The Hobbit is written well enough to read aloud. Breaking the fourth wall helps. The Lord of the Rings isn't. CS Lewis was a much better writer. Tolkien made

The Hobbit is written well enough to read aloud. Breaking the fourth wall helps. The Lord of the Rings isn't. CS Lewis was a much better writer. Tolkien made a franchise because his ideas were novel (non of Lewis's bible stories) and we've been seeing new products since he died.