The Hobbit or There and Back Again

J. R. R. Tolkien

“Don’t pinch!” said his eagle. “You need not be frightened like a rabbit, even if you look rather like one. It is a fair morning with little wind. What is finer than flying?” Bilbo would have liked to say: “A warm bath and late breakfast on the lawn afterwards;” but he thought it better to say nothing at all, and to let go his clutch just a tiny bit.

Tolkien is a master world builder and story writer. I have admired my copy of The Hobbit for years before finally giving in and reading an ebook copy. Why read an ebook if I have the physical copy? My paperback has tiny words on bible like pages. The Hobbit is on Time’s 100 best YA, which is why I decided to read it after many years of owning it.

I was slightly disappointed in The Hobbit, but after reading The Silmarillion I can safely say The Hobbit is a “light-hearted” adventure that I enjoyed 100000000000% more than The Silmarillion. Would I recommend it? Meehhhh, not to everyone. The Hobbit is an adventure with hobbits, dwarves, elves, goblins, wolves, a wizard, a dragon, and other beasts. Allllll of those magical things and songs. I have never read a book with so much singing, which continues on into Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit holds a sense of innocence and humor I wasn’t looking for but enjoyed it. If you are looking for a humorous classic fantasy read, look no further than The Hobbit.

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who has a dash of adventure in his blood, something that is unheard of among the hobbits. Bilbo joins a crew of 13 dwarves lead by Gandalf, a wizard, as a burglar as they attempt to reclaim the dwarves’ mountain home from a dragon named Smaug. That is a simple summary of the epic adventure they experience.

Bilbo is my favorite character, hands down. In the hight of action or fear, all he can think about is hobbit hole or how he has missed tea time. Who hasn’t missed their bed when they should be paying attention to something else. Outside of Bilbo, Gandalf is probably the most developed character. There are far too many dwarves to keep up with for me…so sadly I didn’t.

“Dear me!” grumbled the hobbit. “More walking and more climbing without breakfast! I wonder how many breakfasts, and other meals, we have missed inside that nasty clockless, timeless hole?”

Why didn’t I love it? Why did I feel disappointed? I didn’t feel engaged with the writing. The Hobbit is well-written, but too much of a classic for me to recommend to any ol’ reader. I thought The Hobbit was going to be more than what it was because of the long-lasting hype around the Tolkien universe. If you do not enjoy the classics you should probably skip over reading The Hobbit and consider checking out one of the movie adaptations. 

If you wanted to read it aloud to your children/pets/whoever The Hobbit would make for a fun read. If you are new to fantasy and want to ease your way into the genre, The Hobbit would be a good starting point. If you plan to read Lord of the Rings I highly recommend reading The Hobbit first and never reading The Silmarillion.

Have you read The Hobbit? What did you think? Do you plan on reading it or Lord of the Rings?