The Hobbit

The gateway drug to Lord of the Rings. A simpler, less weighty story, but one that I read repeatedly in my youth. You cannot really read fantasy without reading this; not necessarily first, but all roads lead here in the end.

Repeat after me: “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit...”

this was such a pleasant read!!!
4.5 stars!! <3

Hacía ya varios años que no releía este fabuloso libro. A raíz de la decepción que para mi supuso la adaptación cinematográfica de Peter Jackson a esta obra, decidí reencontrarme con la fuente para ver si realmente lo que estaba pasando era que idealizaba de más el escrito.

Me da gusto encontrar que no es así, que estamos ante una obra infinitamente superior a su versión en cine y que tiene el toque del Maestro Tolkien en cada párrafo. Si acaso, lo que nunca me ha gustado son las canciones/poemas que se rifan casi todos los personajes, principalmente los elfos.

Siendo crítico, y la razón por la que creo que no puede tener cinco estrellas, es que, en honor a la verdad y dejando de lado mi admiración al autor y su obra, creo que hay cosas que fallan un poco en el desarrollo fluido del libro. Debo confesar que tardé un poco en engancharme, al principio pensé que era porque ya me sabía la historia, pero más tarde me di cuenta de que eran descripciones que a veces salían sobrando y distraían del foco de la historia.

Por otro lado, algo que no lograré entender es la decisión de Tolkien de darle un desenlace tan anti climático a Smaug. Alguien podría decir que es porque la historia al final no se centra en la muerte de un dragón, sino en la transformación de un personaje, pero para fines prácticos esa parte es una segunda lectura, incluso el encuentro con Smeagol y el anillo (Riddles in The Dark) tiene más emoción que la muerte del dragón (y eso que para Tolkien aún no estaba claro lo que haría con el anillo en el futuro.

Por último, me pesa que haya delineado muy bien a personajes como Bardo, Beorn e incluso el Rey Elfo, y que se haya quedado tan corto en profundidad con los enanos... Al final al único que puedes decir que odiaste, amaste, compadeciste es a Thror, el resto de enanos pudo haber sido uno solo que daba lo mismo, ¡12 enanos y ninguno te deja algo!

Pero eso no significa que el resto de cosas en el libro no sean una belleza: descripciones maravillosas de mundos fantásticos; aventuras que cualquier niño desearía tener y cualquier adulto quisiera haber vivido; una visión del mundo que, sin llegar a ser moralista, deja un palpable ejemplo de los principios del autor; y para rematar, sienta las bases para lo que sería la obra que es, para mi, la mejor de todos los tiempos: El Señor de los Anillos.

Aunque se vende como un libro para niños (y, en muchos sentidos, lo es), un adulto puede sacar mucho del libro también. Un imprescindible clásico contemporáneo.

For some strange reason I have been putting off reading the prequel to LOTR for such a while that I am happy I have finally got it done with. This book was so strange that I had to go back and check if it was written by Tolkien or published posthumously. After I realized that that this was meant to be a children's book did it make sense. However, this does not make up the fact that this is a very mediocre effort. While the writing style is simplified the story flow itself is very abrupt and most of the time there is no character building. The dwarfs are just treated as furniture and all the build ups peter out into nothingness. All in all, I guess it is an important part of the Tolkien Verse so it must be read but I hope Silmarallion is better.

Still awesome

I just couldn't connect to this book. Maybe because I didn't read it when I was a child. All my friends like it because they read or listened to it during their childhood.

I confess, I was captivated by the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit - the movies. Then I wanted to read the books and I just received The Hobbit this Christmas. It's because of my poor imagination or maybe my age (36), but I did not find the book as fabulous as the movies were. The story and descriptions did not apeal my emotions and fibers as did the movie. Maybe it was a mistake to see the movie first.

Nevertheless it's a good plot, it starts quite intriguing with all those foreign dwarves and Gandalf entering Bilbo's house. The story brings fantastic creatures, mithical characters, epic battles between good people and bad creatures. It talks about courage, friendship, loyalty, heroism, but also about greed.

Althout Tolkien wrote this book for his children, I think he had in mind other stories, this is why some characters or battles are only mentioned but not described. Good for us, among other writings, he wrote the sequel Lord of the Rings.

Voici donc le dernier livre que j'aurai commencé et terminé en 2013. Après avoir lu plusieurs fois le Seigneur des Anneaux, il était temps que je lise également le Hobbit. J'avais essayé il y a quelques années mais j'avais abandonné au début, peu enthousiasmé par le côté enfantin de ce conte. Finalement j'ai réussi cette fois à passer outre un début peu passionnant. La suite est meilleure, même si cela reste moins épique que le Seigneur des Anneaux. Et je ne suis toujours pas fan de Bilbo ...

Loved this book. Can't wait for all the movies to come out. That is the reason I read the book, I wanted to read the story before I saw the film. So glad I did too.

and then smaug spoke

Wasn't able to read through the book, like the movie though

I can not believe that it has taken me so long to read this book. The detail is a bit overwhelming at first. However, you quickly become immersed in this new world where the danger is there, but the story teller keeps your feet from the fire. You are at a comfortable distance from the danger so that you do not feel the need to stop reading. The character of Bilbo changes and expands in a natural movement with the story. The character of some of the dwarves, elves, and so on remain a bit illusive until the end.

After reading this one, I am even considering reading the trilogy.

If you have not yet read this book, do yourself a favor and read it. It is a delightful story that is well written and well paced.

Great book. Really enjoyed.

I read this once in elementary school, and now I've read it again, twenty years later. I have a different reaction now than as a child (back then, the riddles and the tricksy speaking was what I enjoyed).

I think my favorite part is what sets The Hobbit above others of a similar nature—the end is concerned with returning to one's old life after it has changed irretrievably.

Having had a lengthy year full of adventures in Japan and then returned to the US, I understand something of the feeling Bilbo has after all he's been through. Your friends back home have moved on and changed, and now your new friends from the year-long adventure hasten to do the same. Your two lives are going on without you, and it's a struggle to resume it all. A melancholy remains, diminishing but never disappearing. Only a few people who have shared your journey and your return share the understanding.

That is why The Hobbit means something to me.

I was hoping to enjoy this book a lot more than I did. The story line and characters are great but there is too much drag time in between occurrences for my taste. The author takes a lot of time in describing the scenery so that the reader can feel he/she is following along in Bilbo's journey, but I just found those parts tiresome. With that said, I can see how this story would make for a great movie.

Non so per quale motivo, ma m'è costata una gran fatica leggere questo libro (probabilmente dovuto a dei problemi personali, non al libro in sé). Tuttavia dire che è un'opera di Tolkien è più che sufficiente per far capire quanto questo libro sia fantastico!

Wonderful plots,impressive words,marvelous scences. Just read it you won't regret it.

♥ Divorato!

Non avevo mai letto niente di Tolkien, e ammetto che ero veramente tanto curiosa...così, manco a farlo apposta, mi hanno regalato per Natale questo libro che ho divorato in pochi giorni!

Come stile di scrittura forse mi aspettavo qualcosa di più..intrecciato insomma! Ma poi mi sono resa conto che proprio la sua semplicità dimostra come sia possibile scrivere un'opera veramente bella pur senza snocciolarsi in chissà quali questioni o paroloni.

Credo che appena potrò leggerò sicuramente qualcos'altro..voglio assolutamente tornare in quel mondo di hobbit, elfi, nani, stregoni, orchi, troll e quant'altro! ♥

December ‘12 Sword and Laser book pick.

Love this book! First read it when I was maybe 14 years old, and now I must be on my 3rd or 4th re-read. It's such a fun read, and unlike the LOTRs trilogy, it doesn't delve too deeply into the rich history of Middle Earth. I love seeing Bilbo grow and develop his independence as he goes on this crazy adventure with Thorin and Co. I still always cry when I get to the Thorin's death after the Battle of Five Armies. This is one of those books that has left its mark on me.

Absolutely delightful, as usual ✨✨✨
Full review to come!

2.5 stars for the plot, 5 stars for cute little Bilbo and general cuteness!!!

I wish I could do 3.5 but goodreads doesn't do halves... It was too slow and dragging for too much of the book and too much was crammed into the last 40 pages or so. In the end it was good though. Just not great.

I haven't read this since college, and I'd forgotten just how good it is. The style just wraps around me like a warm blankie. I find I can identify a lot more with Bilbo as I get older, and I love watching his growth as a character and a burglar. Say what you will about Eagles and deux ex machinas, I love this book and always will.

I am rereading this for the first time in a long time to prep for the movie. I listened to the audiobook by Rob Inglis and his a great narrator, although that was marred a bit by some poor engineering.

My full review of the book is at http://bookwi.se/the-hobbit-by-jrr-tolkien/

I dearly wish I could give this five stars but in the interest of truthfulness I can only award it four. I think I need to reread it. Maybe I will after I see the movie. People whose opinions I really respect love this book and it saddens me a bit that I didn't love it in the same way. I found the plot a little slow at times. I'll definitely try again.