The Lord of the Rings

My most recent reading journey has led me into the land of Middle Earth with The Lord of the Rings. It's been so fun to finally read these stories and understand what people are talking about. I have been enjoying it VERY much.

I am currently reading the third book in the series - The Return of the King. I am only about two chapters in. I must say that my slow start was due to the enormity of the copy of the book the library had. Look at that monster! I felt like I was carrying around a textbook. Luckily my coworker saw it and is lending me her normal sized book. Because seriously - I do not have the energy to lug that thing all over the place. Not to mention that it would fall on my face and break my nose when I read before bed.

I have enjoyed the magic of this book. I know I'm going to have to read it again someday (after my list of over 100 books that I'm going to read next....) before I truly appreciate all the details that are included in this series. The writing style has been a little bit hard for me to really get into. I often miss really important, action packed parts of the book because of the writing. So then I have to go back and re-read it because I totally missed all of that! Not sure how I can completely miss an entire battle scene that went on for nearly two pages. But I did...

I'm really enjoying Frodo and Sam's story. I love stories about loyalty and friendship (which is probably why I love Harry Potter so much). So far Sam is my favorite. I love his sarcasm and his caring watchfulness. I can't wait to finish the book!

Any recommendations for great books in a similar genre?