Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Fiction - Fantasy
1986 Del Rey Books (first published in 1937)
Finished on July 24, 2001
Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)
Publisher's Blurb:
Whisked away from his comfortable, unambitious life in his hobbit-hole in Bag End by Gandalf the wizard and a company of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Although quite reluctant to take part in this quest, Bilbo surprises even himself by his resourcefulness and his skill as a burglar! Written for J.R.R. Tolkien's own children, The Hobbit met with instant success when published in 1937. Now, in 1997, this special new edition, illustrated by Alan Lee, commemorates the sixtieth anniversary of a great classic.
My Original Thoughts (2001):
Anticlimactic! Started off great, but lost momentum toward the end. Easy to put down, but I didn't give up. I'm not sure if I'll read the trilogy--at least not for a while. I thought the Harry Potter books were more enjoyable from start to finish.
My Current Thoughts:
I probably would have enjoyed this more if I had read it after watching The Lord of the Rings film series, which I enjoyed immensely.
My junior year in high school, our marching band show was based on a symphony based on Lord of the Rings. I was one of the drum majors that year. The other drum major and I decided we should read the LOTR books over the summer before the marching season started in the fall. I did not finish them. They were so boring to me! Endless songs in elvish and so much mud! I made it all the way to the third book but I just couldn't take it anymore. I did love the movies when they came out later.
ReplyDeleteI read The Hobbit a little while later and it was much more to my liking. But I didn't care for the movies as much. I don't know how they thought they could squeeze three movies out of a book of average length.
My tastes have changed since I was a teen but I still think that if you didn't care for The Hobbit too much, LOTR will probably appeal to you even less.
Jen, I think you're probably right. As far as the movies go, I think what I liked best was all the behind the scenes stuff with Peter Jackson. I found that fascinating.
DeleteTry as I may, I just can't read fantasy. The names and stories just put me off. I'm also not big on adventure, and I think some fantasy has that.
ReplyDeleteNan, that may be the case for me, as well. I don't mind some science fiction, but fantasy isn't something that I gravitate toward.
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