There are so many different ways to experience and appreciate Tolkien. The sense of wonder I experienced encountering him for the first time as a boy was hardly a matter of any sort of literary appreciation.

I wasn’t capable of appreciating literature at that age.

And how many of us have met Tolkien for the first time that way, with flashlights under the covers as children?

I’ve reread the Lord of the Rings several times since my first wondrous encounter, but always my experience was flavored with that initial non-literary impression. I wouldn’t want it any other way. I’m not so sure Tolkien would have either. He filled his writing with magic that he must have meant at some level to be appreciated at face value.

I don’t love any of the film adaptations either, but I do love reencountering in them the joy and magic of the novels. I think that’s a perfectly wonderful thing to do.