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danarama's review against another edition
5.0
Not much to say -- it's a classic, and beloved book from my childhood. Probably they first time I had my mind blown by a book.
It's probably been 15 years since my last reread? Wasn't surprised by too much anyhow.
One odd detail I just realized: Gandalf is just Gandalf. I guess he didn't get his title as "the Grey" until Tolkien wrote the Fellowship.
It's probably been 15 years since my last reread? Wasn't surprised by too much anyhow.
One odd detail I just realized: Gandalf is just Gandalf. I guess he didn't get his title as "the Grey" until Tolkien wrote the Fellowship.
heyheybooks's review against another edition
5.0
Really....fantastic. :P I don't know why I never read this before, I'd read Lord of the Rings several years ago. When I was a kid I thought the title was The Hermit and that it was about a hermit who lived in a cave in a hill with a round stone door...I guess I got it a bit right? The writing was really charming, and I loved the maps and illustrations by Tolkien. My favorite sentence was "In the gloom the great dwarf gleamed like gold in a dying fire." So great! I definitely recommend reading this if you haven't already.
May your beard grow ever longer, or your feathers never fall.
May your beard grow ever longer, or your feathers never fall.
nigellicus's review against another edition
5.0
So, a book I used to reread quite a lot, not because I was obsessive about it, but because it was one of a small group of books that so far as I could tell were better than anything else I could get my hands on, but which I haven't opened in, God, how long? Twenty years? I always figured that at the most I had one more good read of it in me, and that read would be at best an exercise in nostalgia, at worst an awful let down, and then I would never read it again. But you know what? It's a classic for a reason, and that reason is: it's just so damn good.
From the warm cosy opening to the arrival of thirteen dwarves and a wizard, to the long, often uncomfortable journey during which they are frequently captured, wet, hungry and sometimes all three, and during which they rarely if ever, display much in the way of competence or even heroism, Gandalf excepted, naturally. For all that, they're a lovable bunch, and Bilbo himself is a character of rare and sensible charm, profoundly lovable, in fact, and no better a person through which to experience all the joys and terrors of the unexpected journey.
So I think I shall be revisiting The Hobbit more frequently in the future, and cracking open the old volumes of The Lord Of The Rings, battered and torn and stained and sellotaped together in the next week or two. I'm already looking forward to it.
Anyway, I just reread it again, because we're going to the film tomorrow. The film will be the film, for better or worse, but the book will always be the book, and I'll be grateful to the film for prompting me to revisit the book and rediscovering it. I reckon I'm Bilbo-aged now, plump and middle-aged and settled. I can't deny the appeal of something that suggests there might still be adventures in store and a chance for me to prove my worth, and perhaps that's the appeal of this, one of the best of all children's books, for adults.
From the warm cosy opening to the arrival of thirteen dwarves and a wizard, to the long, often uncomfortable journey during which they are frequently captured, wet, hungry and sometimes all three, and during which they rarely if ever, display much in the way of competence or even heroism, Gandalf excepted, naturally. For all that, they're a lovable bunch, and Bilbo himself is a character of rare and sensible charm, profoundly lovable, in fact, and no better a person through which to experience all the joys and terrors of the unexpected journey.
So I think I shall be revisiting The Hobbit more frequently in the future, and cracking open the old volumes of The Lord Of The Rings, battered and torn and stained and sellotaped together in the next week or two. I'm already looking forward to it.
Anyway, I just reread it again, because we're going to the film tomorrow. The film will be the film, for better or worse, but the book will always be the book, and I'll be grateful to the film for prompting me to revisit the book and rediscovering it. I reckon I'm Bilbo-aged now, plump and middle-aged and settled. I can't deny the appeal of something that suggests there might still be adventures in store and a chance for me to prove my worth, and perhaps that's the appeal of this, one of the best of all children's books, for adults.
lordofthemoon's review against another edition
5.0
It's difficult to know what to say about The Hobbit that hasn't already been said. I don't remember now, to be honest, if I read it before I read [b: The Lord of the Rings|33|The Lord of the Rings (The Lord of the Rings, #1-3)|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1411114164s/33.jpg|3462456]. I vaguely seem to recall that I did, but that could just be my faulty memory. Certainly, for me, it's a much simpler, more straightforward tale than its illustrious successor but there's still a lot to enjoy. Between Bilbo's hasty departure from Bag End, without even a handkerchief, to the adventure in Mirkwood, the dealings with Smaug and the way that he handles the Dwarven obsession over gold, the story flows swiftly and cleanly. And, of course, the famous 'riddles in the dark' with Gollum. Reading it, with the full knowledge of what is to come, that chapter was an especially enjoyable read.
It's a shame the Dwarves don't get much in the way of characterisation, or things to differentiate them from each other. I haven't seen Peter Jackson's films of the book, but I imagine that must have been a fairly major challenge to fill out thirteen characters. The lack of characterisation is certainly something that's repeatedly levelled against Tolkien, but it's not really something that bothers me. Bilbo is our hero and our protagonist. We see the world through his eyes, as he grows and develops during the course of his adventure and I'm happy to leave it at that.
It's always fun to look out for hints of things to come in the deeper, more complex works as well. Even though it's only a couple of sentences, there was a thrill to be had in reading about the White Council expelling the Necromancer from Mirkwood, mentions of the fathers of men and the doings of the Dwarves and of Moria.
Definitely a great introduction to Tolkien's world and one that I shall be distributing amongst my nephlings and children of my friends over the next few years.
It's a shame the Dwarves don't get much in the way of characterisation, or things to differentiate them from each other. I haven't seen Peter Jackson's films of the book, but I imagine that must have been a fairly major challenge to fill out thirteen characters. The lack of characterisation is certainly something that's repeatedly levelled against Tolkien, but it's not really something that bothers me. Bilbo is our hero and our protagonist. We see the world through his eyes, as he grows and develops during the course of his adventure and I'm happy to leave it at that.
It's always fun to look out for hints of things to come in the deeper, more complex works as well. Even though it's only a couple of sentences, there was a thrill to be had in reading about the White Council expelling the Necromancer from Mirkwood, mentions of the fathers of men and the doings of the Dwarves and of Moria.
Definitely a great introduction to Tolkien's world and one that I shall be distributing amongst my nephlings and children of my friends over the next few years.
hexmurphy's review against another edition
3.0
this could be a solid time if there was even a silent woman in the background of a single scene other than the anonymous blob of purported women and children mentioned after lake town was destroy. but no. there's even mention of beorn having children who still turn to bears for generations, but like... children with who? reading hours upon hours of geographic descriptions from tolkien aloud admittedly also brought this down.
as it is, i do love bilbo baggins. and his encounters with smaug and gollum, which were frankly delightful to read aloud.
as it is, i do love bilbo baggins. and his encounters with smaug and gollum, which were frankly delightful to read aloud.
zenobiaakapadiaa's review against another edition
4.0
Loved reading this! Would definitely recommend to anyone especially those who feel the movie was enough. Tolkien's world is magical.
jessiqa's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to an audio version of this book that was narrated by Rob Inglis. He also does a narration of each of the books in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, which makes for a nice bit of continuity. Also he has a great voice and does the characterizations very well.
This is the story of Bilbo Baggins who joins a quest to retrieve some stolen treasure from a dragon. He is not actually a willing participant and definitely has no experience as a thief, though that is his job on this journey. The wizard Gandalf vouches for him nonetheless and of course proves to be correct in his judgement of the hobbit. The travelers go up against trolls, wolves, and woodland fairies before they even meet the dragon Smaug. It is mostly due to Gandalf's help (and Bilbo's) that the party makes it that far.
Now that I've finished the book, I think I may have all the dwarves' names straight, but I wouldn't count on it--I'm still likely to get confused on that point when I see the movie next month. I really enjoyed this story. I was unfamiliar with it on the whole, except for the bits gleaned from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. It's not too scary for kids (after all, all but one of the heroes survives) and it has plenty of humor. I found myself trying (and sometimes failing) to solve the riddles Bilbo and Gollum fenced at one another in the scene by Gollum's underground pool. If you enjoy fantasy, read this, whether for the first time or for a revisit. This book is worth rereading.
This is the story of Bilbo Baggins who joins a quest to retrieve some stolen treasure from a dragon. He is not actually a willing participant and definitely has no experience as a thief, though that is his job on this journey. The wizard Gandalf vouches for him nonetheless and of course proves to be correct in his judgement of the hobbit. The travelers go up against trolls, wolves, and woodland fairies before they even meet the dragon Smaug. It is mostly due to Gandalf's help (and Bilbo's) that the party makes it that far.
Now that I've finished the book, I think I may have all the dwarves' names straight, but I wouldn't count on it--I'm still likely to get confused on that point when I see the movie next month. I really enjoyed this story. I was unfamiliar with it on the whole, except for the bits gleaned from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. It's not too scary for kids (after all, all but one of the heroes survives) and it has plenty of humor. I found myself trying (and sometimes failing) to solve the riddles Bilbo and Gollum fenced at one another in the scene by Gollum's underground pool. If you enjoy fantasy, read this, whether for the first time or for a revisit. This book is worth rereading.
kaysal's review against another edition
2.0
the end of Thorin Oakenshield was so sad! I really hope they change it in the movie, especially afte all they've done to make Bilbo more of a friend to the dwarves than in the book.