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[Dutchling]

I still have to read the books (only finished The Fellowship) but I'm not finding them better than the movie so far, insofar you can even really compare them.

You better take cover before the wrath of the internet descends upon you. 

Heheh. To be honest I fully expected to be blown away by the awesomeness when I started reading it, but while it's really good, I'm not finding it as good as I expected.

Maybe because it's a Dutch translation and the first book is just more boring than the other two? I don't know.

I'm definitely liking The Children of Hurin and The Silmarillion more.

[Mictlantecuhtli]

I prefer the Silmarillion. Tolkien works almost feel like a chore to read, though.

[LeoLeonardoIII]

Oh man I found the Children and the Silmarillion super dry and boring. LoTR feels like a chore halfway through. I think I enjoyed the Hobbit most.

[Dutchling]

I also have Tales of the Perilous Realm, but I think I'll finish The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings before I start with that.

I must say I like The Children of Hurin the most so far, which isn't that hard since it's his only book I a) fully finished and b) can remember more than a few fragments of

[XXSockXX]

I'm definitely liking The Children of Hurin and The Silmarillion more.

In that case you should like the other 2 books better, there is definitely more epic stuff going on and the tone also moves away from the more naive elements in the first book.

I like reading actual ancient epics, so Tolkien doesn't feel like a chore at all.

[Willfor]

Fantasy authors (and couple) Scott Lynch and Elizabeth Bear lambaste the second Hobbit movie over the course of an hour and a half podcast for charity while getting progressively more drunk.

I kinda liked the movie, but I am greatly enjoying the two of these authors commentating on it.

[Stuebi]

Tolkiens works are INCREDIBLY dry to read, but I liked the Hobbit as a book nonetheless.

Im also liking the movies. The Barrel-Scene had me in tears laughing, Smaug looks fantastic and the landscapes are, as usual, beatiful to look at.

But ofc, its noticeable that they're stretching the content, but that was to be expected. I dont care tough, when going into a Cinema I want to be entertained for > 2hours and that goal was definetly reached.

[Zanzetkuken The Great]

Sauron appears, directly, and fights Gandalf, directly.

I found the Sauron/Gandalf thing one of the better additions. It is at least loosely based on the LOTR appendices and stuff from Unfinished Tales.

You know, thinking back I thought I remember reading that the wizards, after they came to middle earth, were explicitly told that they should not attempt to fight Sauron directly.

[Xantalos]

Well in the book all they did was kick him out of his castle.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

I recall that the Valar were told not to unleash their Final Forms, lest they destroy Middle Earth fighting similarly powerful beings, but nothing about not attacking Sauron specifically.

[Xantalos]

That was after the War of Wrath sunk a continent so it was kinda justified.

[Trif]

I recall that the Valar were told not to unleash their Final Forms, lest they destroy Middle Earth fighting similarly powerful beings, but nothing about not attacking Sauron specifically.

I don't think that Valar (or Maiar) have final forms, they're all just shapeshifters. Here's what we know of the instructions of the Wizards:

When maybe a thousand years had passed, and the first shadow had fallen on Greenwood the Great, the Istari or Wizards appeared in Middle-earth. It was afterwards said that they came out of the Far West and were messengers sent to contest the power of Sauron, and to unite all those who had the will to resist him; but they were forbidden to match his power with power, or to seek to dominate Elves or Men by force and fear.

This kind of contradicts their attack on Dol Guldur, but keep in mind that the White Council as a whole decided to assault the Necromancer, so Saruman and Gandalf didn't really need to challenge Sauron directly. Maybe just the elves of Rivendell and Lórien did the attacking and the Wizards acted as strategists.

[Digital Hellhound]

Tangentially related, but is there any real info on the wizards who went to the East and disappeared? I thought the scene of Gandalf not remembering their names was a clever reference to them never being named by Tolkien, but were they ever mentioned in anything?

[Xantalos]

They were blue, went east, abs never appeared again since Tolkein never really illustrated the East.