The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

4 stars because i'm conflicted.

on one hand, it wasn't the most exciting read, but i can see why Tolkien's works are the blueprint and how he's inspired so many epic and high fantasy works.

i can appreciate his attention to detail, and he knows his topography(?) well. the route their adventure took was extremely detailed, the descriptions were thorough, and he painted a splendid picture in each scene. at one point, i felt i wasn't reading but watching everything happen right in front of my eyes. that's what makes up my favourite scene from this book. Thorin and co. arriving at Rivendell: Twilight hours, lanterns brought by the elves creating beautiful reflections on the surface of the river water. the river having a small stone bridge without a parapet to cross over. and a tired party of dwarves, a wizard and, a hobbit slowly walk over it leading their ponies by the bridle? how calming and homely is that scene?

and talking about favourites, here's my favourite saying from the book:

out of the frying-pan into the fire

another thing i liked bout this book is bilbo and his character development. his affinity to breakfast, his aversion and distress to going out without a handkerchief: makes him quite a relatable little hobbit. i, too, would like to stay home with my fried eggs in my comfy bed.

one thing i find so amusing about this little fantasy book is how corporate/business speak has been hinted at.

Also I should like to know about risks, out-of-pocket expenses, time required and remuneration, and so forth”—by which he meant: “What am I going to get out of it? and am I going to come back alive?”

taking notes from bilbo for corporate negotiations. this was exactly where i decided i like this character.

ofc, my favourite character is gandalf, the one who set everything in motion. he's clever, cautious, and dependable. not to forget: a good-natured, jolly old man. this entire exchange between him and Beorn was so fascinating.

“Do you call two several?”

“Well, no. As a matter of fact there were more than two.”

“Where are they? Killed, eaten, gone home?”

“Well, no. They don’t seem all to have come when I whistled. Shy, I expect. You see, we are very much afraid that we are rather a lot for you to entertain.”
Baggins saw then how clever Gandalf had been. The interruptions had really made Beorn more interested in the story, and the story had kept him from sending the dwarves off at once like suspicious beggars. He never invited people into his house, if he could help it. He had very few friends and they lived a good way away; and he never invited more than a couple of these to his house at a time. Now he had got fifteen strangers sitting in his porch!

i feel this tale of adventure with the trolls, goblins, eagles, bears, spiders, elves, and dragons should've been more engaging than it was? the stakes were so low, it took me nearly a month to finish this small book. the last 20% of the book was fast paced action that i quite enjoyed but, the battle of five armies was skimmed through. i can still so vividly imagine Beorn's entry turning the tide of the war. also, the battle of five armies — goblins, dwarves, men, eagles and beorn — was mentioned by the narrator early on in the book. its funny how a spoiler that was so freely given was as easily forgotten.

it would've been 5stars had it been a little less boring TT

the ending was slightly nostalgic and made me sad that the adventure was coming to an end. bilbo must've been happy to return to his cozy home, but even as a kid, i never liked the end of an adventurous day out.

and he turned his back on his adventure

i wished to stay out a bit longer, to continue my adventure a little longer. and that. is exactly why I tried to continue with the LoTR series. but my god was it boring. so I dropped it. glad I explored this though.