Reviews with content warning for Fatphobia - The Hobbit

⚠️ CW: war, violence, death and fatphobia ⚠️ If you've never delved into the world Middle Earth and you love a good fantasy then there is no better classic to read than anything by Tolkien. Bilbo Baggins is the last person you'd expect to go on an adventure. He enjoys a quiet, unambitious life, rarely travelling further than his pantry. Until one day a wizard arrives on his doorstep. Accompanied by a band of dwarves, Gandalf, the wizard asks Bilbo to join him on a quest to raid the treasure of the great dragon Smaug. But to reach Smaug's lair under the Lonely Mountain, the adventurers will have to travel into the wild, braving trolls and goblins, ancient magic and fiendish evil. This book, and anything written by Tolkien, will always be a masterpiece in my opinion. From his immense world building, to his incredible character development, to his overall story telling. I love everything about his books. This one is such a great adventure, and even though it is a re-read for me I still couldn't help staying up late and binging it like I did the very first time I read it because it's just so enthralling. Also I love that it has some really powerful undertones and messages. Overall, if you're a fantasy lover then I highly recommend this book.

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charlieemagne's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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halaagmod's review against another edition

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I'm not sure what it was specifically about it—was it the poor pacing, the dry writing, the awkward dialogue, the impersonal characters? I'm not sure. But regardless, it's just...not at all engaging. I wanted to just suck it up and power through it but after nearly two years and three failed attempts to finish, I doubt I'll actually get the motivation to finish it, which was wholly disappointing seeing how influential and praised that this book is. I just wish it weren't so mind-numbingly boring.

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spookfish's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

How on Earth am I meant to rate this properly? It is a book which has influenced some of my favourites and just about everyone. Once I got into it I really enjoyed it! It is a shame I deemed it boring from the first chapters as a child, I think if I'd read the rest I'd have found it has many elements I loved (minus the spiders >_<). Luckily I didn't remember much from the first and third of the films (I missed the second one...), so I got to experience it fully. Definitely getting my hands on The Lord of the Rings next!
Bilbo is the guy ever. Love that little man.

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sea_tea_books's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious tense

3.5

3.5 ⭐
While I enjoyed the descriptions of the Hobbit hole and the connections that developed between Bilbo and the dwarves, there was still a lot of fighting and warfare. Sort of a weird juxtaposition between cozy and violent.

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rachelunabridged's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

When I first started reading The Hobbit, it was right after the first Lord of the Rings movie was released. I had already heard of the the series because of the old The Hobbit animated movie, (I used to love that movie!) but it took the release of the live-action movies to spur me into reading it and I could not put it down.
It's a wonderful story that takes place it an amazing world full of fantastic creatures and characters. J.R.R. Tolkien did an marvelous job imagining this world of Middle-Earth, and did just as fabulous a job at describing it in this book.
The Hobbit has less world building in it that Lord of the Rings, due to the fact that it's written for a younger audience, but beneath this seemingly simple story, you can sense the depth of the overarching story.
If you've never read Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit, I highly recommend them both. I definitely suggest starting with The Hobbit though, not only because it's my favorite of the Middle-Earth-based books, but it is the prequel to Lord of the Rings.
One of the reasons I love The Hobbit more than Lord of the Rings is because it has a certain charm to it that Lord of the Rings seems to be lacking. (Not that Lord of the Rings isn't wonderful as well!) The Hobbit has a sort of fairy tale feel to it, in my opinion, and I love that.
Also, Bilbo is an amazing character. I love the unwilling and unlikely hero, and that title fits Bilbo perfectly.

All in all, The Hobbit is a fantastic book that I would recommend to anyone who is interested in fantasy or anyone who wants to check out J.R.R. Tolkien's work.

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bearystarry's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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isabezza's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted tense medium-paced

4.0

This was a super fun read! This classic adventure felt like reading a fairy tale, with rhymes and poems throughout and fun characters throughout. Lyrical, musical, and beautiful, this book feels extra special knowing J.R.R Tolkien wrote this book for his children. However fun the language is, I can't say it is going into my favourites.

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