"The Hobbit" is one extraordinary read of a book. I have to say that this book may be up with some of my favorite books.

I was introduced to this book from my father. I had to pick a book for my 10th grade reading project, and my dad brought up "The Hobbit". He said that when he was growing up, "The Hobbit" was one of his favorite books, so I decided to give it a try. It was worth it.

What I truly like about the book is that there is almost always something going on. You never find yourself bored with it or wishing that the characters would be more exciting. I could not find a truly dull moment in the book. I love Bilbo's evolution as a character throughout the story. I don't think that I found anything that I didn't like about this book.

If I had to recommend this book to someone, it would be to anyone who enjoys a true adventure. There are times in the book that you get sucked into the adventure and don't want to put the book down. Even if you're a person that usually gets bored with adventure stories, I can promise you that won't with "The Hobbit". It is a must-read for any fantasy/adventure lover.

This is a very entertaining read and the prelude to The Lord of the Rings Saga. What I like is it's much easier to follow the story compared to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The Hobbit has a more simple plot, but in many ways it's better than the other Tolken books, because in the Lord of the Rings trilogy that follows, there are so many places and names, it's easy to get tired of remembering everything, you feel as though you have to take notes to keep along with the story.

"In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit." J.R.R. Tolkien first scribbed down the opening line of this book on an extra sheet of paper.

And years before "Lord of the Rings" was seen by anyone outside Tolkien's circle, Middle Earth was first introduced to readers. "The Hobbit" is simpler and less epic than the trilogy that followed it, but Tolkien's brilliant writing, magical world and pleasantly stodgy hero bring a special life to this early fantasy classic.

Bilbo Baggins lives a pleasantly stodgy and dull life, in a luxurious hobbit hole under a hill ("it was a hobbit hole, and that means comfort"). He's the picture of dull respectability.

But his life is turned upside-down by the arrival of the wizard Gandalf and thirteen dwarves, led by the exiled king-in-waiting Thorin Oakenshield. They want to reclaim the Lonely Mountain (and a lot of treasure) from the dragon Smaug. Why do they want Bilbo? Because Gandalf has told them that he'd make a good burglar, even though Bilbo has never burgled in his life.

So before Bilbo is entirely sure what is going on, he is being swept off on a very unrespectable -- and dangerous -- adventure. The quirky little band ends up battling goblins and spiders, nearly getting eaten, and imprisoned by Elves, while Bilbo finds himself in possession of a magic Ring from the treacherous Gollum. But even with a magic Ring, can he defeat a monstrous dragon and win a war against multiple enemies?

Tolkien had been crafting his mythos of Elves, Dwarves, Wizards and ancient Men for years before he ever came up with Bilbo's quest. But it's fortunately that he did, because while "The Hobbit" is overshadowed by the epic sweep of "Lord of the Rings" and the "Silmarillion," it's still an entertaining story that lays the groundwork for his more famous works -- especially the magical Ring that Bilbo finds in Gollum's cavern.

Tolkien's writing is swift, light and full of songs and poetry-laden descriptions, such as interludes in the shimmering, ethereal Rivendell and the cold, terrible Lonely Mountain. The pace in this is much faster than in most of his other works -- not surprising, when you consider it was originally a bedtime story for his children.

Most of the book's action is about Bilbo trying to keep himself and the dwarves from getting eaten, torn apart, or rotting in elf dungeons, but with some quiet interludes like a night at Beorn's mountain home. And the last chapters hint at the epic majesty that Tolkien was capable of, as well as the idea that even little people -- like a mild-mannered hobbit or a bird -- can change the world.

This book also first came up with hobbits -- the peaceful fuzzy-footed countryfolk -- in the form of Bilbo Baggins. He's a likable little guy, if the last person you'd ever expect to be a hero -- initially he seems weak and kind of boring, but his hidden strengths and wits come up to the surface when he needs to. By the end, he's almost a different person.

The dwarves are more comical, and the elves more whimsical in this book, but the supporting characters are still impressive -- the crotchety, mysterious wizard Gandalf, the dignified, flawed Dwarf king Thorin Oakenshield, and a Guardsman who becomes a king. Even minor characters like Beorn, Elrond and the menacing Smaug are given plenty of dimension.

"The Hobbit" started as a fluke, grew into a bedtime story, and became one of the best fantasy stories in literary history -- a charming adventure in the time that never was. Brilliant.

I found this book quite by accident, while being at the library looking for something completely different. Having heard of this book before, I read a few pages, and I started to get hooked. The book is about a little hobbit known as Bilbo Baggins and it follows his adventures around Tolkien's magical world. Gandalf and some dwarves head out to fight goblins, trolls, spiders, and many other creatures, all for a chance at untold riches. However the treasure is guarded by a cruel dragon known as Smaug. I enjoy Tolkien's writing style and I especially love his humor. This is probably one of the finest books he has written. It is a shame how you can hear the cash register ring as every subsequent book was written. The Hobbit is not the easiest read however, and Tolkien's colorful use of words can be hard to follow at times. I would recommend this book to anyone who already enjoys Tolkien's works and to any fantasy lover. This book easily makes the 5 out of 5 mark for me.

The Hobbit is one of my favorite books of all time. Perhaps it is because I read it as a child, and it first introduced me to dwarves and elves in a way far different from their Disney counterparts. Perhaps it was the humanity of characters laid out for me to see. I am not sure exactly what it was, but after rereading it for the upteenth time, it still has not lost a smidgen of its charm.

Sure, Lord of the Rings is the serious book, the more adultish, more classic quest fantasy to save the world from mortal peril sort of thing. The Hobbit is more of a quest to save Bilbo from living his life without a single thing happening that was unexpected. I think this central difference, combined with a younger target audience for this book, makes this book have a much more carefree attitude, and a generally much more merry tale.

The pace of the Hobbit is pretty rapid, since really the journey of this story would have been of a similar length as Lord of the Rings, with a lot of detail simply missing from this book. The first leg of the journey was almost identical to Frodo's in route at least, yet it is over in a couple of chapters. Really, the lesser significance of this quest required a lot less development early on.

What you really do see happen in the Hobbit, which is nearly absent in Lord of the Rings, is how a bit of a fussy homebody is changed into a daring and wise companion by means of the journey. Bilbo proved to be the lucky 'fourteenth' man on the quests of the dwarf Thorin to reclaim his homeland and treasure, and that was lucky for not only the dwarves, but for Bilbo himself. Even Gandalf discovered that there was more to Bilbo than meets the eye, as the hobbit proved himself useful in a lot of very different situations.

It is a wonder to see a character develop like Bilbo during the course of a single novel. It is an exceedingly rare sight these days, to see something like this happen, and it is refreshing to see it again here.

The songs in this book aren't the poet things from Lord of the Rings, but more like drinking songs with simple rhymes. This [songs] is not a favorite now a days, but I kinda like them. Trying to figure out a tune to go with each one is difficult at times, but it makes it that much better. You can always just skip them, like I did when I was a kid.

Highly recommended.