I read this once in high school and had forgotten how good it is. I grew up on the movies and greatly enjoyed the differences between them and the book. While I appreciate the stories as the films tell them, I love the detail put into the characters and setting in the book. 

The fact that the languages created are speakable and can be learned adds to my enjoyment of the story. I enjoy how Tolkien manages to make each race feel both unique and valuable. Even juggling 9 main characters each one is important in their own way and unique from the others.

The only reason this isn't getting 5 stars is the number of songs. While I enjoy reading them well enough on the page and the narrator did a fabulous job with the character voices, his choices for singing the songs often pulled me out of the book. Some, because I'm used to the movie melodies, but others simply because they sound a certain way in my head and his attempts were jarring.

If that is my biggest complaint with a book I dare say it is a truly wonder story.