Great Reading Over Christmas Break

A neighbor gave me two books to read during our winter break. Sitting here at my computer, I can't even think of the name of either one! I can only say that I was excited, because the books were of the fantasy genre, and contained any number of elves and fairies. Because I am a huge Tolkien fan, I couldn't wait to get started. Alas, I couldn't get through the first chapter. I think sometimes that when we have high expectations (say, a great rapport with a particular author) we inevitably reach a brick wall. Maybe this is why children have difficulty getting started with a new book. They have their ideas of what exemplifies a great book in that genre and nothing seems to measure up. I am determined to give these two books another try, and if not, I just might have to cuddle up with The Hobbit again.