The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien | A Book Review

Ah, finally! I am able to write a review on The Hobbit. I started this book early 2016 and did not get to finish it until December. I stopped reading not because the story was boring but because the font of my ebook copy was too small. I only intended to take a break from my reading but ended up reading far too many books in between until I have almost forgotten that I haven't finished this one.

I think the movie(s) were different from the book. Definitely, the book is better. I think the movie version was nice because of the effects and the graphics and since I had not read the book when it was shown, I was all amazement and praises and had nothing against it. But after reading the book, I guess, there were a lot of things that I wished were followed according to how they were in the book. As to the specifics, I think I'll leave that out since it would be tantamount to spoiling the book for those who haven't read it.

The Hobbit is only the second book of J. R. R. Tolkien that I have read. The other one was The Return of the King. I have started the Fellowship of the Ring but also had to stop. I will go back to it but have not yet decided when. I think it has to do with the intensity of the story that I wanted to be in the right frame of mind to be able to savor it. Also, I wanted to be able to point out the differences between how it was depicted in the movie versus the book. 

The Hobbit is a classic and like all other classics and highly-praised books, a lot of attention is required to keep up with the characters and development of the story. I think it was one of the reasons why I had to take a break in reading this. This is a no-nonsense book that requires a lot of active imagination to picture out the vivid descriptions. Yes, seeing the movie helps in that category. Also being able to put faces to the characters is another plus to being able to differentiate one dwarf from the other. 

I give the book 5/5 wine barrels. Yes, I enjoyed as much the barrels-down-the-river scene here as much as the movie. Tolkien is a master so I think it is obvious that I had nothing to say about his writing except praises. Writers like him are to be admired and his works are to be cherished. I think he has passed the stage where his stories are to be critiqued. I think a lot of people before me has done that and I am just here to bask in the glory of his works and not worry about what I don't like, which is nothing at all. There is nothing to not like in his book(s). His works take me to a different world and time and I am still getting to know it. The adventure is far from over.