The books or the movies

The animation of the Hobbit was where I found my first interest in the series of novels. That Introduced me into the Lord of the Rings. Thought some fans are greatly bothered by the liberties the movie takes over the novels I still think both are great pieces of work. I think works such as Once and Future King or other book series would be best down on Showtime or HBO in seasons. Then you could probably have the majority of material as it is in the book. To be honest for them to make the Lord of the Rings movies exactly like the book they would have had to have a lot more than three movies.

After reading the Harry Potter series, someone recommended me to read LOTR. I started the first book, but the initial description of the Hobbit geographical area and their ways etc etc. was just too much for me to put up with. If all that had been included after the story started, it could have been more interesting. I could not read on and, and just see the movies now. I don't have that much patience to read half a history book when I sit up with fiction. I know that a book is much more descriptive than a movie and I experienced the disappointment in the movies from the HP series, but I prefer HP to LOTR. That's just my opinion.

I think the books were much better than the movies (though the movies weren't bad, they weren't spectacular). I read the books in my early teens, and haven't gotten around to re-reading them (may never). Typically I like to watch the movie before reading the books, since the movies are often disappointing if I know what's supposed to happen, what's been left out, what's been over-played, etc. I liked the Jurassic Park movie, but I think if I'd read the book first, it would've made me nuts (they changed major portions of the plot in that one). So when the movie comes first, I find it easier to appreciate both genres.

I very like film, it's one of my favourite films, but I very like books, too. All of Tolkien's books are fantastic and I thin he is best fantasy writer ever.

I guess I became a fan because of the movie. I was so fascinated by the story that by the time I finally got the copies of the trilogy, I was really hooked. But even if this is the case, I like the books more, since they are richer in description. Let's face it: there are some beautiful scenes in the books that were not shown in the movies.

I discovered The Lord of the Rings when I was about nine years old. At the time my brother, who is five years older than I am, was reading them for the very first time himself. I'm not sure what possessed me to do it but after he finished The Fellowship of the Ring I picked it up and started to read it. The first chapter, An Unexpected Party, was so boring to me (at the time) that I wondered what in the world my brother saw in this book. Somehow someway I kept on reading and even though the story was a bit much for me at such a young age I absolutely loved it. It took me awhile but I powered my way through the whole trilogy and found myself hooked on the fantasy genre for the rest of my life. Since then I've read the trilogy about 6 of 7 more times, getting a much better understanding of just how amazing this story is. When I heard that they were going to make the books into movies I was immediately excited and worried all at the same time. Something told me that the magic that Tolkien spun into these books could just never be captured on the big screen. I loved the movies, they were far better than I'd even hoped they could be. However, there's something about those books that can never be transferred to a different media. No disrespect to Peter Jackson or anyone else who had a hand in crafting the movies, but the books are far better than the movies, and that's really saying something.

A friend introduced me to the books first and the funny part is the movies came out right after i finished reading the trilogy. I am always a fan of the books over the movies but thats just because i have a reading addiction. I do think the movies were brilliantly done.

yeah you are right the books are bit richer and i could not able to follow the movies properly in initial days so i thought of buying movies with subtitles which provides me a liner of conversation and i improved it slowly now....as well i started investing in books as i sold out after reading where we have line of peoples to buy

Dawnald, I dont have the exact answer to this question as i never read the book of Lord of the Rings. But I prefer Movies as I dont have enough time to read the books. With tight schedule i am struggling to get my fitness back. So I am spending as much as time for excercise and work out to get my that fit physic back. But If I have time then definately i would like to read the book rather than the movie, as it is a Fact that Books are more interesting than movies, not only in the case of Lord of the ring but also lot other stories like Harry Potter, Time Lines, Bourne Series. Wish Once I get retire from this Job after next 30 years (its a long way to go stil) and if i am still alive, I would really will have lot of time to read all those books which I want to... God Knows What happens that time.... ^_^

i like the movies because they make the book into life..but if you tell me about the details i rather like the book.

I read both The Hobbit and the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy when I was still at school. And I absolutely loved it. Obviously I was quite exited when the movies started. And I wasn't dissapointed. They were well made and spectacular. They unfortunately cannot be compared to the books though. Quite frankly, how do you compress a novel into a movie, without losing some of the story line and the colourfull characters. I read the books again after the watching the first movie, and in some cases the movies have diverted quite significantly from the books. I thus vote for the books, all the way! I'll probably re-read them again in my life.