The Next Best Book Club discussion

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I'm probably one of the few ppl who has never read this book - growing up I wasn't much into fantasy. but I signed up to do a classics challenge and in that I listed some classic sci-fi/fantasy - specifically Lord of the Rings, but figured I should read the hobbit first

Then I just found out that brand new produced unabridged audios have just been released and i jumped on it - I actually started this on the 31st, but I had finished up my previous audiobook - but liking it so far

I've never read any of the Hobbit books... I've tried but I just cant get into Tolkien's style. I do, however, love the movies!

i'm excited to see the movie when it is released

have you tried audiobooks? sometimes with authors that have a more meandering story-telling style they work better for me

Just re-read this last year as an adult! My 16 year old read it and said I just had to read it again. Loved it even more as an adult! Can't wait for the movie! Looking forward to the comments on goodreads!

I only read the book for the first time last month. It's one of those books that I went into expecting to hate but surprisingly enjoyed. The story was a lot more interesting than I ever expected and certainly should make for some good films as well.

I have read the LOTR trilogy but have been meaning to read this for a long time .

Will start soon :)

Almost 30 years ago I bought an illustrated copy of
The Hobbit. The illustrations were by a wonderful artist - Michael Hague. I stood in line for a long time to have him autograph it for me. I still treasure it and read it often. I love the story and the beautiful art work.

I read THE HOBBIT about 30 years ago when my oldest son was about 12. He read it and raved about it and the entire Tolkien trilogy, so I read it to his two younger brothers who were 8 and 10. I loved Tolkien and his style. He was so creative. Never have found the time to read the Lord of the Rings...maybe when I retire.

I have also listened to the audio version of LONESOME DOVE about 25 years ago. Having grown up in the Great Plains the scenery was familiar and beautiful to me. I think this book won a Pulitzer. MacMurtry wrote "Terms
of Endearment" and "The Summer of 42" to name just a few of his numerous works. He is a very creative and talented author.

I read this way back in high school, so am looking forward to rereading it before the first movie comes out (and hopefully I'll get to the theater to see it).

And yes, I said first movie. They are dividing it into three parts. Part one is out this December, part two in Dec 2013, and part three in July 2013.

I hang my head in shame as I confess - I've never read any of Tolkien's books. I've purchased a number of them, and they are my TBR shelf but it always seems like I pass over them for another book that needs read. Now I have the perfect reason to read one (thank you!!) and a perfect time with the Hobbit movie coming out next month!

I really happy to have a opportunity to reread (more exactly listen to CD in the car this time) this book again and this time together with my 10 years daughter. First time I heard about this book from my 11 years old friend (I was one year older at this time). She was really crazy about this book and just talked about hobbit again and again. She completely contaminated me by excitement and love to this book. She gave me her copy to read and we even role play this book with friends. Soon later I got my own copy of trilogy and of course watched movie then I was much older. We just finished to listen together Percy Jackson and the Olympians Boxed Setseries and I put on library hold Hobbit and to my surprise it got on November voting list. Guess, that I vote! :)

When I was in primary school we always had a serialised story read to us by the teacher at the end of the day. This is how I was introduced to the Hobbit. It was actually the last one before I went to secondary school and so the teacher never finished it. I borrowed it from the library, planning to read it over the summer but actually finished it in a total of nine hours, six of them in one evening/night - reading under the covers by torch - it was that good. They also ran it on Jackanory. I must say I never tire of this story.
I then got the Lord of the Rings for Christmas and bought the Silmarillion. Oh dear. I got exactly half way through Lord of the Rings. I have never read the Silmarillion to this day.
For those of you that struggle with Tolkien, here's a tip - nothing gets going for the first few chapters then it can motor, but you need to persevere through the beginning.

I have read The Hobbit several times but not for quite a few years. I'm now reading it alongside my 11 year old son. I'm still enjoying it but not sure how they can stretch it into 3 films! At the start I always think: I want a hobbit hole. Realistically that might not be a good idea without modern technology to keep out the damp!

I love the Silmarillion but it isn't to everyone's taste. It's different to the others, has more a written epic mythology feel. I have put Letters from Father Christmas on my Christmas wish list!

I'm a little over 1/3 through and really enjoying it!

i finished this up last night - overall I liked it but (view spoiler)[I kind of hated how the journey there was so much more than the journey back... (hide spoiler)]

I first read the Hobbit in 7th grade, and have re-read it several times. I'm looking forward to the film and to hearing how others respond to the book.

I reread the whole serie last January, and would love to read your insights! Lovely book :D

The Hobbit is one of my all time favorite books. Tolkein's imagination is simply breathtaking! Looking forward to the movies.

For those who are planning to read The Hobbit, I seriously suggest you read the book before seeing the movie. PJ, while great at making a piece of cinema, has shown a habit of re-writing (in my opinion badly) Tolkien.

The Hobbit was one of the first books over 250 pgs I read as a kid. I remember it was about 3rd grade or so. Since then iVe read it about 2 or 3 more times. Tolkien has the most original imagination ever. Anything in Modern Fantasy- he's been there first. But I'd forgotten how dry and straightforward his style can be. He wanted it to be British mythology, and sometimes it comes off like a history book. (view spoiler)[ In the old cartoon, it ends after the dragon dies which I sometimes forget. So the last few chapters feel like a different book, both in style and in content. It leaves the fairy tale aspect behind a bit at that point. Still give it 5 stars, just not as flawless as I remember. And what a mistake to try to stretch THIS into 3 movies! (hide spoiler)]

A.K. wrote: "For those who are planning to read The Hobbit, I seriously suggest you read the book before seeing the movie. PJ, while great at making a piece of cinema, has shown a habit of re-writing (in my opi..."


Yes!! this is one of the classics you need to read. It will take no time at all. When I first encountered Hobbits I was so enthralled. The very idea of them makes me smile and BIlbo is such a delight. If you've seen the lord of the rings and not read the hobbit you should because it so beautifully explains Golem -- an unforgettable literary character.

Finished it over the weeekend. It was nice to revisit this classic again. It doesn't disappoint in the re-reading. I liked the Hobbit's proverbs too. Maybe TNBBC can make some up ourselves?

I love how Tolkien tells the story with comments like tell that event is another story or suggests things will happen in the near future but the character doesn't realize it yet. It really adds to the tale for me.

The Hobbit grabbed my attention and held it. The other Lord of the Rings series lost me back when I tried to read them as a young adult. I will admit to enjoying the illustrated version of the Hobbit!

The Hobbit was a great book, read it like 20 plus years ago. Can't wait too see the movie!

I've read The Hobbit a few times, but this time reading an annotated version of it. I'm a little bit of a Tolkien geek. Over the week end got 5 out of the 12 books by Christopher Tolkien about the history of Middle- Earth.So excited!

I read The Hobbit a few years back in my Sci-Fi/Fantasy class in college. I really enjoyed it! I could not get through the first chapter of The Lord of the Rings so I was pleased to really like The Hobbit. Not sure if I'll re-read it for December or not. SO many books on my to read list and SO little time!

I just finished reading The Hobbit. I had to read this when I was in high school and to be honest I didn't like it. I guess now that I'm a little older I can appreciate it more and found myself enjoying the book the second time around. I'm anxious to see Peter Jackson's adaptation of the book to film as well :D

I read it in the 6th grade, started reading it again recently, I'm a little older now;. I couldn't really get into it. I believe Tolkien originally wrote it as a children's book for his kids. I still love LOTR, which is obviously geared toward an older audience. I wonder if folks will be disappointed with the movie since it won't (or shouldn't) be like LOTR.

Truly a classic, in every sense of the term! The Hobbit is a mildly dark tale about a Hobbit who journeys through the mystic land of Middle Earth with a group of elves and a powerful wizard. Tolkien's descriptions of Middle Earth, his development of the characters, and a moving plot make this work a "must not miss." With that said, The Hobbit is really just a prequel to Tolkien's masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings, which is both a great series of books (three) and a great series of movies.

The thing that I liked best about The Lord of the Rings trilogy by Peter Jackson was how closely it adhered to the plot (Tom Bombadill was the only major ommission, and he was a fairly minor character). I'm looking forward to seeing "The Hobbit" on the big screen, but I have a hard time seeing how they are going to make three films out of such a short book without changing it substantially. I hope that I'm wrong, but we'll see.

Dr. Leonardo Noto

I remember when the Animated movie of the Hobbit came out in '77. Went to the theater to watch it. I bought the book too. Still have it. It's gorgeous with the outer cover with the dragon on it.

The artwork was fantastic!

Well I finally made it through my second Tolkien book. This was my second attempt at reading the Hobbit and I successfully made it through (can't say that for the trilogy unfortunately). People are going to hate me for saying this but I still don't enjoy him. I appreciate what the man has done for the fantasy genre, recognize that his writing is a reflection of his generation, that this was really the first of it's kind and that he has won over and shaped millions of childhoods but, he's still not for me. I feel that I've been tainted by my generation and all of the buzz as I don't think I'll ever be able to really see Tolkien's work in any other light or fully understand the impact that he had.

I craved more character development and dynamic plots rather than descriptions of scenes... For example the only characters you really remember are Bilbo, Gandalf, Thorin and Bombur (but only because he is fat). There are at least 10 other dwarf characters in this novel that I can't recall and that really were not required to be there. We know little about these characters if you're basing it off this book alone, other than that Gandalf is a wizard, Bilbo is a hobbit and most hobbits don't like adventures and that the dwarves want their gold back from a dragon. I do know that this is the story that started it all for fantasy so I know that this plot will be redundant to me unfortunately, I just feel that everything could have been developed so much further! I suppose that's where the next generation of fantasy writers took it. For example, I couldn't believe how anti-climatic the (view spoiler)[ death of the Dragon was! I mean the dwarves come all that way, figure out it's weak spot just to have some random villager kill it in a quick paragraph! I mean, it ended up for a more intriguing ending it was just so unexpected because the whole book was about the dwarves and how they were going to kill this dragon and then at the very last minute it turns into a civil dispute about the treasure and who owns it and ultimately about honour and friendship. Which is good and all, just not exciting, especially for a children's book (hide spoiler)].

There were some really intriguing scenes in this book though such as the scene with Bilbo and Gollum in the Goblin's caves. The riddles and execution of this scene was brilliant and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Gollum was one the most interesting character in this novel and had I not known a bit about Gollum previously, thanks to the movies and all the buzz about these books, I would have been disappointed not to know more about this strange creature! The other scene I really enjoyed was Bilbo's conversation with (view spoiler)[ the dragon itself, as the dragon had more personality than most of the characters in the book and I found the scene intense and effective (hide spoiler)].

Overall, the book is good, I did enjoy it. I just found it lacking and I ultimately craved more. I won't ever be able to appreciate this story or the trilogy the way major fans of Tolkien do but at least I tried!

SUCH a good book! "The Hobbit" has a well-deserved spot on my Keeper Shelf. :)