Rating:  - The Lord of the Rings
Absolutely beautiful work on the 50th anniversary edition. Should be a tresure for life to hand down.
Rating: - Definitely There and Back Again
We owe a debt of incalculable value to J.R.R. Tolkien. He is the father of an entire genre, a genre that has been able to carry many of us through our darkest hours. Although The Hobbit came out over 70 years ago, it is yet fresh and vibrant. Dear Bilbo is still an enchanting hero and still unique--so many main characters are thinly veiled reflections of ideal selves, whereas Bilbo makes us instead rather want to become Hobbits.
The Hobbit is less world-weary than the Lord of the Rings. It is also a more tightly knit story. For these two reasons, I prefer The Hobbit to the later saga, but I am still grateful that I am a better person for having experienced both The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings.
In The Hobbit, we experience a series of adventures that are precipitated by an odd invitation from Gandalf, and through these adventures we see Bilbo pass from mere observer to central character. Tolkien was a master at many things: character, mythology, story; however, his observations of the essential qualities of human nature make his writings timeless and transcendent of societal changes.
It was a joy to experience The Hobbit. I look forward to reading it to my girls. I don't consider it merely recommended reading; I classify it as canon.
Rating: - The true father of Fantasy
Tolkien is the true father of the Fantasy genre. The Hobbit is an amazing book for anyone over the age of 11. I first read it when I was 11 or 12 years old and still find new things to like about it now that I'm 41. From story to plot to character development Tolkien truly made his world come alive.
Best Fantasy series I have ever read, to this day. All 4 books are phenomenal... as are his other works, especially the Silmarillion.
Rating: - A delightful, wonderful book
I read this book over twenty years ago, so I can't recall much of the plot in this review. But I do remember greatly enjoying it. I became a fan of J.R.R Tolkien for life. Anyone who has read or watched Lord of the Rings and not read the Hobbit is making a mistake. I can't think of anything negative to say about this book.
Rating: - A fascinating look into Tolkien's creative process
What a fascinating look into the creative process for "Middle Earth" this book provides! It's the first of Tolkien's works set in that realm, and it introduces characters he later tweaked to suit his needs in writing The Lord of the Rings. The first look at Gollum is a real treat, and so is the overall setup for the universe of the later trilogy. Dwarves, elves, trolls, goblins and hobbits...oh, my!
Compared to the complex "Rings" books, this one tells a simple and straightforward tale. Its violence and general scariness level is about the same as most traditional fairy tales, making it suitable for most children although decidedly unsuitable for kids who get nightmares easily (I was one of those myself - "Hansel and Gretel" absolutely freaked me out). Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who lives contentedly in a very comfortable hobbit hole, welcomes first a wizard named Gandalf and then a band of noisy, hungry, demanding dwarves into his home. Before he knows it, he's been swept up in their quest to reclaim an ancestral treasure - a quest that takes him far away, on a journey from which he may never return.
My well-meaning friend who suggested giving this book a miss, "Because it's just for children," apparently has far different tastes than I do. What fun!
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