"The Hobbit" Review

• Title:  "The Hobbit"
• Author:  J. R. R. Tolkien
• Finished:  April 10, 2010
• Synopsis:  Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit, "signs on" for an adventure as the burglar for a group of dwarves.  Gandalf plays a large role in his recruitment for this task. Along the way to reclaim the dwarf treasure, they run into many strange creatures, close calls, and exciting new acquaintances.  By the way, during all this adventure Bilbo stumbles across THE Ring of Power made and obsessed about by Sauron, the Dark Lord of Mordor. Bilbo is able to use it to become invisible and help the company in many ways during the trek to the Lonely Mountain.
• Impression of the book: I first read this book as a middle school student.  Middle Earth was (and still is) a great escape from wherever I am.  I love this book, and I think Tolkien is one of the best storytellers of the 20th century.
• Read Again Scale:  10
• I first read this book in middle school.  I like to pick it up every so often. 
• Read Another Book by the Same Author: 10
• I have read and re-read "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Simarillion."

This short novel is a small part of the backstory that launches "The Lord of the Rings" epic.  I have always liked the story of how Bilbo stumbles across the ring.  Bilbo thinks it is just a useful trinket, but eventually he finds it very difficult to part with it.  This story contains a lot more fantasy and young reader stuff than the LOTR follow-up. I enjoyed it as a middle school reader, and I still like it as an adult. After the publication of LOTR, Tolkien "cleaned up" some of the details of the finding of the ring, but the essence of the story didn't change. Tolkien knows how to tell a story.  He was also brave enough to take the amount of words necessary to tell a great story.  If you like classic fantasy literature or want to give it a try, "The Hobbit" is a great place to start. If my voice would hold out (and she would patronize me), I will start reading this book with Sophie when she reaches middle school.