I'm a big fan of Tolkien's works; I've even read and enjoyed large portions of the History of Middle Earth volumes, including his fascinating Lost Tales, early drafts of stories that later became parts of the Silmarillion, and some of the long poems. But I have found that some of them, such as The Silmarillion itself, and now The Children of Hurin, really benefit a lot from an audio presentation rather than just reading. I tried to get into The Silmarillion several times, but the text never really engaged me; my eyes would start to just slide down the page without absorbing anything. That is, until I listened to Martin Shaw's unabridged reading. It really comes to life; it is no longer like reading the phone book in Elvish. The same thing applies to The Children of Hurin. There is a great unabridged reading by Christopher Lee.

These readings don't make good background sound while working; they need your concentration. I'm a notorious multi-tasker and sometimes I think I've lost the ability to focus on one thing at a time, unless it is code. But they would be great for a long commute or to listen to on your iPod at the gym.