf, Aragorn, even Sauron, all of them, if they were removed or altered, the story would still work to some extent, but removing seeing first hand what the Ring can do to a person like Smeagol, and seeing the dichotomy of good Smeagol versus evil Gollum is thematically the most important character arc for Tolkien's overall story.

“A lot of the nuance is lost...” I agree, it’s a story to savour, like a good pint or a fine pipe, it’s seems a shame to rush such things 😊

I would love for you to read some of Tolkien's other books (The Silmarillion, The Children of Hurin, Beren and Luthien etc..) and do reviews on them too. And as lots of people have been saying I also recommend Men of the West.

Great review. I rate LOTR highly, though I am by no means the biggest Tolkien fan there is. I find it interesting how different Tolkien's writing style is from what is usual. Both in terms of things like including lots of poetry, or the way he tells his plot. There are oddities like that the love story of a major character, the titular character of the last part of the book, gets told in an appendix (most novels don't even have appendices), while the love story of two minor characters gets its own chapter. Or having the extra ending in the Shire.

I reread these once a year, never disappoints. Tolkien is a master of language and how to make a simple story so much more. I love these characters so much! Thank you!

I love how much passion you have for this book and how much passion you have for reading/stories in general. Listening to your reviews is a pleasure and after reading the fellowship I’m keen to get started on the two towers 👌

19:59 Men of the West :)

"I can't retain stuff anymore" or as we call, an adult reading a book haha Seriously now great video! Love it!

Gollum is one of the best characters ever put to paper.

You wanna look into channels like Hello Future Me, Man of the West and GeekZone then, those are some of the best channels that dive really deep into the lore

Hey Merphy. Don't worry about this being your 2nd read through. The way you talk about The Lord of the Rings is so beautiful, it's nice to see someone else love this world as much as I do. I've been getting the urge to read it as well, and listening to you talk about all your favorite moments and characters make me want to read it all the more. Thanks for the beautiful review of my favorite childhood story. :)

I’ve just picked up knitting and I know what channel I’m going to love watching and listening to while I knit!! 😁 I’ve been sitting here with a smile on my face, nodding in agreement while I knit. 😂 I love a booktuber that is so freely honest with what they love. She doesn’t focus on the negative in an unhealthy way (or to get clicks) and she lets us know what she’s grateful for!!! I feel like in all areas of life it’s good to take a step back and look at what we’d grateful for, and I love that she does this about books! It’s so... refreshing and wholesome. 😊 I think sometimes, especially after reading books that aren’t really your thing or could use more editing, it can feel a bit more like work to get through it. And if that goes on for a while, a chain of several books in a row, it can have a chilling effect. I’m glad to be validated in my negative reading experiences, but I really like it when she’s had a good time reading. ☺️

Merphy, I enjoy your reviews in general, but when you're emotionally invested, it's very infectious. Thanks! The movies were terrific, but nothing beats the original format.

I plan to reread lord of the rings in 2020 (it’s been a couple years since my last reread), and you’re review makes me want to put down the series I’m currently working on and just start my reread right now! I love that you are doing reviews for this reread as Most booktubers I watch don’t talk about lord of the rings and it’s one of my favorite books! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the books!

Definitely check out Men of The West. Excellent LoTR lore channel.

Beautiful and sad sums up the themes pretty well, especially the Elves. Remember to toast the Professor on January 3rd!

One of the first things i do when i log on the computer these days is to check youtube and see if you have uploaded a new video.

I saw the 1978 Ralph Bakshi animation before reading the books. But I read them for the first time in the early '90s and they felt new and exciting (except for Tolkien's writing, as I mentioned on your Fellowship review). But I also really love the relationships in these novels. The relationships between the hobbits especially.

Loving these LOTR videos!!

I love Aragorn in the books...not so much the movie. While the movie trilogy is the best of all-time, I wish they hadn't changed him the way the did. Overall, the characters are great, the story is classic. I'm enjoying reading it to my children now.

Oh man. I had to pause at 6:10 just to comment that Treebeard talking about the Last March of the Ents as they go to attack Isengard has me tearing up just thinking about it. Like you said, it's so tragic, and it's such a powerful event in the book.

I agree with what you said about the characters. They're some of the most well built characters I've ever read about. Their personalities are so well crafted it makes them feel like they are real, existing races of people. I love how they relate to each other. I found a lot of the dialogue to be brilliantly written. I've personally never heard anyone talk poorly about the characters in TLOTR. Everyone I know who has read them always gushes over how good they are and how much they grow over the course of the story. As far as that person saying "the character work in TLOTR is atrocious" goes, there are a lot of haters online who's opinions hold absolutely no water. I mean I've seen thumbs-downs on videos of the Berlin Wall falling, cancer survivor stories, videos of people and animals being rescued and a lot of other genuinely good things. A lot of people hate stuff just because it's popular, which is disingenuous. Then you have people who think they have the right to comment and stuff they know absolutely nothing about. I mean how many people have you heard saying the Harry Potter books suck only to find out they've never even picked one up? Hate is a weird thing. Some people thrive on it. I remember back in middle school I had a bully who absolutely hated me for no reason. I didn't know him at all and never even talked to him or anyone in his group of friends. One day he just targeted me and started seriously messing with me out of the blue. I asked him one if I did something to piss him off and he simply said "No". It lasted for two years and to this day I still don't know why. It didn't help that he was twice my size. Sorry for going off on a tangent there. Hatred has always been the one thing I dislike most about the world.

The characterization is definitely rich. It’s handled in a more nuanced and poignant manner than many modern readers are used to. I may get criticism for this, but the one character I think lacks enough depth is Aragorn. I feel like he’s at his best in the chapters following their loss of Gandalf in Moria, when you feel his loss and agony as their default leader, uncertain how to fulfill that role.

Thanks for the review. Hope you're feeling better, Merphy. The number of videos you've put out while you're sick is impressive. You win the Most Dedicated Booktuber award!

Those are your best videos! I mean when you talk passionately about my favorite book :)

20:00 Watch: [The Silmarillion in 3 minutes] by JPKloess or watch: [LOTR Mythology] Pt 1&2 by GCP Grey

Do you recommend that specific edition that you were holding in the beginning of the video or you think that another edition would be better? I'm italian and, after I read the Italian translation, I decided to go for a second read in original language, would you recommend that edition? The video was very good! Regards from Italy 🇮🇹

You should definitely be reviewing LoTR, it’s awesome seeing your reactions to it it first/second time around. I first read it when I was 11 and loved it so much and continue to love it having read it 15-20 times since, but it makes me sad I’ll never be able to recapture that first wonder!

One of my favorite parts of the Lord of the Rings is the whole dynamic between Frodo, Sam, and Gollum/Smeagol in the Two Towers. It's so heartwrenching and tragic that Gollum betrays Frodo and Sam in part because he feels betrayed by them but only because he is too blinded by his own greed to realize that Frodo saved his life when Faramir's band was about to kill him. Smeagol seems to genuinely be turning toward the good side of his personality but then his pain and anger slam that door closed and cause him to lead Frodo and Sam into a trap.

I second Men of the West, his videos aren’t perfect but they are great resource for people who prefer audio to reading all the extra information. Video just in time for my plans to finish my AIME character, Hemvar, son of Divar, son of Drór. :D

I just finished book 2 and man! I loved it! I'm so glad I trudged through book 1 (not my favourite so far... Definately need a re-read there). My favourite parts of the story were the relationships and the friendships. Legolas and Gimli were awesome and heartwarming while the loyalty between Sam and Frodo was breathtaking. Gandalf was enigmatic and interesting too and I for one LOVED the Ents!!! The whole part with Treebeard was one of my favourites! Overall I'm so glad I read this! On to the 3rd book!!!!

Lot of people recommending tolkien lore channels so I'll just add this one that I enjoy and haven't seen mentioned. ThePhilosophersGames, I quite like his view on how to tackle to difficulty of the different levels of confirmed lore and his sourcing of the actual books and letters where the information is from.

This was beautiful! I also love these books and consider them a very important part of my reading life. I didn't know people hate ents! I absolutely love them!

Nerd of the rings is a KZfaq channel that dives pretty deep into the lore of all the stuff in the world of lord of the rings. Basically anything you could imagine or want to know he has a video about it. Super in depth and detailed. I don't know if you still are looking for something like that but if you are that's the channel to check out!!

Did you like the beauty of the Dead Marshes in the Brown Lands where Gollum may have attempted to try out some old treats? 😃 There are several appendices at the end of Return of the King that will give you some backstory on the history of things and also a little something about the Elf tongues and script. Even in the story you do learn of things from the past as Pippin does on his ride to Gondor with Gandalf, or of the High Men from Tom Bombadil, and so on.

Don't mind forgetting these details. I've listened the audiobooks/read the books and seen the movies for a hundred times and still don't remember everything! The world and everything is so huge and there are a lot of characters and events so it's not easy to learn everything about it after a couple readings.

I do enjoy your videos. This one is about a year and a half old at this point, but in it you ask about you tube channels that are deep in lore. I skim some LoTR KZfaq channels, but a podcast came to mind, called THE PRANCING PONY. The two guys, Alan and Shawn, are a bit goofy and often go off on a tangent, but overall I think they are the best at exploring the world and making it accessible. They start by going through the Silmarillion a portion at a time and continue to the Hobbit and are currently in The Two Towers, I think. You can jump in anywhere you like. They bring in lore from other Tolkien writings and Tolkien scholarly writing as they apply to the chapter being discussed at the time. They bring on guests quite often as well. They are dedicated fans, but very easy-going and user-friendly. Podcasts are handy since you can listen while you drive or do other things.

I know this is an older video, but I'm just seeing it now. I'd like to ask which publishing of the book it is that you are reading? I really like the binding/covers for this and the Return of the King you show in your other LOTR video. Were these part of a boxed set?

I first read LOTR when I was 11. My mother had just read The Hobbit to us as our holiday book. She got a copy of LOTR for her birthday and I commandeered it thereafter. I read it about twice a year for the next 10 years and once every 2-3 years since. It is an old and valued friend. Seeing you review it from the perspective of a recent reader brings back all the wonder and joy I felt from those early reads. Please let your children experience the books before the movies. (In fact if they never see The Hobbit movies would be best). Give them The Hobbit at about 8 or 9 or read it to them earlier, depending on their reading enthusiasm. Then LOTR, as a trilogy because it's easier to manage, even though it's NOT a trilogy. Please make sure they have access to the full appendices, which are so rich in world building. Then The Silmarillion. You like main characters dying, tragically? The Silmarillion is for you. It's a blood bath. It reminds me of the Scando-Germannic sagas like the Volsung Saga and the Nibelungenlied. Really enjoying your channel. One of the silver linings of the Rona.

I read these books quite young and I really struggled through the fellowship but raced through the second and third. I had watched the film's first but I think that made the books more accessible as the language can be quite hard. My introduction to the world was the Hobbit though my parent basically read and reread that with me a gazillion times

Ah, nostalgia. I was fortunate in that a good friend recommended I read the books before each movie was released. I did that and every time got so hyped when the season came for the cinematic release... on a slightyly different note, I'd recommend for parents to read the books to their kids. They won't ever forget that.

I read those books when I was 13 and I loved them so so so so so so much! I remembered all of the poems and wrote "I LOVE ARAGORN" on my sealing - that's how much I loved them

Merphy, love your enthusiasm for the books. I'm re-reading "LOTR The Return of the King". There's a KZfaq called History of Middle Earth. There's also a slight called " Hello Future Me."

💯 agree on monologuing major events. The first case is Gandalf’s imprisonment in Orthanc in Fellowship. I think it’s largely because Tolkien had it in his head to stick in one place with one group of characters at all times. If he’d written it today, when narrative structures are a lot more flexible, he may have done it differently. But yeah. When reading those scenes, I try to visualize them happening with Gandalf as the narrator rather than picturing Gandalf sitting there talking to them.

The LOTRs is ultimately about friendship, which is what makes the stories so fantastic. Sure, it's also a reflection of the horrors of war and a a warning about the death that comes with industrialization, but it's the friendship that the books really hinge on. Tolkien leaned heavily on his military friendships ... Friendships that largely ended in death. Finally, as I tell lots of folks, these books are really centered on Sam. He is truly the main protagonist. An ideal, unflagging friend.

It's not so much a 'culture of storytelling' which leads to Gandalf relating events orally instead of Tolkien portraying them, it's actually for a very specific reason. You mention that it's a moving POV story, but that's only partially true; instead, it is all told from the point of view of Frodo, and what the other Hobbits (plus Aragorn) related to him. The actual story/text of The Lord of the Rings is the account given by Frodo, who wrote it into the Red Book of Westmarch. Thus, the underlying truth of the narrative is that FRODO is the narrator, not Tolkien. Thus, Frodo could only write what he himself saw, and what his fellow Hobbits experienced, including being told themselves by Gandalf what had happened to him. It cannot be an action scene, because Frodo never witnessed the action, or even heard the first-hand account of it from Gandalf himself. Instead, Frodo is reporting what was reported to him, and the entire tale unfolds as a story told in this fashion. I can totally appreciate that to our modern eyes this can seem problematic, or a wasted opportunity, but it's actually (in this case, not as a rule) something necessitated by the very nature of what the story is. It is, ultimately, Frodo's account of, as he titles it: The Downfall of the Lord of the Rings, and the Return of the King. I know this is a little late, considering this video is a few months old now, but when you re-read Return of the King, pay special attention to the very last chapter, where Frodo reveals the book to Sam and entrusts it to him. Thanks for this video!

It's always a pleasure to watch you nerd out! :D

I just finished reading The Lord of the Rings for the 25th or 26th time, and I do not think you are a poser for reviewing them when it's "only" your second time through. I'm just happy to see how excited you are about the stories and how much you love the characters. That's the important part to me. And don't worry about the details. Middle-earth abounds with detail, and I always feel like I'm seeing something new even after all this time. I don't know of any KZfaq Channels, but The Prancing Pony podcast goes into incredible depth about the Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and now The Lord of the Rings. They're also hilarious, assuming you like puns and dad jokes. :-)

Not a youtube channel, but a podcast called the Prancing Pony podcast. Lifelong Tolkien fan over here and my dad is as well - we both listen to this podcast and it's amazing! They really dig into the lore and writing of LOTR chapter by chapter, sometimes a paragraph at a time. Really in depth and the hosts are fantastic :)

Very balanced review! Great job!

Just finished the two towers and I found the whole novel deeply moving.From the opening funeral song of Boromir to the cliffhanger at the books end. The relationship between Sam , Frodo and Gollum is so inspiring and tragic , more in the book than the films I genuinely felt pity for Smeagol. I was surprised how short the battle of Helms deep was in the novel but also how much the Silmarillion is referenced.It is a beautiful story. Tolkien was trying to create an epic worthy of the english language and he succeeds . wonderful

Very nice, you have the same deep love for LOTR I feel. Subscribed and highly recommended.

This was such a sweet review. It's really made me want to start a reread. I love the ents so much. It's hard to believe some people don't. And I also love that (SPOILER... but this is a spoiler review, so what are you doing here if you don't want spoilers?) Sam fights and kills one of the scariest, most ancient creatures in the world in Shelab. Anyway, I've seen people already mentioned the channels Men of the West and Hello Future Me, but there's also a good bit on the channel GeekZone. You can find a bunch of other stuff around, too.

I so so so agree with you on the Ents! (Sorry I'm commenting so late, but this is the first time I've read these books and I love to hear your thoughts on them.) I had heard a lot of flack regarding the Ents, and tbh I didn't really like then either in the movies. It was so boring. But then I read The Two towers, and I was blown away by how much I loved Treebeard and the Ents and their culture. Also, definitely try to keep your kids from the movies before they read the books. I've watched and rewatched the movies all my life practically, and am now just getting to the books, and I love the books, dont get me wrong, but I think I would have loved then more if I hadn't seen the movies

Yep, I saw the Fellowship movie in theater first and then immediately bought the book that had all three as one huge book. And though I remember enjoying the Fellowship part as there was a lot in the book the movie left out or changed and I do remember a lot from my first read, I still enjoyed reading the Two Towers and Return of the King more because I had no idea what would happen next. Actually, I haven't read them ever since, as in not in nearly twenty years, yet I still remember vividly many many scenes and characters and how I felt reading them. And no, the movies aren't affecting my memory. I know they're from the book, there's such a clear difference between the feel of the movie scenes and characters and those of the books'.

After a few rereads in my teens I realised it's the structure of the books that makes the part with Frodo and Sam seem hazy. By not interveawing the povs and keeping with one group essentially for half a book at a time it all flows together.

You're absolutely adorable, i dont mean physically which yes you are very cute but I love your passion for the written word and how you smile when you're thinking about something and you just get so invested in it

Good review. I always like to hear what other people think of LoTR, whether they love it or hate it. I read the Hobbit and LoTR at least once a year, and they are such a big part of who I am. Also, I love Boromir, but I seem to be in the minority. Don't feel bad about not knowing all the minutia. There is so much. I've been reading them for 20+ years, and there is so much I still don't know. My recommendation for LoTR channel is The Prancing Pony Podcast.

There are some great videos. They pop up on my suggested feed. If you do a search, they're easy to find.

I recently reread the LOTR and the Hobbit (in preparation to watch the extended version of all the films). It’s been a good 7-10 years since Iast read it. Pippin has always been my favorite character, but the part in the Two Towers at Cirith Ungol when Sam thinks a Frodo is dead and he’s talking to him, saying that he needs to borrow Sting and Galadriel’s gift to finish the journey.... I loved that section so much. That part as well as The Return of King really endeared me to Sam. I wish I could have a friend-could be a friend-as loyal and good as Samwise Gamgee.

Glad im not the only one who liked the Ent chapters Those chapters are absolutely beautiful

Lots of good youtube suggestions here, but there's a podcast I follow called Amon Sul. It approaches the Tolkien legendarium from the perspective of the Orthodox Christian church, and is a quite different take on it. It has some beautiful comparisons and a really fresh outlook. Just 1 episode a month and it's been going about a year now. So quick to catch up on.

I won't pretend to have even given it any conscious thought prior to having watched this video and having heard you point it out, but the character interactions really are one of the more entertaining and colorful parts of these books. The narrative and Tolkien's style leave a lot to be desired in several ways,in my opinion,but that was one of the stronger areas. Do I sound like an immature,21st century reader when I say that, while I DID enjoy and appreciate these books,they were so boring in many places that I had to treat them like an assigned book report or something in order to push myself through them. I love these books, but I've read them that ONE time, and I very much doubt I could ever pick them up and make it through them again. But I'm glad that I DID read them.

Please read and review Cicero trilogy by Robert Harris. It's a historical fiction set in ancient Roman republic.

Besides the dedicated LoTR channels, I highly recommend looking up videos by Peter Kreeft (he is a philosophy professor at Boston College) talking about the books, specifically the Catholic elements Tolkien wove into the stories.

Fangorn and the ents are my favorite thing in the series. Nice when someone else appreciates them.

Could you add all of your reviews to a playlist? I'd love to be able to see all the books you've reviewed in one go.

Hey The Merph! I love LOTR. In my opinion, those books are the ultimate when it comes to high fantasy and none have surpassed them and I don't believe anyone ever will. They are perfect. A long time ago, I spent about two years reading and re-reading The Silmarillion because I was just blown away by the writing and the stories. I didn't want to leave Middle-Earth. As for Samwise Gamgee and Gollum, you gotta remember that Sam is really smart in his own way and he is like Frodo's doberman pincer; if anything is threatening Frodo, he's gonna sniff it out and not let up, and he may seem harsh on Gollum but he knows better and he's right. I really enjoyed the Ents, too, and if any character in the books represents JRR Tolkien himself, I think it is Treebeard.

Not a KZfaq channel, but the Prancing Pony Podcast is a very detailed read through, beginning with the silmarillion. They are only into the second half of Fellowship so far, but well work a listen.

"Hello Future Me" is very good

Arachîr Galudirithon and Men of the West have some good stuff. I think there's another one that I can't find.

The Prancing Pony Podcast (guys are hilarious) and Cory Olson - The Tolkien Professor, if you're into interpreting two sentences for about an hour 😂

I’d definitely recommend geekzone for a deeper dive into the lore

History of Middle Earth is a good channel. He does exclusively the lore of Tolkien's Middle Earth. Hello Future Me is also great, but he does a lot of other things besides Tolkien. Hopefully this helps! I love Tolkien's work. I think it is amazing. Thanks for the review!

With Lord of the Rings, I think it's difficult to retain all the scenes and things you love because there are so many! There is just so much detail, and so many cool things, in such a grand scale, that it's impossible to just remember it all. That being said, I applaud people that can re-read these books. I read them once, and probably won't do it again.

*sigh* Merphy. I love you. But you keep making these wonderful, heartfelt reviews for books I love, and giving me a deep craving to reread them, and making it even harder for me to force myself to keep to my two book at a time limit ☹️

Cant wait to start reading these books

Which audiobook of LOTR did you listen to? I hope it was Phil Dragash's.

You should look up civilizationex they have easy to fallow cartoon videos where they explain the full history and lore of the lord of the rings. They also cover lots of other books series like Game of thrones.

This so very much sums up my feelings for the epic!