LOTR, Star Wars, Star Trek, 70s and 80s bands, my wife and kids, etc.
First Lord of the Rings reading experience:
As a child one of my earliest memories involved seeing the coloring book for the Bashki LOTR film sitting around the house and wondering what was wrong with the hobbits' feet. Later I watched the Hobbit and LOTR cartoons and got the gist of some of the story, but it wasn't until 8th grade when I read the Hobbit and the LOTR books that I really got into it for a time & became a LOTR and fantasy enthusiast, even writing a few fantasy stories of my own.
Then after a few years of latency, I got back into things Tolkien via the PJ LOTR films, particularly the extended DVDs that my roommates introduced me to. Eventually that culminated in my attendance at the marathon screening of Trilogy Tuesday in '03 at Jordan Commons in Sandy, UT.
Favorite Tolkien character:
Sam, because he's a humble, ordinary, loyal and obedient guy and stays that way.