It's taken me years to get around to reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy having really enjoyed the films, and as expected the books don't disappoint.
 
There's plenty to love about this book and some of the aspects which are different from the film I enjoyed, others less so. Merry and Pippin's stories feel a lot deeper in the book, and the whole return to the shire chapters towards the end were surprising and brilliant. I understand why they wouldn't work as well in the film since I guess after the world changing events that have just been resolved issues in the shire might seem small but it really brings the whole story together nicely and shows the heroic nature of Merry and Pippin, which in the film was shown by having them in the battle at Mordor. 

The only significant negative I have is the structure. Having the whole of Frodo and Sams journey together, preceeded by everyone elses rather than switching between the two somewhat broke the immersion and the way it was edited for the big screen was an improvement there in my opinoin.

The hobbit is on the list to read as well, I probably won't be going for the silmarillion though