My memory is sadly getting foggy already. I read the three books at least three times completely through followed up by the Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales, and an attempt at starting the Book of Lost Tales part I (that last has been a bit of a chore).
Annnd I did all that probably over the span of two years or such, those two years being 02-03, which is already a good 6 years-ish ago.
Like *E* I saw FotR first, then I devoured all of the books and went on to answer book questions in the Tolkien books forum as a n00b, happy when I knew something that others didn't and I could explain it.
Anywho, the questions...
Disappointed? I don't think anything really disappointed me. I found it a bit of a chore to get through the Old Forest. In Tom Bombadil's house was interesting enough but then it dragged on a little more to Bree. Some of the historical explanations in their complete entirety at the Council of Elrond could've been a little shorter for my tastes then. One of my friends who was a great fan of The Hobbit when we were younger and who I went along with to see FotR got halted at the Council the first time she had tried to read it. Eventually she completed it a couple of years later.
Uplifted? Frodo wasn't really such a wimp!
He so got gipped.
Not stabbing the foot of the wraith on Weathertop in the movie....just cowering behind the others. Looking back at Disappointments, I was backwards disappointed when I found that Pippin was gipped of a glory moment in solving the riddle of the Gates to Moria. Oh! And I like that Gandalf's wisdom did not indeed falter as it was Aragorn's, if I remember correctly, insisting on using the pass of Caradhras which proved impassable. Gandalf had Moria in mind all the time.
Right? Or did I get that backwards? I did that sometimes.
Surprised? I was pleasantly suprised by the time frame between Bilbo's birthday and arriving at Bree, with so much missing and skewed in the movies. I enjoyed the Crickhollow bit, the slight drama of the Ringwraiths stalking Frodo's new home. I liked that Farmer Maggot played a more prominent part and Merry and Pippin we made much less ridiculous in the way they actually ended up joining quest. And I enjoyed Tom Bombadil and Goldberry, annoying and fascinating enigmas that they are.
Character changes? A bit harder to apply since I think the most drastic changes come from beginning to end and I did read TTT and ROTK before the movies came out so I knew what to expect, but as I said before, I was happy with Frodo's book portrayal. Aragorn, hmm...he was a bit more whiney in the books. All of his, 'no! I don't want to be king!' mindset. PJ seemed to have toned that down and made him less guarded over his identity. But that's thinking book to movie now.
What episode most added to my reading pleasure? I already sort of answered that, but to think of a couple more... Gimli's insistance on going to gaze upon, oh geeze....need to do some brain digging here. The Mirrormere. I enjoyed Haldir in his proper place (not being killed!) with his brothers and the Fellowship spending the night with them on their talan. Much more warm to them in the book.
Ah it feels good to talk LotR again.
I was just drooling over some of the wonderful hardbound copies in Waterstones the other day. *sigh*