This definitive paperback edition features nine illustrations and two maps drawn by J.R.R. Tolkien, and a preface by Christopher Tolkien.

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely travelling further than the pantry of his hobbit-hole in Bag End. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard, Gandalf, and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an unexpected journey ‘there and back again’. They have a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon…

The prelude to The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit has sold many millions of copies since its publication in 1937, establishing itself as one of the most beloved and influential books of the twentieth century.

I purchased a copy of this book for my own reading.

The Hobbit series of films were actually the first of Peter Jackson’s Tolkien films that I watched. For my sins, I’d avoided The Lord of The Rings series thinking they were likely over hyped. How wrong I was. And so it seemed fitting that I start my reading journey with the first book from the pen of Tolkien.

I was impressed with the world portrayed in the Peter Jackson films. Filled with stunning vistas and incredible characters the films are incredible and immersive. And yet the book pales them by comparison. While there is much exposition in the films, leading to three feature length instalments, the story is comfortably told in one single book. Tolkien’s worldbuilding is some of the best I’ve experienced, dove tailing so well with the films inspired by it.

The characters rich with personality and uniqueness making each worthy of the page space dedicated to them. And in a world filled with as much lore as Middle Earth, at no time did it feel a burden, but rather a joy to read. The Hobbit has given me the desire to settle down and dive into the rest of Tolkien’s impressive body of work.

My rating: