I haven't quite finished Tolkien's books yet, but I read in the LotR-fandom and try to review the stories I enjoyed. As of now my favourite LotR-characters are Aragorn, Gandalf, Elrond, Saruman (yes!), Bilbo (sometimes).

Favourite authors/books (fiction) besides Tolkien: John Fowles ("The Magus"), Frank Herbert/B. Ransom (Pandora books), Jules Verne, "The Book of the New Sun" (Gene Wolfe), Marguerite Duras, "The Moor's Last Sigh" (Rushdie), James Clavell, Michael Crichton, "Les Mystères de Paris" (Eugène Sue), "The Water Margin" (Shi Nai'an)