January's Primary Book - The Hobbit - Discuss!

[Aethia]

It's time! I hope you had an easy two weeks (Happy New Year by the way!) and you were able to enjoy the book that was chosen, The Hobbit!

Time to discuss the book! Not the movie. The book. :)

So what did you think? Did anything stick out to you?

Want to discuss but not sure what to write? Here are 10 questions to help you :) No, you do not have to use them. But they might help spur on some good debate!

1. Did you enjoy the book? Why or why not?

2. How realistic was the characterization? Would you want to meet any of the characters? Did you like them? Hate them? If you could smack any of the characters upside the head, who would it be and why?

3. How would the book have been different if it had taken place in a different time or place?

4. How did you experience the book? Were you engaged immediately, or did it take you a while to
"get into it"? How did you feel reading it—amused,
sad, disturbed, confused, bored...?

5. What passages strike you as insightful, even profound? Perhaps a bit of dialog that's funny or poignant...or encapsulates a character? Maybe comments that state the book's thematic concerns?

6. Did certain parts of the book make you uncomfortable? If so, why did you feel that way? Did this lead to a new understanding or awareness of some aspect of your life you might not have thought about before?

7. At what point in the book did you decide if you liked it or not? What helped make this decision?

8. If you could change something about the book what would it be and why?

9. Consider the villains. Did they have any redeeming qualities? What, if anything, made them sympathetic?

10. Did you enjoy the book? Would you recommend this book to family and/or friends?

Aaannnddd... begin!

[James Haikin]

I have to say that I found the writing of the book as well as its tone far more juvenile than I remember. I talked to my friend about it an he likened it to a children's story. I found myself agreeing. Lord of the Rings, then, was an effort to make the works and some of the characters the child read about deal with a more adult setting.

[Leah]

James wrote: "I have to say that I found the writing of the book as well as its tone far more juvenile than I remember. I talked to my friend about it an he likened it to a children's story. I found myself agree..."
Did you find that a good or bad thing? I always thought it was written as a children's or young adults story, and really enjoy it anyway. I like that it isn't as heavy as The Silmarillion or LOTR in writing style or length.

[Dylan]

I think the Juvenile Childlike tone fits. If I recall correctly it was a Children's story for his children, so everything makes sense. This ever permeates in the structure of the story, as each Chapter works as a stand alone narrative, and the books as a whole has a thread that combines them. So you can imagine Tolkien reading a Chapter to his kids before bed.

[Silja]

I think one thing that made the book seem like a children's story was how the final battle and Thorin's death were written. When Bilbo wakes up the battle is already over and we get a recap of the events. It's less bloody and I guess more suitable for kids than the battles in LOTR. Still, it fits the overall mood and pace of the book. Other fairytale thing was the talking animals.

It's been a while since I last read the Hobbit and this was the first time I read it in English. It's funny how I remembered the Finnish versions of the riddles when I was reading that part. Someone did a good job translating them.

[Victoria]

I'm working my way through it now, but I can say I definitely like the "childlike"-ness of this book. I read the LOTR series and I can definitely say there were parts of the book where I was just turning the pages...nothing was sinking in. But with this book I'm actually following the story line.

[James Haikin]

It wasn't a good or a bad thing. It really just took me a lot less time than I was expecting. I've been on a Redwall kick recently so it was a refreshing change of pace.

[Hiba]

The tone of the book was definitely different from what I expected. It seemed like a story your grandpa tells you when you're sitting on his knee or something. There isn't much violence or at least it isn't emphasized, what is emphasized though is the "spirit of adventure". The whole point was to kick bilbo out of his comfirt and make him see what's out there, and opportunity literally came knocking. It's more about the interesting things that happen on the journey than the politics and war. I think if it was written now that how it would (more like GoT).
( I know this late but I love the book!)