The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

Are you even allowed to review the Lord of the Rings? A sci-fi classic, this wasn’t my book to start it all, but it was definitely the most inspiring. My first “real” sci-fi book, I find that I reread it every other year around the holidays. Maybe because that’s when all the movies came out, and as a theater usher when they were released, I found myself visiting that theater over all the others for “seat checks” and random sweeping. This was by far the most beautiful novel I think I’ve ever read. The rich history, background, landscape, all of it is so intricately detailed that you can’t help but wish you were there in Middle-Earth too. I seem to breeze through these like nobody’s business, because it’s just so lyrical the chapters seem to flow. I have to admit, though, purist I am not, and often find I like the Peter Jackson version of the splitting, but that’s probably just because Tolkien didn’t intend to tell the story in three distinct parts, which is why you sort of get left in the lurch at the end of the first two books. But overall such a wonderful read for sitting by the fire lounging around and looking at the gloomy Texas fog (no real snow ever, just a sort of rainy mist). A must read for any sci-fi fan.