Reading Silmarillion the first time was a real chore. But after that first time, that's the Tolkien book I read most often. If you're open to suggestion, I'd read Hobbit first, the three LOTR books second, and Silmarillion third. If you got that far, then you might try Children of Hurin, Unfinished Tales, and Peoples of Middle Earth.
Children... is a more complete account of what is found in Silmarillion and Unfinished... with regards to that subset of characters. Silmarillion tells most of the story in less space in the perspective of the entire work, whereas Unfinished... is a collection of episodes in various characters' stories from the Silmarillion.
