: Certainly the Hobbit is an easy read. But I think many folks would disagree with you about LOTR. Easier to grasp (to a modern audience)than many of the "Academic" standards, like Shakespeare or Moby Dick, but more of challenge than most contemporary fantasy and science fiction. A first time reader, used to the fast-paced, plot driven modern writing, would probably find the depth of Tolkien's writing a bit convoluted. The multiple names for people and places, the invented languages, references to the earlier ages - things we all love, of course, but they do add a level of complexity that makes it more of struggle than the typical modern leisurely reader is accustomed to.

While LOTR does have the things you mention, it is still an good or easy read, in my opinion. Plot convolutions, complexity etc. aren't what I was talking about.

Does the writing carry you along, or does it feel like you're struggling just to understand what the author is saying? Do you comprehend the meaning of a sentence after reading once, or do you have to read it a second or third time? In my opinon, the writing in LOTR does carry you along, and it is easy to understand what Tolkien is saying. That makes LOTR a good, or easy read, in my opinion.
~Aelmer