True then, true today

[elfs]

There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves hobbits.

— Kung Fu Monkey

For the record, as with all things, I went a third way, and read Illuminatus! instead.