What I did grow up reading was the Chronicles of Narnia, starting with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It is a series of not three or four, but seven books. I read that series over and over and over again as a kid, and even re-read them when I was about 23. So the world of Narnia has a place in my mind, a world that I can still envision in my imagination and characters I feel like I know personally.
Which, I suppose, is how lots of you feel about LOTR.
Now I can fully understand why LOTR fans were so excited to discover that movies were finally being made from the books. Because DISNEY IS MAKING MOVIES OUT OF THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA! (Watch the trailer!)
I am so unbelievably stoked about this. Yay!