David Eddings or J.R.R Tolkien

[brent.bennett]

Actually, I read it Frankenstein but I thought it was quite boring. I forced myself to finish the whole book.

[spknoevl]

Tolkien or Eddings? Tolkien is probably the grandfather of speculative fantasy, so he is an absolute "must read". I noticed a number of members recommended The Hobbit first, but my feeling is to read LOTR first. I got it for Christmas when I was 18 and read the whole thing in about 5 days. I couldn't put it down.
I read his other writings, including the Hobbit later. The Hobbit was originally written as a children's book, whereas LOTR was written for an adult reader. Someone reading the Hobbit first might be put off by that. Tolkien himself said in later years that he wished he had written the Hobbit more for an adult audience. He spent most of his life creating Middle-Earth and it's history.

Personally, I don't really care for Eddings. His stories aren't badly written, they just get a little "goofy" for my tastes.