I will proudly come forth and declare my nerdiness:usa:. The Silmarillion isn't really like the LOTR or the Hobbit. It's mostly narrative. But it gives you a lot of information on the History of middle earth...and I'm talking about it goes waaayy back to the creation of middle earth. It gives you some insight as to how much depth this world that Tolkien created has. It's like the bible .If you're a big fan of Tolkien...you'll love it. It also tells of what happened to some of the people after the LOTR's tale finished. Like how long Aragorn ruled for...and how many kids samwise had(god I'm a nerd), and other crap like that. You'll be much enlightened after reading.