The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

[Tami]

We are going to have one thread for each book as now Goodreads has made a spoiler tag that you can use to put before anything that is a spoiler. Use your discretion as to what would be a pretty big spoiler and label it. Please put up to what page the spoiler is for.

To create the tag simply do this:

< spoiler> Blah blah blah spoilery stuff < /spoiler>


*Take out the spaces in both of the spoiler tag.

It will look like this:


(view spoiler)[This is a spoiler. Spoilers should be labeled so you don't ruin books for others. (hide spoiler)]

Discuss away...

[Kimberly]

Yay! Can't wait to read this along with everyone. I was thinking recently that I really needed to reread it, since it had been a couple years. Then I realized I read it when I was 10... More than a few years ago. More like 13. Yikes.

[Tami]

Better than me Kimberly, I have never read it. I am trying to get back to reading the group reads, so maybe it will be this month.

[Sarah]

I'm a new member, but have obviously joined with perfect timing - I've been trying to work myself up to The Hobbit for years and have never quite managed it! And someone gave me a beautiful hardback illustrated copy years and years ago. What a great reason to finally get to it!

[Christie]

Oh man, I just realized it's been about a decade since I first read this book. That makes me feel old! :) I really loved it though and it's a perfect time to read it, because the movie comes out in three months!!

P.S. Now I want a beautiful hardback illustrated copy of The Hobbit too. Haha.

Enjoy guys! Can't wait to hear everyone's thoughts and responses.

[Nate]

I'm enjoying The Hobbit so far. I am currently reading a few books with a few different groups so it's difficult for me to read and discuss sometimes. Thus far, I am only on chapter 4 but I feel myself feeling somewhat sympathetic for Bilbo. (view spoiler)[Being pushed into a very daunting QUEST by Gandalf would have surely put me in a very upsetting mood. And it doesn't help that some of the Dwarves, especially the leader Thorin, seem to be rather invasive...much to Bilbo's chagrin. (hide spoiler)]

In How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines by Thomas C. Foster, he describes the essentials of a quest, which are:
(a) a questor (Bilbo & the Dwarves), (b) a place to go (Lonely Mountain), (c) a stated reason to go there (to reclaim the stolen Dwarve's treasure from the dragon Smaug), (d) challenges and trials en route (many!), and (e) a real reason to go there (to be determined). Foster always stated that "the real reason for a quest is always self-knowledge". I can't wait to find out to see how Bilbo matures and changes (gotta love round, dynamic characters) and to discover the TRUE reason of his quest.

[Chris]

The story behind the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings are AMAZING but Tolkien, like Shakespeare, is not the easiest of writers. The language in the Hobbit is much easier to get through than in LOTR. If you can handle the Hobbit pretty easily, its worth it to tackle LOTR as well. Give yourself a good month to do it though.

[Ashley]

I adore The Hobbit and Tolkien - I reread this about a year ago and am in the midst of going through LOTR right now. It's so funny to me - I first discovered these books in middle school. I often wonder how in the world I grasped all of it; but I did. Maybe that's why Tolkien fascinates me. His writing is so quirky and his characters really quite intricate, but very young readers have really responded to these books. I feel like I have a harder time getting through these now as an adult. Did anyone else devour these when they were young? Is anyone struggling to get through The Hobbit now?

[Christie]

Thanks for sharing that analysis, Nate. Pretty cool stuff.

I agree with Chris. The Hobbit is much easier to read than The LOTR. (Oh, and also, it IS amazing.) I tried to read it after I finished The Hobbit all those years ago and I never finished. Maybe it's time . . .

[Christie]

Ashley, I had a friend who was not at all a big reader--or really much of a reader, period--but absolutely devoured LOTR. Yes, LOTR, not just The Hobbit. I didn't have that success with LOTR, but I did devour The Hobbit. Now I also wonder if it will actually be harder for us, all these years later, to dive into the books like we did when we were younger. (No matter what, we will always love Tolkien. Always.)

[Merc]

I have been reading this book on and off. I don't dislike it but I haven't gotten to into it. I keep getting distracted by other books. Thankfully, Kindle is very helpful in keeping track of where I am in this book.

[Grayson]

my favorite part in this book has to be when Bilbo was talking to the dragon. The dragon's voice made me shiver inside which was awesome.

[Kimberly]

Grayson, are you listening to an audio version? Or just going by the description in the book?

[Grayson]

im listening to an audio version but it will still make you shiver by reading it

[Niel]

I need to read this book. I have been putting it of in case I am disappointed by it.

[Mickslibrarian]

I read this book about 15 years ago and really liked it at the time, but forgot some of the details. I am now rereading it after having seen the first two installments of Peter Jackson's film versions. The book is much better - the only issues I have is with the singing (I too am listening to the audio book) and the songs have different tunes than the ones in the movies (which I have watched many times) so it was a little confusing. The good thing about the book though, is it has much more detail and background so you really get the richness of Tolkien's writing. (view spoiler)[ I totally forgot that Thorin dies, which makes me totally sad now that I know because I love Richard Armitage. (hide spoiler)] I think I need to read Tolkien's background stuff now because I want to know what happens to all the other dwarves.