Why Lord of the Rings?

I've been asked more times than I care to remember why I feel passionate about The Lord of the Rings. I always have to stop them at this point and correct them. The truth is, it's not just The Lord of the Rings that I'm passionate about. I am absolutely in love with Tolkien's entire legendarium.

I read The Hobbit when I was in ~6th grade when The Lord of the Rings films were first coming out in theaters. As a 6th grader, I was enamored with the majesty, the adventure, the feelings of grandeur that narrated the simplest of Tolkien's work. I was hooked. At the middle school book fair, I bought The Lord of the Rings box set and set my mind to reading it.

Now, ~13 years later, I've read the trilogy 6 times and The Hobbit  5 times. Throw in a few passes at The Silmarillion and an honest-to-Eru college course in Tolkien Literature, and I think I qualify as a true Tolkien fan.

I wanted to start this blog with the only series that I felt worthy of the position. I've read a lot of fantasy and great novels since Tolkien but Middle-Earth is where my heart returns to. My mind scours the Shire, I persevere through the Pass of Caradhas, and my heart soars with the triumph of the restored King and the Reunited Kingdom.

The Lord of the Rings is a foundational piece of modern literature and has profoundly shaped global culture. The timeless story of overcoming great adversity holds parallels for all readers, regardless of age, and I can not think of a better text to start with than The Lord of the Rings. Happy reading, folks.