I just saw a clip from LOTR Two Towers and I never got into LOTR and now feel like I lack some culture not having read any of it. I also haven’t watched any of the movies. I tried watching The Hobbit (first movie) but I didn’t understand any of it. Maybe it’s not for me? I like sci fi but not sure about phantasy. Can you understand each book without reading them in order? How many books are there? Is it still a trilogy?
Unpopular opinion but you could skip The Hobbit altogether.
You could either read the LOTR trilogy, which is the greatest fantasy series of all time, or you could watch the movies, which are the greatest trilogy of movies of all time. And it’s worth doing both eventually.