The Hobbit; or, There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien (2012) Paperback Paperback

In his lifetime John Ronald Reuel Tolkien published a number of articles and works, but he has since then always been fondly remembered for this book and The Lord of the Rings, which is a continuation of the whole saga. Works such as The Silmarillion were published posthumously by his son, Christopher Tolkien. When this children’s novel was first published it met with a lot of critical acclaim and was soon recognised as a children’s classic, which has meant so many of us read this first when we were quite young and have encouraged others since.Never out of print and translated into numerous languages so this book has a home in many of our hearts, as we read of the intrepid hobbit, Bilbo Baggins and his manipulation into an adventure by Gandalf. Although a work of high fantasy so we open up with a pretty ordinary scene, despite being amongst fictional characters and species in Middle Earth. With Bilbo just pottering around his home and garden so he meets Gandalf passing by, who he rather unintentionally invites to tea the next day, only to have not only the wizard turn up, but also a gang of dwarves.Soon the hobbit is setting out on adventure with the dwarves as they make their way to the ancestral home of one of them, to retrieve the treasure that sits there, albeit in the claws of a dragon, known as Smaug. Meeting a number of characters on the journey, so there is always the threat of danger as they have to go through dangerous woods, tangle with goblins and giant spiders, and even end up in a battle. Throughout the book there is shown the power of greed and selfishness, and the effects that it has on people and lives. We also first meet Gollum in this tale, and of course the finding of the Ring by Bilbo, which are so relevant to The Lord of the Rings.Despite being written for children this is still a great read for us adults, many of us coming back to it over the years and passing it on to our children or that of others. Because Tolkien never talks down to children in this, and lets them come to their own conclusions, along with its vocabulary this makes it ideal for younger ones to increase their own vocabulary, literacy and understanding, which is all to the good. In all then this is something that should really be on the family bookshelf.

"In a hole in the ground there lay the YA fantasy genre. A nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of swords and a perfumed smell."One of my favourite genres seems to have gone to the wargs in the last few years. The rot probably started when J.K. Rowling introduced a new generation of young people to the joys of fantasy fiction. Standards dropped and social media helped create huge fandoms, and cult like followers, loyal to the brand. Fan fiction has also allowed anyone, no matter the talent, to write a "book" based on any intellectual property they fancy. Then Twilight happened and that was the beginning of the end. Publishers saw the kind of drivel that could make them rich and the Young Adult Fantasy genre was ripe for the picking. It began to move towards a new type of story, appealing to a new audience and asking a new question."What if Fantasy but with a girl one?"Alongside the Strong-Female-Character™ protagonist, this new normal often contains a sprinkling of the following; "diversity*", some unsubtle social commentary, a patriarchal villain and most importantly, a poorly written, chemistry free romance with a handsome boy/angel/girl/minority/vampire/furry/other** that takes up half the book, often causing the plot to grind to a halt so the perfect lovers can stare passionately at each other for 50 pages. Bonus points for inserting a third wheel to create some false tension and so fans can pick a team.After all, these books are written primarily for teenage girls, by former teenage girls***. Then there are the hordes of twenty-something women that receive advanced review copies and post their reviews on Goodreads****. These Goodreads girls, as I shall call them, might not be able to make a book successful, but they surely hold sway with publishers and more importantly, the content they publish. For it is said that "those who control the review copies, control the genre".Thank Tolkien then, for the classics, and for the sexless, romance free world of The Hobbit. Although not entirely romance free as this book contains a beautiful relationship between a Gollum and his precious. Then there's the love between a Hobbit and his home, his breakfast/second breakfast/lunch/afternoon tea/supper/dinner/elevenses and his weed. Then finally there's the relationship between a dragon and/or a dwarf, and his treasure.I'd take that superficial love over all the beautiful-perfect-people-fall-in-love-because-they're-both-beautiful-and-perfect-and-sometimes-there's-a-faux-love-triangle dross, that's infected the YA Fantasy genre since Twilight first ruined the word twilight.I never thought I'd be pining for the days of Hunger Games knock-offs, but here we are.But what of The Hobbit, you ask? Well, it's one of the finest young adult books ever written. At it's heart, The Hobbit is an adventure story. THE adventure story really. In fact, it's so jam packed with adventure, there's very little time for character development. Bilbo gets the lion's share and it's his adventure so I can't really grumble too much about the rather bland companions. Besides, there's so many wonderful things crammed into this short novel, it's never anything less than an entertaining page turner.I truly envy any child who has yet to experience The Hobbit in book form as they read -or are read to- about Bilbo Baggins, dwarven guests, pipe smoking wizards, singing elves, hungry trolls, goblin caves, tricksy riddles, magic rings, eagle saviours, shape-shifting men, murky forests, giant spiders, prison breaks, barrel riding, secret doorways, greedy dragons, brave bowmen, brave hobbits, great battles and most of all, burglary. Saviour this book. Read it to your kids and hope it inspires them to read more, and maybe even to write. The beginnings of the next Fantasy classic might be this one story away... Someone has to drag the genre back from the brink.If, like me, you have the stunted, feeble arms of a mammalian T-Rex, then you can listen to The Hobbit on audiobook, and it is a fine way to experience this most excellent of adventures. This review is based on the rather wonderful recording by Andy "CGI" Serkis. Riddles in the dark is even more memorable with the voice of Gollum™ and the whole thing is a joy to listen to.I can't say anymore really, just read it if you haven't. There are still quality YA fantasy books to be found, even if you have to go 'there and back again' to find them.* Black, trans and/or lesbian minorities -in order of perceived oppression by the American online- are the click generating hashtags of the moment. Make said minority the main character for more critical acclaim but less commercial gain. The readers might claim to be allies who want to read more books from a none cis-hetero perspective, but what they really, really want is a book in which the straight, white, female protagonist (them), gets a beautiful, shiny boy.** But mostly boys, because that's hot insert-self fan fiction in the making.*** Who may have started out writing terrible fan fiction. I blame Twilight, fifty shades of grey and low standards of literacy for this.**** They're also liable to have Instagram accounts full of pictures of books next to foodstuffs, candles (dangerous), flora (not the marge), bedding and Apple products. The book lovers lifestyle is obviously lots of reading in bed by candlelight, surrounded by houseplants, munching on snacks and incessantly checking ones social media

Probably the best and the first of the series. Rereading it shows a fresh humorous style which is sadly lacking in LOTR. The narrator is more involved and the whole tone less serious that the later overblown work. It mostly lacks the cringe-making archaisms, totally lacks the bizarre constructed languages and the tedious poetry so much in evidence in the Ring books is not so jarring and frequent in The Hobbit.The first publisher gave the MS to his son to read who stated it to be a ‘good book for kids’. That young man knew what he was about.Readable and enjoyable.

Absolutely epic book, I have read this a few times since childhood and it never gets old, would always recommend!

First book I've read in years and absolutely loved it. You really feel like you are on the journey yourself.

The book is everything I had expected. This 2004 edition enjoys quality material, sturdy slipcase, thick paper, nice pictures and drawings in color and b&w. It even smells nice which is a must (for me) as far as a beautiful book is concerned. Definitely one of the nicest second editions and it will a great addition to my Tolkien collection.I absolutely recommend.