My First Time Reading The Hobbit

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.
-The Hobbit, chapter one

The Hobbit is the classic tale of Bilbo Baggins, a small, homely hobbit, and his reluctant quest over the Misty Mountains to raid a dragon’s treasure. It is a familiar title to most everyone, and is also a popular movie.

As a deeply passionate bookworm and lover of classic books, I find it embarrassing that I had not ever read J.R.R. Tolkien until very recently. Yes, you read that right. I had not ever read The Hobbit until last month.

In case you’re wondering, I didn’t put off reading The Hobbit because I was weary of it, or because it wasn’t my type of book. Because the fact is that it was exactly my type of book. A nice long, classic novel, famous not only among movie lovers but also among the honest to goodness book lovers? Perfect.

I don’t even know why I waited so long to read it. Most likely it just never pushed itself into my reading life. It was always there, waiting in the back of my mind for whenever I decided to make time in my reading for such a long book. And although people talk about it, you aren’t told, “You have got to read this!” as much as you would be for other books, because if you aren’t the right person you might not love it.

Of course, I am the person who would love it. And it is no surprise that I found it to be a fabulous book of storytelling at its finest.

Now I can finally say that I have read that extraordinary book, and in honor of that I’m going to share my thoughts from my first time reading The Hobbit.

My First Reaction

"What do you mean?" he said. "Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it to be or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?"
"All of them at once," said Bilbo.
-The Hobbit, chapter one

From the first chapter I had the cozy feeling you get when reading a really good book. The first paragraph was descriptive, and drew you in in a very comfortable way. I loved hobbits immediatly, Bilbo in particular, of course. 😉

I was very impressed with the skill of the opening chapter and the way it set up the story. Gandalf arrival for the first time at Bilbo Baggins’ hobbit hole is clever and entertaining, their good morning conversation has stuck itself firmly in my mind, and the invitation for adventure conflicting with Bilbo’s desire for comfort is all too perfect.

The only safe assumption to all this goodness is that you are about to enjoy a good quality story, and that is exactly what I did.

Finishing the Book and Extra Thoughts

"So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their ending!" said Bilbo, and he turned his back on adventure. The Tookish part was getting very tired, and the Baggins was daily getting stronger. "I wish now only to be in my own armchair!" he said. 
-The Hobbit, chapter eighteen

I found the ending to be just as nice and cozy as the first chapter had been. It was well tied together, with strong character motivations and a solid conclusion.

Something I especially loved about the whole book was how, even amid wild adventures and unbelievable dangers, Bilbo is always thinking of home. The small mentions of his hobbit hole and a nice dinner by the fire are lovely, and they bring so much to the story as a whole. What would a Baggins be if he grew to love gold more than his own hobbit-hole?

On the flip side, what would a hobbit of Tookish descent be if he let adventure go by him and never chased after it? These two sides of Bilbo are visually given to us through his constant longing for home and brave, clever side. It was a wonderful, well done layer to the book.

Final Thoughts

The Hobbit is an excellent classic of reluctant adventure, and, best of all, the bright flame of courage displayed by Bilbo. I very much enjoyed it, and look forward to reading the Lord of the Rings series in the next few months. When I do I’ll be sure to share my experience with that as well. 🙂

Have you ever read The Hobbit? What do you think of it? Share your experience down in the comments!