Winter Reads: Book Two {The Hobbit}

Let's file this book under the giant heading of: Why on earth didn't I read this sooner?

[And yes, I'm still going back and reviewing 2012 books. Because I want to and I can. So, keep your eyes open for a few more of those coming your way. I think I have about 5-10 left?]

But, really. I can't believe I put this book off for so long. I remember trying to start it when I was in college because some guy mentioned it as one of his favorites. Could not get into this book back then. Apparently, this book is another case of right book, right time. Because this time when I picked it up (because the movie was coming out and I needed to read it before I saw it) I could not put it down. 

It is also the book that I read the day I spent in the ER with my dad. Having a tale of adventure and goodness and fantasy was exactly what is needed when a family member finds themselves in the hospital (Dad is, and was, fine by the way). So, exactly the case of right book, right time. I was about 100 pages into the book when we got to the ER around 11am and I finished it before they moved him to another room around 8pm. Don't get me started on how long that ER visit was! 

But, I digress, The Hobbit was, and is, an amazing and well written story of an unlikely hero going on an unlikely adventure. We meet Mr. Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit, at the beginning of the story - comfortable in his Hobbit Hole, his routine, and his food. The Gandalf arrives and turns Bilbo's world upside down. With a cast of Dwarves, Gandalf convinces Bilbo to go on an adventure to rescue Thorin's family's treasure from a terrible Dragon. Bilbo is reluctant to go on an adventure - a very unhobbitlike activity - and in the beginning his companions are reluctant to have him along. However, all that changes along the way and Bilbo becomes a well respected member of the team and finds a love for adventure along the way. The book chronicles their adventures on the way to the mountain the Dragon has taken over and their adventure home again. When we leave him at the end of the story, everything has changed for Mr. Baggins. Changed for the better.

How can I do this book any justice in analysis? It's a Timeless Classic - meaning it's been well loved and well read and well analyzed for years longer than I've been alive. It's been combed over by so many people, so many times that I'm certain that I can't add anything to any sort of literary analysis. And, really? I don't want to add anything to that. Because sometimes a book is just an adventure to read. To me, analyzing this book would have ruined it. I went on an adventure with Bilbo and loved every minute of it. And that? That's enough for this reader on this book. 

Title: The Hobbit (Or There and Back Again)

Author: J.R.R. Tolkien

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult/Childrens, Fiction

Medium: Soft Cover

Pages: 351

Date Read: 20 December 2012

First Line: In a hole in the ground their lived a hobbit.

Favorite Line: There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. 

Second Favorite Line: It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him. 

Last Line: "Thank goodness!" said Bilbo laughing, and handed him the tobacco jar. [whited out for spoiler's sake!]

Recommended: Yes. Reading this book made my life happier.

Recommended For: Middle School+; Anyone Who Loves Adventure and/or Fantasy; LoTR Lovers;