#16 "The Hobbit" by J. R. R. Tolkien

"My friend, I am going to tell you a story of my life, as you wish; and if it were only the story of my life I think I would not tell it; for what is one man that he should make much of his winters, even when they bend him like a heavy snow?"- Black Elk.










Over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays my wife and I, who love to watch epic movies, went to see "Hunger Games Catching Fire" and "The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug", both the second movies in their trilogy. Am I going to wait another year to find out how this will end. I don't think so. Of course I went to the local library and read both books. No I didn't actually read "Catching Fire" but I am guessing the movie captured it's essence. I only had to read one book for "The Hobbit" trilogy. How do you make 3 movies out of a 272 page book? A lot of creative licensing. Luckily that book was also on "The List". Another one bites the dust.

Worth $36,000

While reading I was feeling nostalgic about the time when I was a child and I would sit on my bedroom floor with my Disney's Read-Along books for hours. While listening to the person reading the book to me I would follow along with my own. The vibrating sounds of the "The Rescuers", "The Fox and the Hound", "Peter Pan", and yes "The Hobbit" are still fresh in my memory. As I continue reading I hardly recognize anything about the story besides there being a little person in it. I am sure the title gave that one away. For a children's book it has a broader vocabulary than "The Hunger Games" which is geared more towards teenagers.

This J. R. R. Tolkien tale is an adventure story about a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins. Cleverly thrown into a dangerous quest to steal treasure from a dangerous dragon whom stole it from Bilbo's traveling companions, the dwarves. Not the cute little interestingly named seven dwarfs but a collection of ill tempered, greedy, whiney, and probably smelly ragamuffins. Just another day at work for me. Joking...sort of.






Initially selected by the wizard Gandalf to be a burglar for this group of misfits he eventually was called to provide many different services for the crew. He was asked to be a spy, to break all the dwarves out of jail located deep inside the elf tunnel fortress, and to loosen the group out of their cocoon webbing created by giant spiders while fending them off from their potent attacks. He had to be a voice of reason through the constant rumble of belly aching, the inspiration when all hope was lost. When everyone else sat around sulking Bilbo stepped up to take on the leadership role. The result was grumbling about his decisions.

The first few chapters in many novels like this one sets the stage but I always like to pay close attention to the endings of stories because usually this is where the secret of the true intention of the writer unfolds. The wrap up is the authors last chance to nail his point in. He's been tapping it in slowly with each experience in the novel and finally drives it through at the end. One goal of the author was to take the reader through Bilbo's transformation from an easy-going, unadventurous, homebody to a confident, bold, cunning, level-headed adventurer. Why is that important? Sometimes it is good to be forced outside of our comfort zones because when our backs are up against the wall we can achieve feats beyond our wildest dreams. Another thought comes to mind about "The Hobbit": those who are strong and adept, as with the dwarves, rely on the confidence of their abilities and when a challenge seems to be more than their skills can handle courage wanes. Bilbo possessed the abilities from the beginning but it wasn't until the opportunity presented itself for him to recognize that he had the strength and courage all along. "The Hobbit" ranks as one of the greatest underdog stories of all time and surely deserves to be included on the list of "1001 Books to Read Before You Die".