Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Excellent!
With all of the current hype about the Lord of the Rings, I decided to read both that trilogy, and its predecessor, The Hobbit. I haven't quite gotten to the Fellowship of the Ring, but if it is even half as good as this book, I will be overjoyed.The Hobbit tells the story of Bilbo Baggins, who is, well, a hobbit. The wizard Gandalf and the dwarf Thorin, along with the rest of the company of dwarves, came to the doorstep of Bilbo's respectable hobbit-hole in the Shire, in need of a burglar on their "adventure" to regain the treasure currently in the possession of the great dragon Smaug. Reluctantly, Bilbo agrees to the journey. J.R.R. Tolkein weaves a wonderful story, following Bilbo's adventure. Along the way, Bilbo and his counterparts meet trolls, goblins, elves, humans, giant spiders, and many other dangers. As Bilbo learns more about being a burglar and going on adventures, he slowly gains the respect of his comrades. And in the end, it was Bilbo alone who took the weight of the company, when worse came to worse. This is a classic tale, one that has already been immortalized in literary history. I loved it, as many have before me, and many will after. I reccommend it to anyone and everyone, because it is one of those books that must be read at least once in your lifetime!
Rating: - a Masterpiece!!
I know J.R.R. Tolkien is mostly known for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but this book is a masterpiece in itself!! It is full of adventures, magical beings and knowledge. Professor Tolkein wrote it for his kids, and you can feel the love that went into creating this story as you read.I have read it twice, once when I was 13, and now as an adult, and I really do feel like this is a book for all ages! Both parents and kids will enjoy reading this, especially if it is together. The book is about Bilbo Baggins, a very unambitious, quiet and serious hobbit, who embarks on a very long, dangerous and unexpected adventure with a company of dwarves and a wizard. Along the way they encounter trolls, abandoned woods, elves, goblins, a dragon, a riddle loving monster called Gollum, giant spiders, underground passages, mountains and more! In the end, Bilbo Baggins discovers that he is capable of a lot more than what he thought he was, and discovers the gift of friendship, loyalty , laughter and song!
Rating: - A fount of inspiration, and a limitless wealth of joy.
The Hobbit, and it's more involved sequel (TLOTR), is without question the first and strongest source of my desire to read and to write. As a child, my camp counsellor read segments of The Hobbit as a bedtime activity. I often fell asleep to the tales of Bilbo and his dwarven companions, only to wake up saddened that I didn't make it to the climax of the scene before nodding off. At 10 years of age I came home from camp demanding that my mother buy me this most remarkable book so that I might learn what exactly happened to my new friends (the counsellor wisely wouldn't tell me what I had missed!). I read the book (the first adult book I actually chose to read without a teacher making me) and then read it again! The detailed painting of Middle Earth, and the characters thereof, ignited my imagination. I became an avid reader, always in search of that magic that would transport me to another place, another time. Though I have found many, many books that I have enjoyed reading, there has never been a book that has so utterly captured my imagination and my heart as Tolkien's The Hobbit. The Lord of the Rings is truly a masterpiece of modern literature, and I would recommend it to any that are in search of a wondrous adventure, but I have never mentioned the trilogy without insisting-demanding-that the person first get lost in its prequel. Though TLOTR stands alone, The Hobbit, with its easy style, scaled-down history, lesser characters, and fewer scene changes, is completely indispensible for a deep understanding of what comes next. Tolkien's biography may scare off the casual reader if they hear of his scholarly background, but do not be fooled: His works are more accessible to the reader than anything by Ann Rice, Stephen King, or Frank Herbert. Though no less intelligent or involving Tolkien manages to give the reader a much more "immersive" experience, transporting them into his world, rather than projecting the world onto and around them as most other authors do. I took a cue from that long-ago camp counsellor and began to read The Hobbit to my little son, the moment he was past Green Eggs And Ham. Often now(he's seven), he asks me to read specific passages to him, usually the Bilbo/Smaug confrontations or, sometimes, the adventures with the trolls or the spiders. Yes, this book is a vehicle in which I share "quality time" with my young son. It is also my literary inspiration. I enjoy writing. Whenever I run into a block I pick up my copy and open it randomly. By the end of the page, I'm back at my typewriter, filled with renewed enthusiasm, if not new ideas. I cannot recommend this novel more heartily, and cannot recommend more desperately that you read it before some teacher tells you to do it as a book report. Do it as an assignment, and you will go into the story filled with a bitterness that will ruin the glory of Middle Earth. Remember: when my son, Matthew, is in one of his moods during the day, or depressed about one thing or another right before bedtime, I lean over and whisper something in his ear that brings a smile to his face and a twinkle to his eyes... "In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit..."
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