The Hobbit is a 1937 fantasy novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. It has never been out of print, and there have been many adaptations. I've read it to myself and to my children numerous times and recently re-read it. It never gets old. If you haven't read it you will improve your life by remedying that lack. It's a delightful story.
from the book jacket:
When The Hobbit was first published in this country, the American Library Association's reviewer said in the ALA Bulletin:This book seems universally beloved, so quotes from reviews seem unnecessary.
"At this time of writing, still under the spell of the story, I cannot bend my mind to ask myself whether our American children will like it. My impulse is to say if they don't, so much the worse for them..."By now, The Hobbit has become a classic, and the Horn Book's prophetic review gives some hints as to why: "The background of the story is full of authentic bits of mythology and magic and the book has the rare quality of style. It is written with a quiet humor and the logical detail in which children take delight ... this is a book with no age limits. All those, young or old, who love a finely imagined story, beautifully told, will take The Hobbit to their hearts."
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Sadly, I didn't care for this book. Was really put off by the sing-songy Tom Bombadil. I wasn't that crazy about the recent film adaptation of the book as the producers were trying to capitalize on the popularity of the Lord of the Rings by bring characters from that who never appeared in Hobbit. I did enjoy LOTR and have read that several times.
ReplyDeleteThe first few times I read it I skipped all the poetry ;) poetry not being my thing at the best of times and certainly not when it interrupts the novel I'm reading lol I did like Tom Bombadil's character, though, and even eventually picked up the book of poetry that features him: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Tom_Bombadil I do despise the attitude they showed of putting in a romantic subplot just so they can have women in the story. It's incredibly annoying, I think.
DeleteI LOVE THE HOBBIT - it was one of the first books I read as a teen outside of mandatory school books. My at the time boyfriend's Mother gave me the book when me & boyfriend broke up; to distract me in my heartache. I did not like the Peter Jackson movie although I really enjoyed his take of The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. I think I have read The Hobbit 22 times & The Lord Of The Rings about 15 times. They are wonderful stories.
ReplyDeleteThere were problems with the LOTR movies, including how they handled the ending, but I was so relieved about the casting of my favorite character Sam and how they handled his role that I forgave them everything else.
DeleteI agree LOTR movies weren't as good as the book, & I agree the casting of characters was pretty good. I wish in the movie they would have made more of Bilbo & Frodo sharing a birthday & the ages they were celebrating very significant. In The Hobbit I like Adian Turner's Dwarf character but the elf love interest NOOOOOO!!! For my favourite books such as The Hobbit & LOTR & Harry Potter the movies I tell myself are different stories. I feel for HP David Yates did an awful job of the last 3 - Harry would never have just had Snape sshh him to prevent him going to Dumbledore & there's NO way Harry would have just snapped the Elder wand & thrown into the valley ... I can get quite upset at David Yates, I just hope I never meet him. Yes I do get passionate about "my" books (lol).
DeleteI had been so afraid they would use Sam as comic relief. That they cast him and wrote him so well pleased me. I think they'd have done better just to make some of the dwarves female instead of sticking in romantic involvement just to shoehorn in a female character. There's absolutely nothing about those dwarves that required them to be male, and the assumption that any female included had to be in love with somebody is irritating.
DeleteThe Harry Potter books and movies are remarkably dissimilar the further on you get, and the author's interpretation of the characters now is a different version still. I do really _care_ about how "my" books are adapted. Those worlds are real to me, after all. :)
I've not read The Hobbit. I feel like I have missed out on something important while I was conducting science experiments.
ReplyDeleteI read it in the 70s while I was in college, but people come to it from childhood through old age. It's never too late for your first reading ;)
DeleteSaw a movie. Was okay. I have never gotten into the hobbit or lord of the ring, but I haven't read the books and have only seen the movies. They were all okay, I guess.
ReplyDeleteThe movies were better than I expected. The books are, as in most cases, preferable.
DeleteThe Hobbit was definitely my fave book as a kid. Valerie
ReplyDeleteI didn't discover it in childhood, but I introduced my own kids to it early :)
DeleteI have read it and enjoyed it. I was recently thinking it might be time to reread it.
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful to have books that reward re-reading, isn't it! This is definitely one of them :)
DeleteI didn't read it until after the movie, never had much interest. All the hype around the movie spurred me to read the Hobbit. funny though I only saw commercials and build up on tv and the internet, still haven't seen the movie. The book painted a picture that didn't need filling in.
ReplyDeleteThe books were wildly popular when I was in college, and I read them for the first time then. It's been adapted before, and it's fun to see what comes out each time, but they don't improve on the book.
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