I'm having that yearly cold today. Plan on watching my tape of the tour of Lombardy (saved for such a day) and re-reading Tai-Pan --one of my favorites from the '80s.
I do agree, TLOTR is one of the great books of all time, first read it when I was 13 -- but the movies didn't do so much for me; I missed the fine points of the story too much.
Tom, don't spend too long resting from your injury -- "they" now say that isn't too good. Gentle back exercises & walking will help. Get a muscle relaxant if the spasm (if that is the problem) isn't easing. It only took two doses for me to end the severe pain.