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Summary: A MUST READ FOR ALL LORD OF THE RINGS AFICIANADOS
Review: First let me say that I have read "The Hobbit" six times, the first time being twenty six years ago when I was twenty-one. Each time I have read it I haven't tired of Tolkein's marvelous storytelling abilities and the depth and staying power that this tale has.Called "The Enchanting Prelude to the Lord of the Rings," one might come away with the erroneous perception that "The Hobbit" is a preface of sorts that can be easily skipped. Frankly I don't know how anyone who has not read this book could fully appreciate any part of "The Lord of the Rings" either in print or on the big screen. "The Hobbit" is the story of THE Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. Yes, Frodo's adventures are literarily noteworthy but do not exceed in any sense the heroic adventures of Bilbo. The book also introduces readers to the dwarves who are the precursors of Gimli. In fact the tomb discovered by the Fellowship in Moria is that of Balin, one of the dwarves introduced in "The Hobbit" and one of Bilbo's favorites. This book also gives us our introduction to Gandalf, the wandering wizard, and to Gollum, the hapless possessor and slave of the great Ring of Power, along with a wonderful cadre of other enchanting characters. If you haven't read "The Hobbit" but have enjoyed "The Fellowship of the Ring", "The Two Towers" and/or "The Return of the King" either in print or on film it's not too late. "The Hobbit" will fill in many of the blanks that inevitably arise when starting with Tolkein's trilogy. Once you've read it please join with the rest of us Hobbitophiles in screaming bloody murder until Peter Jackson consents to bring this one to film. Douglas McAllister
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Summary: Collector's Edition!
Review: Of course you know all about The Hobbit by now. But you absolutely must own the Leatherette edition. It's a beautiful yet sturdy edition of the book that is a joy to read. It looks fantastic on a shelf next to the Extended Edition DVD's and the Limited Edition soundtracks (between the Argonath bookends, of course), although if you're like me it won't stay there for long.
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Summary: The Hobbit - A fantasy tale for all ages!
Review: The Hobbit written by J.R.R. Tolkien
There and Back Again told by Bilbo Baggins "The Hobbit or There and Back Again" is, simply put, the seminal novel in modern fantasy fiction. Although many may see "The Hobbit" as strictly being a children's book or at best one for the teenagers, there is much in this novel for fans of fantasy fiction of all ages. I believe the last time I read this wondrous and beautifully crafted story was when I was a teenager myself but having been inspired by Peter Jackson telling the tale of "The Lord of the Rings" in the theaters I gladly purchased this novel to reread the epic and recapture the joy that it is to read one of Tolkien's classics. Although many an author in many different fantasy series have come close to creating worlds such as Middle-Earth in the fantasy genre, they have done just that, come close. Giving credit where credit is due though, a majority of these authors were inspired by Tolkien and their great works may never have been were it not for his in the beginning. If you're like me, making a revisit to the world of Tolkien's writings or coming to it for the first time, "The Hobbit" is definitely the place to start. This review is for the Leatherette Collector's Edition, ISBN: 0-395-17711-1 which is a beautifully crafted novel and the illustrations by J.R.R. Tolkien himself all combine to make for a wonderful experience as Tolkien weaves the tale of Bilbo Baggins and his first big adventure through an extraordinary premise, exceptional plot setup and execution and perfect pacing. The premise: "The Hobbit or There and Back Again" tells the tale of Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit that is visited by Gandalf the Wizard and the very next day twelve dwarves show up in his "hole" and enlist his aid as a "burglar" in their quest. Before poor Bilbo knows it, he's on a quest with the twelve dwarves and Gandalf to the far reaches of Middle-Earth to rob Smaug the dragon of that which belonged to dwarf King Thorin's father Thrain and is rightfully his, the treasure of Lonely Mountain. What follows from there is most certainly one of fantasy fiction's classic tales and an extremely enjoyable tale for all ages where Bilbo, Gandalf and the twelve dwarves go from one adventure to another on their way to the Lonely Mountain and an inevitable meeting with Smaug. I highly recommend this novel in this Leatherette Collector's Edition to those who've never read the story before and to those that have and wish to have the best possible version of it. It would be absolutely perfect if Peter Jackson would see fit to further immortalize this novel by bringing it to the silver screen after the overwhelming success of the "The Lord of the Rings!" {ssintrepid}
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Summary: Gotta Love It
Review: Who can't love a story about little people with furry feet going off to fight a dragon!? This story is a masterpiece in itself. Second best book I've ever read.
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Summary: great book
Review: This is a great book. It took me just a day or two to read it. It is a journey that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
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Summary: The Hobbit is a Great Book!
Review: The Hobbit is an exiting fantasy tale about Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit. A hobbit is a small creature who walks around with hairy, bare feet. Bilbo lives a normal, everyday life in the village of hobbits called the Shire, until he is pushed out of his comfortable life by 13 dwarves to join them on a quest to reclaim stolen gold.
In the beginning Bilbo has little confidence in himself but as the story goes on he discovers courage in himself that he never believed he had. Their adventure takes many twists and turns as they get closer to their destination, the lair of the dangerous and greedy dragon, Smaug.
Bilbo and the dwarves encounter many obstacles along the way including their run-in with three hungry trolls, and their skirmish with a group of huge spiders. If you are curious to find out the fate of Bilbo and the rest of the unforgettable characters, you have to read this book.
I thought it was very fun to read and understand more of JRR Tolkien's "Middle Earth" after being familiar with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I recommend this book to children and adults, and especially to anyone who loves reading adventure tales filled with fantasy characters and suspense.
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Summary: The Hobbit - Teachers' Perspective
Review: The Hobbit is perhaps one of the most influential fantasy novels to date. Children and adults alike will find themselves drawn into Tolkien's world. There are so many elements a teacher can draw from this text: characterization, imagery, setting, plot, etc. However, unskilled readers might have some difficulty with it for a variety of reasons. They might have trouble reading long narrative paragraphs with little dialogue, keeping track of all of the character and the characters' roles, and understanding the abstract concepts found in the work. We recommend this text for upper-level high school students, who are more experienced readers, and able to draw a lot out of a text. However, it is a fun read for anyone who is interested in fantasy and the world of Middle Earth.
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Summary: The Hobbit is my favorite book!!!!
Review: The Hobbit-is a Tolkiens classic.It's about a hobbit named Bilbo, a wizard, and 12 dwarfs who go on an adventure to get the long lost treasure of a dwarf, which was stolen from a dragon. As you can tell it's jammed packed with action and adventure! WARNING-the first couple chapters are a drag but keep reading and you'll be hooked. Just to keep you interested, they come across goblins, wargs, spiders, and trolls.Once you read this book, you'll be hooked in Tolkien's world , and the quest to destroy the ring. O'yeah, you don't figure that out until you start The Fellowship.
I read this book this year and I'm 11, so practically anybody can read it. It's my favorite book because I like action, adventure, and medieval times. So if you like that stuff The Hobbit is the right book for you. Hope you enjoy the book.
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Summary: A MUST READ FOR ALL LORD OF THE RINGS AFICIANADOS
Review: First let me say that I have read "The Hobbit" six times, the first time being thirty six years ago when I was twenty-one. Each time I have read it I haven't tired of Tolkein's marvelous storytelling abilities and the depth and staying power that this tale has. Called "The Enchanting Prelude to the Lord of the Rings," one might come away with the erroneous perception that "The Hobbit" is a preface of sorts that can be easily skipped. Frankly I don't know how anyone who has not read this book could fully appreciate any part of "The Lord of the Rings" either in print or on the big screen. "The Hobbit" is the story of THE Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. Yes, Frodo's adventures are literarily noteworthy but do not exceed in any sense the heroic adventures of Bilbo. The book also introduces readers to the dwarves who are the precursors of Gimli. In fact the tomb discovered by the Fellowship in Moria is that of Balin, one of the dwarves introduced in "The Hobbit" and one of Bilbo's favorites. This book also gives us our introduction to Gandalf, the wandering wizard, and to Gollum, the hapless possessor and slave of the great Ring of Power, along with a wonderful cadre of other enchanting characters. If you haven't read "The Hobbit" but have enjoyed "The Fellowship of the Ring", "The Two Towers" and/or "The Return of the King" either in print or on film it's not too late. "The Hobbit" will fill in many of the blanks that inevitably arise when starting with Tolkein's trilogy. Once you've read it please join with the rest of us Hobbitophiles in screaming bloody murder until Peter Jackson consents to bring this one to film. Douglas McAllister
Rating:
Summary: The Fantasy Adventure
Review: J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit in 1937, but it was revised in 1966 to fit the plot of the later three books in the lord of the rings series. The revised edition was not printed until 1982. This fantasy is a prelude to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is Bilbo's story of Thorin (son of Thrain son of Thror, king under the mountain)'s quest to recapture his grandfathers long lost treasures. Gandalf, a Wizard, received a map from Thorin's father on his death bead with instructions to give it to Thorin, the rightful heir of the map and helped him find a party to go on his quest. The group included Bilbo the hobbit-burglar, Killi, Fili, Dori, Nori, Ori, Bombur, Bilfur, Bofur, Oin, Gloin, Dwalin, Balin, and Thorin, all dwarves. They faced many challenges on their journey. They had a conflict with the wolves, the elves, old fat spiders that would love to eat dwarves for supper, and most of all Smaug, the dragon of the mountain.
Tolkien chose third person omniscient to write The Hobbit. It is almost exclusively told from Bilbo's point of view. He also chose to have the narrator talk to the audience, which seems unusual for a novel.
"Well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end." Pg 2.
Tolkien has a distinctive writing style:
"Bilbo found sitting on the doorstep lonesome and wearisome-there was not a doorstep, of course, really, but they used to call the little grassy space between the wall and the opening the "doorstep" in fun remembering Bilbo's words long ago at the unexpected party in his hobbit hole, when he said they could sit on the doorstep till they thought of something. And sit they did, or wandered aimlessly about and glummer and glummer they became." pg. 205-206.
It is oblivious that he did a beautiful job incorporating description and the plot into the same paragraphs to create a story that is constantly moving, yet full of imagery.
A less appealing aspect of his writing is the way the author gave oral storyteller foreshadowing such as the last sentence of this quote:
""I am too fat for such fly-walks," he said. "I should turn dizzy and tread on my beard, and then you would be thirteen again. And the knotted ropes are too slender for my weight." Luckily for him that was not true, as you will see." Pg. 207
This seems to take your train of thought out of the book. Foreshadowing should be something that requires the reader to scrutinize the dialog and descriptions for clues that can be combines to deduce how the story will unfold.
I recommend the Hobbit to anyone whether they have loved or despised fantasies in the past. The plot will keep anyone interested in the book until the end, and it takes less than a dozen pages to develop. His unusual writing style has its positives and negatives, but anyone will fall in love with his intertwined descriptions and action in the never slowing fantasy adventure of The Hobbit.
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