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adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, War
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, War
Moderate: Animal death, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Grief, Alcohol
adventurous
challenging
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really enjoyed this book! A while back, I had started to read it but it was really slow and I think it was kind of boring at first. I was going to DNF it, but because of my love for The Lord of the Rings, I decided to give it a chance. Unpopular opinion, I think I like the movies better just because the main villains were orcs and not goblins, the deaths of Fili, Kili and Thorin were a lot better written in the movie, I actually really liked the Legolas, Tauriel, Kili love triangle! I think it added depths to their characters and some of the characters (BARD) were a lot nicer and had a better personality in the movie. Overall, I really liked 'The Hobbit' and if you like slower-paced epic fantasy books, then definitely give this book a try! It's worth it if you power through the slow beginning.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, War
Moderate: Body shaming, Violence, Grief, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Stalking, Toxic friendship
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, War
Moderate: Animal death
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
“Go back? No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!”
~My Thoughts~
"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." Those are the first words of one of the best adventures I've ever read! Even reading it more than once doesn't dim the experience you will have while reading The Hobbit, at least, it did for me.
Reading this book does make me super annoyed, though, that the Hobbit movies didn't stick closer to the book because there's a Lonely Mountain full of golden scenes that would have been amazing to watch.
But anyway, the writing! The characters! The world building! All *chef’s kiss*!
Although, some people might find the songs to be a bit boring, and I get that, I mean, whatever floats y'all's Titanics… but I say it wouldn't be a Tolkien book without them, so yeah…
The main downside was that it was just missing Legolas… 😏🤭😭 Lol, jkjk. Maybe. 😉
But yeah, I will never stop recommending this book!
~Characters~
Bilbo Baggins: Bilbo Baggins of Bag-End's story was amazing! I really enjoyed his character arc from being a wannabe burglar who was only there because his Tookish side won out, to being the little Hobbit that could.
Gandalf: He has the best quotes! Always been one of my most liked Tolkien characters.
Thorin Oakenshield: He's a bit uppity and deserved a good whacking on the head sometimes, but he got brownie points for answering questions, at one point, by talking about how they were starving. It reminds me of that one scene in The Two Towers where Smeagol despairs about having to starve.
~Book Cover Rating~
7/10 Not my favorite Hobbit cover, but it's still pretty good.
~My Thoughts~
"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." Those are the first words of one of the best adventures I've ever read! Even reading it more than once doesn't dim the experience you will have while reading The Hobbit, at least, it did for me.
Reading this book does make me super annoyed, though, that the Hobbit movies didn't stick closer to the book because there's a Lonely Mountain full of golden scenes that would have been amazing to watch.
But anyway, the writing! The characters! The world building! All *chef’s kiss*!
Although, some people might find the songs to be a bit boring, and I get that, I mean, whatever floats y'all's Titanics… but I say it wouldn't be a Tolkien book without them, so yeah…
The main downside was that it was just missing Legolas… 😏🤭😭 Lol, jkjk. Maybe. 😉
But yeah, I will never stop recommending this book!
~Characters~
Bilbo Baggins: Bilbo Baggins of Bag-End's story was amazing! I really enjoyed his character arc from being a wannabe burglar who was only there because his Tookish side won out, to being the little Hobbit that could.
Gandalf: He has the best quotes! Always been one of my most liked Tolkien characters.
Thorin Oakenshield: He's a bit uppity and deserved a good whacking on the head sometimes, but he got brownie points for answering questions, at one point, by talking about how they were starving. It reminds me of that one scene in The Two Towers where Smeagol despairs about having to starve.
~Book Cover Rating~
7/10 Not my favorite Hobbit cover, but it's still pretty good.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, War
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I went into this with high expectations and I wasn't disappointed. Tolkien beautifully captured the spirit of a get-away weekend with the boys, coupled with lovable characters and mysterious adventures.
The writing style is magnificent, and I quite enjoyed the interludes with the songs and his and his direct address to the reader. It made the whole story more immersive.
I wish we'd gotten to know Smaug a little more since I found him to be a really interesting and well-introduced character, but otherwise, I have no criticism.
Excited to read The Lord of The Rings now!
The writing style is magnificent, and I quite enjoyed the interludes with the songs and his and his direct address to the reader. It made the whole story more immersive.
I wish we'd gotten to know Smaug a little more since I found him to be a really interesting and well-introduced character, but otherwise, I have no criticism.
Excited to read The Lord of The Rings now!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Fatphobia, Violence, War
Minor: Animal death
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I tried to read a Lord of the Rings book once a few years back and gave up fairly early in because it was so tedious. It was long-winded and pretentious in how it stretched itself for pages describing every mundane thing in great detail. I could never have made it through the whole thing.
Because The Hobbit is so much shorter than the other books, it's easier to endure. Even so, it too is tedious at times. Certainly, cherry-picked scenes are memorable and fantastical, but those moments are squeezed between lengthy stretches of chapters where little of interest happens. The adventure of Bilbo is packed with dull descriptors and snippets of songs that are only sung to fill up page space.
So many songs and very few provide anything of plot importance.
If anything, Tolkien wanted to flex his poetry skills, and I wasn't impressed.
There are too many dwarf characters on this journey and the large cast means none of them make a significant impact. Gandalf and Bilbo are the only protagonists who truly stand out, but Gandalf himself routinely disappears throughout the narrative. Bilbo is at his most interesting at the start when he's uncertain of whether he wants to leave his cozy life behind. As the book goes on, he loses what personality he had and even becomes unlikeable at the very end when he, by all accounts, robs his own friends of their treasure.
The stakes are often not that threatening and only two monsters stood out—those, of course, being Gollum and Smaug. For what it's worth, both of those characters are very entertaining and make for the best scenes in the book. However, the way Smaug is dealt with is surprisingly anticlimactic and that greatly lessens his impact and appeal.
All in all, I didn't enjoy it. The narrator loves to listen to himself talk too much. Still, I will be generous and assume my dislike of it is purely subjective and not a matter of the story being badly written. A 3/5 it is.
Because The Hobbit is so much shorter than the other books, it's easier to endure. Even so, it too is tedious at times. Certainly, cherry-picked scenes are memorable and fantastical, but those moments are squeezed between lengthy stretches of chapters where little of interest happens. The adventure of Bilbo is packed with dull descriptors and snippets of songs that are only sung to fill up page space.
So many songs and very few provide anything of plot importance.
If anything, Tolkien wanted to flex his poetry skills, and I wasn't impressed.
There are too many dwarf characters on this journey and the large cast means none of them make a significant impact. Gandalf and Bilbo are the only protagonists who truly stand out, but Gandalf himself routinely disappears throughout the narrative. Bilbo is at his most interesting at the start when he's uncertain of whether he wants to leave his cozy life behind. As the book goes on, he loses what personality he had and even becomes unlikeable at the very end when he, by all accounts, robs his own friends of their treasure.
The stakes are often not that threatening and only two monsters stood out—those, of course, being Gollum and Smaug. For what it's worth, both of those characters are very entertaining and make for the best scenes in the book. However, the way Smaug is dealt with is surprisingly anticlimactic and that greatly lessens his impact and appeal.
All in all, I didn't enjoy it. The narrator loves to listen to himself talk too much. Still, I will be generous and assume my dislike of it is purely subjective and not a matter of the story being badly written. A 3/5 it is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, War
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Violence, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail