Tags
book club, book review, british literature, children's literature, classic literature, december read, epic fantasy, fantasy, fiction, j r r tolkien, Lord of the Rings, the hobbit, three nerds and a book club
Author: J. R. R. Tolkien Series: Prequel to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy Publisher: Ballantine Books Publication Date: 1996 Genre: Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Children's Literature, British Literature, Fiction, Classic Literature Pages: 305 Buy: The Book Depository
Book Description: Bilbo Baggins was a hobbit who wanted to be left alone in a quiet comfort. But the wizard Gandalf came along with a band of homeless dwarves. Soon Bilbo was drawn into their quest, facing evil orcs, savage wolves, giant spiders, and worse, unknown dangers. Finally, it was Bilbo – alone and unaided – who had to confront the great dragon Smaug, the terror of an entire countryside…
I read this book for the December (and early Jan) read for Three Nerds and a Book Club.
As a huge LOTR fan, this book has been on my to read list for a while now. And with the movie coming out and the book winning the book club vote I was really excited to get my hands on a copy to read it. I had tried to read LOTR myself in high school but found the writing style to be a bit tough at times and put it down after about 100 pages. So I was a bit scared at first that this book was going to be hard for me to read. It was just the opposite.
I absolutely love this book. While I know quite a bit about LOTR (what with having it be read to me as a child and an avid fan of the movies) I didn’t remember much from the older movie version of this book other than trolls and a dragon were involved. I had high expectations and was not disappointed in the slightest. While the writing may be a bit of slow reading at times, the story was intriguing and fun. I loved every bit of this book and was fascinated to learn (from my dad) that The Hobbit was written for children AND after the LOTR trilogy was written. While some of the things – such as the smoking – may be a bit old fashioned for current times when it comes to children’s books, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy. Whether that be for an adult or for someone to read to a child.
This classic epic fantasy is a must read for any true fantasy lover. I know this review isn’t very good but this is such a classic novel that there really shouldn’t be anything else to say other than READ IT. You won’t regret it. And if you do, I’ll buy you some frozen yogurt. (And no Hecate, this doesn’t count for you because you had to read it for a class).
My Rating: ★★★★★
The Big Nerd 
So glad you read this! Now…movie time! (Which is very good, by the way, and I think it follows the book pretty well.)
I think my dad and I are going to try to see it tomorrow… well technically today but since I’m on the west coast right now it’s only 2 am hahah 🙂
What did you think of the movie?
I actually didn’t get to see it. When we looked at movie times they were already all sold out 😦 So I’ll have to make time to see it with a friend sometime soon.