Ha, that was one of the first I found at my local library after finishing up The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. I loved it then, in my teens, but I don't think it held up (as far as my enjoyment) as I aged. I tend to re-read a lot of books, and I think the last time I went to reread those, in my twenties, I wasn't as big a fan of some of the dialogue. Then again my favorite is probably Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy and many people who have started it claim the first book starts too slow and is boring for them.