Book List: "The Hobbit"

In preparation for the recently released movie, I put Hobbit at the top of my reading list this month. I just finished it, and I loved it! This is the first Tolkien book I've read-- of course, I've seen the Lord of the Rings movies many times and I'm very familiar with the Middle Earth universe already.

The Hobbit held up to my expectations in every way. I knew something about it before page one, after seeing the Lord of the Rings trilogy on screen, and hearing everyone talk about it. I could've guessed it was about Bilbo's story, and that he also goes on a long journey through Middle Earth, eventually obtaining the Ring, etc. But books are always best first-hand, and that is still true.


I didn't realize how poetic Tolkien is, and I really appreciated all the riddles and limericks he created, as well as how he weaved these songs and poems throughout the story. He not only wrote an amazing narrative story, he designed characters and culture and personalities and language. He created Middle Earth with so much detail! I could only dream of creating universes as grand and well-rounded as he has.

Although I wish he had written about the personalities of the Elven races more in the Hobbit (Elves have always been my favorite Middle Earth race), I loved how much was attributed to Dwarves and Hobbits. He took the traits of each race, and pushed them against one another to create conflict. Everyone is always loyal to their own race, it seems, except for those more adventurous Hobbits.

I really admire Tolkien's writing, now more than ever! I look forward to reading the Silmarillion and the Lord of the Rings trilogy soon, and I can't wait to see the Hobbit movie that came out last week (thank you Peter Jackson for everything you do)!