2018 Re-read: On my first read of the Lord of the Rings trilogy I was impressed with how faithful the movie adaption was. This time around I appreciated the differences that exist and embraced it fully. I feel that this allowed me to have a better reading experience and appreciate those moments kept strictly in the books.

It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them.

I will not say: do not weep, for not all tears are an evil.

Original reading in 2012: I really enjoyed re-reading the trilogy and see myself coming back to these books repeatedly over the years.

An excellent conclusion to a great series. My favourite part of the book was Mordor. The description of Mordor is much more intense and gloomy than how I imagined it. The phrase "one simply doesn't walk into Mordor" comes to mind with how arduous it is to get in and how unforgiving of a place it really is.

I enjoyed everything about this book. Admittedly I didn't read the Appendix material so my read completion is only at 59% but I don't think I need to read about family trees or Elvish Language.