[kpgraham]

I always felt that Tom Bombadil was filler in order to bridge events between Crick Hollow and the Prancing Pony. Tolkien had already written The Adventures of Tom Bombadil as a separate piece with Goldberry and Old Man Willow. He just dropped that into the Fellowship and used it to fill the space.

I used to skip the Tom section and move right up to Bree. Now I read the books much slower, and I savor every section, even Tom.