I am again amazed at this story. It pulls me on a remarkable journey that both leads into darkness and still keeps hope alive throughout. Some of the lines given by the characters (many of which are repeated verbatim in the movies) are quotes to live by.
Unlike the Hobbit movies, I feel that the Lord of the Rings series was amazingly faithful to the soul of the books. Even in places where it deviated--for the sake of time or our modern sensibilities--it still managed to stay true the original intent of the story. Once I am done reading these books, I know that I will want to see the movies again (the extended versions, of course). Perhaps I should try and give the Hobbit movies another chance as well.
THAT would be a movie marathon!