such a beautiful book. tolkien’s firsthand perspective of war can really be understood and felt through this book. whilst it lacks heavily in literally any female characters, i think it’s still an amazing read. as well, i love thorin and bilbo’s relationship so much. andy serkis’ narration of this (i read it along with the audiobook), was incredible also- really recommend listening to it!

the fact he waited to speak to him one last time, ow.

I read this because a friend recommended it. It was good, very descriptive, but overall an interesting book. Though there were parts where I found the story slow, the fast paced parts and the characters made up for it. I honestly relate to Bilbo so much which is so weird to say. I can see why this would be considered a classic.

I’m so happy to finally read this. I feel like it came at the right time as well. A perfect way to start the new year.

The Hobbit is such an interesting book. I read it for the first time when I was in high school, which was over ten years ago. I remember thinking it was incredibly slow and a little bit monotonous. As an adult, I think I still agree with that assessment. However, I also appreciate the different elements of Bilbo's adventures. I make that plural because while he technically went on one long adventure, he had so many "smaller" ones along the way. Some of them were fascinating and action-packed. Others were less interesting and I found my mind wandering. One thing I will say is that I believe I would've given this only three stars had I not listened to the audiobook narrated by Andy Serkis. There's nothing quite like listening to the book read by Gollum/Smeagol himself. That was a lot of fun!

The Hobbit is my number one favorite book of all time. I'm very happy to report that Andy Serkis's narration not only does it justice, it brings it into the realm of artistic performance. I laughed out loud, I was riveted, I got chills, and I was moved deeply, even though I've read these words countless times before. The only negative is that the singing parts can be a tad bit awkward, but combined with the rest of the amusing and powerful reading, it actually works to give the listener an experience akin to having the story read by one's favorite uncle, perhaps sitting as a family around the crackling fireplace as dusk falls~ It's a simultaneously cozy and enthralling audiobook! Ultimately, I felt like this was what the most recent live-action movie adaptations should have been, especially considering some of the same melodies for the songs are used here!