My dad reading The Lord of the Rings to me as a child. We only got to Shelob's lair, then summer was over. Then I read the trilogy myself in my early teens and was forever changed. :)
Favorite Tolkien character:
Galadriel. She is endlessly fascinating to me. Powerful, ancient and strong-willed. Reading about her in The Sil always makes me want to know more about what she was like when she was "young" and followed Feanor and the other elves who left Eldamar. She is one of the most fascinating female literary characters ever created imo.