Book Review - The Hobbit: or There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien
Category Book Review J. R. R. Tolkien The Hobbit: or There and Back Again
Normally this wouldn't have made my reading list... J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit: or There and Back Again. I was well aware of Tolkien's books, but I wrote them off because "I don't do fantasy." Elfs, dwarfs, hobbits... just not my thing. But I'm also a techno-geek, and as such the Lord of the Rings books and movies are required in order to maintain your geek cred membership card. I 'fessed up on Twitter that I hadn't read any of them, and immediately was pilloried by my peers... Then I was subjected to the debate as to whether Hobbit or LOTR should be read first. My peers even went so far as to send me BOTH of them via mail (thank you, ladies). Since I had both at the same time, I decided to start with Hobbit.
Having explained the backstory as to *why* I read this, the question becomes did I enjoy this. And the answer is yes, I enjoyed it very much. Bilbo Baggins was quite human in his personality, and I could relate to his struggle between wanting to be left alone vs. living up to the expectations that others had of him. Watching him go from a timid hobbit afraid to do much of anything to a leader able to stand up to anything others could throw at him was something you could definitely learn from. And of course, his traveling companions mirrored much of society... totally behind you when you have something they want, but also ready to throw you under the bus moments later if fortunes turn.
My friends didn't tell me until after I was done that this is technically considered a "children's" book. Could have fooled me. :) I enjoyed it, and it was probably the best way to get my mind wrapped around the LOTR concepts and imagery (since it's not a normal genre for me). We'll see how well I fare when I get to the "adult" version of the stories. But at least I conditionally have my geek cred card back...
Normally this wouldn't have made my reading list... J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit: or There and Back Again. I was well aware of Tolkien's books, but I wrote them off because "I don't do fantasy." Elfs, dwarfs, hobbits... just not my thing. But I'm also a techno-geek, and as such the Lord of the Rings books and movies are required in order to maintain your geek cred membership card. I 'fessed up on Twitter that I hadn't read any of them, and immediately was pilloried by my peers... Then I was subjected to the debate as to whether Hobbit or LOTR should be read first. My peers even went so far as to send me BOTH of them via mail (thank you, ladies). Since I had both at the same time, I decided to start with Hobbit.
Having explained the backstory as to *why* I read this, the question becomes did I enjoy this. And the answer is yes, I enjoyed it very much. Bilbo Baggins was quite human in his personality, and I could relate to his struggle between wanting to be left alone vs. living up to the expectations that others had of him. Watching him go from a timid hobbit afraid to do much of anything to a leader able to stand up to anything others could throw at him was something you could definitely learn from. And of course, his traveling companions mirrored much of society... totally behind you when you have something they want, but also ready to throw you under the bus moments later if fortunes turn.
My friends didn't tell me until after I was done that this is technically considered a "children's" book. Could have fooled me. :) I enjoyed it, and it was probably the best way to get my mind wrapped around the LOTR concepts and imagery (since it's not a normal genre for me). We'll see how well I fare when I get to the "adult" version of the stories. But at least I conditionally have my geek cred card back...
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