Great piece. I also read the books numerous times before the films were made, and while I think Jackson did a terrific job, there were things that the films can't do. Tolkien was a linguist first and foremost, and his ability to replicate the tone and style of the Norse and Saxon stories that he was so familiar with simply can't be captured on film. The battle scenes in particular never fail to move me with their language (although Legolas doing parkour on a giant elephant is cool too.)