The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien ★★☆☆☆ Bilbo Baggins was a hobbit who wanted to be left alone in quiet comfort. But the wizard Gandalf came along with a band of homeless dwarves. Soon Bilbo was drawn into their quest, facing evil orcs, savage wolves, giant spiders, and worse unknown dangers. Finally, it was Bilbo–alone and unaided–who had to confront the great dragon Smaug, the terror of an entire countryside … I am not completely in love with The Hobbit. I do like it, but it wasn’t what I expected. It’s more a problem of the hype being so great, the book could never live up to it. This may be one of the few instances where the movie is better than the book. The book was long-winded and a little boring at times. It keeps going long after it could have ended, and I almost didn't want to read anymore. There are definitely adventurous, exciting parts of the book, and they were great, but there was so much filler in between them I nearly fell asleep. Some of them - like killing the dragon - were mentioned only in passing. Because there are so many characters, there isn't a lot of character development. Bilbo changes through the story, but almost no one else does. There are also no female characters in the entire book. Middle Earth is complicated, and Tolkien obviously put a lot of effort into his world-building, though. He invented a language, for god's sake! Learning about the different peoples and creatures inhabiting Middle Earth was fascinating and my favorite part of the book.
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Once Upon a Time...As a longtime lover of stories and a believer in the power and magic of books, I've spent my life seeking out the best reads. This blog is dedicated to reviewing the books I read - good, bad, or magnificent - to help other readers find their next favorite books. Currently ReadingKing Zeno
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