From the Bookshelf of Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy…

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

J.R.R. Tolkien

Start date: October 1, 2012

Finish date: October 31, 2012

Discussion: Book Discussions

Why we're reading this: Group Classic discussion October 2012
[close] Group Classic discussion October 2012

Find A Copy At

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 250 topics — 8,801 comments total

Book Discussions

"Cyteen" by C.J. Cherryh
By deleted member · 48 posts · 105 views

last updated May 24, 2025 11:25PM

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
By deleted member · 46 posts · 150 views

last updated Mar 28, 2025 02:28PM

showing 10 of 27 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Mar 25, 2009 Danielle The Book Huntress rated it it was amazing

Shelves: owned-copy, plan-to-read-soon, classic, favorites, quest, 2011-reading, faerie, fantasy, dragon, reluctant-or-unlikely-hero

Bilbo Baggins is a Hobbit who doesn't take much after his Took side of the family. Adventure might be in his blood, but it's not really his thing. He'd rather stay in his nice home under the Hill and have tea. But adventure comes knocking in the form of one wizard, Gandalf, and thirteen dwarves. Gandalf has volunteered Mr. Baggins to be the burglar for these dwarves. To steal into their former home and get back their treasure from a nasty dragon by the name of Smaug. Bilbo would rather say no, b Bilbo Baggins is a Hobbit who doesn't take much after his Took side of the family. Adventure might be in his blood, but it's not really his thing. He'd rather stay in his nice home under the Hill and have tea. But adventure comes knocking in the form of one wizard, Gandalf, and thirteen dwarves. Gandalf has volunteered Mr. Baggins to be the burglar for these dwarves. To steal into their former home and get back their treasure from a nasty dragon by the name of Smaug. Bilbo would rather say no, but he doesn't get the choice.

So off he goes on an amazing adventure that takes him across Middle Earth and to very dangerous places. Bilbo discovers just how much he is capable of (more than he imagines), and proves his worth again and again to the dwarves. Of course, Gandalf knew he was capable of that all the time.

This was a lovely story. I had never read any Tolkien prior to this, so it was fascinating getting to experience his work firsthand. He clearly has a love of song and poetry, and the epic works of bravery and adventure. It took some getting used to, but I decided I liked how he used lots of songs in this work. I would even read them aloud to myself.

I appreciated the time spent in crafting this world, replete with various types of folk, from Hobbits to Elves, Trolls, Goblins, Dwarves, a bear Shape-changer, Wargs (werewolves), talking ravens, great War Eagles, nasty giant Spiders, and even a grumpy Dragon. I liked that Mr. Tolkien told us a little of each, but primarily integrated this knowledge into the story so we could see for ourselves what they were made of.

This book was a great mix of humor and adventure. Tolkien doesn't seem to take himself too seriously, and his narrative shows a lively sense of humor and a good-spirited view of the world. It's clear that he has some things to say about what was going on in the world of his times, but he doesn't use his story to beat the reader over the head with his beliefs. Instead, one gets the clear impression that Tolkien questions the advance of industrialization and how it might cause the loss of things much more valuable in the world. And to think he uses a mythical world and mythical creatures, and tells a great story along the way, making that the clear focus. Personally, I think a writer can reveal a lot about himself without taking a reader out of the story and into editorial land, and that is clearly the case with Mr. Tolkien in this novel.

Bilbo is definitely an unlikely hero, which is one of my favorite kinds. He shows that being a hero is both a lot of work and sacrifice, yet comes naturally when one does what one feels is right, albeit not easy. I liked that as we got to know what he was capable of, so did he. His strengths felt realistic to who he was, and I liked that although people expected little of a Hobbit, Bilbo shows them just what he's made of. Bilbo gets frightened, and who can blame him? But he shows a cool head, and puts his thinking cap on, and always works through his fear. He's the kind of character that challenges the stereotype of what a hero is made of, and in a very good way. I found myself feeling very affectionate towards the guy and hoping that things worked out for him. I especially liked that although Gandalf is their companion part of the way, and a powerful wizard, he's not a deus ex machina figure in this book. His powers and sage knowledge do help, but his companions, particularly little Bilbo, mainly have to use their own strengths to extricate themselves from some nasty situations.

Although this tends to be a light-hearted book, there are some scary moments, and foes that I certainly wouldn't want to face. Poor Bilbo and his companions continually get out of one bad scrape, only to end up in a worse one. Lives are at risk, and heroes have to make their stands. But good wins out in the end, and that's what I want to see in a Goodread.

I can certainly see why The Hobbit is considered a classic. This is a rich story that can be taken on several levels. It's not only fun to read, but it has some good messages. I also found the writing to be high quality and showcasing that its author had the benefits of a classical education in folklore, myth, and legend. He combined all that to make a very delightful story that I had the pleasure to read for the first time (although not the last, I'm sure). If you have enjoyed the Lord of the Rings movies but haven't read the books, I highly recommend reading Tolkien. And The Hobbit is the best place to start. ...more

61 likes · Like · see review

Dec 16, 2008 Alex rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, children-s-lit

In terms of children's literature, Tolkien's classic has never exactly been obscure, and yet once upon a time, before Peter Jackson made Middle-Earth a global phenomenon and before Harry Potter brought us an acceptable face of childish whimsical fantasy, the Hobbit remained a book - the book alongside its elder brother - loved dearly by dorks and fantasy aficionados, but frowned upon as childish nonsense by the rest of the world. This was the prime territory of geeks, nerds and losers and to be In terms of children's literature, Tolkien's classic has never exactly been obscure, and yet once upon a time, before Peter Jackson made Middle-Earth a global phenomenon and before Harry Potter brought us an acceptable face of childish whimsical fantasy, the Hobbit remained a book - the book alongside its elder brother - loved dearly by dorks and fantasy aficionados, but frowned upon as childish nonsense by the rest of the world. This was the prime territory of geeks, nerds and losers and to be seen with a copy of either this or that trilogy was to be something of a social pariah and an outcast.

It seems peculiar to read this now that literally everyone knows The Hobbit. Everyone has an opinion on the Hobbit (mostly the opinion that Jackson's movies are an overlengthy cashcow). Probably not everyone has read The Hobbit. I haven't read the book for over ten years and, experiencing something of a reading malaise, I suspected that Tolkien's fantastical whimsy would be just the thing to get me interested in the past-time again. I suspected correctly, but the experience wasn't quite what I was expecting in this post Jacksonian universe - it was actually much better. I've all too often had that conversation - you know the one - where people discuss how watching a film before reading a book or vice-versa puts images in their head that they can't shake. "That wasn't depicted the way I imagined it in the book" or "it's better in the book because you don't get x pages of boring description" or ... whatever. All of those conversations that wear me and my dorkishness out. Yet, as much as one attempts to hide from it, these conversations and discussions slowly erode the magic of a thing; as surely as I now have little care for Westeros and the twists and turns of Game of Thrones I thought that perhaps I'd surely have little love for our little Hobbit Bilbo and his magic ring. The magic of Bilbo's quest would surely have turned stale with the years.

Yet actually Peter Jackson's pomposity has done this text a favour. I'm not a detractor of the movies and love their blockbusting magnificence, but what's certain is that Peter Jackson failed to extract much of the charm and the whimsy from the original text of The Hobbit and returning to the book after watching the movie only highlights why this book is so special and charming and why sometimes one falls in love with a book, even aged 10. Tolkien was never a lover of bombast and whilst his works are full of the magnificent and the epic, what always shines through is his love of the characters of the Hobbits and it's their reaction and their means of coping with these massive things that make up the core content of the books - and how noticeable is this in The Hobbit, the tale of Bilbo who is all but pushed through the door onto a quest to reclaim some kingly treasure from a dragon? At no point in the story does Bilbo ever really want to be on this quest but time and again shows resourcefulness in the face of danger and adversity and, when it comes to the end, a nobility of spirit that trumps that of any other character in the story. Men, Elves, goblins and Orcs all alike are greedy and possessive, but whilst Bilbo may on the outside appear to be tardy and a little childish, his inner heart shows that he's a greater person than the mightiest of heroes, from King to dragonslayer. And, as much as I love trolls, dragons, goblins and spiders, it was this humanity that appealed to me about Tolkien's great work as a child and what appeals to me about it now.

The Hobbit frequently comes under attack for being a childish story and for not meeting expectations after readers love the epic magnum opus that is Lord of the Rings. Yet I find this story to be anything but childish, even though the prose and manner is a little more simplistic than LOTR and the characterization and world-building more slender. The Hobbit is a thoughtful, entertaining and carefully crafted story that will leave you bound up by its spells if you're willing to let it, and whilst there may not be a deep metaphor on every page, there's fantasy, heart and thoughtfulness in abundance throughout its 300 charming pages. And it remains one of my favourites, and will forever be that awful book that helped turn me into the antisocial, weird dork that I proudly remain to this day. ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

Apr 20, 2012 Andrea rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-sorted, fiction-fantasy, list-1001-books

2018 update: I'm knocking down a star this time to a solid 4, because while I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Hobbit once more, I did notice a few problem spots this time around. I'm not talking about the glaring absence of female characters, since that argument against Tolkien has been done to death. I think this is the book where he tried to fit too much into too short of the book, so that some scenes feel very rushed and conveniently wrapped up. For example, I hate when during the climax of an ...more

6 likes · Like · see review