Katrina1968 Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 I was at work listening to the Lord of the Rings soundtrack and it put me in the mood to read The Hobbit. Does anyone else want to read it with me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booking-Crazy Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 i'm afraid i don't have it otherwise i would! I've also taken a personal oath NOT to buy any more books till i have read at the very least half my tbr pile. haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanwa Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Mememememememememememe! It's been a few months and seeing your thread title sparked my interest in a reread Katrina. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rawr Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 I love the Hobbit and I have it around somewhere. I actually prefer it to each LOTR book. I fell in love with the story since I read it in early teens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 I'm going to commit myself here. I have been avoiding the Book Circles (despite getting the book each month) because my reading mojo has been on an extended holiday. Maybe I need to just commit to a book, and get on with it! Let me know when you want to get going Katrina, I'll go dust down one of my copies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanwa Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Chrissy, why don't you dust your copy down now, ready for reading? Perhaps the anticipation of knowing you're about to start reading something will bring your mojo back? Choose a bookmark to use, smell the pages, maybe open the cover a couple of times, and do all the things booklovers do when they're about to start another written journey. Worth a try! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katrina1968 Posted June 13, 2010 Author Share Posted June 13, 2010 I'm so glad! Well, why not start today or tomorrow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Book is dusted down, and ready to be read....now, where did I put my Middle Earth costume and my sword? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katrina1968 Posted June 13, 2010 Author Share Posted June 13, 2010 I've got my elven "action" figures and my soundtracks! I'm starting today!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanwa Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 In that case I'll hit it in the morning Katrina! Catch us if you can Chrissy You can do it:friends0: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skírnir Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 It's next on my reading list so why not! I just started the Kite Runner today and I'm 50 pages in so far... if I can finish that one in time before you lot have already finished the Hobbit, I'll definitely be reading along with you and commenting as I go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessi Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 I'l join in! I wanted to reread it this year anyway and this is the perfect excuse too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katrina1968 Posted June 14, 2010 Author Share Posted June 14, 2010 Chapter One it is then. I've already started:readingtwo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 Book is dusted down, and ready to be read....now, where did I put my Middle Earth costume and my sword? I don't remember Gollum having a sword . . . *Run's away, very quickly!* I'm in, in fact, I've already finished the first chapter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katrina1968 Posted June 14, 2010 Author Share Posted June 14, 2010 hehehe! My 14 year old son does a WONDERFUL impression of Gollum:lol: "and I'll take it for meeeeee.....!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 I don't remember Gollum having a sword . . . *Run's away, very quickly!* I'm in, in fact, I've already finished the first chapter! Run faster! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katrina1968 Posted June 15, 2010 Author Share Posted June 15, 2010 (edited) Chapter One....The Unexpected Party Okay, so I've read the first chapter and yet again, it makes me want to go dig a hole in a hill:lol: I think thats what I love most about Tolkien's description of the Hobbits and their dwellings. Its such a cozy feeling. I want tea and biscuits. I want the lovely garden and the small village were everyone knows everyone else. I'm mentally trying to find away to turn my home into a hobbit cottage! Now, reading this for the 5th time, I've often wondered about Gandalf. Have you noticed his ability to arrive, set things in motion and then sit back and watch? He hasnt laid eyes on Bilbo Baggins in almost 50 years but he believes Bilbo needs an adventure and so he sets him up to be a theif. I'm almost certain I would tolerate the same kind of treatment. Edited June 15, 2010 by Katrina1968 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 The image of dwarves eating seed-cake and washing it down with a cuppa is all wrong! Red meat on the bone and beer, yes! Afternoon tea, no! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katrina1968 Posted June 15, 2010 Author Share Posted June 15, 2010 Now I do believe had Baggins known that he was to have dwarves over for tea, he would have fedd them appropriately but as he had no idea (thanks to Gandalf) they got what they got! But remember, the dwarves DID request those cakes:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 Exactly, and they helped with the washing up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 I love the feeling of longevity and history that is heavy in the opening chapters, from the early descriptions of Bilbo, and his ancestry, through his recognition of Gandalf to the story the dwarfs bring with them. All family and deep seated history. I adore Bilbo's battle between his manners and his fears. Gandalf is a canny wizard, and I love his approach to things with how he told the dwarfs that he had found them a burgular, but neglected to mention any of this to Bilbo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanwa Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 The theme Tolkien uses when approaching Gandalf's character is something which is present in almost all modern fantasy containing wizards. It seems that wizards must use people in order to carry out their work, and as such, the common phrase "the end justifies the means" is very relevant. In Tolkien's work, everything is fated to a degree. For instance, that Bilbo should be the one Gandalf chose for this particular journey was neccessary so that Frodo would later 'inherit' the ring for Lord of the Rings. I think that the homely setting in which The Hobbit begins is a tool used to magnify the discomfort Bilbo will feel later on during his adventure. Katrina, if you have read/ go on to read other works by Tolkien, such as The Silmarillion and The Unfinished Tales, I believe it is explained somewhere in some way that Gandalf only has so much power. He is not there to ensure that something happens, but rather to guide and assist those who can make it happen. He is only allowed to do so much. I can't remember where this is actually written though... The other item of importance is that Gandalf is far older and wiser than almost any in Middle-earth. 50 hobbit years to Gandalf must pass like hours to us. Of course none of this is actually relevant to The Hobbit itself, but it is interesting to delve into the history that Tolkien crafted to each of his creations. Chrissy, if you like the history and the longevity, the ancestry, and so on, you might find you'll enjoy Tolkien's other works if you haven't already read them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katrina1968 Posted June 16, 2010 Author Share Posted June 16, 2010 You know Vanwa, that thought about the comfort of the Hobbits did cross my mind. From extreme comfort to extreme deprivation. I remember reading something about Gandalf's powers being limited but I think it may have been in LOTR. As of yet, I have not been able to bring myself to read The Simarillion. Chrissy, I read his biography and the author said that Tolkien spent 16 years creating middle-earth. He really had a desire to create his own world and I think he succeeded beyond even his own imagination. The elven language, the middle-earth creatures and of course, the history. Tolkien fascinates me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanwa Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 In that case Katrina you might be interested to know that Tolkien started to write The Silmarillion and the history of Middle-earth in 1917, on which he continued his work even during the war, and was working on it a few weeks prior to his death in 1973. At least, 1917 is the earliest piece of writing his son Christopher Tolkien has found to date. The Silmarillion is magical because it is both his first and his last piece of work. It is truly a lifetime's work (spanning at least 56 years). And virtually everything Tolkien ever wrote has some founding in these early writings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katrina1968 Posted June 16, 2010 Author Share Posted June 16, 2010 When his publisher wanted him to do a follow up to The Hobbit, Tolkien tried to throw in The Silmarillion also but they didnt think it was a childrens book. He then tried to get it published with LOTR but that didnt pan out either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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