Reading "The Hobbit"

I was surprised to hear that many people who consider themselves to be Lord of the Rings fans have not read The Hobbit.  And of course, I've had other people tell me that they have not seen the new movie (which I'm guessing is out of theatres by now) because they haven't read the book yet.  Well, I have a treat for you guys!  Over this past Christmas break, while working on a Tolkien-themed project, I found an awesome, full PDF file of The Hobbit, with bookmarked links that take you directly to the start of each chapter.  So, if any of you are interested in checking out this amazing novel, then you can follow the link here and read it for free (at work, or on your iPad or iPhone, etc.--although for the record, I still hate e-readers).  Also, I'll be including a link on the Hobbit Hole page for easy access in the future :)  Have fun!

Hobbit Hole

As some of you might already know, I've been nerding-out to Tolkien stuff since January 1st, when I saw the new Hobbit movie in theatres.  I've always been something of a Tolkien fan previous to this, but I've been more and more interested in his work as of late.  That being said, I'm including a new "tab" on my blog (in addition to my LXG Reading Challenge, Weekly Wodehouse, and Wilde Wednesdays).  This tab, entitled "Hobbit Hole" will be full of different links to Tolkien related things, such as videos, song parodies, articles, and perhaps other blogs, etc.  I hope you guys will find this to be fun and interesting :) And if anyone has a link they would like to suggest for the page, just let me know in the comments and I'll be sure to check it out!

The Hobbit (JRR Tolkien)

After reading The Hobbit for the nth time, I still have to say that this book is just as magical, epic, wonderful, and thrilling as it was when I read it the first time, back in grade school.  I don't think I could have been more than twelve or thirteen at the time.  There are so many memories of this book.  Late nights reading in bed....desperately trying to get in one more chapter, or even just a few more pages....renewing the book six times before the librarian told me that I had to simply finish it or return it (that was before we were given the chance to renew up to fifteen or twenty times).

The Hobbit is a story of adventure, loyalty, and courage.  When homebody Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit, is visited by the wizard Gandalf and a troupe of dwarfs, he has no idea what adventures are in store for him.  But soon, the quiet, non-adventureous Mr. Baggins finds himself facing trolls, goblins, elves, and giant spiders in order to help his new companions reach the final challenge of their quest: rescue their stolen treasure from the dragon Smaug.

Besides being a pleasant and often thrilling read, this book has so much to offer in the way of adventures, characters, and plot.  Like Bilbo, the readers find themselves lulled into the action, drawn in slowly at first, and then all at once, are grabbed by the shirtfront and pulled right into the action.  From that point onward, you have nineteen chapters of bold, fastpaced adventure.  And when the story is over, you almost wish that it would keep going.

This provides a wonderful start to my summer reading challenge: A Summer in Middle Earth.  From there, I'll be moving on to Albert Camus's The Stranger and Jonathan Howard's Johannes Cabal: The Necromancer.  I'm still waiting for The Fellowship of the Ring to come in from the library.

The Hobbit #4: Gollum

This is going to be my last quote from The Hobbit, I think, because I'm afraid that if I go much further into the book, I'm going to start publishing spoilers, and that is just NOT FAIR to all of you, dear readers. But, our dear friend Javmango asked me to publish pictures by Alan Lee with one of my posts, so I cannot refuse ;) (sorry if the passage is a bit dark...I have always thought that the character of Gollum is really cool. I haven't seen him in the Lord of the Rings books or movies, yet...so that might change my opinion...)

"Deep down here by the dark water lived old Gollum, a small, slimy creature. I don't know where he came from, nor who or what he was. He was Gollum-- as dark as darkness, except for two big round pale eyes in his thin face. He had a little boat, and he rowed about quite quietly on the lake; for lake it was, wide and deep and deadly cold. He paddled it with large feet dangling over the side, but never a ripple did he make. Not he."

~J.R.R. Tolkien (The Hobbit)

One Bloody Thing After Another

Summer reading has continued on into this new book: One Bloody Thing After Another by Joey Comeau. It was a weird book, to be honest, but I did enjoy it. It was dark, creepy, and at parts, downright gross, which I did not like, but honestly, I couldn't put it down until I finished it. Would I recommend it? Not sure. This would be one of those books that falls into a grey area. I mean, I enjoyed it, but I don't know if I enjoyed it enough to read it again or pass it on to someone else.

Does this mean that I'm done with The Hobbit? Of course not. One thing I do a lot while reading is that I dip into several different books at the same time. The Hobbit is a familiar one, and an old favorite, so I can easily balance it with another book. And its also very comforting while I'm reading something scary. Yes, this one gets scary, too, but at least I know that everything will work out alright in the end.

So, that's one book down for summer reading:

One Bloody Thing After Another by Joey Comeau

Happy Reading!

The Hobbit #3: Elrond

"He was as noble and as fair in face as an elf-lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as venerable as a king of dwarves, and as kind as summer. He comes into many tales, but his part in the story of Bilbo's great adventure is only a small one, though important, as you will see, if we ever get to the end of it. His house was perfect, whether you liked food, or sleep, or work, or story-telling, or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all. Evil things did not come into that valley."

~J.R.R. Tolkien (The Hobbit)

The Hobbit #2: Good Morning/Smoke Rings

"Good morning!" said Bilbo, and he meant it. The sun was shining, and the grass was very green. But Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out further than the brim of his shady hat.

"What do you mean?" he said. "Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?"

"All of them at once," said Bilbo. "And a very fine morning for a pipe of tobacco out of doors, into the bargain. If you have a pipe about you, sit down and have a fill of mine! There's no hurry, we have all the day before us!" Then Bilbo sat down on a seat by his door, crossed his legs, and blew out a beautiful grey ring of smoke that sailed up into the air without breaking and floated away over The Hill.

~J.R.R. Tolkien (The Hobbit)

The Hobbit #1: What is a Hobbit?

For those of you who have not yet read Tolkien's The Hobbit, here is a quick little description of the race from the book...

"I suppose hobbits need some description nowadays, since they have become rare and shy of the Big People, as they call us. They are (or were) a little people, about half our height, and smaller than the bearded Dwarves. Hobbits have no beards. There is little or no magic about them, except the ordinary everyday sort which allows them to disappear quietly and quickly when large stupid folk like you and me come blundering along, making a noise like elephants which they can hear a mile off. They are inclined to be fat in the stomach; they dress in bright colours (chiefly green and yellow); wear no shoes, because their feet grow naturally leathery soles and thick warm brown hair like the stuff on their heads (which is curly); have long clever brown fingers, good-natured faces, and laugh deep fruity laughs (especially after dinner, which they have twice a day when they can get it). Now you know enough to go on with."

~J.R.R. Tolkien (The Hobbit)