My suggestion: Start with The Hobbit before attempting The Lord of the Rings.

Also, one other suggestion: His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman - starting with Northern Lights (or The Golden Compass as it is called in the US, even though the object in question is neither golden nor a compass), The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. I'm assuming you've already read the Harry Potter series and the Narnia series, but those are both easy reads too, if you haven't.

Beyond that, you could try Coraline or Stardust by Neil Gaiman. :)