I was introduced to Lord of the Rings by my mother and aunt. The set I read in early middle school was the same set they each read in middle school. I saw the old Hobbit cartoon and didn't connect with it much. Me and many family members eagerly attended the LotR movie releases though and occasionally stood in line for hours when that was a thing.

My mother read them to my brother and I when I was around 6. The Christmas after I was given a beautiful illustrated copy of the lord of the rings.

My mom was part of that hippie generation that gave LOTR its first taste of success. I read her copies about 1970 or so. That generation of fandom was quite different from what there is today. Now we've got volume after volume of additional information and stories and wonderfulness, but back then there was LOTR, The Hobbit, and some scholarly works. We couldn't even be baffled by the Silmarilion yet!

I was loaned a copy of the Hobbit by a classmate. Within a few days I'd finished it & found LOTR in the library. Those books absolutely changed my approach to reading as I could not put them down. I still have copies of the Silmarillion, Tales of Middle Earth, The Hobbit & LOTR. I'd later watch the movies but they didn't do much for me even if they were good. I feel like the book is a much more immersive, complete experience IMO.