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Tolkien fans unite! Which is your favourite Tolkien book and why?
I've personally read The Silmarillion 3 times and have found comfort and connection with the book and its stories. Sure, the names are still intimidating and the geography confusing sometimes but all that is part of the enjoyment for me.
It's such a hard question!
When considering the major works (The Hobbit, LotR, The Silmarillion), I could likely convince myself that any one of them is my most favorite. The tone of each is so radically different, that it's really rather hard to compare then.
But being honest, it in the end has to be the Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit is very heartwarming for what it is, I have lots of good things to say about it. But it doesn't linger in my mind like the "greater" works.
LotR is, of course, great on itself, but large part of its charm comes from the vast (mostly implied at this point) background. It creates hunger to understand the old ruins and the sung stories and the ancient characters. The Silmarillion (and the other published notes) then of course answer these questions, but getting the answers is never quite as fulfilling as asking them. And don't get me wrong, I love the stories of the Elder Days. But first seeing the shadows of those events in the grey days of the late Third Age has made a larger impression on me.
This is my excitement with Tolkien in a nutshell. The Sil' just asks more questions for me! Thanks for the great response!
The Hobbit. It had a huge effect on my life and the way I see things.