I know a lot of people struggle with this series. But I cannot lie, I absolutely adored it. I think it is important that Tolkien's work is read with the knowledge of when it was written. The Fellowship of the Ring was first published in 1954 and while I can't say that the writing is ageless, it's pretty close to it!

There are parts that are long and drawn out, for instance The Council of Elrond, but the writing and story are both so immersive and a completely different experience to films. The writing is beautifully desciptive and the reader feels very connected to all of the characters throughout.

My word of advice to anyone who wants to read The Lord of The Rings is to skip over the songs (unless that's your kind of thing), as I haven't found one yet that is critical to the storyline and skipping them makes it easier to keep track.