Thinking of reading the original LOTR books. How are they?

[Silver Highlights]

Since Tolkien's work was a great influence on the fantasy genre across books, movies, and games, I figured I'd look into the Lord Of The Rings books. So I figured I'd ask any of you who already read the books and what I should expect. My only experience with LOTR so far are the Peter Jackson movies and the video game Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. Of course, since this is an older book whose creator wasn't directly involved with its derivative works, I do not expect the movies/games to be a 1:1 similar experience to the source material. So I'm treating the books as a new thing rather than rely on second-hand knowledge.

[heathenish]

It is a masterpiece. Tolkien can tell a story without dumbing down the writing; imagine that.

[AnotherStolenRelic]

The language is (obviously) a bit dated, but the books are amazing. Definitely worth a read.
The movies are a lot different, especially The Hobbit.

[AurumCelest]

As was mentioned the writing is dated and some words and actions may seem odd. Lots of people with lots of different name, long descriptions of things, etc. If you do decide to read it I think you should read it with one of the LoTR handbooks or reader companion.

[pandagum]

Try not to get bogged down in the names. The language is definitely dated and there are many extra people, places, and details that were omitted in the movies. Fellowship may be the hardest one to get through, since the plot we expect doesn't happen for a while - Frodo takes 17 years to leave the Shire, then you have a large section with the Barrow-Wights and Tom Bombadil, and the Council of Elrond presents a huge block of information.

None of this is a bad thing, personally. I adore the books. It's just a different experience of the story than what the movies and games present. Tolkien tells the characters' stories, not so much the huge action sequences.

If you saw the Hobbit before reading it, hoo boy, you're in for a surprise.You could probably read the whole thing in the time it takes to watch the first movie. The Hobbit is super cute and the language is a lot simpler.

[Sairanie]

Tolkien's work is absolutely stunning. I enjoyed every page, and it is absolutely worth the read. However, depending on your reading abilities/speed, it might take you a while, so you have to actually commit to the novels.

[pastel opal]

its amazing! what are you waiting for!

[Mahaule]

Man, the writing and language was fantastic, the story line is great, the only thing i could goddamned stand while i was reading the first time around was that once you get to the council of Elrond, they start throwing out names of places and things and people that are hard to keep track of, and even some words like istari and hethaleger that just kind of ******** with you
i had to read all of the silmarillion and ravage the lotrwiki, tolkeingateway and all those other websites to even begin to understand what was happening.
i mean, if you dont mind not knowing some of the things they mention then go ahead and read them plain because a lot of the stuff i looked up isnt necessarily relevant to the plot or the main characters.
i, personally, just get really pissed of when i dont know exactly what is going on and what people are talking about.