Tolkien's first masterpiece can hardly go unrecognized by anyone of my (or virtually any) generation.
Bilbo Baggins' adventures stem from the coaxing of the great Gandalf the Grey to accompany a group of dwarves on a quest for treasure.
The visuals in this book still cause my imagination to salivate every time I think of their journey through Mirkwood, their escape from the wood elves by way of wine barrels and their eventual arrival at the Lonely Mountain, home of Smaug the dragon.
Is it obvious I've read the book a few times? I have. I've listen to the audio book with my daughter one summer on our 12-hour drive up to Maine. She enjoyed it just as much as I.
The first time I read The Hobbit was far too young to appreciate the world Tolkien had created. The richness. The depth. The lineage of characters, the histories of cities, the languages -all of it amazing. All of it, all the detail and back-story would have been wasted without a good story in which to intertwine Tolkien's creations. We all know, the story alone is nothing short of spectacular.
Pure escape into another world from the very first sentence.
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.
and on it goes and the reader goes right along with it. Far and few between are the stories that truly allow you to completely immerse yourself into a world and ignore the goings on of reality. Every time I pick up this book that is exactly what happens. For taking me away again and again and again, The Hobbit is a life-changing tale.
And for your enjoyment, I've attached the trailer to the upcoming movie! It should be a great one -dare I say, the best of the year?
As always, find interviews, writing samples, videos, contests and more on my re-vamped website.
In bookstores 6-5-2012
