The Hobbit

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: This book is great for people of all ages. I was read it as a bed-time story and am still reading it 10 years later. Biblo Baggins- an unassuming hobbit- finds himself mixed up in the affairs of dwarves and wizards(which can be very dangerous)--while fighting off wargs and singing with elves. A truly great book I definitely recommend it!

Rating:
Summary: The Hobbit
Review: If you are into hardcore, realistic, real-life stories perhaps you should check out the non-fiction section. However, if you enjoy letting your mind go on a mystical adventure, with no concern for reality this is the book for you. This tells the story of a peaceful, passive young hobbit who, by fate, embarks on a journey with some dwarves who wish to regain their stollen treasure. Tolkien's writing pulls the reader into the story, as he describes the mountains, you actually feel as though you are carefully making your way through the steep, violent mountains. Once again if you are looking to escape reality, and find pure enjoyment and adventure read this book.

Rating:
Summary: An Adventure for the Ages
Review: An small, unimposing creature - a Hobbit - is roused from his comfortable life in an unassuming home and pushed into a fantastic adventure. Accompanied by dwarves, wizards, beasts, and men, the Hobbit becomes the key figure in a quest for lost gold and lost glory.

This story, the brilliant prequel to Tolkien's _Rings_ trilogy, lives up to the accolades surrounding the stories. The characters have depth, and the perils - as fantastic as they are - have a vivid air of urgency. While the _Rings_ epic may be faulted by some for including too much "superfluous" expository information, the Hobbit sticks to the story at hand. It is a wonderful introduction to adult fantasy books for any child, and one that would work well read out loud.

Young readers can easily identify with Bilbo, the diminutive protagonist. Small in stature and initially lacking in confidence, the others in the expedition doubt his worth. However, eventually he proves himself to be invaluable to the cause and the most rational of the party. Isn't this the dream of many children? To leave the humdrum everyday life, and be part of an adventure in which your abilities prove to be the key to success?

Read this book as a child. Read it again as a teen, and again as an adult. The story is exciting, impressive, and just plain fun.

Rating:
Summary: Bilbo Baggins's Adventure
Review: This book is great! It, and "The Lord Of The Rings," are so fantastic! There is no other book about Middle Earth better then these four. READ IT! YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books ever written
Review: This book is a must read for any book lover, especially anyone who also shows an interest in fantasy type worlds. Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who loves to live on his own in his own home, goes on an adventure with 13 dwarves across the lands to the misty mountains to claim gold from a dragon named Smaug. Through the journey he and his group encounters things from goblins to trolls to giants, and eventually lives through the epic battle of the five armies. One of the best books ever written, and a great prequel to the extraordinary Lord of the Rings.

Rating:
Summary: READ THIS BOOK!
Review: This book is great! The character of Bilbo Baggins makes you want to read more. In summary, READ THIS BOOK NOW! Don't just sit there, START THAT WONDERFUL WONDERFUL BOOK! Teluca

Rating:
Summary: You Must Read This
Review: This book changed my life. I have only read two books in life, Jurassic Park, and Eyes of the Dragon. It took me a year to finish each of them and I didn't like either of them. Then one day, I was doing some web surfing at Apple Computer's QuickTime web site and saw a banner for The Lord of the Rings movie preview. I clicked it and saw the preview. When it ended, the only word that came to my mind was awesome. I then thought, "Well if they are spending all this time and money on bring J.R.R. Tolkien's story to life, then hell the least I can do is read the books!" I then picked up my brother's copy of The Hobbit (he has been reading The Lord of the Rings and the works of Tolkien for a year and half).

I read the whole book in just two weeks! I couldn't put it down. One night I was having a hard time sleeping, so I got up at three in morning just to read The Hobbit. This was the first book I have ever enjoyed reading.

Once I have kids and when they are old enough, I will read them The Hobbit.

Rating:
Summary: An Outstanding Book
Review:

This is the work that made Tolkien famous, and rightly so. Written in a light tone, it is nonetheless not a book solely for children; as Tolkien himself has said, adults are in greater need of fantasy than children, and 'The Hobbit' shows us just how true that is.

The focus of the story is, of course, on Bilbo Baggins, the Hobbit indicated by the book's title. Initially, he is a solid member of his society -- well respected for doing nothing rash or unexpected. After being essentially co-opted into an Adventure by Gandalf the Wizard, he is forced, little by little, to grow from someone who bewailed having left his pocket handkerchief behind to one who is able to face down Smaug the Dragon (admittedly while invisible) and give up the Arkenstone to prevent a war between Dwarves, Elves, and Men. These are serious matters, even if told in a faintly whimsical manner.

Finally, however much one might want to analize what makes 'The Hobbit' a great book, what comes out most clearly is what an outstanding story it is: one that can be enjoyed by almost everyone, whatever their age or temperment, and read over and over again without losing its flavor.

Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down.
Review: My parents had tried to get me to read The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings series since I was 11 or 12 years old. I read The Hobbit last week and now I am 19. I can't believe that I didn't read it sooner! It was such a great story, so interesting, so descriptive, and with all the action and adventures, there was never a dull moment! I just want to know why Mr Bilbo Baggins and the rest of the Hobbit tales (which I am presently reading) are not part of school reading lists. Tolkien is an excellent writer.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Entry Into the Joys of Middle Earth
Review: I first read "The Hobbit" in the 8th grade, at the age of 13. In the subsequent years, I have probably read it again an additional 20 times.

I can't stop. I can't help myself. I hope I never recover.

This was the book that opened up for me the glories of Middle-Earth and introduced me to the genius that was J.R.R. Tolkien.

Yes, it's a children's story, differing greatly in tone from both "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Silmarillion". But that's what it is supposed to be. A fairy story in the classic sense. A story which is easily appropriated by children, yet hints at something greater, something deeper, something more intense. A bigger world is out there. The Ring. The Necromancer. The High Elves, Deep Elves, and Sea Elves. Gondolin. Elrond. The Mines of Moria. All hints toward something more.

You won't be able to escape. And you won't want to.

Start with "The Hobbit". Move on to "The Lord of the Rings". Then re-read "The Hobbit". You will get more the second time around.

Then, read "The Silmarillion". And re-read "The Hobbit". And it will explode with meaning and power and understanding.

Those who have never experienced the wonders of Middle-Earth -- permit me to invite you in.

Those of you who have -- I bid you re-enter -- it only gets better.