You don't have to, but it's pretty much universally loved so why not? I've never read it, though, but I have read the Lord of the Rings. I need to fix that at some point but I imagine my hatred of all things hobbit will make me hate The Hobbit. I hate those little fuckers.
Absolutely start with The Hobbit, then read LOTR, then read The Silmarillion. Then wait a few years and reread it in the order of The Silmarillion, The Hobbit then LOTR
I have my own set too, but just paperback copyright in the 80's I think. Nothing as beautiful as that
$57.44 at Overstock http://www.overstock.com/Books-Movi....R.-Tolkien-Leatherbound/1029938/product.html
Read The Hobbit in December and started Fellowship last night. Never got around to reading it before and am enjoying it quite a bit so far. Frodo is just about to leave the Shire. It's nice because I haven't seen the movies in forever so most of this is fresh/new for me.
Not ashamed to admit I haven’t seen the movies or read the books. Started The Hobbit a few nights ago. Bilbo just found the group again and they’re on the move away from the goblins
Being an avid reader and having never read the series is crazy...having never seen the movies as a human being seems preposterous.
Been 10 years since I tried, but I quit halfway through FOTR. Too many details about what they had for breakfast and whatnot
I got past Tom Bombadil's house. They were somewhere having a picnic and I was just like I was maybe overly focused on advancing the story and not pausing to appreciate details
Same. One punch Helm is obvi a badass but inside the caves of Helm's Deep was one of Gimli's favorite places. Excited to see that aspect of it.
It might be mentioned on the LOTR thread on the main page but the Andy Serkis audio books, at least the Silmarillion, is an absolute masterpiece.