Ah well, I'm a bit of a fan. I first read LOTR in '69 and I've more or less read it once a year since then. The Hobbit a bit less, but still a lot of readings. You know, I frequently think of JRR Tolkein whenever I read these interminable threads about Poser 'art'. The connection? Well, Tolkein believed in what he did, and practically no one else thought it was any good. Stories about elves? In the 50s after a world war? Yeah, right! But he went ahead and wrote it, despite the naysayers, and even though he didn't know if it would ever be published. (As Stephen King says "No one pays you to WRITE a book - They only pay to PUBLISH it). So Tolkein had originality, determination and a vision that no one else had. And for all these years, he's proved right. LOTR has remained readable when a lot of other trendy, flavor-of-the-month books have been consigned to the trash. Quite a lesson for budding artists there, I'd say. mac PS Currently re-reading 1984. Just for a change of scene. LOL.