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Lily
In The Lord of the Rings, they often mention events that occured in The Hobbit. Although it is not necessary to read The Hobbit before, I definitely recommend reading it before. The Fellowship of the Ring is at a higher reading level than The Hobbit, so it would be wise to start at The Hobbit, then read The Lord of the Rings, then go on to The Silmarillion and Tolkien's other works. And to point this out, The Lord of the Rings is not a trilogy. It is one book, split into three parts: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King.
Gerry Bevers
You do not have to read "The Hobbit" to understand "The Lord of the Rings," but "The Hobbit" is a truly wonderful book, so why not read both books in the order they were meant to be read? "The Lord of the Rings" makes references to people and places in "The Hobbit," so if you had read "The Hobbit," you would better understand those references. If, for example, you had read "The Hobbit," you would already know the first character mentioned in "The Lord of the Rings."
The first sentence in the "The Lord of the Rings" starts as follows: "When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton."
The first sentence in the "The Lord of the Rings" starts as follows: "When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton."
Al
To add onto what these fine people have already said, I think reading The Hobbit, though not necessary for understanding of LotR's plot, will help you to appreciate Tolkien's writing SO MUCH. Starting with LotR is tough because it's much more detailed and can get a bit tedious if you're not already invested in the characters and universe of Middle Earth.
Browns
I would say, not important. The story doesn't really follow on, although some elements are present such as, The One Ring and, a small handful of characters to name a couple. The Hobbit is a really good book though, I enjoyed it.
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