In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Books exist in time and place and our experience of them is affected by the specific time and place in which we encounter them. Sometimes an uplifting or inspiring book can change the path of a life that has wandered onto a wrong course. Sometimes a book, discovered early on, can form part of the foundation of who we are. Or, discovered late, can offer insight into the journey we have taken to date. Sometimes a book is just a book. But not The Hob...

It's a beloved children's book and it's a classic. But a word of advice from someone who went down this dark path? Know thyself, Random Goodreader.I read books from the 1930s all the time but there is just something about the way Tolkien writes that kills me slowly inside. I knew this going into it, but I really wanted to like one of his books. In my defense, my goal was to finish what I started with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. And I really tried to cling to what was happening but I just kept...

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." Bilbo Baggins, living comfortably in his hobbit-hole in Bag End, finds himself on the wrong end of an adventure.Gandalf the Grey has come recruiting for a burglar willing to raid the home of Smaug (a dragon) whose taken over the ancestral home of the dwarves.These dwarves, who number thirteen, are deeply suspicious and are unwilling to proceed unless their number is rounded up. Evil is afoot and they refuse to ignore common sense (aka superstition...

Reread 10/24/21_________________I probably won't write a full review here, as this is just a reread for me, but I found this just as enchanting as the first time I read it. While I still like this one only SLIGHTLY less than The Lord of the Rings, I'm glad I took the opportunity to read this first before diving into a reread of LOTR this year. When I first read Tolkien's books about 15 years ago I didn't experience The Hobbit until I finished LOTR, so it gave me the feeling of being able to read...

This book?
Precious.

What makes The Hobbit such a seminal work in the fantasy genre? Is it the nine hours of over-budget, sensorially explosive movies by Peter Jackson? Nope. Is it a complex tale of multiple human kingdoms slaughtering each other for an Iron Throne with buckets of blood and guts and plenty of sex? Nope. Is it simply wonderful writing. As simple and boring as that. Does that mean that I was incredibly disappointed in the movie adaptation (not to say abortion)? Yep. Does that mean I don't love Game of...

Gandalf Stormcrow. Bilbo Baggins is a Middle-Earth halfling merrily living his peaceful and uneventful days in the joyous lands of Hobbiton. As any well self-respected hobbit, Bilbo loves cooking his tasty meals, enjoy the blissful sun, and dutifully drink his midday tea; ever so good-natured and hospitable with his neighbors, always undisturbed, and never bothering anyone else. This has been the way his whole pleasant life, until one fine day an unexpected troublesome visitor knocks heavily a...

In certain crowds, my rating and the words I'm about to write (well, type) would probably get me shot. But The Hobbit is still one of the most boring books I have ever read. Tolkien's writing seems so dry and impersonal, though I can't deny he had a lot of fascinating ideas.

Some books are almost impossible to review. If a book is bad, how easily can we dwell on its flaws! But if the book is good, how do you give any recommendation that is equal the book? Unless you are an author of equal worth to the one whose work you review, what powers of prose and observation are you likely to have to fitly adorn the work? 'The Hobbit' is at one level simply a charming adventure story, perhaps one of the most charming and most adventurous ever told. There, see how simple that w...

There are some days when I actually think that the humble Hobbit is superior to it's bohemoth brother, The Lord of the Rings . It's a much tighter story, and Bilbo is a much more appeal character than is Frodo. I also just love this poem, from The HobbitFar over the misty mountains coldTo dungeons deep and caverns oldWe must away ere break of dayTo seek the pale enchanted gold.The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,While hammers fell like ringing bellsIn places deep, where dark things sleep,I...