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Summary: The Greatest Prelude to the Greatest Epic!
Review: The Hobbits has to be the greatest prelude ever written. It is filled with non-stop action, adventure, and comedy. It book has it all.
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Summary: Yep another review!!
Review: I first read this book back in 1991 for my 9th grade English class and I have read it several times since. Although I have not read it in the past few years. I was caught up in the hooplah over The Fellowship of the Ring movie. Went to see it, and like many others decided to read the books again, but I couldn't make myself sit down to The Fellowship of The Ring without rereading The Hobbit once again, and once again I was drawn into the land of Middle Earth, and what a breath of fresh air it was. I use to enjoy reading fantasy a great deall, but after a while I grew tired of reading the massive books by Terry Goodkind, Robert Jordan, and others nd found new interest in Japanese literature and history, but that is beside the point. The Hobbit is a wonderful tale of a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, his 13 Dwarven companions, and Gandalf the wizard. Mr. Baggins ventures far from his comfy home and battles trolls, goblins, giant spiders, and plays riddles with Gollum. He meets elves, Beorn the man who can shift into a bear, and great eagles. Tolkien tells this wonderful story without the gore and sex that glut today's fantasy novels coughs*Terry*Goodkind*coughs. A wonderful story. Also about Tolkien being racist. Is it because the dwarves, elves, and men don't get along. Nextthing you know overweight people will complain because of Bombur the fat dwarf!
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Summary: Bilbo's Journey
Review: Bilbo Baggins the hobbit was just about to have his tea one Wednesday when his doorbell suddenly rang. He instantly remembered that Gandalf the wizard was going to have tea with him that day. To his great surprise, thirteen dwarves in addition to Gandalf ended up at his table that afternoon. Thorin and Co., as the dwarves called themselves, were in need of a fourteenth member of their group to assist them on their quest to get back gold and other riches the dragon Smaug had stolen from them. Bilbo obliged and accompanied the band of dwarves on their rescue mission. On many occasions during his journey, Bilbo wished that he were back home, but once his duty was complete, Bilbo never regretted going with the dwarves.With an unexpected ending and great descriptions, I would undoubtedly recommend this book. Despite a slow and boring beginning, I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Hobbit. I really liked how this plot was so unpredictable. Thorin and Co.'s journey took so many enexpected turns that it kept me on my toes and really into the book.
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Summary: Bilbo's Journey
Review: Bilbo Baggins the hobbit was just about to have his tea one Wednesday when suddenly his doorbell rang. He instantly remembered that Gandalf the wizard was going to have tea with him. To his great surprize, thirteen dwarves in addition to Gandalf ended up at his table that afternoon. Thorin and Co., as the dwarves called themselves, were in need of a fourteenth member of their group to assist them on their quest to get back gold and other riches the dragon Smaug had stolen from them. Bilbo obliged and accompanied the band of dwarves on their rescue mission. On many occasions during his journey, Bilbo wished that he were back home, but once his duty was complete, Bilbo never regretted going with the dwarves. With an unexpected ending and great descriptions, I would undoubtedly recommend this book. Despite a slow and boring beginning, I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Hobbit. I really liked how this plot was so unpredictable. Thorin and Co.'s journey took so many enexpected turnes that it kept me on my toes and really into the book.
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Summary: An eternal favorite
Review: I can still remember reading this book for the first time like it was yesterday. I was ten years old and it took me an entire summer to read. This was a time when we (my family and I) didn't have a VCR, cable TV or home computer, and I spent a great deal of time reading. Now, I'm definitely not the type of person who curses any of those modern technological wonders (especially since I consider myself a tech-junkie), but it's taken me many years to realize how fortunate I was to discover them later in life. The Hobbit was a milestone in my life, something many avid readers will be able to appreciate. It became the standard by which all other books would be compared for years to come, and made all those Hardy Boys books I'd been reading forever obsolete. It's the first book I can remember reading where I was actually transported to another world, an alien world so full of magic and color that my own seemed drab in comparison. It was also the first time I can remember feeling true regret after I'd finished reading it, because I knew there would never be another "first time". Granted I was only ten, and there would be bigger fish to fry in the years to come, including bigger and better books, relatively speaking, but at the time I thought I had reached some sort of literary Nirvana. I remember watching the animated movie after we got our first VCR and how it became a household staple for years. It hasn't aged very well, but when I was a kid I must have watched it a thousand times (amazing how kids can do that). When we went on vacation I'd listen to the radio-dramatization over and over again on those long road trips. I kept those tapes all the way into my teenage years until that fateful day they had played themselves out completely. I remember a cheesy old Gandalf shirt my uncle gave me and how devastated I was when I burned a hole in playing with fireworks. Ok, you don't want to hear my life story, but I'm just trying to illustrate how this book became something completely inseparable from my childhood. Strangely enough, I didn't read "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy until I was an adult, for obvious reasons. The Rings books are far darker and more complex than the Hobbit. I loved them when I finally did read them, of course. Now that the movies have arrived, interest in the books, and especially "The Hobbit" which provides needed back-story has risen, and all the books are selling like crazy. Good. These are some of the best books ever written and deserve to be appreciated in their true form as much as possible. It's one of those few books which have the perfect blend of story, language and theme. It's probably one of the most perfect books ever written and will always be a personal favorite to re-read no matter how old I get. Do yourself a favor, turn off the VCR, log off of the internet, and read this book. If you have kids, buy it for them, or read it to them; something every parent should do. Good stories never go out of style, and this is one of the greatest books ever written for anyone of any age. Read it once or read it a hundred times. There's never a "first time" again, but the trip to that magical world never fails to satisfy.
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Summary: Rob Inglis is unabridged
Review: Paul Jones is referring to the BBC version. That one is abridged. The Rob Inglis version is unabridged and is 10 CD's long. If you loved the book, you'll likely love Rob Inglis' reading. If you didn't like the book, you probably won't like this. But what are you going to do while you're driving to work if you don't listen to this ;-)? I give it 4 stars because I don't like opera and Inglis sings the songs from the book. Wonder where he got the music.
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Summary: Great book to keep kids' bedside
Review: Welcome your kids to the land of magic and make-believe. The Hobbit is classic many would have been familiar with. In country like the Philippines, the book opens the eyes of young people to a whole new world, an entirely different culture. It's a far, far different world from the local tales of legend and magic. This particular edition is handsomely illustrated by the same artist that designed the illustrated centennial edition of LOTR and the movie. It's slightly bigger than the wider than the LOTR centennial. I just wished the publishers did not use matte coated paper for all the pages. The pages stick to each other after some time in a hot and humid environment like the Philippines. I wish only the full-pages of color illustrations were printed on coated paper. As for anyone living in the third world, this is a mighty big investment. But if you have a choice between this or the illustrated centennial edition of LOTR, pick LOTR. But if you can afford both, get them both. Nice books to display and tickle kids imaginations with.
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Summary: Very nicely done!
Review: It had been probably ten years since I read Tolkein when I saw the film "Fellowship of the Ring." Needless to say, I've caught Tolkein fever again and after the second time I saw the movie, I went directly to the bookstore. I was thrilled to see this book on tape, unabridged (which it really is). I don't think it's necessary to review the actual story; you've probably heard all that before. I am very pleased with Rob Inglis as the reader, though. His voice can be either powerful or gentle, or both as the story calls for. I was a bit surprised of his reading Gandalf as, honestly, a pretty cranky guy...but after a while I got to enjoy Gandalf even more because of it. Now, I'm not a musical person, I don't sing, and I don't really enjoy musical productions. However, I thought Rob Inglis did a spectacular job with the songs. When I read them, they were OK, I thought. But hearing them sung with such a wide range of feeling just made the story all the more powerful. The dwarven songs were particularly well done, deep and resonant just as you'd imagine they should be. On a more practical side, I really appreciated the announcememts (very brief) at the beginning and end of each side of the tape. Since I listen to these in the car, it helps to know exactly where you are and when you'll have to grab the next tape. I listen to a lot of books on tape, and I can say that this production is as good as it gets.
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Summary: A Hobbit Review
Review: Do you like journeys and magic? Well than The Hobbit (by J.R.R. Tolkien) is just the book for you. The Hobbit takes place in a "Fantasy Land". It starts out in a hobbit hole and leads to different places (caves, caverns, towns and other mysterious locations). In case you didn't know, a hobbit is a small creature; smaller than your average dwarf. But unlike a dwarf, hobbits don't have beards. Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit and also the main character in the book. One day Bilbo was quietly sitting alone at home, when he meets a wizard named Gandalf. There are dwarves that help them too. On their mysterious and dangerous journey they work together to vanquish Smaug, an evil dragon feared by the whole countryside. What'll happen to Bilbo, Gandalf, and the 13 dwarves when they encounter giant spiders and other creatures?
The Hobbit is a great book because it talks about magic and journeys. J.R.R. Tolkien describes elves, dwarves, giant creatures, and best of all, "Hobbits"!! You should read this book because it's magical and mysterious. The author uses exquisite invisible rings. The sequel to this book might be better though. The Lord of the Rings has hobbits, giants, rings, and other journeys too. So what are you doing reading this for, go get this great book!!!!
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Summary: A "MUST" to get your kids started with Tolkien
Review: We checked this book from our library and we're not finished so we are going to buy a copy. What sets it apart are the illustrations. I read it to my kids at night. The print is nice and large- and the kids are really drawn in by the fabulous illustrations. We are all enjoying it and I highly recommend it.
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