Genealogy, history, archaeology, camping, hiking, bicycling, hugging trees, and All Things Tolkien.
First Lord of the Rings reading experience:
I was introduced to the Hobbit at age 7 by my most wonderful 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Moore. She would read to us after lunch, and we would sit quietly or nap while she read the Adventures of King Arthur. She also had these mysterious wonderful posters on the wall from a magical book; the poster I remember most was that of a small creature sitting on a rock in a lake in a cave. The next year she read The Hobbit to my brother's class, and he and my cousin (both in the same class) told me all about Bilbo and his adventures. I finally read it for the first time at age 8, and have been captivated ever since! About 5 years later I finally got my hands on the Lord of the Rings, and later the Silmarillion when it was first published. I have continued to read all the books over the past 41 years, at least 100+ times.
Favorite Tolkien character:
First of all Bilbo, because he was the very first Tolkien character I met in The Hobbit. Other favorites include Gollum, Smaug, Treebeard, and Radagast the Brown.
