It's been years since I had read these books and with receiving the movies on Blu-Ray for Christmas, I decided to give them another shot. After reading the first one, I remember I was more excited to read it the first time around than I am now. Not a big fan of all the singing and some of the early chapters were somewhat dull (just a lot of walking around by Frodo and Sam). However, the book did quickly pick up soon after. I thought the film followed the book closer but as I said, it's been years since I'd read them. Between the first film and the book, I favor the film. We'll see how the rest of the trilogy plays out.
