Kevin's Watch

Stephen R Donaldson in the GI wrote:...I never saw the appeal of the Hobbits, and Bilbo's birthday party made me want to quit reading half a dozen times. (Years later, when I read "The Hobbit," I did so entirely out of a sense of obligation to LOTR. I never actually enjoyed it.) The process by which I fell in love with the books was so gradual that I didn't notice I was in love until I reached the Mines of Moria

I was kind of the same way.
I read the Hobbit first, and I found that it started out like it was for kids, but it aged as it moved along.

When I read LOTR I felt the same thing...I mean, I like the Hobbits; once they were on their way, but Bilbo's party, and then the Scouring at the end I found fairly Childish.

Not me.
I always liked both the beginning and the ending very much.
And after multiple reads since I was a kid those two parts are now my favorite. (though my favorite chapters change over the years as I do)
I read once that even Tolkien said that his writing style changed after "Flight to the Fords".

I first started with The Hobbit, in 6th or 7th grade, and found Bilbo's and Gandalf's greetings a bit odd in the first few pages. Of course, it was very "British", so of course it was odd to me. I didn't like it, and though I'd only read maybe 5-10 pages, returned the book to the library, and didn't check it out again until my friend who had convinced me to check it out in the first place further prevailed on my common sense. I gave it a second shot, and couldn't imagine what my problem was the first time through. I loved it, and when I was told at the end of that book that if I wanted to learn more about Hobbits, I should read The Lord of the Rings. That was like a summons to me. None of Tolkien's published works have ever done anything but inspire, and leave me, frankly, breathless, since.

I don't think it likely that in our lifetime anyone will surpass his achievement. Including SRD. (There. I said it.)

Tolkien deserves his acclaim for popularizing fantasy in modern times, but I maintain that Donaldson is the better writer, by far.