This is the first time since the movies released that I have re-read these books and boy can I say that I had rose-colored glasses when I first read this. First and foremost, this book is a slog of epic proportions--especially the first half. A lot of people who are critical of it say that there is a lot of "purple prose", but for me it was just too - much - talking. So much dialogue, and half the time they were not saying anything of import. Just an endless barrage of telling of things that have happened rather than showing. I would have loved to have more exposition rather than the "let's sit around and I will tell you something for the next 20 pages". 

And when I first read the book, it was easy enough to skip the songs, but listening on audio requires skipping ahead. Some songs are short, others seem to go on <i>forever</i>. I don't think the songs added anything to the story either.

What really drives this narrative for me is obviously the characters, but it feels like you don't get much of them in this first book. Two Towers was always my favorite, though, so we'll see how it holds up for me now.