I love it even more(though in a different way) than The Lord Of The Rings. ( )

I listened to the talking book in the car over the past week. I have always struggled with reading 'The Hobbitt'. In the past I have picked up and put down this book several times. But as with other talking books I have listened to, I found that I could listened to 'The Hobbitt and truly enjoy it.

Classic adventure - takes you away and keeps you interested ( )

The greatest fantasy epic of our time. The prelude to The Lord of the Rings.

Bilbo Baggins, a respectable, well-to-do hobbit, lives comfortably in his hobbit-hole until the day the wandering wizard Gandalf chooses him to share in an adventure from which he may never return.

love this book, every now and them I re-read it and I never tire of it! A classic ( )

Read in 9th grade and naturally led to reading LOTR. What a find! ( )

The adventure begins when Gandalf, the wizard, tricks Bilbo Baggins into helping a band of dwarfs steal their treasure back from the dragon Smaug. In this quest, Bilbo and his companions battle against goblins, dragons, and evil wolves. Deep within a mountain, he finds a mysterious ring with magical powers. It is the very ring that becomes the heart of Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy.

When The Hobbit was first published in 1938, a New York Times reviewer, Anne Eaton, called it '...one of the most freshly original and delightfully imaginative books for children that have appeared in many a long day. . . . a glorious account of a magnificent adventure, filled with suspense and seasoned with a quiet humor that is irresistible.' More than 70 years later,The Hobbit still thrills and charms readers (grade 6 and up), even if they have seen the movies based on Tolkien's books. ( )

Different than the Lord of the Rings, but no less fantastic. This novel was my best friend over Christmas vacation when I was in seventh grade. I wished only that I had read it sooner. It has the brilliant writing of Lord of the Rings with twice the heart. ( )

My grade 6 teacher, Mr Glenn, read us The Hobbit and forever filled me with the love of Tolkien. Thank you! ( )

The story starts as Bilbo Baggins being asked to go on an adventure by Gandalf, also known as Gandalf the grey. Bilbo refuses at first, but then spends four hours talking over if he should go or not! The journey would not just be Bilbo and Gandalf, there is also 13 other Dwarves. Anyway, the whole point they are going on the journey is because they want Smaug’s stolen gold. Smaug is a dragon who is a threat to all. Bilbo meets and has a lot of strange problems in his adventure, but if you want to find out what they are, then read The Hobbit.

This book was the first book that I read in English (instead of the German translations). As everyone can imagine, this can take a long time but this was time well spent. The Hobbit got me hooked to Tolkien, his prose is marvellous and the characters convincing. Highly recommended! ( )

This book was the first book that I read in English (instead of the German translations). As everyone can imagine, this can take a long time but this was time well spent. The Hobbit got me hooked to Tolkien, his prose is marvellous and the characters convincing. Highly recommended! ( )

I find that each time I reread The Hobbit, I like it more. Tolkien's fantasy world was never easy-access, at least not to someone who was weaned on sneak peeks of her dad's TSR gaming handbooks. The Silmarillion, especially, reads more like Herodotus than Robert Jordan. Which is not at all a bad thing - but it does mean that like almost anything else worthwhile, Tolkien improves with further acquaintance, and the more informed you come to him, the more you get out of any of his novels or stories. The Hobbit has a more straightforward story than his other works, and as such, is the most likely to be labeled a children's book. And after all, he wrote it for his children, and my own daughter loved it when I read it to her at the age of 5. The Hobbit is an excellent piece of foreshadowing, but also stands very well on its own merits. And I love the part where they get to the door, and the secret word turns out to be something that Gandalf can't beat, just because as a highly educated person, he completely overlooks the obvious answer. As a tangential side note - I think it's a shame they're remaking the Hobbit movie. I loved the '70s cartoon. Apparently it was the first movie I ever saw, though I don't remember that original viewing, having been only a month old, or so. But Gollum will always look to me, in the cave, like cartoon Gollum. They did a fine job making him more accurate in the Peter Jackson movies, but I still feel that he SHOULD look like cartoon Gollum, green and slimy and froglike. Everyone who has even a passing interest in fantasy should read The Hobbit. It is a wonderful story. It makes you want to read fantasy more, and it makes you want to learn about history, mythology and languages, also. Tolkien's work, more than any other fantasy series, makes you aware that real legends aren't just thought up - they come from somewhere - and he makes you want to find out where they came from. ( )

A very interesting book that make you what to keep on reading. It has a lot of thrilling adventure in it, but to calm it down, they put in nice poems and songs. It is a very good book anyways. ( )

"The Hobbit" is a modern fantasy about a hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, who goes on an unprecedented quest with a wizard called Gandalf the Gray and twelve dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield. The adventure takes place in Middle Earth, a land filled with magical creatures, elves, goblins, dwarves, wolves, wizards, and a creature called Gollum. The quest is a journey to the Lonely Mountain to slay the dragon Smaug and reclaim the dwarves’ treasure. Bilbo encounters many dangers on his journey including being separated from the dwarves and lost in a maze of underground caves. These caves are where Bilbo stumbles onto the creature Gollum. Unknown to Gollum, Bilbo discovers the Ring that Gollum has treasured many years. Bilbo wins his freedom from Gollum through an exchange of riddles. He later uses the magical power of the Ring to disappear, stealing treasure from the dragon Smaug. Smaug is killed, the treasure recovered and Bilbo returns to his hobbit hole in Hobbiton with his magical ring.

I enjoyed reading this tale about the hobbit that is waist high to a man and loves to eat, drink and be merry. Bilbo’s comical approach to his many predicaments keeps the story light hearted as is his character. Good versus evil is at every turn as they travel in their strange world called Middle Earth. It is difficult to call Bilbo a hero. However, Bilbo, under the protection of the wizard, Gandalf the Gray and with the magic of the Ring, is the means in which the dwarves are able to recover their treasure.

In a classroom the story could be used as an example of how to overcome anxiety about going some where they are uncomfortable. Students could be given a project to think about a place they do not want to go such as the doctor’s office, the dentist, or to see a relative they do not like. They could be encouraged to write a story about how they imagine the visit would be if they were Bilbo and how they would conquer the imaginary “evil” that makes them not want to go. A teacher could also use the story of the hobbit, dwarves, elves and wizard in demonstrating that different types of people can work together and accomplish a task because of their different and special qualities. Several groups of students could each be given a project to construct a “castle” with blocks, paint, and glue. By putting them in very diverse groups they can be asked to discover what each of them is best at doing and work as a team to complete the project. ( )

Basically the intro of Lord of the Rings. How Bilbo got "The Ring", and the adventures along the way. ( )

The book that started a lifelong obsession for me. I've read everything by and about Tolkien (yes, including the entire History of Middle Earth) and still can't get enough. I dock this a half star only because it's not The Lord of the Rings. ( )

It was very imaginative and was written well. Story was interesting and the book was a good length. Grammer was well composed and flowed well. Contained a good amount of detail. Didnt drag on too long. Characters were in depth. ( )

This was read mostly out of obligation, while I liked the story and all, I can't help but feel no sympathy for hobbits. My neighbor first introduced me to [author: J.R.R. Tolkien]'s writing- I wanted to read Lord of The Rings, but he insisted (and with good reason) that in order to understand everything better I had to read The Hobbit first (or he wouldn't lend me LOTR... ) And so I did.The story and writing are excellent and it certainly cleared up questions I would've had reading LOTR without any background, but I felt little sympathy for the characters, so it doesn't get more than three stars. ( )

The Hobbit
Report by: Joey D’Addio

For my summer reading, I read The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. The Hobbit takes place in a magical land called Middle Earth. In the land of Middle Earth there is a place called Hobbiton. In Hobbiton, there lived a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins who like most of the other hobbits, hated the idea of embarking on an adventure. Bilbo took after his mother, Belladonna Took who was very adventuresome, which is considered a very unnatural characteristic for a hobbit. The Took side of the family was buried deep inside Bilbo waiting for just the right moment to come out.
A wizard known as Gandalf the Gray appears on Bilbo’s doorstep with twelve dwarves and the promise of adventure. The twelve dwarves are led by Thorin Oakenshield. Thorin is the ancestor of Thror Oakensheild who was the dwarf King that ruled on Lonely Mountain long ago. Now, Lonely Mountain is ruled by a dragon named Smaug who has taken the dwarf King’s treasure. It is up to Bilbo and the dwarves to recapture the treasure and make sure that Thorin can become the new King to rule Lonely Mountain.
Bilbo is reluctant to join on the quest at first, but soon the Took side awakens in him and he starts off on a long journey that will change his life forever. This journey takes them through the Misty Mountains were Bilbo and the dwarves must face Goblins, battle giant spiders, face flesh-eating wolves and must escape from the Wood Elf King’s imprisonment. Finally, after many months Bilbo and the dwarves arrive at Lonely Mountain. Bilbo has contributed greatly through out the story so far, but he has accomplished this with the help of a ring that he won in a riddle game form a lonesome creature called Gollum. He uses the ring to become invisible and steals treasure from the dragon, Smaug.
Smaug thinking that Bilbo is a man from Dale, a town built on the lake that lies in the shadow of Lonely Mountain, goes and attacks the peaceful town. In the town of Dale, there lives an archer named Bran who kills Smaug by shooting an arrow into Smaug’s weak spot, a missing scale on his chest, and he demands some of the treasure from Lonely Mountain as a reward for his brave deed. A great war brakes out between the men of Dale, the Wood Elves, who want their share of the treasure, and the dwarves, who want the treasure all to themselves. In the end, Thorin Oakenshield dies and Bilbo returns to his Hobbit hole with the magic ring still in his pocket.
I loved the characters and I just felt like I was there in the book. An author, like J.R.R Tolkien, will do that to the reader. There were some things that I did not seem to enjoy about the book though. The book could have been a little more descriptive on how Middle Earth began. The fictional setting of this story just seemed to appear and when the dwarves told the history of Lonely Mountain, it became very repetitive.
The one aspect that I loved about this book was Bilbo. Bilbo Baggins was always hiding from danger and would come out to save the dwarves when you least expect him to. When Bilbo does comes out in the story he would always show courage in such a way that anyone reading this book could tell that he was the main character. The dwarves were arrogant and funny all at the same time, which I thought was an interesting combination of traits that were displayed extremely well. Gandalf was always missing when Bilbo and the dwarves needed him most. I would highly recommend this book to any readers who love the classic and fictional pieces of literature.

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1277884... ( )

It's been a while since I've read this one; still, I remember it being a fairly good adventure story. I have never been able to make it through the trilogy, but The Hobbit I adore. It's time for a re-read, though, since I don't remember much. I enjoy quest tales, with the character meeting/getting into trouble with various breeds of being - trolls, eagles, dwarves, a dragon. ( )

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1277884...

An old favourite, of course; but it must be a very long time since last I read it. I anticipated correctly that the lack of female characters would now seem an obvious gap; I had forgotten that there were so many sapient animals - the wolves, the birds, Beorn's friends. It is well-paced, and generally fair to the reader. I was surprised by how little page space Smaug gets.

Bilbo is a much more interesting character than I had remembered. His moments of heroism are not through violence but through moral strength: in particular, his attempts to prevent the Elves and Dwarves from fighting. That said, the Gollum business and the Arkenstone incident both show certain ambiguities in his heroism.

Gandalf, somewhat to my surprise, comes over as an arch-manipulator. He pulls Bilbo onto the adventure very much against his will, and the battle with Smaug and then the Goblins is almost a proxy conflict for the ongoing Cold War against Sauron/the Necromancer, the point being to consolidate the northeastern corner of the map. But it looks rather like the Battle of the Five Armies is a deliberate rehearsal for the War of the Ring, orchestrated by Gandalf.

I've been reading the edition with Tolkien's own sketches. Let's be honest: they are not very good - studies of perspective, really, with the humanoid figures barely recognisable as such. The trolls in the picture hide behind the trees, in clear contradiction to the text. Providing the author's own drawings gives some extra authenticity, but I think they could have been saved for one of the spinoff volumes. ( )

It was hard to get into this book after reading Twilight. But the story was pretty good, and more exciting than I thought. I wish Gandalf would have been in it more. Not a fan of the songs/poems within the story... ( )