The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

 

Title:  The Hobbit

Author:  JRR Tolkien

Narrated by:  Andy Serkis

Publisher: Recorded Books

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 25 minutes

Source: Purchased from Audible.com

What is a classic that you have always meant to read?  This was my second time reading The Hobbit, but it was the first time for many in my Back to the Classics Book Club at the Kewaunee Public Library.

Bilbo lives a contented lie in a comfortable hobbit hole.  One day he receives a knock at his door only to discover many visitors including dwarves and a wizard named Gandolf.  Gandolf tells Bilbo that he is going to be the “burglar” for their adventure.  Bilbo soon finds himself on a journey where he visit many new places and learns more about himself.  Will they recover the dwarves’ gold?  Will Bilbo make it back alive?

My thoughts on this audiobook:

·       Andy Serkis was a great narrator for the audiobook, especially the Gollum parts in Chapter 5, “Whispers in the Dark.”  He also was great at singing the songs.

·       I wish there was a prequel about Belladonna Took, Bilbo’s mother.  What kind of adventures did she have with Gandolf?  I forgot about this brief snippet.

·       I loved how Bilbo was an everyman on an adventure.  He discovered himself and how brave he was.

·       The Hobbit is a great prequel to the Lord of the Rings series.

·       This book was great for discussion at our book club.  We may continue reading the Lord of the Rings series one book a year moving forward.

·       This is a coming of age, adventure, and fantasy story.

·       It was also a great comfort read.  I really enjoyed reading it again, it’s been about 25 years since I last read it.

·       I really loved the humor that Tolkien sprinkled throughout the story.

Favorite Quotes:

“In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit.”

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. But sad or merry, I must leave it now. Farewell.”  - I agree with this sentiment!

Overall, The Hobbit by TRR Tolkien is a great adventure story full of great humor.  It’s a book that is fun to reread and Andy Serkis was a great audiobook narrator.