From the Bookshelf of Reading the Classics…

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

J.R.R. Tolkien

Start date: September 3, 2012

Finish date: September 30, 2012

Discussion: Member-Led Side Reads

Why we're reading this: Voted for by members as the Children's Classics side read.…more
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What Members Thought

Oct 11, 2009 Gaijinmama rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, re-read, classics, favorites, fantasy

Full disclosure: I am a life-long Tolkien geek. Mock me, and I'll cuss you out in Elvish. And then I'll breathe a bit of fire at you.
This is the prequel to The Lord of the Rings. I actually read LOTR first when I was 9 years old (back when dinosaurs walked the earth...) and it was rough going, so I highly recommend reading The Hobbit first. It explains a lot of things that are important to the trilogy. Also, unlike LOTR, this is a children's book. It's not just for children, by any means, but it ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

May 07, 2007 Laura rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This book, if read correctly, is so damn funny. I love Bilbo's transformation from ignorance to anything outside the Shire to the adventerous world traveler. I believe this teaches lessons to all who are developing into their own person. LOTR Forever!!!! ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 07, 2010 Angie Palau rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

This charming classic is a childhood favorite of mine, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it on my own as a kid (several times), with my little brother as a young adult, and most recently with my eldest daughter. It's an uncomplicated storyline of a quest, but the fun is in the characters, their interactions, the language(s), the varied locales, and the vivid inventiveness of the book. It's iconic now, but that doesn't make it any less original. It's the book that I consider founded the fantasy ge ...more

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Apr 04, 2008 Joanne G. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: b-library, fantasy

I enjoyed re-reading this in anticipation of viewing the movies. It doesn't have the depth of Lord of the Rings, but any trip to Middle Earth is pleasurable.

(I feel so traitorous downgrading this from five stars. Sorry, Mr. Tolkien!) ...more

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