It is hard to really put into context the warm feeling that reading the hobbit gives me. This book is the precursor to the Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R Tolkien. With that being said. This is an absolute must read, especially if you have never gone through the books before. We will be going over why this book is so special today.

My first experience to J.R.R. Tolkien's work like many was with the Peter Jackson directed Trilogy from the early 2000’s. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that it’s this movie trilogy that set me on the path of being the fantasy nut that I am today. The Hobbit was the first book of Tolkien's work that I actually picked up and read back around 2010. Just a couple years before the trilogy of hobbit movies was about to begin for better or for worse.

For those who have read the Lord of the Rings series, this takes place before the Fellowship of the Ring.

I remember really enjoying the hobbit for a few simple reasons. The biggest reason is that this book is light hearted. No matter what is going on in the world. The simplicity and comical scenarios that the adventuring group in this book get in will always raise my spirits.

Another reason that I liked this book was because it’s a stand alone novel. You can read this book and never touch the Lord of the Rings, and that would be perfectly fine. For someone not sure if they are ready to commit to the entire series, this book is not only short, but is an accurate interpretation of what the Lord of the Rings series will be like thereafter.

The Hobbit follows the journey of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit in the Shire in middle earth. Hobbits have a very peaceful life that I assume most everyone wishes they had themselves. Upon the arrival of a grey wizard  named Gandalf, his world is turned on it’s head. With the introduction of 13 dwarves. Yes This book tries it’s hardest to characterize 15 characters in the main party. 14 if you do not count Gandalf.

I think that Tolkien is successful with this simply because there is not an overuse of some dwarves. Some get much more time in the spotlight than others. But with that it doesn’t feel like any of them are necessarily any less important. The story mainly follows Bilbo and his interpretation of everything around him. How he grows to love the adventure himself.

The party sets out on adventure to take back the home and treasure of the dwarves from the famous dragon Smaug. Most of the book is the events that lead to them getting there with the last portion of the book being a battle and close to the story.

There is plenty of magic, Dwarves, elves and men in this book and it all travels at a pretty good pace. The book is relatively short making the time commitment to finish this book minimal, which when faced with our busy lives is always much appreciated.

The Hobbit is a fantastic book that I recommend that any fantasy reader give a chance if they have not yet done so. It’s light hearted and for the most part a very happy book. The world that Tolkien created only begins to be discovered in this book. After my second read through more recently though, I found that there is much more being told in this story. This surprised me since the book is so short, but I am very happy to have found out this way. If you want to pick up a copy for yourself you can order it online. I read the book my first time through but decided to take the audible route with my second time through and got the very well done voice acting of Rob Inglis who also later does the Lord of the Rings series. You can pick up the audio version for yourself with our affiliate link here.

Let us know what your thoughts on the hobbit were? Do you have fond memories of this book as well? Comment below and let us know.