The Hobbit

Summary:

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.

Written for J.R.R. Tolkien’s own children, “The Hobbit” met with instant critical acclaim when it was first published in 1937. Now recognized as a timeless classic, this introduction to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf, Gollum, and the spectacular world of Middle-earth recounts of the adventures of a reluctant hero, a powerful and dangerous ring, and the cruel dragon Smaug the Magnificent. Unforgettable!  (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)

Review:

I actually think that I enjoyed this book less on my re-reading of it for my reading challenge.  This is a shame as I remembered being quite captivated when I read it for the first time as a tween.  First off, I will say the songs are just not my cup of tea.  I listened to part of this book on tape and the songs are even more painful to listen to than to read.  Part of the reason I may have enjoyed the book more when I was younger was because I automatically skipped those parts.

My other hesitation to give this book a full five stars is because it does move quite slowly at times.  I still enjoyed it thoroughly, don’t think I didn’t, but compared to other epics (even very long ones), “The Hobbit” is particularly wordy.  All in all, it was nice to reread the book, but not as good as I remembered it.  I would still highly recommend this book to younger audiences or to folks who have not read it.

Warning: Contains violence

Rating: 4 stars!

Who should read it? Fantasy fans – after all this is the best in may people’s opinion!