God yes, I’m with you there! I’ve read them once (although that was after having my wisdom teeth taken out, so it wasn’t a fair hearing) but my dad read them to me with impressive dedication, once when
I was quite young and then again when I was ill in my teens. I do find them entertaining, and there are some bits that are just fantastic (especially the orcs) but the long, bad poems, and long, sanctimonious descriptions of elves - ugh, barely endurable
It’s one of the few books I can say for certain that I think the film improves on. Those films are awesome!
And this is not off topic, it’s Gearbox’s fault.