Of the Tolkien books I've read, the LOTR-trilogy is a classic page turner. Once you get past Bilbo's birthday you can't really put the books down. The Hobbit ha

Of the Tolkien books I've read, the LOTR-trilogy is a classic page turner. Once you get past Bilbo's birthday you can't really put the books down. The Hobbit has more of a children's tale-vibe, but still worth the read. The Silmarillion is harder and the first time it feels like you are cramming for some history exam, but I found that if you read it again you get more context and start untangling all the relationsships which gives a lot of extra character to the other books. The Children of Húrin can be found in abbreviated form inside The Silmarillion and is a dark and tragic tale, but really good in my opinion. Fortunately Peter Jackson made a good job with the original LOTR-trilogy. You can be a fan of the movies and the books at the same time even though there are (probably necessary) differences between the formats.