From the Bookshelf of EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club…

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

J.R.R. Tolkien

Start date: February 1, 2020

Finish date: February 28, 2020

Discussion: CLASSICS READS

Why we're reading this: Group Pick for Feb '20 - Classics…more
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CLASSICS READS

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What Members Thought

Feb 13, 2022 caity rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

listening to this audiobook has made me want to make october a fantasy read month, rather than a horror read month, because andy serkis narrating bilbo's adventure made me feel like i was snuggled under a big cozy blanket with a hot cup of tea, safe in a hobbit hole.

i read the lotr trilogy way back in the day, in between the cinematic release of the fellowship and the two towers, prompted by much harassment from my sister. it was a hefty lift for an almost 12 year old, and my experience with fan ...more

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Feb 25, 2016 Shayney rated it really liked it

*Edit*
* I enjoyed this so much more the second time around and found myself more engaged and captivated with the story, the characters and more importantly, their journey. Maybe because I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much this time around, reading it with low expectations, therefore it could only go up. Whereas the first time around I went into it with such high expectations after binging the three Hobbit movies, that I was left disappointed.

This time around I took every opportunity possible *Edit*
* I enjoyed this so much more the second time around and found myself more engaged and captivated with the story, the characters and more importantly, their journey. Maybe because I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much this time around, reading it with low expectations, therefore it could only go up. Whereas the first time around I went into it with such high expectations after binging the three Hobbit movies, that I was left disappointed.

This time around I took every opportunity possible to make my way through Bilbos journey as I was addicted to it. The story was great and I got to really appreciated the writing and the world. This time around it just grasped me from the very beginning and brought the story to life. Now onto the next stage in this adventure and The Fellowship!

The films are still better though sadly!*

I am not the type of person who allows a movie, or in this case movies, influence my decision about how much I like the book or not. In fact it usually has the opposite reaction and I always end up hating the film because they can never live up to the amazing picture I have created in my head. But when it comes to this book I sadly watched the film before reading the book.

In all honesty, this book was never that high on my tbr list, but I did own it as it was on this list of 100 books and every time I started to read it I put it down in search of a new adventure. But after watching the film's I picked it up with new excitement and started reading it. I was then left feeling dissatisfied when I finished it as it didn't seem as great as the film's had lead me to believe and I knew then that I should have read the book first like I always do. Don't get me wrong I still really enjoyed the book and I still got thrills and it was great being inside the minds and throught process of the characters. I even went into reading the book knowing that certain characters didn't exist from the film, which meant that certain scenes wouldn't exist. But I hate the fact that the movies were greater than the book.

Read the book first before seeing any of the movies!! ...more

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