He walked among them unseen... and they did not know whence came the fair visions or the promptings of wisdom that he put into their hearts. In later days he was the friend of all the children of Ilúvatar, and took pity on their sorrows; and those who listened to him awoke from despair and put away their imaginations of darkness.

It took me a while to get through the Valaquenta and the first half the Quenta Silmarillion, and I definitely didn't keep track of all the characters the entire time, but I decided it was more important to read it then to fully understand it. I'll have to reread it if I want to remember who each person with an ë in his name is... Once I got past the long descriptions of elven kingdoms and reached the Dagor Bragollach I was thoroughly interested.

I love Tolkien's style and descriptions and his strong love of home and courage and friendship. Even his tragedies are achingly beautiful (I think the tale of Túrin may be my favorite in the book). And his language and naming conventions are marvelous. If you haven't read Tolkien, this may not be the best place to start, but read it someday. It's good.

Lastly, I should have read this years ago. I tried when I was eleven or twelve and gave up after the Ainulindalë. Last year I listened to a friend read the Ainulindalë aloud and thought, wow, I really should read that book. Now I have finally read it. I think fifteen or sixteen would have been the perfect age to begin to appreciate it... But at least, I am glad I have read it now.