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i have never been a real lotr fan but i am very interested in it. should i read the books first or watch the movie? which is better?

read the books first, it's a lot easier trying to do that because i think the movies would be very confusing without them, but if you do watch the movies first, you should read the books too, they are very interesting, and though people say they are hard to read, i thought they were very easy to read, but you have to concentrate when reading them...

I agree. Plus it has more imformation on what the places are and who live there, very informing. Very good reading I think. Enjoy

I like both. The books have details that can be entertaining, yet the movies represent the essence of the books wonderfully! Still, I did find the Fellowship movie more entertaining than the book, to be quite honest...The Fellowship book can linger too much on detail sometimes, and after a while that can be quite exhausting!

the books definitely are better..........the movies were made for the original fans of LOTR......PJ made a great movie for the lotr fans and also introduced the wonderful world Tolkien created.

and those people who call themselves true fans of LOTR and have not read the book are just plain lazy

Yep. I love them both. I can't choose really.

actually, before ya do anything, i say read The Hobbit! that explains a lot, i tried jumping into the fotr, and i couldn't do it, so i read the hobbit and then i understood A LOT more....

i haven't read the books yet n i hear they r really good so im gonna read them and i wanted to say that the LotR movies are the best movies i have ever seen!!!

I'd say the books are better

Yeah..The Hobbit is pretty cool too. A light-hearted book and I was always laughing at Bilbo while I was reading it, but I cried at the end when Thorin Oakenshield, Fili and Kili died , but still..a very good book. I recommend it too.

And Elrond is pretty light-hearted in that book. Pretty far from the Elrond of LOTR books and movies.

i know i did too, i cried even at the end of rotk when i read the arwen and aragorn thing and then learning about when the fellowship finally died for good, but hey i am very emotional when it comes to books...

Yeah, Tolkien is a total genius for coming up with those. I mean, if I didn't know any better, I would think that those are true stories. Even they are set up in Middle-earth.

i'm now reading the books for a second time... they are much better then the movie.... the was a very good movie... but the books had sooooo much more info.

Books are far better and I think it's more interesting if you read the books first...

i read fotr after watching the movie and i couldn't get through it, but then someone told me legolas died in TTT so i had to know and couldn't put them down.. i think that you'll appreciate the books more if you read them first, the movies are still awesome... gotta love orlando bloom

I like the books better than the movie, for one thing, you get too "see" the stuff that wasnt in the movie, you also get more detail. But the movies are easier to veiw.

Easier and sometimes also faster

one of the advantages of a book is imo also that you can keep all the information at once while in the film you have to watch it again and again to get everything

venom, the universe is expanding into the void, the humble abode of morgoth, muahahhaaha

sorry lol

I prefer the animated series.

Book! Book! Book!

but i do have to admit, they did do a very good job with the movie, but i would still like THE WAR IN THE SHIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! meh...

About the war of the shire, are they cutting it all out, like its not going to happen at all, or are they just skipping it but it will still happen we just wont see it.

The books of course. I think FotR was okay, but TTT sucked...

The only thing we'll see of it is probably in Galadriel's mirror.

Ok, thanks.

i think the movie is easier 4 me 2 understand! ( i have a small mind)

The book is better, it cover's everything in more detail and you can vizualise whats going on in your head, and make things seem like how you want them to be. Same goes for most books vs flims.

Books......I read them over and over again..........Great story !! But movies are awesome to. When I first saw the trailer of FOTR, It felled like my fantasy had come to life.

2 much

The books are certainly more detailed, but at the expense of pacing.

When i read through i got extremely bogged down around about the middle of book 5, and if i hadn't FORCED myself to go on i would have chucked it away and never gone back.

Still its FAR more readble than silmarillion.

Anyway PJ has done a really superb job, and whilst not keeping everything from the books (thank goodness, save me from that tom bombadil rubbish!) has definitely caught the spirit.

Forget about the complaints about Faramir, its really NOT important. And Gollum/Smeagol is simply superb in the movies. Far better than the somewhat sketchy effort in the books, whose end is desperately unsatisfying.

Cheers

BOOOOOOOOKS...But the movie is great

Here iswhat I say... The Books are amazing, they always will be... but when we can see the Extended Editions for all 3 films back to back, that is when this question will be valid... 6 days till the TTT EE my friends!!!

i av a few things 2 say, firstly the books r far better than the films even though i enjoy the films, and was disapointed at a few moments when watching them at the cinema. i recomend the books 2 ne1 who hasn't read them, and 2 those who think about reading them do so and soon.
i'm shocked at the news about Christopher Lee's role being cut out of the theatrical version as his character plays a big role in the second 2 last chapter.
secondly i dont believe FotR gets boring at the stages where Tolkien uses alot of descriptive paragraphs...thats 1 of the reasons why most ppl love the books and that is what Middle-earth is about after all (places and scenery). i have read the books 6 times and never tire of them and i dont think i ever will.

if ne1 has ne questions about the books or if they get confused at certain points or struggle 2 understand them-i will happily clariffy them for u. plz dont hesitate 2 ask.

namaarie!!

I HAVE READ DA FIRST ONE AND I HAVE I HAVE STARTED DA SECOND BOOK AND ALL I CAN SAY IZ WOW. tHEY ARE GREAT BUT I LOVE THE FILMS TOO AND WITH OUT DA FILM I PROBABLY WOULDNT OF READ DA BOOK SO I HAVE TO THANK PETER JACKSON AND I PROBAABLY WOULDNT BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THEM, I HAVE A SMALL MIND TOO.