I hear ya. I found the first half of Fellowship to be excruciating to read. Especially the Tom Bombadil stuff. I gritted my teeth and struggled through it. Then when they get to the barrow downs it really picks up, and I enjoyed the second half of the book.

I found Two Towers a really fun read.

I found Return of the King to be okay. Pace was decent but Tolkien's over the top, grandious writing style in that book got kind of annoying.

Not sure if this helps you, but I thought I'd share my thoughts just in case.